Just getting to Utah was an adventure in and of itself. On the flight to Denver a medical emergency happened where they were able to speed the flight up by 45 minutes and then the person had to be carted off the plan. Then we had a 6 hour layover in Denver. We passed the time by walking, three miles according to a pedometer. Then as we were hanging out, we saw a lady fall on the walking sidewalk and got her hair caught. It was so awful! Then we finally got to Salt Lake late Saturday night. Our bags never came through baggage claim so we had to ask someone where they were at. Because it was so late no one was there. We finally found someone and she seemed so annoyed like this was our fault. She told us that our bags were in the back room because they had been in Salt Lake for so long. She said it in a "well obviously" tone and by this point I was so ready to be done with traveling.
Jed's parents picked us up and we spent the first week in Brigham City. We had a great time visiting with the Harrison's.
On Monday night we all went camping up the canyon to the Box Elder campsites. It was really nice not to worry about ticks and poison ivy! After a fun evening of hobo dinners and smores we all started to head to bed. Jed's sister Andrea and I heard rustling near the food. We asked Jed's mom if she needed a flashlight and help because it had gotten really dark. When Carol responded from a nearby tent and not by the food we began to panic. Jed and his dad quickly shone a light near the food to find the culprit already gone but we heard crashing in the nearby trees. Upon further investigation the bandit had stolen the 2.5 lb unopened bag of Swedish fish. I thought for sure it was a prankster seeing that nothing could grab something like that so quickly! In the end we figured out it was a raccoon as he tried to come back for more loot. The next morning I found the completely empty bag near the campsite. That thing must have had a serious stomach ache after that.
On Wednesday , Jed and I really wanted to go on a hike. We hiked up to the microwave towers on the mountains behind Brigham City. It ended up being a longer hike than we anticipated and a lot steeper but really fun. It was a beautiful view.
On Thursday we watched the Hartman kids and had did cupcake wars with them. It was boys vs. girls. The boys made chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes and the girls made raspberry lemonade cupcakes. It was a great time!
On Friday Jed and I took a trip down to Provo. It was such a fun time and felt so good being back. It truly was our first home for us and we have very fond memories. Our first stop was the Provo bakery of course. We couldn't pass up an opportunity to get the best donuts ever. Then we visited the Provo City Temple. This was really neat because I saw it burn down and then we had watched the construction of it for so long and just barely missed it's opening. It is so beautiful. Jed and I then had the opportunity to visit Jed's old boss Phil. He was recently diagnosed with bone cancer in his hip and has had surgery to remove it. The surgery went well but the recovery is long. It was really good to talk with him and see the faith and happiness that can come from a very hard trial. He really opened our eyes to the blessings that we have in our lives.
Ice blocking with abandoned ice blocks at our favorite Provo park. Rock Canyon park
