Ward Camp Out

This last weekend we had a ward camp out. Because it was homecoming at SCO, and Jed had to give tours to people, we couldn't make it out there until late. On our way out there we got lost and drove around a dark Mississippi lake for a half hour scared to death that we were going to get murdered. We finally found the ward and had a really great time. It was extremely hot and humid so we were really concerned for the night. We also had Zoey with us, which was way fun but always complicates things just a little bit. Ok she was really good but when it's so hot outside and we are all stuck in a two man tent, well it gets complicated. Because of the nature of our tent it's either have the rain fly on and suffocate or have the fly off and risk being rained on. Our tent was not made for the south. Well it was supposed to rain so we roasted. We where so hot and of course I was being a baby. Zoey was so freaked out by the small space and heat that she was breathing in our face and wouldn't lay down. We ended up taking the fly off for survival and of course at four in the morning it started to absolutely poured. When we got out frantically to put the fly on Zoey took this opportunity to escape the tent. So I'm blind (cause I can't find my glasses) and Jed and I are barefoot trying to save our tent and find our dog. We get Zoey in the tent and assess the damage. Our tent has so many puddles but it's fine cause Zoey quickly drinks them up because she is dying of heat. From then on we got to sleep. So the next morning we got to breakfast and have a good time. Meanwhile a family in our ward went fishing and caught a cat fish and hung it on a line. While we were at breakfast a water moccasin came and and tried to eat the cat fish and got caught on the line. It was incredible! Jed and I were officially freaked out because we had run around barefoot in the middle of the night with these creatures around! Oh the joys of living in the south!

BYU Utah football game

Well once again this year was a bust. The score was 19-20 and we played awful. The good things that came out of it was that our new head coach is really awesome and takes chances and stands behind his players. It was a great evening though that we got to enjoy with friends. The Billmans in our ward invited us over and some other people from the ward. They were good sports inviting so many BYU fans over seeing that they are Utah fans. Though the game just made our hearts sad we had a great time with friends.

Labor Day Weekend

Louisiana got flooded very badly and Mormon Helping hands has been asking for volunteers to come down and help with flood relief. We weren't able to go when our ward went so when Josh Ramsay said he was going down Jed jumped on the opportunity to go with him. It was really hard but rewarding work. They got to have a special sacrament meeting with Elder Ballard and he gave them a very special blessing and promise for coming and helping.

While the boys were down there Jenny and the girls stayed at our house. We had a great time together. We got to go to the fair and the little girls loved all the baby animals. The boys got back Sunday night and we all were signed up for the Chick Fi La 5k. We had a good time running it all together even though I did not do as well as I would have like to have done. Next time I will win free chicken for a year!

That day we had a cajun style cook out and it was amazing! I love were we live and the people we are meeting here.

The Smokey Mountains

Jed and I wanted to take one last trip before he started school up again. We decided we would got the Smokey Mountains. It did not disappoint. We drove to Nashville and stayed with the Ramsay's for a night. That morning/afternoon we played in the pool with the girls and had a cook out. It was really relaxing and we had a blast. Then we drove the rest of the way to Gaitlinburg. We got in really late and found the only open restaurant. It was the Mellow Mushroom pizzeria. We got amazing pizza! The next day was a Sunday. We went to a sacrament meeting and then roamed the streets of Gaitlinburg. It was a little to toursity for us and everything required us to spend more money than we planned on spending. One of the stores we toured Jed tried on a $1,500 pair of boots. When the store clerk saw that we were trying them on he ran over to make measurements for some custom boots. He said he would be right back so Jed and I ran as fast as we could from the store!

We then decided to skip the streets and take a drive in the Smokey's. It was breathtaking and it made us so excited for our hike the next day.

That night we went and had dinner at the Ramsay's hotel room.

The next day was our big hike. It was a 14 mile hike up Mt Leconte. It was really really hard and most people hike to the top and camp and then come down but we didn't know that and did the whole thing in one day. By the end we were so sore but it was so amazing and it was what Jed and I love to do best. Funniest moment was when Jed was trying to take picture of me on and he got on a boulder but it was really slippery and he slipped right off and into the river. I thought I was going to loose him and didn't know what to do so all I said was "OH my goodness" but in a very unintentional sarcastic way. I think the people around us thought I was the biggest jerk!

That night we ate at the cutest like sandwich place. It was an old gristmill style place and everything was made from this pottery place next door. We decided to get something from the pottery store as our Smokey Mountain souvenir but when we saw the prices we thought we should stick with something small. We ended up getting a tiny vase but we love that vase very much! 

Rio Olympics 2016

Jed and I loved every single minute of the Olympics. We had an Olympic opening ceremony party with the Parrish's and we watched countless hours. I printed out a schedule so we could follow along day by day, and we hoisted our Olympic flag. The running events were inspiring as I saw events get medals for the US that never have (steeplechase, and 1500) and I watched Jared Ward get sixth in the WORLD! It seriously was so much fun!

I even put a fake Olympics together for the girls. We were really trying to get in the spirit.

Red Birds Game

Jed and I have been wanting to go to the Redbirds game ever since we moved in. They are a triple A team so they are pretty fun to watch. We went with our good friends the Parrish's. We bought cheap seat grass seats but nobody was there so we ended up getting decent seats in the stands. I honestly can't remember who won but it was so much fun. Every time a ball came by we would yell at Ryan to catch it because he was the only one with a glove. After the game they had a firework show. We were thinking it would be a five minute max show. Nope. It was nearly 45 minutes of explosive fun and we loved every second of it. It was funny because they had a tiny break and we thought it was over and Ryan even got up to leave but then it went on for another 25 minutes!

Family visits Summer 2016

We were very blessed to see family shortly after we were in Utah. The first visit was from the Hartman's. They were doing a big southern tour and we were their last stop. It was really fun to have them here and we tried to do the traditional Memphis things; Central BBQ, Peabody Ducks, Pyramid, and we went to the Zoo. It was really great having them here.

When the Harrison's picked up Hannah from Nashville, they stopped by Memphis on the drive back. It was really fun to see them! Hannah, Jed, Jed's mom, and I played doubles tennis and it was so much fun! Jed and I have been getting into to tennis and it's fun to be able to play well against one another.

Utah Part 2

So after a week with the Harrison's we had our second week with the Nelsons. Because my parents are leaving on leaving on a mission soon (at the time we didn't know where but they have now been called to Tokyo Japan. It is so very exciting) we made the extra effort and put together a family reunion. My family never really do the conventional vacation so for us to do the type of reunion that we did, it was a really big deal. All six siblings and families were able to come. We went up to Bear Lake and stayed in a cabin large enough for the entire family. It was a pretty big place!

Before we went up though we had our reunion kick off at the Kidd's house. We roasted marshmallows and everyone got a chance to catch up. It was so fun to be with everyone. We hadn't all been together since Jed and I's wedding four years ago! The next day was the Fourth of July. We had a blast going to the West Jordan parade. It was hot but my family made it a blast. We were of course unconventional and I quickly lost my voice. Pop its were thrown at one another and the kids crowded the streets. They were told several times to back up that it became a game. Then we went back to the Nelson's. They smoked meat and it was amazing. We watched fire works at a park near West Jordan and it was once again one of the best shows I've ever seen. I absolutely love watching fireworks with my family. We are so vocal when we are impressed and we are impressed by fireworks very easily. My favorite quote came from my 6 year old nephew "oh look they look like fairies (very odd thing for him to say)... that are now getting destroyed (aw there we go). He had the perfect pause in between it was hilarious.

The next morning was travel and Bear Lake day. Everyone gathered their stuff and made it up to the cabin when they could. We went and got Jed's dads Jeep which made the trip extra fun. When we all finally settled in the cabin (after many tears off where people want to sleep) we were so excited to be there. We each had a different day to cook meals for everyone and the snacks were a plenty. Leave it my family to make sure nobody starves.

Christine and Nathan and us were roommate for the week. Of course that always comes with entertainment. Nathan informed me that he sleeps with a loaded gun so don't get up to go to the bathroom cause he'll accidentally shoot. Haha of course I freaked out cause I can never tell when Nathan is teasing. Then when we turned out the lights he pulls out this disco ball/light show thing that he insisted that he had to watch and listen to this song before he sleeps. Just when we thought that was all, he pulls out confetti poppers and starts exploding them everywhere. We were laughing so hard.

The first day was beach day. We rented a boat and it was so exciting. When we got there though it was so cold and we had to wade across what felt like ice water to get to the beach. The day ended up being so fun and the tubing was a blast. Scott brought jet ski's and that was amazing. Again it was fun to see my family like this cause we have never done something like this altogether. By the ended of the day we were tired, hungry and sick of the wind but had a fun day.

The next day we went up to Bloomington lake. That was when the Jeep was so much fun to have. Though we did get really dusty! We all hiked up there and a large group of us went cliff jumping. My little nephew Trey even made the risky hike to the cliffs and jumped off the small one. The water was ice ice cold (it is a glacier lake). But we still had so much fun.

That night we took family pictures and they turned out amazing, especially for only having a tripod. It was a blessing to get everyone looking and smiling. It was a relief to know that my parents will have a current picture of the family.

By Friday it was time to go. It was sad to say goodbye because we aren't sure when we will see people again. Flying back to Memphis was sad but when we landed it felt like we were home and we got happy to be back in the swing of things. We also really missed Zoey!