An Eventful Trip to Utah

I haven't had my SD card for my camera for about a month now due to leaving it in Utah, but there has been much happening in the Robinson home.. as Jered said to me earlier today.. "We've been partying hard"

On the 11th, we flew into Utah avoiding the normal pesky 12 hour drive and left immediately for Moab.  We got there Saturday night and stayed until Wednesday.  It was such a fun trip, one last hurrah before three of the five kids went to opposite ends of the country and world; us to California, Tay and Ash to Nebraska, and Cam to the Philippines.  

 

This was our cutest little bedroom we stayed in.  The whole condo was adorable and I think we were like the second family to ever stay there.  It was brand new.  

My parents about killed us with all the activities planned.  For starters, it was pushing one hundy outside and Saturday night we hiked some of the arches, i think they are called the two windows.  It was gorgeous but just the beginning of my realization of how our of shape I am!

I LOVE these profile pics I took of my family.  I think it represents everyone so well.  We stayed on those arches until really late, all of us playing with our cameras and chatting about life. It was such a fun night. 

Sunday night, we hiked delicate arch which is always beautiful. The definite highlight of the night was Tay and Ash taking a picture in the middle of the arch kissing when the people on the other side starting hooting and clapping only to have Tay get on one knee and fake propose to Ash.  It was classic.  They were the talk of the look out.  Everyone totally bought it and were asking Ash to see her ring and stuff.  Leave it to Tay 

Monday morning, we rented mountain bikes for all of us.. but these weren’t just any mountain bikes.  They were like the $5,000 mountain bikes that felt like you were sitting on a mini trampoline because of all the suspension goin on.  They were ridicules.  You could go straight up a mountain covered with boulders with those things and it felt like you were on a paved road.  So many times I would see what I was about to go up or down and think..

“Well, it was good while it lasted, I’m a gonner.” And close my eyes and go up or down whatever tretchery there was at the moment and that dang bike would ALWAYS get through it!

   We are serious about biking

The first night, we did some smaller trails just to get a feel for what the bikes were like and then Tuesday after playing in the river, we went to dead horse point and did an amazing trail.  It was so hard and so terrifying and scary but at the same time the scenery was so incredible and it was so fun to be able to do something hard core like that as a family.  I really loved it.  The trail had the perfect variety and was the perfect length, any longer and I think I might have cried a little bit. 

The days are kind of getting jumbled together but I think that night we went to a little community pool.  Good times were had by all and then packed up and left Wednesday morning but not before a three hour journey into the fiery furness.  That place was nuts.  We wound down through the deepest parts of Moab and saw gorgeous slot canyons and learned all about formations for Ranger Dave.  It was a really unique thing that I think you could only experience with a guide because that place is like a maze.  It was a great end to an exhausting but blast of a trip.  

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 The rest of the week was spent getting ready for the Gould-Hawkins wedding.  We went to a shower for Ash, went to the temple with her when she received her endowments, met the Gould family and did all the last minute running around for the wedding. 

Tay and Ash's actual wedding day went so smoothly. My mom and Ash were extremely organized and had everything ready to go so it made for easy set up.  The sealing was beautiful, they day was gorgeous, and Tay and Ash looked so great.  The luncheon went off without a hitch and the only tricky thing about the reception (besides walking in four inch wedges) was that the weather started to look very threateningly like rain.  I was soo worried about it but no one else seemed to be and for good reason; we didn't get so much as a drop.  

It was fun to see so many people there I hadn't seen in ages and Tay and Ash seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves; a mark of a great night.  For me, the highlight of that night was definitely watching my dear husband dance his little fanny off with a fellow home ward member in her late 50s to a Michael Jackson song (i can't remember which one) that lasted about 8 minutes. That woman was loving life and everyone made a circle around them and bless his heart, Jered danced with her until the last note was played.  It was hilarious.  I wish I would have filmed it because it's something  you have to see to know how funny it was. 

 The picture quality is horrible but i had to kipe these from my mom's blog because I forgot to take pictures that day

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The next morning, we woke bright and early to get ready for, you guessed it.. Cam's farewell!  The poor kid had to write a talk in the mist of all our chaos and he did wonderfully.  The talk was just so him. He is such a good kid.  He reported July 7th and it has been so fun getting his emails these past two weeks.  He will be a blessing for the Philippines and to his mission president I'm sure.  

Girls.. he's single and totally open to you writing him