Yosemite - Day 2

Nevada/Vernal Falls:

Darrell headed off early the morning with those who were up for the strenuous, more experienced hike. I would have gone, except somebody needed to stay and go swimming with Steven and his cousins at the hotel :). Hiking to Vernal and Nevada Falls was the highlight of the whole trip for Darrell, and good thing, he got lots of cool pictures! I'm not sure which one is which..but the next are some pics of those awesome hikers!

What some of the hike consisted of...

The women who stayed behind with all the kids met up with the hikers for lunch, and even the rain couldn't stop us from having a good ol' time!

After lunch, we headed up to Glacier Point, which gives a fabulous view of yosemite valley

Yosemite Falls

Nevada and Vernal Falls

Steven being cool

Us squinting in the sun

Darrell, his brothers, and brother-in-laws decided to have a week long "Battle of the Beards" which turned into a ghotee growing contest. Darrell won by a long shot, and hooray! He's not going to grow his beard out again.

Six days of growth

Tickling Steven's feet with his beard

Last Leg Home - Through Yosemite

Rather than back track to Sacramento or Merced, we went through Yosemite on Tioga Road. It had just opened about a week or two before, but it was a beautiful drive!

Happy Mothers Day!

I don't have any pictures specifically, but I just wanted to say what a wonderful day it has been! As I reflect on it, I've had so many wonderful examples of mothers in my life. Of course, my incredible mom, whom I'm so grateful to be able to continue to learn from. My mother-in-law is also a great example of love for family and the gospel. Then there are my grandmothers, mothers of my friends, and now many of my close friends are mothers. You are all such wonderful examples to me, and I'm grateful to have all of you in my life! Thank you for helping me be able to bask in your examples and enjoy your friendship!

Fun, Busy Week!

This last week I decided to take a little "vacation" since I am officially done with school. It included a 5 day trip to Richfield!! We definitely did miss Darrell, but we were glad he could join us Friday night for a wedding on Saturday.

I started on good ol' Cinco De Mayo with a trip to Manti to share in the excitement of my cousin, Skyler, at his wedding. He and Kristina are so happy, and their sealing was so beautiful! I'm thankful I got the chance to go. Steven was loving running around the temple, but obviously he wasn't used to some of the inclines that are up around the Manti temple. He did a nice nose dive into the pavement, and his nose and forehead had quite the battle wounds for a few days. As soon as Steven saw Grandma and Grandpa Rowley on Tuesday, he shouted "HI!" and suddenly they became his best friends. Especially Grandpa. They had so much fun together, and it's no secret that "branpa" holds a special place in Steven's heart. Steven was his little shadow all week.

Steven loved being able to play in Richfield. My parents had lots of room for him to play, stairs to climb up and down on, a yard to run around in, a neighborhood to go for walks in, and a plethera of new and exciting toys. Like this here rocking chair.

I was going through some of my stuff in my closet, and found this hat. It's now been claimed by Steven. He loves it!

Saturday was a big event, as my good friend, Ashley Kailey, got married, and she asked me to be her maid of honor. (I guess it's technically matron...but oh well!) I thought I looked absolutely fabulous in my beautiful dress, but since I got to play an important part in the wedding and all, I didn't get any pictures of us. Hopefully I'll get some from her soon. I did take some pictures of the cake for her mom (Her mom made my wedding cake as well). She does a fantastic job!

Graduation!

Since I seemed to have been doing a very obvious countdown, I'm finding it funny it has taken me over a week to get these posted! Graduation Day at USU on May 2nd was a fabulous day! We had a lot of fun staying at my brother's house, and Steven loved playing with his cousins! Even now when he sees pictures he keeps saying "hi tait!" Saturday dawned bright....and rainy. :) I love the rain, so it really didn't ruin my day. Just my hair! I was able to walk with my cousin, Sabrina, and one of my good friend's, Catherine, for the main commencement which was nice. I was a little bummed when I found out Senator Bob Bennett was our speaker, but he actually gave a fantastic talk, so it all turned out great. I didn't sit by anybody I knew at my college commencement, but it was still fun. Here are some pictures from the day! I don't know if it got captured in pictures, but one of the highlights of my day was the look of "I'm proud of you" on Darrell's face. Thanks so much mom, dad, sheri, mom and dad cropper, darrell and steven for helping make this such a special day for me! And thanks everyone for your love and support!

Oh, and the "technical" term for my degree is Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with an Emphasis in Family, Consumer, and Human Development (FCHD) and English. And if any of you are wondering, there is a HUGE difference between that and a general degree. I have my thesis to prove it.

My graduation present to me!

For a while now, I've just wanted to cut my hair! I decided 2 years ago when I donated my hair to Locks of Love I wanted to do it again, but it just seemed that I'd never get to a point where I felt comfortable chopping off 10 inches. Then I heard about Beautiful Lenghts, which is a donation program from Pantene Pro-V that only requires 8 inches of hair to donate, and their wigs are given to cancer patients. Seemed perfect! So, I told myself that for a graduation present, I'd get my hair cut and donate it again. Alas, the day FINALLY came, and I had all sorts of weird dreams about it...but I had a fantastic stylist, and I LOVE IT! I'm still having a hard time styling it myself, but thanks to a trusty flat-iron, I can at least make it look decent while I perfect my round brush skills!

Before....

After!

Tulip Fest!

Since Darrell was having a fun weekend with the Rowley boys, my mom, Sheri, Steven, myself, and Sheri's roommates decided to have some fun of our own. We enjoyed a couple hours strolling and enjoying the beauties of Tulip Fest at Thanksgiving Point! With a stroke of genius, Sheri decided we should go to Tulip Fest in the morning, rather than our previous plans of going in the afternoon. With this genius, we had a little bit of wind, but no rain. Just as we were leaving, it started to rain. Then it rained and rained and rained. Definitely a beautiful day! I took a gazillion pictures almost to try and document the day for Darrell. I won't be offended if you don't stay for the whole slide show!

Beginning of a Long Weekend!

I am worn out today, but it's totally worth it! Staying up late having fun, driving late, having fun with friends and family...gotta love it! :) Friday we went to my Grandma and Grandpa's house, and Steven got to experience for the first time the Grandpa Horsey. He loved it then...I think he's still getting used to it though :) Then, Friday afternoon, my mom and my sister joined me on a trip to Ephraim to go watch my cousins that are in LD's! They did a great job, and it was a lot of fun. Steven absolutely LOVED the show! He was dancing, clapping, and having a blast. It was great.

Here is a picture of my cousin, as it's one of the only ones that really worked without a flash Seing friends is always a highlight for me! :)

Love the roomies! I always wanted to be a redhead...

Jam-Packed Saturday

Saturday was a busy but fun day! Since I didn't get home until about Midnight on Friday, waking up at 6:30 was a little harder thn usual, but I was able to go up and help my brother's kids get ready for the Kids 1K part of the Salt Lake Marathon. They were walking in honor of my sis-in-law's amazing father who passed away recently from bladder cancer. I was glad I was able to help their family out a little bit!

I headed home to get ready to go back up to Salt Lake to go to Wicked! I wasn't originally planning on going, but my mom, dad, and sister have had season tickets that have ensured their seats for quite a while. I guess my dad had been debating over whether or not he really wanted to go, so a couple days ago, my mom presented me with a small offer that his ticket could be a graduation present, I jumped at the offer! THANKS SO MUCH DAD! :) (I know he, Darrell, and Steven had a fun boys day!) Not only did it let me get a chance to watch my favorite musical, but I also got to have a Mom's Day Off, which is something I've REALLY needed. I also got to spend time with family, which was nice. My couple of my sister's friends had tickets too, but one didn'ts, and wanted to go, so we went up a couple hours early to try to win $25 tickets that they do in the daily drawings. We also roped my nephews and brother into entering as well. As luck would have it, one of my nephews won 2 tickets! So it was really fun to have two of my fun nephews join us in the fun! The play was great, and it never gets old, for sure! And, I of course teared up here and there. Such a good story! Here are some fun pictures from my day!