SUMMER TIME

I sure do love summer! I wish it could go on forever! We have so much fun and can be spontaneous with our schedules. When school starts all that freedom goes away and I get sad. We've gotta enjoy the indulgences while we can!

All us girls at Girl's Camp!

Sister S got asked to be the Stake speaker at Girl's Camp this year, so I went with her. We went up and had dinner with Princess P who was already there and then we got to listen to my amazing oldest child speak. The theme was 'There's No Place Like Home', so it was perfect topic for her and she did such a good job! What a great example she is for those girls! I'm so proud of her.

All the old camp flags from years past were hanging up. We had to find our names.

We got invited to go to Palisade Lake for dinner with friends. It was fun and the weather was great for throwing siblings into the water- at least that's what my kids did.

Sister S, Princess P and C Man fight for the high ground.

One of my nieces came home from her mission as her sister is leaving and we went up to hear them speak. It was a hot day, but fun to visit and see everyone.

Elder D, Awesome A, Princess P and C Man- dang, my kids are good lookin'!

Sister S was on the forest fire crew this year. She loved it!

I think she started more fires than she put out... weird.

INDEPENDENCE DAY RIVER RUN & PARADE

We finally found a river that was flowing so we had to hurry and run it before they shut it off (it is an irrigation river they turn on and off for the farmers). The Sevier is small, but very fun! We took friends and family (whoever wanted to come) and ran the river twice.

Gearing up for the river.

Miss K and Princess P get ready to head out.

Taking a break for lunch.

On the river...

Princess P and I.

After the river, we drove home and went to the evening parade in Manti. It is always a cute, fun one to attend and I love that they have it at night.

The parade in Manti.

Watching the parade- Big C and I on the right.

The girls- watching the parade.

Visiting with cousins and friends after the parade.

CHRISTENSEN REUNION 2016

I have a family that is very dedicated to reunions. Every other year my aunts, uncles, cousins and their kids all come to Ephraim to celebrate their heritage. They come from all over and stay for 3 or 4 days. I am impressed with their commitment. If it wasn't held in Utah, I honestly don't know how often we'd make it. I really do like my family though, so it isn't something I dread. I know, I'm lucky!

My family olympics team- Calmontahzona (we had people on our team from California, Montana, Utah and Arizona).

Traditional night at the church- eating pizza and this year we did family videos.

My boys ( the three on the left) and cousins.

We did a photo scavenger hunt. This is my team's pic from my grandpa's farm.

A rainy dutch oven dinner on the mountain- Philadephia Flat.

The olympic teams. This is only about half of our family, but a great showing none the less.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON HIKE

I talked Big C into going up in the mountains on Sunday afternoon. We went up to check on a spot for my reunion, but also to get out of the heat. It was a great way to spend time with family. We did a hike across the top of Blue Bell. That area is packed with memories for us, the strongest one being when Big C went skiing with his brothers and lost one of them in an avalanche. 

Big C reminisces about his brother at the top of the chute where he was killed.

He sat for a while and shared his memories with us. It was pretty amazing for the kids to see the place and hear his words.

Hiking the beautiful trail.

A spike deer.

The view of our little Ephraim.

Afterwards, we stopped and made s'mores.

We used some marshmallows that were at least a month old and they were the best s'mores we've ever had. I think it might be a new thing for our family- let the mallows get old before roasting! YUM!

SUMMER SNOW 2016

I had mixed emotions about the workshops I attended this year. The first one was a watercolor workshop, but it ended up being mostly lecture and was taught by a man that was so opinionated he became confrontational instead of teaching. I was glad when it was over, just to be rid of the tension.

One of the few fun things we did in the watercolor class- draw with sticks.

The watercolor class.

The second week I signed up for a figure drawing class. I haven't drawn from a model in over ten years, so I was very intimidated and nervous, but it ended up being a great experience and a fun class.

Our drawing class.

Our teacher. She was quite a character and an amazing artist. Look her up here: Teresa Oaxaca

Here are my drawings from the week:

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

LEFT FORK OF THE HUNTINGTON

We sure don't have much water in the state of Utah this year. It has been very sad for our river running habit. Nothing is flowing, so when my husband saw that there was a bit of water in the Huntington River, he wanted to run what he could of it.

Big C on Huntington Creek

Princess P and I went up the canyon with him and hiked. It was interesting to see the devastation caused by a forest fire there a few years ago. The campground is even closed to overnight campers and the slopes of the mountains are bare, so you can see all the pretty little waterfalls. It was very interesting. Plus, now there are log jams so huge it's caused the hiking trail to be rerouted. Mother Nature sure can be destructive when she wants to.

Me with Princess P, hiking along the river.

There was a lot of logs over the river, so Big C had to portage a few times.

FAMILY HOME EVENING

My kids absolutely love having combined home evening with my husband's family. All the in-town Gordons get together every 2nd and 4th Monday night and rotate teaching lessons and organizing activities. 

The cousins just love each other!

Playing baseball in the hay field.

Princess P and Big C admire the rainbow.

GREEN RIVER for MEMORIAL DAY

Our Green River trip didn't start out so hot this year. We got to the campground at Swayze's Beach and found that they have started charging this year, so they wouldn't let us camp on the beach anymore. It is very depressing when the government starts taking over everything and telling you what you can and can't do. Freedoms are being lost everyday and nobody cares. It's a sad sign of our society.

Hanging out on the beach, waiting to find out where we are going to go.

Then, our friend that was with us stepped into some melting sand where a fire pan had been and burned the bottoms of his feet so bad that Big C and I ended up driving him to the hospital back in Gunnison.

W with his new gauzy 'socks'.

He'll be okay, but he'll have to stay off his feet for a couple weeks and that's not good for him. He's a very busy person and now he can't work for Big C. He was not happy. I was so sick for him. It was terrible.

Big C and I drove back to Green River early the next morning with his parents and ran the river with everyone. It was a great river day! Nice and warm and lots of water.

Lots of people need lots of boats. We had around 30 people there.

Sister S and I- loving the sunshine!

Lots of family and friends make for lots of fun and great memories.

This isn't everyone, but almost...

This is the first year we took the SUP's down the river. C Man was pretty good at it.

Elder D stayed back the first run and built a sand castle. He's such a big kid! I love it!

Elder D with Little W.