"Man Up" - Our Fourth of July Adventures

It's turning into an annual event, our summer camping trip in the Owyhees. Grandma and Grandpa wait for us to drive up from Utah and we enter into our wild west haven. This year, Tyson got the week of Independance Day off from his internship at Ford which made it so me him and Jessie could all drive up to Idaho.

I LOVE my grandparent's farm! Grandma's house always has the best food and it's always so comfortable. Grandpa wakes up at 6:30 a.m. every morning does some work around the property (changing water, etc) and then waits for his loser grandchildren to finally wake up. 

On the 3rd, we hung aroud the house and went to see The Lone Ranger with grandma and grandpa because it's grandpa's biography...or so he tells us. 

The next day we were off on our adventure. Uncle Nate and Aunt Susan came up and we all caravaned to the hills. Our family practically lives up in these hills. We've gone since we were all babies, and I learned grandma took Nate and my mom up when nate was 2 weeks old. So there is that. All I'm saying is that they feel like home. 

Grandpa's trusty dog, Charlemagne...affectionately called Charles or just Charlie

So for the Fourth of July we rode motorcycles and four-wheelers all over the mountains which are extremely beautiful this time of year. The motto of our trip this year...MAN UP! The stuff we do is challenging! We couldn't have a camping trip without going up to Silver City, ID, an old 1800s gold and silver mining town in the Owyhees that never burned down or became commercialized. All up the road the ground sparkles with silver, or small pieces of mica, adding to the romance of the old ghost town. When I was younger, I always thought it was real silver.

CHILLIN'

red, white & blue

Tyson and Jessie

Idaho Hotel in Silver City...OLD

The view from Silver 

Avalanches

The Mason Lodge

The white church on the hill

Looking down on Silver

Comin' around the mountian

That night we came back to our campground but on the way, a lightning storm descended and we rode home drenched, dirty and cold. It just added more to the adventure!

The next day grandpa took us to Flint. Another small (and super legit) mine. This time we saw (maybe illegally) what the mining system was like inside. Grandpa showed us the stone walls surrounding the area and commented on the fine workmanship of its construction. No mortar and straight. Probably build by Europeans coming to mine the West.

Old-School Mining

mmh...that wall

We forgot how to read

old, dark scary, creaky. We probably shouldn't have climbed the rickety stairs to the top.

"No Tresspassing"... oops

mining

The Grandkids with Grandpa and Charlie

In Flint, there is a small cemetery for some of the more prominant miners form the 1800s. We had to go see.

On the way back to camp, we put the Rhino 4x4 in a ditch where the rain probably washed out the road the previous night, but with a little bit of effort we wenched it out.

A minor setback

Charlie kept his cool

This is after we got it moving a little bit

Our heroes

Sadly, it all had to end. We packed up, went home, showered, said our goodbyes and headed back to Utah. 

Southern Wisdom: A Tribute to Scarlett

Gone with the Wind runs in my blood. My great-grandmother, who remembers seeing the movie in the theater, passed her love of the story on to her children and then to my own mother, who then introduced it to me. Over the years, I have come to this conclusion:

Scarlett O'Hara is my hero.

I find that when I am having issues in my life, I am either quoting her, or trying to think of what she would do in a tight situation. Once again, this week she was my rock.

Now, Vivien Leigh played Scarlett O'Hara to perfection. She showed Scarlett's flaws, but she also exeplified her strengths. Scarlett got what she wanted, when she needed it (and we all know Ashley is NOT what she needed). 

She got attention at the barbeque...especially from Rhett (;

 She danced the night of the fundraiser, even when she was in mourning.

But, most importantly, she was able to save Tara. This week I needed the reminder that no matter how bad life gets, Scarlett was able to save Tara. So, obviously, I should be able to pick up the pieces of my life too.

So, if you aren't already, let's just think of Scarlett. She lost her mother, her father, her livelihood and any kind of social standing she ever had in the war. She was struggling to feed her family, and was practically failing. Nothing was working out for her. BUT! She swears, as God as her witness, she will never go hungry again!

We have to be like Scarlett. Remembering what is most important (even at the bitter end) and working as hard as we can to obtain it. Even if we have to dress up in curtains to get a little bit of help.

Tara is the most important. Home is the most important. You have to be strong and smart and maybe do some things you don't want to do, but overall, you have to have gumption.

And guess what? We have time. We can make mistakes. Scarlett did, when she realized, too late, how crazy in love she was with Rhett. But considering her track record, I don't doubt she gets him back. Just remember...it's all going to be okay. After all, tomorrow is another day!

And so, I am an award winning photographer...

This semester I took an excellent class where I learned how to write, shoot and edit video/film and dabbled a bit in photography. On our last day of class we all brought prints of our three best photos and voted on the best in the class. My first photo of this post won first place and I got a $20 gift card to the BYU Bookstore (hello, Rough Stone Rolling)!

Here are some of my favorite photos I took over the last few weeks

xoxo 

My sister-in-law, Jessie, restored a 1968 Mustang with her dad and I took advantage of the beauty.

Jessie also posed in the boots she wore on her wedding day.

Fun Fact: We drove home from Utah to Florida last summer and stopped in Nashville to buy some authentic boots for all us girls. Seriously, what better place to buy cowgirl boots than Nashville??? It was also Buy 2 Pair, Get 1pair free...so, yeah.

My uncle welds. So I had to capture that.

Clapier Farms, my grandparent's farm. That's a little piece of home found in Uncle Nate's "laboratory."

Nate's motorcycle. Of course it's taken apart. 

An engaged couple we got to photograph in a studio. 

Also in the studio, this sweet baby and her family.

I step outside my apartment one day and Cortney and Julia and their little niece and nephew are all playing. This was a sweet face I could capture. Snot and all.

Last of DC: Insta Edition

As soon as Obama won, everyone and their mother ran to the White House. I was there with my friend Carly and everyone was going crazy!

I took a tour of the white house and it was magical. I loved it!

At Ford's Theatre (looking toward the box where Lincoln was killed) I saw A Christmas Carol. Pretty fancy, I know. 

At the LDS Temple Visitor center I met my cousin!

I also saw my favfavfav service couple from my time at the Jerusalem Center! The CHAPMANS!

My favorite Smithsonian museum...Museum of Art. This is the stellar lightway.

Just seeing a ballet at the Kennedy Center.

One of the last nights some friends and I toured all the major monuments!

BYU Washington Seminar students all iceskating at the National Mall (:

The Capitol Christmas Tree in all of its glory!

Goodbye Washington. It's been real. (Dec. 2012)