Yell-O Stone national park (That one is for you honey)

As Kevin spent endless hours upon endless days studying for a test, I begged for a break. And he obliged and called Jim and Lauren and Mark and asked if they wanted to go camping. They were all in. Jim and Lauren drove up from Utah and we picked Mark up on our way out and headed to Yellowstone National Park. Kevin and I have both been there once he was young and I was about 12 but neither of us remember much. As we arrived in the park we decided to stop and see the paint pots. We exited the car and thought we have a long drive to go before our campsite and still need to set up, plus its cold, so maybe we should see this on the way out. So we all jumped in the car and BAM the rain storm hit. I do not think I have ever been in such a bad rain storm. Cars were pulled over all over the side of the road and I think Kevin was tempted to as well. However by the time we hit Old Faithful the rain had stopped so we decided to try again to go see something. Old Faithful=Success! We were there for about 10 min before it went off.  

Jim and Lauren at Old Faithful

My love and I

The boys enjoying old faithful

              
After old faithful we headed to camp to set up. It only sprinkled a little which was good. We were all starving by this point so we decided just to roast hot dogs. Due to the rain storm some of our pillows and jackets and such that were in the back (covered by a tarp) still managed to get wet so we stood around the fire drying everything off and were a bit cold due to the dampness or the rain.

The next day we woke up and had a yummy bacon and egg breakfast and then headed to the grand canyon of Yellowstone. On our way we stopped to see some rapids, the mud volcano, and some wildlife. The wildlife pretty much consisted of Bison in which some were far away,and others were a little to close for comfort.

This is Marks "Duh Jim" facial expression

Our next stop was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and lets just say it was BEAUTIFUL! We decided it was a great place to eat lunch and enjoy the scenery.  Mark, Kevin, and I hiked down to get a better look at the waterfall and then all of us did another hike that put us right on top of the waterfall. Talk about take your breath away. 

The rest of the night consisted of yummy tin foil dinners and some jams from Jim and Mark. At least this night it did not rain so everything was dry and warm. 

 

The next day we headed home and on our way out decided to try our luck again at the paint pots. Which was very cool. 

The camping trip was much needed by all who attended and I think we can all agree it was lots of fun and might have to become a tradition. However, by the time we got home we were all exhausted and ready for a shower. 

We Just Dance

So as soon as we got back from Germany we broke out our Wii and Just Dance game. The girls all loved it and we even convinced my parents to dance a few times. (Thats when they were not preoccupied with instant streaming from netflix. I think they are hooked.) Enjoy the great dance moves.

4th of July

This year we decided to relax on the fourth. Most of my family had plans so we just hung out together. We went to the Rexburg parade in the morning with Mark, Kevin's friend and then went to a barbeque at Kelsey's house. We ate some yummy food and had some great company, and then did some swimming while at the barbeque. It was a lot of fun. We then headed to Idaho falls and walked around and did some great people watching. We ran into Kira and her family and ended up sitting with them for the great firework show.

Manti Pageant

Soon after we arrived home form Germany we headed to Utah for Kevin's cousin Cassie's wedding... too bad it wasn't to go to Lake Powell (but I won't bring that up again). We headed down on a Tuesday afternoon and arrived there just a few minutes after Pat and Stacey. We spent the night relaxing and playing with the Ipad and Grandma Berg's tablet. The next day was the wedding. Before the wedding we made a stop at an Italian market and then headed to the wedding where we waited and waited and waited some more. I have learned wedding are pretty much just waiting for everyone else besides the bride and groom. The bride was beautiful and they looked very happy together. After a quick shopping trip we headed to lunch at Madox which was yummy and then back to Grandmas.

We were the first back to Grandma's and after some confusion we forgot the code to her security system. The security guy came over the speaker and we tried to explain that we were grandkids and we thought we gave the correct password. Next thing we know Pat and Grandma came home and said the police were outside. Luckily they got there just in time so they did not have to bail us out of jail. That night was spent at a beautiful wedding reception hanging out with family.

The next day we headed to Mr. Macs to get Kevin a new suit. He sure looked handsome trying on all those suits. We finally decided on a suit and some new ties and then headed to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. YUM!

My parents also headed down to Utah that day and picked us up at Grandma Bergs. We left our car there and then headed to Manti for the Manti Pageant. We ate a good turkey dinner at the stake center in Manti and then found our seats and relaxed in the cool shade. The temple was beautiful, the pageant was good, and the company was great!




We drove back to Provo that night where we searched for cold medicine for me (I ALWAYS get sick before or while I am in Utah). By the time we got to the hotel it was late and I drugged up on Nyquill and went to sleep. The next day we went and saw my Uncle Josephs new house and drove around spanish fork where my dad grew up and listened to all his stories about causing trouble there. They also showed us his very unique and beautiful elementary school. We stopped by Grandmas on our way home and actually picked up Carly's new car (She had to go home before they bought her new one so she took ours and we brought hers). Overall it was a quick very fun trip!

Back to where the cows moo

2 days after we celebrated my birthday on June 14th we headed back to where the cows moo as Brooklyn put it. Otherwise known as Idaho. Since Annalee was not able to fly back with us she sent two of her children with us Brooklyn (9) and Rylee (6). Our flight was scheduled to leave at 11 and we heard it had been really busy at the airport so we woke up at six that morning and left by 7 so we were there by 8. Annalee quickly dropped us off since she was in 10 min parking and we proceeded to check in. The lady was very concerned as to why we had two children with different last names. We had there orders, passports, birth certificates, and a note from there mother but she still did not completely understand. The language barrier did not help in the situation either. Anyways one guy was worried about my backpack not being a personal item and she was worried about the kids and then everyone was all so confused that they just let us go. We finally made it to our gate only to find out the plane had been delayed 2 hours. So we sat... and sat some more... and played some madlib on the computer and sat some more... oh then it was delayed another 45 minutes. Around 2 we were finally able to board the plane.

We did not have seats together so I sat with Rylee and Kevin sat with Brooklyn. We spent a lot of time walking back and forth between seats though. Rylees TV did not work so after bugging the flight attendants 100 times and getting no results we just gave up. We took turns watching shows and watched some together. Rylee slept a little bit on this flight and so did Brooklyn. Kevin and I however did not get much shut eye.

Because of the layover our connecting flight in Detroit was going to be close. We rushed to security only to wait 45 minutes to get through. And even when we told them we were trying to make a close flight the security people still took there sweet time talking to us and telling us stories. We then rushed to pick up our luggage take it through security. This was the challenging part. We had 8 bags because the girls could each bring 2 and Kevin and I had 2 big ones and 2 small rolling ones. We gave one to Rylee 2 to Brooklyn, Kevin had 3 and I had 2. By this time Rylee was in tears because she couldn't drag her suit case Brooklyn switched with her but it did not change the situation. We just continued to run as I told Rylee that there was nothing we could do about it right then. After checking the bags we took off RUNNING! We ran and made it to our gate only to be told it was closed and we were not on it anyways. I guess when we had the layover Delta rescheduled us to a later flight.

So we scrambled for some change so we could use the the pay phone and tell our family we would be in later. We then let the girls use up some of there bottled up energy and run the wrong way on the flat escalators. Kevin and I rested since we were both sweating and exhausted after our run. We then got some snacks and headed to our new departure gate.

We attempted to stay awake the next flight but it did not work. We all fell asleep and we were a little worried we were going to have to carry the girls off because they were not waking up. After lots of nudging and tickling and pushing and poking we got them up and out. We had a short layover in Salt lake and then boarded our final flight 24 hours later.

When we arrived home we were all exhausted but so happy to see all the family there waiting for us. Luckily we did not have to much jet lag and we were able to get a goods nights rest and adjusted to the time very well.

The burning of the Heidelberg Castle

So as I mentioned before the Hiedelberg castle has been burned numerous times. In remembrance of these burnings every year in June they "light" the castle on fire and do a firework show. It was really late at night so Annalee decided not to take the kids so we took a tram train thing down town with Annalee's friend Jamia and her brother. After walking around a lot and enjoying some Gelato and watching the Germans we found a spot to sit. Neither of the shows was that great. I guess when you are used to the Idaho Falls fireworks a mini show like that is not very impressive. But even though the shows were not that great just experiencing the German street fest was fun.

So our camera would not take very good pictures of the whole thing (bad lighting) so I stole these.

21 things to be grateful for

Since I turned 21 I decided I would make a list of 21 things I am grateful for in my life.
1. My testimony I am so grateful that I had the blessing of growing up in the church and that I was able to gain a testimony at a young age that has always managed to helped me through hard times.
2. Our Saviors Atonement Because I am so far from perfect, but know that through our savior I can become perfect.

3. Temples I am grateful I was able to be sealed to Kevin for all Eternity.

4. My Incredible husband Kevin I know I have said this a hundred times before, but the Lord knew I needed Kevin in my life. He is the most handsome, kind, patient, loving, adorable, funny, helpful, teasing, goofball I know and I love everything about him.

5. My parents I have heard it said that getting good parents is like winning the lottery. Well I won the jackpot of the lottery. My parents are incredible and are the most charitable people I know. They have helped me through so much in my life and continue to do so to this day. I can always count on them and I am so grateful for the blessing they are in my life. I owe them big time.

6. My In-laws So I guess technically I won the lottery twice because I also have amazing in-laws. First of all they raised an amazing son and second of all they allowed me marry that son, thirdly they are always there to help us with anything, and fourthly they are fun to be with and I love every minute we get to spend with them.

7. Sisters I have also been blessed with some great sisters and sister in-laws in my life. Annalee and Becca have always been so good to put up with me (which trust me was hard when I was a child). It has been a lot of fun to finally grow up and connect with them more and to grow closer. I look up to them so much and admire them lots. But besides sisters I have great sister in-laws. While talking to Charm the other day I mentioned my first boyfriend, in which Devin replied how do you remember who her first boyfriend was. Well that was because she heard all about it. Charm has always been so fun and enjoyable to talk to. She also put up with me lots as a child in which I am grateful for. I also married in to an amazing family of sister in-laws and have enjoyed all the time I get to spend with them. Some more than others but from what I know they are incredible and I look forward to the years I get to spend getting to know them all better.

8. Brothers So supposidly I am my brothers twin. Everyone says we act just alike even though we did not really grow up together. I was 8 when he left on his mission. But I love my big butter and he has always been a great example to me. When I got married I gained a lot of brothers. And thus far they have been great. I am grateful they teased Kevin so that he can take it now and is tough and all and I am grateful that they have been so welcoming.

9: My Nieces and Nephews, I am pretty sure I have the cutest and sweetest Nieces and Nephews ever. I love playing with them and watching them grow. They are pretty much my highlight at family get togethers :)

10. Teddy, Yes I am grateful for my 21 year old teddy bear that sleeps by my bed and has kept many a monster away in my life.
11. Potatoes mmm mmm GOOD. I could eat potatoes everyday... oh wait I pretty much do.
12. Insulin I know it is probably weird to be grateful for a medication but it is only because of Insulin it that I am still alive today.
13. Cameras I am grateful for their ability to capture all our moments in life.
14 School I know this sounds like a teacher answer but I am really grateful for the schooling I have had in my life and the places it has taken me.
15. Traveling, I have been blessed in my life and am so grateful for all the opportunities I have had in my life to see the beauties of the world.

16.The dishwasher, because I hate washing dishes.
17.Yoga because it is the only kind of work out I really like.
18. The rest of my family members Grandmas, Grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins.


19. Friends I have had many good relationships with friends in my life both in high school and college. And I am grateful for them all of them and there great examples. A couple of them have even lasted since I was in Kindergarten. Crystal and Amanda have stuck by my side through the thick and thin. We went through everything together as children and even though we do not see each other as often anymore, when we do it is as if no time has past.

20. The comforts of life, I could name everything that I have that helps make life more comfortable but that would take forever but I am very grateful for all of them.
21. A job, I am grateful that I was able to get a job and I am excited for the new adventure it will bring.