Summer Fun!

I did a lot of fun things this summer during the 7 week break from classes. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable break and is helping to get me through the rest of school. I wanted to share some of the things that I did this summer. First, my family and I went to Island Park the day after school got out. My good friend from the nursing program, Marybeth came with us and we had a great time! We went jetskiing and swimming at Island Park Reservoir. However...my family all developed a weird rash that looked like mosquito bites all over our bodies. We determined that it was some kind of bug or plant in the water. Marybeth was smart and had worn waterproof bugspray, so she was fine. It was a good start to the summer.

Me and Marybeth...I am so grateful for such a good friend throughout the nursing program! I am so glad she could come with us to Island Park.

The very next Monday I set out on what turned out to be the adventure of a lifetime. I signed up for a whitewater rafting trip on the Salmon River for 5 days with BYU-Idaho. I was a little nervous to go completely on my own but I had so much fun! I made a lot of good friends and soaked in the fun and beautiful scenery.

One of the rafts loaded with our equipment, and in the background...the beautiful Salmon River scenary!
On our second day we stopped at this natural hot spring. It was the warmest hot spring I had ever been in! The pipe is pumping in COLD water...just to make the water bearable.
Our second night of the trip. We played some fun games involving the paddles and waterbottles. Obviously I am not too good at this game! We also floated through some rapids with only our lifejackets, talk about an adrenaline rush!
Here is some more beautiful scenary!
The third day we spent at a wonderful campsite that included this convenient boulder to jump off! We also turned a raft over and had a waterslide into the river!

Some other highlights of the summer include a wonderful kayaking trip with my grandpa at Teton National Park. That was a spectacular day!

This is my cousin and me by the lake...as you can see the water was smooth as glass.

My brother and me striking a pose!

My grandpa by his kayacks with the Tetons in the background. This is a perfect image of him with one of his hobbies and out in the nature he loves so much!

I also went on two great hikes with friends. One was to a beautiful waterfall/hot springs in Yellowstone, and the other was Mt. Timpanogos in Utah.

Waterfall in Yellowstone. This too had hotsprings at the bottom that were very nice. Isn't it beautiful?!
This is the view from the top of Mt. Timpanogos, looking east.

I hiked this with a friend made on the rafting trip, T. He is so much fun and it was super nice of him to go with me! Here we are at the top facing west.

The final exciting event was a week long vacation with my family. We went to New Orleans and left for a 5 day cruise. The ports of call included Progresso and Cozumel Mexico. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and had a great time snorkeling and relaxing together as a family. I will include pictures when I have some more time!

Yay! I am finally a blogger!

Well, I finally broke down and decided to start blogging! I have always wanted to start a blog, but I thought it was something that only married people could do. I have changed my mind and decided to jump in and share my life! I will post pictures and things from the summer but I am excited just to have made a start right now!