Bryce Canyon Ladies Trip

I was lucky to get to go on a ladies' trip to Bryce Canyon the first part of March. We headed out on a Wednesday and drove to our AirBnB in Panquitch, Utah. It was an awesome home and set up very well for a large group (9 ladies in total, with a couple staying either for the first 2 nights or for the last 2 nights). We used the hot tub at least once a day and just had a grand ol' time. 

Thursday we hiked in Willis Creek Slot Canyon - close to, but not in, Bryce. We decided on this hike for this day because it was going to be cold AND windy - gusts up to 35MPH. So being in a slot would help shelter the winds and it did for sure. The drive to the trailhead was a bit precarious on an extremely muddy road where we were slipping and a sliding all over the place. I hated it because I am an off-road/4-wheel drive wuss. Haha. Finally at a point in the road where there were some significant drop-offs, we decided to park the car and hike the extra 1.6 miles to the trailhead. The road was muddy, of course, but manageable for walking in. The slot hike was really beautiful and totally fun.

The group on Thursday consisted of myself and Heather (front); Heather 2 (a friend of Sarah's and now a friend to us all!), Alyssa (Heather's daughter), Ashley, and Jaymie (middle-ish row); Jody and Sarah (one of my favorite humans who lived in Montrose but moved to Johnstown a few years ago) (back).

Here we are on Friday morning - Ashley (who was heading out that morning back home to Idaho), Alyssa, and Sarah. Then myself (with closed eyes yay), Heather 2, Heather, Natalie (she arrived Thursday night), Jaymie, and Jody.

Friday we went into Bryce and had a great day. We hiked about 9 miles on the Fairyland loop. It was awesome and we experienced all kinds of weather - sun, clouds, snow, mild winds, etc. It was a great adventure and so beautiful!

Our nights were filled with hot tubbing, eating, and just talking and laughing. It was sooooo good!!!

February 2025

 I've already posted the major highlights of Feburary, but here are just a few extra random pictures:

Proof that Emmy does homework on the rare occasion . . . :)

Ben took Lucy and her best friend Ruby skiing at Powderhorn one Saturday. Lucy got a 4-pack pass for Christmas but had just gone once . . . life gets busy, I guess! So Ben was able to use one of Lucy's passes and they had a good day. Probably the warmest day of skiing/snowboarding they had ever had - maybe like 45-50 degrees up there. Fun. :)

The end!

Elder Maxwell

 

I know a bit more about these next pictures and I think it's pretty cool so I will share. There is a town in Miles' mission area - but it's a couple hours away by bus. There are some members on record there and so Miles asked his mission president if he and his companion could go there and check in on the members - seeing who's still there, if they are active, etc. He got permission and so one Thursday Miles and his companion headed out on the bus at like 7am. They got there - Charcas - at about 9:30. Miles and his companion met up with the family that they had contacted before coming over. Miles and Co. got breakfast from this family and then Miles and Co. went through the town looking up the other members. They weren't able to locate anyone - lots of family members or friends, etc. The met back up with the family later that afternoon and had dinner. Miles and Co. taught a lesson and extended a challenge to them to read the Book of Mormon, etc. Then it was back on the bus and home by 7:30pm or so. Miles loved it and thought the town was so pretty! It looks adorable to me. Fun!

Miles was impressed that this town actually had clear/clean water!! 

I love this picture so much!

The children of the family in Charcas. Cuties!!

Then this past Saturday Marco was baptized. Yay!

The ward mission leader, Companion, Marcos' sister, Marcos, Miles, and a couple in the ward who were asked to share thoughts/talks at the baptism.

Love this picture so much, too. :)