Arches in Febuary

Now that we are back in Utah, we wanted to see some red rock . We thought, what better place than Arches National Park? Katie Jan, Spencer, and Cameron joined us. We found Moab was ten to twenty degrees colder than it normally is this time of year. But we put on some extra layers and didn't let the cold slow us down. Spencer and Cameron took us to Wall Street where we rock climbed until our fingers were numb. Spencer forgot his harness so we had to make a comfy one out of webbing...ouch.

One of the highlights of the trip was hiking out to Delicate Arch (you know the one form the license plate). The arch is amazing, and it's scale makes it even more so.

Our longest hike was through the devils garden area. The trail was a slippery snow pack and hard to navigate, but it took us past several Arches along the way. The most impressive was Landscape Arch. Landscape Arch is impossibly large and impressively thin. The arch spans 290 feet!

On our way out of town we stopped at dead horse point. This state park is essentially an overlook. The point is surrounded by a Grand Canyon like view on practically all sides. Being high up, and more or less alone lead to a little mischief. Lets just say many rocks ended up hundreds of feet bellow us.

There was no camping on this trip considering the colder temperatures, so we all piled in a hotel room and made a party of it. On the way home we got to visit Grandma and Grandpa Bastian in Salina. It was a great trip and now that we know Moab is so close, we hope to return again soon.

Wrapping up 2009 and Welcoming 2010

Halloween, Our 5 year anniversary, Table refinishing projects and Christmas fun


Fall Trip to Salina


Fall Trip to Steamboat Springs and Aspen, Colorado


Fall Leaves on the Alpine Loop


Our Home

The mountains called, and we answered.

In mid-August we went backpacking with Dad Treasure and Jordan in the Tetons. The timing was a little crazy because we closed on our home literally hours before we left on the trip. It was odd spending those few days with just the barest essentials, all the while thinking we had our first home waiting for us in Draper! It was unreal. We hiked into this incredible alpine area called the Alaska Basin. We stayed for three days and two nights. We expected a lot of rain on the trip from the forecast we got before we left. Every afternoon and evening there would be a big thunderhead on the horizon and we would all think today we are going to get soaked. Then at the last minute the storm seemed to shift and pass us by. We never really saw any big game wildlife but everywhere we looked we saw marmots and pikas. These little mascots of the alpine kept us entertained the entire time with their calls and antics. One brave marmot sneaked into camp and was caught dragging a day pack full of trail mix to its den.

From base camp we day-hiked up to Hurricane Pass at about 10,000 ft elevation. From the pass you got an entirely different view of the Grand Teton peaks. Even at 10,000 feet the peaks towered above us. Below the pass was schoolroom glacier and a small glacial lake. It was an amazing sight to take in. It was also the only place on our trip with cell phone service. We set up our utilities for our new home from the top of the pass!

On day three we broke camp and hit the trail. Eight miles later we were at the trail head and a few minutes after that we were eating monster hamburgers at O'Rourkes in Driggs, ID. The transition back to modern living was so fast it almost made or trip seem dream like. It was great to spend time with my dad and little brother in the back country. I wouldn't trade these memories for anything.

Pioneer Day in Heber

This year we were able to join Trav's family celebration in Heber for Pioneer Day. The Christensen family have some really fun family traditions. Every year all the tractors in Grandpa Christensen's antique collection get started up. Each of the tractors is then lined up along the ditch bank for the whole community to see. They have a big spread of food for everyone and desserts too. The Christensen's made sure we felt at home and Chad gave little Ryan the ride of his life on the rope swing. We spent the night there and early the next morning we went out to Trav's fly fishing river. On our way back home we stopped in Francis to see Great Grandma Lemons old house and where Josh's mom grew up.

Jackson Hole

It has been a long standing tradition to go to the Signal Mtn Campground near Jackson Hole with Grandma and Gene. We have been out of state for the past few summers and have only been able to go on the family outing once while we have been married. We were so excited to be able to join the family this year. We had a good time recounting memories from past trips to this beautiful area.

We always try to mix in a few Jackson Hole favorites into the trip. Some of these include: swimming at String Lake, a trip to Yellowstone, hiking, grandma's super breakfast, ranger talks at the campground, and a trip to Jackson Hole for pizza at Mountain High Pizza Pie.






This year our Yellowstone day trip was a real highlight. We saw a total of eight bear (four cubs), many many elk and bison, and a few gysers too. Trav brought his spotting scope so we could all catch a closer glimpse of the wildlife. We looked for wolves but never found them. I suppose we had to save something for next time.

We are so thankful for Grandma and Gene Summers. They are amazing! They set up camp with the trailer before anyone arrived, cooked for an army, and went with us on a hike to Hidden Falls at the foot of the Tetons! We are so grateful for Grandparents!

Bastian Family vacation

Since the whole family made it to Glendale, AZ for Josh's Graduation, we thought why stop there? So we headed for San Diego, and the coast, to make a family vacation of it! Katie Jan and Spencer had never seen the ocean before so we made seeing the beach our top priority! We stopped and played at Coronado, La Jolla and Mission Bay Beachs. Everyone spent lots of time in the water and had a great time. The water was a bit cold for me, but really what natural nature water isn't?

Seaworld of course never disappoints! We saw lots of shows and sea creatures. Some of our favorites were the dolphins, shamu and the sea lion & otter show!



Some of our other stops included the grounds of the San Diego Temple, awesome homemade date shakes at an equally awesome rest stop in Dateland, AZ on I-8( if you get the chance, be sure and stop). We got some good information from a gas station attendant in CA regarding the US/ Mexico border: "You can stop at the border fence and you will probably encounter border patrol, but you shouldn't have a problem... as long as there isn't a problem." We did make our way to the giant fence and met several border patrol agents, and had no problems.
We figure we drove over 2,000 miles in 5 days so we saw lots of sights and made lots of memories. We missed not having mom along as she had to fly back to Utah, but we kept her in the loop with plenty pictures and txt messages!

We have a Dr. in the family!

After many years of hard work, Josh got his Doctorate of Pharmacy from Midwestern University, Glendale. I couldn't be more proud of him!!