What Do We Do in the Summertime...

The summer is coming to an end, unfortunately. Amanda and I have enjoyed this summer immensely, minus the bug infestation we encountered in July. Ask Amanda about that for a full story. She tells it better than I do. All the other parts of the summer have been filled with great memories with each other, family, and friends. The following pictures highlight some of the favorite activities we participated in this summer; well, the ones we had the camera for anyway. Leave your comments below and let us know if you have been to some of these activities as well.

Zion National Park Trip

Amanda and I decided to get away for awhile. We found a great hotel deal on Memorial Day and decided to head south to Zion National Park on June 3rd. Check out some of the beautiful scenery Zion National Park has to offer.

Upon returning from our trip, more graduate classes await me this summer and work will begin again for Amanda and I on June 7th. However, Zion National Park was a great place to escape for the weekend.

Long Beach Vacation

We decided it was time to ditch the snow for a while and get some sun. We went to Long Beach last Tuesday and stayed until Saturday night. We stayed in a little hotel right on the beach and did some sightseeing. We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific, went on a harbor cruise, walked along the beach, rode Wanky bikes, and sun bathed. It was awesome weather! We also had the opportunity to visit with Austin's brother while in L.A. We traveled down to Newport Beach and went whale watching with him. We didn't see any whales, but we did see a lot of dolphins and sea lions playing in the ocean.
On New Year's Day we went to the Rose Parade in Pasadena. We saw some amazing floats. They are all made out of organic material and, of course, covered with roses. They smelled incredible. We rung in the New Year right in sunny Cal!

Christmas at the Crossley's

We really enjoyed our Christmas visit at my parents. On Christmas Eve, Isabelle and Michael acted out the Christmas story while Dad read Luke Chapter 2. We later played Scrabble Slam and watched a Muppet Family Christmas. On Christmas day, we woke up at 6:30 a.m. and unwrapped presents. Michelle got a Wii and Wii Fit so we played in tournaments for tennis, bowling, and boxing. Dad and Austin really got into their boxing match. In the end, Dad came out victorious. We love being with family for the holidays!

The Uintah's

Yesterday Austin's parents treated us to a picnic in the Uintah's. We stopped by the Jordenelle to take in the view, and then went to the Upper Provo River waterfalls. I had no idea we had such beautiful falls in Utah! They are quite breath taking.The pictures above are of he Upper Provo waterfalls. After that we went to Mirror Lake and had a steak and halibut feast. Austin's parents are excellent cooks! We picked the best time to go to the Uintah's. It was 100 degrees in the valley and only 70 degrees in the mountains. We even had to put on our coats and have a fire to keep warm that night! Austin and I look forward to visiting the Uintah's again next year and for many years to come.

Family Reunions

Austin and I have been blessed to spend time with some of my out-of-state family this summer. At the beginning of June my sister Genevieve and her family paid a visit from Georgia. Last weekend we got to visit with my sister Lisa and her family from Texas. The time we have together is time well spent! We love our family and treasure the moments shared together.

Slide Show

Sorry we cut some of the heads off in the slide show. We're still learning how to work with the system.

Summer Vacation

So I thought this would be a good time to add some pictures from our summer vacation 2008 "Trek Across America." I know not everyone has seen these pics yet, so here goes and enjoy.