Seattle

 On Wednesday we spent the day in Seattle.  My father in law was nice enough to drive us into town so that we didn't have to deal with parking a car.  We stopped first at Pike Place Market.  I have spent a lot of Saturday's in my life at Pike Place.  My dad use to love to go there to get fresh fish.    They have a really good selection. 

 In Seattle they recently have a new attraction.  It is called the 'Great Wheel'. It is 175 feet tall and just opened this summer.  It was very cool.  If you can believe it you can even order food to eat while you are on it.  

 I love all the flowers they sell at Pike Place market.  If we weren't walking the whole day we would have bought some. They are so vibrant and so inexpensive.

 We walked along the Puget Sound.  It is so pretty. 

 We went to Ivar's for lunch.  They have such good fish. One thing I miss about living in Utah is the fresh fish.   We ate outside  looking at the Puget Sound.   Kara ended up giving half of her lunch to the Sea Gulls.

 Here are some of the Sea Gulls that were trying to eat our lunch.

 Then we walked to the Space Needle.  It was a little bit further of a walk than we had thought.  We went to the Pacific Science Center. I use to go there frequently as a child.    We wanted to go to the King Tut exhibit. When I was in the 4th grade I went to the same exhibit.  It is just fascinating then, just as it is now.

 After that we went through the rest of the Pacific Science Center. 

There are so many spiders in Washington and they are HUGE!!!!  And of course they had even bigger spiders at the Science Center exhibits.

 We went through the Butterfly exhibit too. 

After we were done exploring Seattle we took the monorail and then the transit system close to Matt's parent's home.  They were so sweet and were waiting for us when we arrived.  

After we got home from Seattle we drove over to my step mom Sheryl's home, the home where I grew up at.   It was nice to visit with her.  The trees around my old neighborhood are so big!!!!  I feel like they are taking over the neighborhood---seriously.  The landscaping in Washington is so much more natural.  It made me miss the manicured lawns around my neighborhood.  

After we went to visit Sheryl we drove to Matt's sister, Sharon.  We met her for dinner at Red Robin.  It was so good to see her place and catch up with her.   We then went back to her place and looked at family albums.  Kara loved it. Kara adores Sharon and she reminds me a lot of her aunt sometimes.   She lives right off of the Puget Sound. We walked down to the water and  talked some more.   Sharon is such a strong woman that I have always admired.   

By the time we got home we were so tired.  Matt's parents waited up for us and it was good to visit with them.  

Home sweet Home!!!

We had such a wonderful trip!!!  I love visiting Washington, and Oregon. It is filled with so many happy memories.  And it is filled with people I love dearly.  I think because I was at trek the week before that it seemed like forever since I was in my own home.  On  our first day of our trip we drove straight to Washington.  We left at 7:30am and got in around 8pm pacific time.  We took a couple detours on the way.  We stopped at the Columbia River temple that is in the Tri-Cities.  It is a beautiful temple.

On our first full day there we went and visited one of the offices in Matt's company.  Since he doesn't have an office yet we thought we would check one out.  It looks like a normal office to me.

They had tons of car pictures still wrapped up.  Matt will be in heaven.

It was nice to go to the office because it was so close to where I grew up.  I could almost imagine Matt working there.  Afterwards we went to see where my father in law works.  It was really cool to see where he spends so much time each day.  My father in law is one of the hardest workers I have ever know.  I am grateful because my husband has his work ethic too.  Then we went to Costco.  We actually went to one of the very first Costco that was ever built.  I realized I have been going to Costco for over 30 years!!!!

Then we went to visit my sister Katie, Tyler and baby Abe.  It was the first time I have ever met Tyler.  He is such a nice young man and such a good daddy to Abe.  Katie and Tyler moved in their first home earlier this year and it is so cute!!!

 After we left Katie's home we stopped at Trader Joe's.  I have always loved this store and missed not having it in Utah.  They are supposed to be building one downtown and I am so excited!

 After visiting with Katie and family we headed back to Matt's parents.  They had invited some of our family for a barbecue.  All the food was delicious and the company was great!!!  Matt and Kara were taking a lot of pictures, but not of everyone. 

 Matt's mom

 Apparently Kara really loves taking photos of Issac.

I can do Hard things--trek!!~~

I love trek!!!  There is a spirit felt at trek that is life changing.  I never would have believed it was true if I haven't had the privilege of participating in it.  There are so many lessons that can be learned at trek, but the strongest lesson of all is that we are loved by our Heavenly Father and we have a Savior who made it possible for us to live again as families.  



Trek is HARD and difficult, but because of that it is so rewarding. Trek is an opportunity to be super sweaty, dirty,  and very HOT!!!  Because of the difficulties you experience there you feel so abundantly blessed for all that you normally take for granted.  As President Baer said, going on trek and leaving the world behind helps us to become more dedicated as a disciple of Christ.   To feel the love and peace that only the gospel can give.  

 I had the most amazing trek family!   I was in the Lion Family with Janelle, Colby, Patrick, Andrew, Dillian,  Lexi, Julia,  Uncle Aaron, Brittney,  and Staci. Our Ma and Pa Janelle and Colby were amazing.   They anticipated any need we might have and they sure were good with the squirting you when you are hot.  Above we are getting ready to get in the bus!

 Brittney, Kelly, Patrick M, Andrew and Patrick W.  I had the privilege of being in Patrick and Andrew's family! 

 Kara was in a different family and a different company then I was.  It was always great to see her smiling face!

Andrew playing a joke on Patrick

 Brittney, Lexi and Staci!!! Some of the sweetest girls ever!!!  And Dillion on the side.

 Some of the boys in our ward.

 Our make shift shade area.  There were no trees on trek so we were always in the sun.  It was so dusty.  Dirt was in everything we used or touched.  Everyone was so dirty.

 Kara working on crafts with her family

 On the last day we were playing games during the morning.   It is so rewarding to watch the youth interact with one another.  They bonded so quickly and  it was so hard to believe that some had barely just me, because they seemed like they had know one another forever.

 The medic unit!!  They were so amazing.  In our family ever girl had a blister and most of the boys too.  The reason was because it was so hot and there was so much dirt that rubbed against our feet.  They did a tremendous job helping all that needed it. 

Our last few minutes of trek before we entered the buses.  I was so grateful to see the buses that would take us home, but sad to leave my trek family!

I have thought a lot about trek and the lessons that we can learn there.  I really think it is amazing that you can bring a bunch of youth to this land and have it be a life changing event that strengthens them.  If I hadn't already participated in two treks I would think it was crazy that it can be so life altering, but all I can say is, that it is.  I do believe that everyday life does provide us with enough  hardship and it can  sufficiently test our testimony, but going on trek seem to give us the added strength to become even stronger, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.   I am a  big believer of trek. I believe that when you take youth away from their element without the distractions of cell phone, Facebook and friends that you can truly realize what is important.  I am grateful for the opportunity I have to work with the youth in our ward.  My cup truly runneth over with blessings!!!