Busy Busy Busy Busy!!!!!!!!!

Wow! That's all I can say about the summer so far...WOW. Already it has been crazy. Along with hanging out with my friends, I've been on one trip with a friend and one BIG trip with my family! They were both GREAT!!!!!!

1. We went over to Rexburg to drop Scamp off and also to attend the Pickett family reunion. I wanted to bring a friend so Sarah came with us. Sarah was so sweet with Jason and Mary's boys. We had the opportunity to go on a hike and along the way Ryder got a little tired and Jason and Mary were taking turns carrying him along with Kyler. Sarah offered to carry him along with a camelback and 2 hiking poles! We had so much fun with the boys!

2. Mom, Dad and I headed off to Chicago on the 4th where we met Jessica and Isaac. We spend a few days in Chicago where we did some of the touristy things like getting deep dish pizza and going to the John Hancock building. From Chicago we headed to Nauvoo. In Nauvoo we had the opportunity to learn more about church history. it was fascinating and a really good experience. We also went to the Nauvoo Pageant. Also in Nauvoo we met up with Jaime and Nate briefly. From Nauvoo we headed to Kirtland where we went to the Kirtland temple and the N.K. Whitney store. We also met up with Jaime and Nate (again) Then we went to Palmyra which is where we had the Weed family reunion. We went to Niagara Falls and we discovered that it lights up at night and if the weather is good then they light fireworks. We went to the Hill Cumorah Pageant which was very good...especially the effects. Then we walked through the sacred grove,toured the Joseph Smith farm, went to the temple and toured the historic Book of Morman printing site. It was a lot of fun! We met up with Bryce in Palmyra as well. Then we drove to Pittsburgh so we could spend some time at Jessica and Bryce's place and that was a lot of fun. While we were driving to Pittsburgh we had the opportunity to hike this trail with these absolutely gorgeous waterfalls along it. I have a lot of pictures of those. In Pittsburgh, we experienced what it was like to get lost (or take the scenic route :P)when a GPS was guiding us. We went to the zoo which was a lot of fun...especially since they had POLAR BEARS!!!!!! They also had rhinos, elephants, sharks, jellyfish, painted dogs, gorillas, lions giraffes and monkeys. I was very sad when the polar bears weren't out though. I think a single tear ran down my cheek. :) We also went to the incline...I think that was what it is called...and it was very cold and rainy up there. Preston really started moving around a lot! He wouldn't hold still long enough for me to snap a picture of him! All in all it was a great trip and I was very very sad when we had to leave.

3.) VOLLEYBALL CAMP!!!!! I just barely got back from volleyball camp and boy, was it fun! At first I didn't have a roommate and I thought I would be very lonely. But thankfully there was another girl who didn't have a roommate and we became roommates. It was a great experience.

Although it saddens me to think that summer is coming to a close. But I will always have these memories. A few days ago I was feeling really bummed that summer was almost over. I picked up my yearbook from last year and opened to a page. On that page was the quote "Don't frown because it's over, smile because it happened" It's been a great summer and with the few weeks that I have left I am looking forward to the adventures I have left