It should be a crime to deprive yourself of time well spent 

in the beautiful outdoors, especially come fall. 

Over part of the weekend, we took a quick trip up to meet up with Anne and Coleman and spend some time with Steven, Deanna, and Ginger at their home in Vegas. 

We spent a good portion of our time there climbing in Red Rock Canyon, which is gorgeous desert. I love Nevada (and anywhere else) in the fall and I love spending time with family. This shorty trip was packed with it all and it was a lot of fun. I'm so glad that Tommy has such a wonderful family and that we all get along so well.

It felt so good to get out and "drink in the wild air." 

And to just "get away from it all" and run around in the desert with bare feet. 

I really channelled my inner childhood, which felt soooo good.

The climbing was a blast. I've decided that sandstone beats the gym any day. 

Plus, it's beautiful!

Relaxing with the family and just taking it easy was pleasant. 

And little Ginger was adorable, as usual. She joined in on the climbing fun by having us put a princess up top for her to climb up to and save. She ended up saving all six of them before she sat back to relax.

And Tommy conquered too, of course. He's a champ. At everything.

The boys stuck around a little longer while the ladies got to enjoy the Relief Society General Broadcast. It was inspiring. It's so incredible to be part of a world wide sisterhood with such great women.

Overall, the weekend was great. We had such a fun time exploring, relaxing, and especially enjoying the company of such likable people.

So grateful for seasons, family, nature, inspiration, loving relationships, and getaways.

{I forgot to bring our camera, but Coleman and Anne snapped some picture for all of us. Thanks guys!}

Scenic drives, setting up camp, petting horsies, roasting mallows, nature hiking, building fires, exploring, road tripping, stream jumping, pool swimming... 

The Humphry's (Tommy's Mama's side) Family Reunion included just what a summertime, Idaho, family reunion should! 

We spent a day in Lava Hot Springs and two days in Grey's Lake camping.

Tommy and I went on a little exploration near our camp.

Some pretty findings.

Then it was time for ghostly stories.

Our scenic drive was very scenic.

And it had me longing to run wild on one of these ladies.

Our nature walk was full of nature. I'm fascinated by bees.

The kids loved it and Tommy gathered the most beautiful bouquet of wildflowers for me. 
My favorite! (Excuse my extreme roughness, I was the only lady here who was camping.)

Tommy is truly an animal whisperer. And I love it.

While the others were off shooting guns, I'm over here trying to pet and feed some horsies we found.

And wearing flowers in my hair.

Hooray for family reunions, horsies, and wildflowers.

Remember that one time 

I got to go to Hungary with Tommy?! 

It was way back in May and I haven't even documented all of the new and different things I was able to experience being in Europe for the first time. Tommy put together a (10 year) mission reunion in Hungary (where he served) and we got to go revisit his mission area together. Thank you Tommy for taking me with you and showing me one of your special and favorite places!

Tommy and I flew Swiss Air from LAX to Zurich and then hopped a little plane to Budapest, where we stayed for the majority of the trip. We stayed in the country for a night and drove all around the countryside throughout the trip. We were there for 10 days, and Hungary is a pretty small country, so we saw a good deal of it.

The Chain Bridge in Budapest

My first time in Europe, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect (although Tommy did give me some preparation tips like - "everybody smokes" which was good prep for me as I get nauseated by the smell of cigarette smoke.) 

Some things I didn't expect: 

The countryside to be so dreamy. While Tommy and I made our way through the country I about died when I saw how many wildflowers and poppies (both my favorite!) there were. There were fields and fields and finally I requested that we stop and snap some pictures. I'm glad I did because this is one of my favorite memories of the entire trip.

The countryside of Hungary

To find a lake the color of a blue twin-pop. I didn't even know there was a lake in Hungary. Lake Balaton, which is forbidden to missionaries looked like a ghost town (not exaggerating) when we stopped by for a look. I guess they wait till the dead of summer to play there.

Lake Balaton

To be honest, one of the things I didn't expect that stood out to me was that the country seemed just a little bit sad. Hungary was behind the Iron Curtain for years and I think there is a bit of sadness leftover from that. A different feeling than America for sure. The people were very kind though.

The view from our window in Buda was something I didn't expect to be so beautiful. We didn't have some fancy shmancy room overlooking the Danube, but our view was 

gorgeous nonetheless.

Window view in Buda

To run into Hogwarts. I thought Hogwarts was in England...? This is one of the many castley historic places in Hungary. Don't mind my crazy face. I'll let you guess if i was yawning or singing in this picture.

Castle Hill - Fisherman's Bastion

For the old churches to be so huge! This picture gives you a glimpse of how large this particular one was. It was too big to fit the entire thing into the camera lens unless I wanted to walk backwards for a mile or so. Check out how small the person is compared to the building. Can you even find the person?

Esztergom

The chance to catch a glimpse of Slovakia. This picture is of us on top of the gigantic church. I got so dizzy climbing all of those spiral staircases! Slovakia is just on the other side of the river. I also wasn't expecting to receive so much rain - by the end of this day we were soaked.

Slovakia border

I can't believe I didn't take any foodie pictures! The food was better than I expected. Seriously some scrumptious stuff. I guess I was too busy stuffing my face to snap any pictures of the yummy stuffed peppers, potato dumplings, paprika chicken, nutella palachintas, etc.

The traffic rules were a bit funny to me since they seem so different from what I'm used to. There are no street signs on the streets, but only on the nearest building (good luck keeping your eyes on the road) and similar funny things that are different to me. Thank goodness Tommy spent 3 years living in Spain as a teenager and learned to drive there. He did a great job showing me around.

I expected to feel farther away from home than I did. I didn't feel like I was on the other side of the globe. It was strange, mostly because I expected to feel so far away. It's a small world after all, I suppose.

I did, however, feel like even though home didn't feel that far away, I was in a very different place. After our ten days were up, I was actually ready to come back home to the good ole' U.S.A. I'd never been so thankful to have been born in America.

In all, I learned that Europe is a little bit like thrift shopping. You have to get over some strange and uncomfortable smells, but the things you gain from it can truly be priceless.

I love when my husband asks me out on a date. ♥ I get so excited. Spending time with him is one of my favorite things and it's always really fun to find something we both enjoy doing. Husband and I dream of gardening. We love it and although we live in a 900 square foot condo with a small balcony for a yard, our garden seems to be getting along wonderfully for us. Tommy is taking me to a garden party at our favorite local nursery tonight. I'm sure we will let our gardening imaginations run wild while we're there, but there isn't much more room on our balcony for all of our gardening daydreams to come true. We have done a pretty thorough job of packing in the plants. 

In our small space we are currently growing:

Green Onions

Garlic

Romaine Lettuce

Lemons

Radishes

Swiss Chard

Green Beans

Baby Spinach

Kale

Spotted Lettuce

Blackberries

Strawberries

Peaches

Blueberries

Rosemary

Basil

Daisies

Jasmine

Wildflowers

Ginger Flowers

If you think your space is too small to garden, reconsider. We've been able to fit all of these with square foot gardening beds and pots. Our balcony doesn't get a great deal of sun, which is obviously essential for gardening, so we've tried to stick with winter plants (mainly lettuces) that can survive with out all-day sunshine. 

No matter your space size, geographical location, amount of time, or other circumstances, I encourage you to garden. It's such a pleasure to sink your fingertips into the earth. It's even more of a pleasure to eat what you have planted, cared for, grown, and harvested with your own two hands. I believe there is something both humble and Godly in cultivating the earth. I guess gardens are humble recreations of His artistic masterpiece. Mine and my sweetheart's sure is small, but I think it's lovely and suits us fine.

Now, go get a foam cup and a bean seed and get sprouting! 

“The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.”

- Abraham Lincoln

If you don't believe me, believe Abe. He's honest.

Because changing your name is fun...

Let's play a game, shall we?

Step one:

Get a piece of paper and a pencil. Just do it. This is fun.

Step two:

Write down your favorite color. 

If your favorite color is blue write down what type of blue, like navy or sea.

If you can't decide between navy and sea write them both down.

My answers: Navy, gold, sea

Husband's answers: Sea, navy, forest, aqua, marine

Write down one or two adjectives that describe something you did a lot in your youth.

If you played basketball or soccer, you could say running.

Stick to basic adjectives like sitting, running, playing, etc.

My answers: Running, dancing

Husband's answers: Running, jumping

Write down your favorite animal.

If your favorite animal is a dog write down what type of dog, like husky or hound.

If you can't decide between a lion and a bear write them both down.

My answers: Husky, horsey, tiger, fawn, fox

Husband's answers: Tiger

Write down your favorite flower and/or element of nature.

If you can't decide between a star or a tree write them both down.

My answers: Wildflower, moon

Husband's answers: Tree, gold

Step three:

Now take your words and combine any two or three of them to find your Native American name.

My Native American name: Dancing Gold Moon

Husband's Native American name: Jumping Gold Tiger

pretty drawing by this girly.

What is your Native American name?!

I want to hear!

For Memorial Day Weekend I got to go home! Thanks to Kira who drove from SLC. On Saturday Kira, Tibi, Landon and I went to the Valley of Fire and hiked around. The weather couldn't have been better and we had a lot of fun. I love the desert. So pretty. Here are a ton of pictures of our adventure. It was really nice to be home for the weekend and hang out with the family. Thanks Kira! Happy Memorial Day and hello summer! P.S. If you click on the pictures you can see them a lot better.

I love this picture. I think it needs to be in a magazine.

My 60's spread of the Valley of Fire.

This shadowed canyon was a fun little place to play.

Landon.

I imagine he is thinking, "Don't act like you're not impressed."

I love holidays and adventures! Bring em' on!

How did you spend your Memorial Day Weekend?

"We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues." thomas s. monson

i am so grateful. i am so blessed. there are some things that i am indescribably grateful for. words could never explain. here are just a few.

today i went to the temple. all i can say, is that there is no place i would rather be. i'm grateful for the temple.

i'm grateful for this. my heart. my heart is a dear friend of mine. it's through this heart, that my Father in heaven created, that i'm able to feel. it's this heart that the holy ghost touches, so that i can feel of God's love and know of His power. i love feeling the spirit. it's through this heart that i'm able to do that. my heart. i'm grateful for my heart.

i'm a student at byuidaho. i am learning new things every day. i'm gaining experience. i have the opportunity to feed my brain, open my mind and gain knowledge. i'm a student at byuidaho. i'm able to feel the spirit on my university campus. i'm grateful for the opportunity to learn in a spiritual environment.

words could never describe how grateful i am for my Savior. He saves me everyday. i love Him. i could never be anything without Him. i'm grateful for my Savior's love and grace.

i love God's creation. everything. everything about this natural earth is beautiful. i'm grateful for the beauty of the earth and the brightness it brings into my life.

i'll never be able to say how much i love these two people and how grateful i am for them. they are selfless. they are caring. they are loving. they are hard working. they are tenderhearted. they are forgiving. they are faithful. they are what i hope to be someday. i love and am grateful for the love of my parents, and the love they have for each other.

i love the beauty of innocence. i'm reminded of childhood innocence and purity when i'm surrounded by my niece and nephews. they are so perfect. if only i could be like them. i love their bright eyes and their optimism. i'm grateful for the example of children.

i love trying and experiencing new things. i'm so glad that i am able to make choices for myself and have personal experiences. i'm grateful for adventure.

friends are precious. true and close friends are rare. i've been able to make friends that will always have a special place in my heart. i'm grateful for friendship.

i've been lucky enough to grow up with 5 siblings. we are all friends and we are a close family. i love my siblings so much. i'm grateful for sisterly and brotherly affection.

FHE @ Ponto Beach
Snapped this pic while playing bocce ball at family home evening. What a beautiful day and wonderful world!



Photo courtesy of my ghetto phone camera