sanctuary

last week kyle and i went to zion's. to camp, to hike, to connect with nature, to get a tan, some exercise, see the sights before we move, and to realize how much we'll miss when we leave utah.

zion's was great. we learned from the very informative bus speakers that zion (in some language that i can't remember) means sanctuary, and that's how the park got its name. we also learned that isaac behunin, one of the first mormon (and white) settlers of zion's is our bishop's (wendell behunin) great great grandfather. so that was pretty neat.

we also that learned that it gets very very hot there. 107 during the day was our average temperature that week. combined with the high altitude and burning sun, we got heat sick every day we were there. no matter how much water we tried to drink, or how much shade we tried to seek. we also both got sick to our stomachs at one point, i got car sick from the twisty roads in zions, i got badly sunburned on my back, and we both got pretty sore from hiking. so it was a little rough, but overall it was a good trip!

we camped at zion's ponderosa ranch, it was nice because there was a pool, restaurant, and real bathrooms that we could use. it was not so nice sharing the camp with 2 boys camps, one youth conference, and 2 girls camps who kept us up at night with their songs about sipping cider with cute boys.

our first hike was observation point. the views were awesome, and the hike was so fun! but the 8 miles, much of it steep steep steep! completely destroyed my out-of-shape legs. after recovering at the pool the next day, the third day we hiked the narrows. i'd hiked it before when i was 11, and it was just as fun as i remembered!

oh also we bought a new camera, so we have pictures! lots of pictures!

hike to emerald pools

our campsite

camper kyle

the view from observation point

our pano shot

the steep steep trail, that turned my legs to jello

we had fun playing with some of the features on our new camera

it was just such a cool trail through the canyons

relaxing at the pool

the narrows!

that cold water felt so good...

this is actually the boulder i jumped off of into the water when i was eleven and hit an underwater  rock, which is how i got the scars on my shins. while taking this picture several hikers told me to jump into the water, uh yah no thanks guys!

awwwww

he's a graduate!

kyle is officially a graduate now! he finished his internship on june 15, and he took his national certification test the next day. and with that he was ALL. DONE. he now has a B.S. in clinical lab sciences, and since BYU doesn't hold a graduation ceremony at the end of spring term, we had our own little celebration!

kyle's parents were in town for the weekend, and it was great to get to spend some time with them and with kyle's little brother scott who just got back from his mission to denmark. so, saturday after kyle finished his test we went to BYU and had a little photo session and then kyle's parents treated us to a yummy graduation dinner at our favorite place--pizzeria 712! the favorite pie of the night was a corn and goat cheese combo, so gooooood mmm....

congratulations baby!! i'm so proud of you and all your hard work!

good-bye BYU!

the proud parents!

my handsome graduate!

the next day we headed up to kaysville for a delicious brunch with aunt pat. it's always fun to see her, and she was extra thoughtful by telling me and kyle that she tried to make some food that we would eat. haha, which included a meatless quiche AND she even got the eggs from her next-door neighbor's chickens! not to mention the delicious sour-dough bread, fruit, and potatoes. it was all so so good!

later in the afternoon, after church and some digestion time i made a 3 salad dinner, potato salad, pasta salad, and green salad. along with some herbed foccacia and strawberry lemonade. then we all just lazed around with full bellies and chatted and half-watched soccer until i made some bittersweet chocolate and pear cake for dessert. afterwards we played clue, and i was even able to persuade kyle to play with us!

the next morning kyle's parents treated us to kneader's yummy french toast and then it was time to say our good-byes. but we're looking forward to seeing his parents more often after our move to texas!

brunch with aunt pat!
scott, aunt pat, me, kyle

saying good-bye

running dirty

well it's been a while since i've posted and a big reason why is that my camera has finally died. no matter how many pairs of new batteries we put in it, it just won't turn on. so we now have 3 non-working digital cameras in our apartment. grrrrr. but we need a new camera soon because exciting things are about to happen around the poulsen household! 

#1 - Kyle graduates THIS week! He has four days of his internship left and then he will officially be a college graduate!

#2 - Kyle's parents and little brother (who just got home from his mission in Denmark) are headed to Provo this weekend

#3 - Next week me and Kyle are headed to Zion's National Park for a week of camping and celebrating kyle's graduation

#4 - We're leaving Provo in just over 2 weeks!!

#5 - Once we leave we're headed to Montana for a family reunion over the fourth of july

#6 - And from Montana we're taking an epic road trip down to our new home of Katy, Texas!

i fell like these are all camera-worthy events so i'm not sure yet what we're gonna do but we need to figure it out in less than 4 days!

but i do have some stuff to catch up on. so since the last post we have:

-well after being sick over kyle's birthday, i had an infected tooth pulled, and then my car died, it was just a bad week all around

-we met up with danielle and stephen on their way through to denver, along with some other friends for dinner and sand volleyball

-we ran the dirty dash! it was a 5 mile course through mud and lots of obstacles. it totally kicked my butt, and it was a ton of fun! i do have 3 pictures of this because i bought them from the photographer they had on site

-we had a fun barbecue at jeff and allie's new place

-i hosted a baby shower for andrea this past weekend. i'm so sad i'm gonna miss the birth of her sweet baby but it was fun to celebrate together with cinnamon rolls, donuts, fruit, and friends!