A Girl Can Dream

On Saturday we drove 45 minutes to the backside of Heber for a day of fun with our extended family at their "cabin". We had never been there before because we missed last year's day of fun, so I didn't grasp the size of their property. It turns out they have 400 acres of awesomeness for their family to enjoy. 

We spent the few hours we were there down near the water because that's where the boats and the sand are.

Landon and Austin took the canoe out for a paddle around the pond.

My sweaty face was glued to my camera almost the entire time we were there. Taking pictures in such a beautiful place is part of what makes it enjoyable for me.

Even dandelions are beautiful!

Apparently my uncle really hates thistle, but it looked kind of pretty to me. Of course, I'm not the one who has to clear the trails full of it to make it feet-friendly for visitors.

I notice more when I've got my camera with me.

A bunch of us hiked up to a waterfall on their property. I managed to do this in flip flops, but I wouldn't recommend it if given other footwear choices.

Landon, Austin and my 2nd cousin Paige scrambled up the waterfall and got nice and muddy.

This is Landon after his descent as he finished saying "awesome".

They showed us their natural spring and we got to drink out of a ladle they keep there.

This may be my favorite photo of the day. I absolutely love the way Ashley walked without a care in the world with her "sword" in one hand, a blue Tootsie Pop in the other, her ragamuffin pig tails and a Band-Aid on her elbow...too cute and oh so very five!

I think Whitney and the other girls could have played in the sand all day long.

Oh Ashley.

I wandered around trying to capture the beauty of the wildflowers everywhere. It was glorious, but hot.

Red faced and sweaty...I felt so pretty.

I found a tree with my name on it! It actually said Jillian, but I cropped it down to suit my fancy.

When I wandered back from my walk the group had gathered to say prayer over dinner, it was a sweet scene especially with little Noah losing his swim trunks in the distance.

I love this shot!

Randy was really enjoying the salsa but ended up bringing a bunch of it home on his shirt.

Everyone (except me and Robyn) roasted wienies for dinner.

I still found plenty to eat.

Whitney and Ashley claimed the swing.

A storm rolled in as we were eating dinner so we had to finish quickly, clean everything up and make a hasty departure. It's probably for the best though or they may never have gotten us to leave!

**Can you imagine owning a place like this?

Would this be a dreamy place to you?

Do you enjoy nature?**

Comment Window Tidbit: My new wake up time is 5:30am, so I slept fitfully (much like I do when I have to wake up for an early flight) and will probably have to rely on adrenaline to see me through the day.

A Confession

In the past, I have mentioned my disdain for the hordes that surround the sample stations at Costco. As a matter of principle, I NEVER stop at these, ever. I begrudgingly go around the swarm of ginormous carts with orbiting children all stopping to eat their micro bite of chicken tacquito or get their taste of pita chips. It's silly really, but I take issue with the congestion created by the sampling. I never just wander Costco, I'm usually in a hurry (my fault I suppose) and don't appreciate experiencing a traffic jam in there. (My sister even has a co-worker who likes to use Costco samples for his lunch!)


But the week of Halloween (I'm not sure why I'm just now reporting this) they caught me by surprise and were giving decent sized samples of their glorious cupcakes! I strolled by, then processed this information and the lack of a crowd, and shamefully turned around to get one. I'm not proud of this, but it's true. It was a white cupcake with lots of tasty, orange frosting and I loved every second of it. In fact, as I did the rest of my shopping I couldn't stop thinking about the cupcakes. I wasn't about to spend $16 (though they had a $3 off coupon) on a 20 cupcakes (oh that they sold them individually!), even I'm not that weak (maybe that's just my bank account talking though).

But as I shopped I kept thinking about the cupcakes. Ohhhh tasty cupcakes. I began to hatch a plan involving me removing my coat and pulling my hair back so as to appear to be a different person so I could get a 2nd sample (the fall comes quickly my friends). But since my plan didn't take shape until I was on the other side of the store, and because I couldn't bear the shame of it all, I proceeded to the check out unsatisfied. They had a display of cupcakes there to mock me further, but I held strong.

I've had several weeks to get some distance from this incident and am happy to report that I've been to Costco multiple times since and haven't done any sampling (even this week when they had Ruffles potato chips). Apparently the white cupcake cast a spell on me (the chocolate had no appeal) and it is now broken. But I fear that one day I will meet the cupcake sample station again and will have a choice to make. Don't you judge me.

**Do you have any confessions to make?
Would you fall for a sample like this?
White or chocolate cake?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I seem to be experiencing some motivation issues. This week has been nothing like last week with its great weather and high productivity level, perhaps I'm in a funk.