Rails to Trails

This weekend I had the opportunity to go on a bike ride with the Young Women. We rode The Rails to Trails bike ride from Tetonia, Idaho to Ashton, Idaho for a total of 21 miles. It was amazing!




I lead the group and set the pace for the ride. The trail was beautiful! We rode along wheat fields, over bridges and through wooded areas. However, because I was in the front and couldn't stop, I didn't get any pictures. But it was beautiful.

We broke the ride into three seven mile legs. At each stop we filled up on water, got some snacks and enjoyed a spiritual thought.

I love being a Young Womens Leader. I feel my best when I am among the youth. They are so vibrant, energetic, brave and love Jesus Christ. Even though it is my calling to teach and guide them, they have taught me more than I can ever return. After the bike ride was over we stopped to eat and talked about some of the lessons we learned along the ride. Here are a few that stuck out to me.

-Everyone was on a different bike. Some were big, some were small. They were different colors, different brands and had different features. But they all got us to our destination. Our bodies can be likened to the bikes and our destination to Exaltation. Our bodies come different, but will return us home to our Heavenly Father.

-Being around people with the same goals and mindset makes achieving hard things easier.

-The ride was hard, like life, but it will be worth it in the end.

-Having a map made the ride easier. The map could be like the scriptures when we face a crossroads in our own life.

-The parents that provided our relief stations cheered us on and gave us what we needed to keep going. We couldn't always see them, but we knew they were there. They are like angels on the other side of the veil. We can't see them. but they are there cheering us on.

Visitors

We had a great week some visitors. Both planned an unexpected. First, my very favorite unexpected visitor, my brother! Everyone had kept the secret from me. Even my best friend Jodie, who had to cancel our family pictures to make the surprise work. My mom and dad asked for some help around the house on Wednesday night. After work, we loaded up and headed to Blackfoot. As we walked around the back of my parents house, my brother jumped out of the bushes and surprised me half to death. I screamed, fell to the ground and proceeded to bawl like a baby. I love my brother and have missed him so much this year. I wasn't expecting to see him anytime soon due to Covid, so it was all the sweeter. He was here for an interview for Idaho Power. While he wasn't crazy about the location and doesn't plan on taking the job regardless if there is an offer or not, he got a free trip out of it to see everyone. And most importantly, he is finally open to the idea of coming back to Idaho. It probably won't happen anytime soon, but he is exploring the options. And that is enough for me. It was so sweet and special to see him.

Next, was our planned visit with the Gages from Vegas. They come almost every year to visit Matts family and always carve out time to see us. This time, we took them to Ashton and spent the day in nature. It was really fun to have them and catch up. I feel grateful to have such good friends!

Another Ashton Adventure

We spent another great weekend in Ashton. My parents came up Friday and it was awesome to show them the property. I love our land so much and sharing it with those we love is such a joy to me..

We also had the most fun adventure this weekend. It all started with a little purchase of “The Yeti”.

First, let me back up. We had been in the market for a six seater UTV for a couple of months. Unfortunately, so has everyone else. Most machines are in Utah and when we would find one online it would be sold before we had the chance to even look at. One day, I found a Can Am Defender down the road in Shelley. We were so excited to have one so close and we jumped at the chance to go see it. It had many of the features we were looking for, namely enclosed with heat for hunting. We test drove it and noticed the brakes weren’t great. In fact, they were awful. When we spoke to the seller about them he insured us it was the brake pads. Despite our gut feelings, we bought the beast. Scott changed the brake pads and we took it out for a ride. It was bad. Like, really really bad. Not only was it not stopping like it was supposed it, it wasn't accelerating like it should have. (We didn't have a chance to test it on a hill) We were worried. Super worried. Scott called the seller back and being the good, honest man he was, he agreed to give us our money back. What an incredible blessing that was!!

After Scott returned it, we decided that it would be best to keep our eye open, but not seriously look until closer to hunting season. That night, as I was keeping my eye open, I came across a Polaris Ranger Crew in Ashton, ID of all places. The interior was in great condition, but it had loads of miles on it. However, all the guts had been replaced. New motor, transmission, clutch, brakes, everything. Plus, it had all the features we wanted and more. And we were heading up there the next day!! I was so excited. Scott was timid. He decided it was too good to be true and was concerned about the lack of warranty on all the new parts and didn't want to look at it. My heart broke, but I did my best to get on board.

Saturday morning rolled around and as I did my best to push the Ranger from my mind, Scott came in to the trailer and said there wasn't any harm in looking. We ran into town to see it was worth the hype. Turns out, it was. There was a great warranty on it, which was completely unexpected. It had everything we were looking for and fit quite nicely in our budget. It was a keeper and keep it we did!

We took it out for a maiden voyage on Saturday and had the best time. We took a long drive along side the back hills of Ashton and almost made it to Island Park. We found a fun little creek and waded and explored it for a bit. Cache actually found a craw dad in it and almost caught it! He thought it was awesome.

We had a great time and I am strangely grateful for this purchase. We have really started to invest in a life style that we so badly wanted for our boys and its amazing watching it come to fruition. To be clear, I understand that you don't have to make purchases to invest in family time. But we have worked hard to be in a position to make this possible and I love that we are enjoying the fruits of our labors with our kids now. We are making memories and giving them the best that we possibly can, while still teaching them hard work and ethics. I just feel really good with where we are and its hard not to feel grateful and blessed.

07/04/2020

Growing up, my favorite tradition was the Fourth of July at my Grandma and Grandpa Mennears house. We had good food, lots of games and playing with the cousins and then watched the city fireworks from her hill. After they passed away, the tradition started to wane. And for coming years, the fourth was not the same.

After Scott and I got married, he introduced me to his traditional Fourth of July at his grandparents house and it filled a hole in my heart. The Fourth of July in Inkom is one of my most looked forward to days of the year. I absolutely adore it. I love the early parade with my in-laws. I love the bbq lunch in the shady backyard. The yearly family picture is completely priceless. I love this tradition that I get to call mine.

Covid has reeked havoc on most the year. Luckily, the parade persevered! It was short, but the candy was plenty.













Cache, Tayden holding Ashton Andersen, Kyle, Beckett. Front row: Cora and Paisley Packard (Scott’s cousin, Miles, Daughters) Aimslee and Alaina Andersen. 

We enjoyed good food and cousin time. I particularly enjoyed my snuggles with sweet cousin Alaina. She  proclaimed me her favorite and I will not argue with that!





And tayden got a good ice cold swirly from his daddy-o. 

After the BBQ, we headed home and took a nap in preparation for the late night fireworks. The big Idaho Falls show was canceled, but Ammon put on a pretty great small show. In fact, I loved it more than the usual fireworks. We didn't have to fight to find a spot, the show was the perfect length of time and the traffic to get home was non existent. And the homemade oreo popcorn was icing on the cake.

I love the Fourth. This year was hard. The virus has destroyed our normal. The country is overflowing with riots demanding an end to racism. Elections bring out the worst in people. The news feels like a never ending cycle of negativity. But in the midst of all this worry, I'm thankful to live in this land. In this land, we are free. In this land, we can grow. And in this land, we can improve. And that is a lot to be grateful for.     

Packneys

The Turney’s and Packard’s were reunited once again! We always love spending time with our Las Vegas friends and jump on every opportunity we get to see them. 

This year they came up to Idaho and camped with us at Snackards. It was heaven! We got to our property Monday afternoon and showed them around. The kids played in the water while we cooked dinner. The moms and dads went on a walk and played some card games while the kids watched a movie. 

The weather was not completely in our favor as it rained all day Tuesday. However, we didn’t let that slow us down. We spend Tuesday at Yellowstone exploring the park. We saw geysers, buffalo and went on a much longer than anticipated hike. We stopped for pizza on the way home and ended the night with more cards. 

Heaven had our favor on Wednesday and showered us with sunshine. The kids spent all morning on the lake catching frogs, turtles and snakes. I was so excited to show them the joy of our property! We weren’t quite ready to say goodbye, so we stopped for ice cream on the way home. 

We love the Turney’s and count them as family. Having them in our corner is one of the biggest blessings we could ask for. I love a friendship that picks up right where it left off months before. They are the epitome of life long friends and I can’t wait to share many more memories to come.