Squaw Peak

We drove up to Squaw Peak with Steph and Rick + some fellow Collections friends so we could do a little off-roading (Although Trevor failed to mention we'd be doing that, he just told me we were going to look at the pretty scenery). We didn't do anything too crazy, but we had fun driving through the bumpy roads and mud puddles. Every time I looked over at Oakley when we went over a big bump, her eyes were so wide (mine probably were too).
We actually did pull off to the side of the road to look at the scenery after awhile-- and it was gorgeous! The fall colors were amazing up there.

Lake Powell

We've started a yearly tradition to go to Lake Powell every September (last year was the first). Everyone is back in school so it's not crowded and the weather is perfect. Nicole's uncle has a boat and is so nice to take us around so we can play :)

We had so much fun just being on the boat and enjoying the ride!

We camped there for the weekend and we had fun sharing a huge tent :) It was like a big sleepover party, we stayed up and talked for hours. Of course we had to have junk food too!

We had delicious camping food the whole time: tin foil dinners, eggs, sausage & scones for breakfast, and s'mores for dessert, naturally.

The first day we were out on the boat, we found this cave-- it was amazing! At first everyone got out and left me and Steph to make sure the boat didn't hit the sides of the cave.. we were so scared! We were in this tiny little crevice and we had to keep running to both sides to push off the rock wall. We screamed "HELP US!!" and the boys just laughed and eventually came back so we could go look at the beauty.Nico was so scared to get in the water and try surfing, but she totally got up on her first try!

Trevor was a stud out there too :)

Everyone had to convince me to try surfing.. Nico made me promise that if she tried it, I had to too. It was really fun for the 2 seconds I was up, haha.

Nicole grew up always going out on the boat so she's pretty much a pro. It was fun to watch her with all the different toys though cuz she makes everything look so flawless!

The second day on the water was our tubing day. I loved it!! Doug (Nicole's uncle) was trying to dump us after we'd been on for awhile, but we held on so tight-- it was insane. We seriously got so much air, it was awesome! Definitely felt the whiplash after though..

Last but not least on our trip was cliff jumping! Nicole, Nico, Steph & Trevor were the brave ones who jumped. Trevor jumped from an insanely high one (I wish I had a picture to show how high he really was). The girls jumped ANTM style!

We had so much fun the whole weekend and already can't wait for next year!

Oakley & Cina

We went up to Herriman tonight to pack all the camping gear for Lake Powell (we leave tomorrow!!) and I got to hang out with my cute niece, Oakley. As soon as we got there, she said "Come on!" and had us come downstairs to watch her "play wii" (Steph was really playing, but Oakley had a controller too so she thought she was the star) 

After a little while, Oakley pointed to a box of hair bows and said "Cina! Down!" (C-na is how she pronounces my name, and she says Trevor's name "Tear"). So I dumped out the box of bows and clips, and she told me which ones she wanted in my hair and which one's she wanted in her hair :)

Every time I put another bow in my hair, she'd say "Preeetty!" (Then after we were all done, I started to take them out of my hair and she said NO! Stephanie looked over at us and started cracking up and was like ummm Trevor look at your wife! Haha we had fun :)

It's so fun that Oakley is talking more now-- I can't believe she's already 2 1/2 (I met her when she was 6 months old)! She's the only kid in the fam right now (who lives here) so she definitely gets lots of attention. Everyone keeps telling us she needs some cousins to play with. Someday.. :)

Rick's 29th Birthday

We celebrated Rick's birthday by eating his favorite dinner (honey lime enchiladas), opening presents (Trevor got him a little skiing move-able figurine guy that he loved), and going miniature golfing.

Before we hit the course, we warmed up by hitting balls in the batting cages (I tried it and it kinda scared me, so I got about half way through and then I jumped out and let Trevor finish my round).

Rick lifted Steph all the way above his head, while she was just holding onto the bat!



One of the golf balls fell in the water (I'm pretty sure it was Trevor's..) and everyone was trying as hard as they could to get it out. It was really dark and there weren't many lights on the course so we were using Rick's tiny little keychain flashlight to search for it. I thought it was a lost cause, but eventually, everyone's combined efforts worked and the golf ball was saved!



P.S. The figurine guy that we got Rick is now hanging up in his cubicle at work so he can play with it in-between phone calls. It was actually a girl with dreadlocks named "Adventure Jane" but Trevor was so clever and covered up the name so that it's now "Adventure Rick". Since Trevor sits by Rick at work, he's a little jealous of his own present he bought him.. and he now wants an "Adventure Trevor" for himself. I swear guys will always be little boys at heart..

Rockclimbing

We went rockclimbing at REI in Sandy the other night and climbed our little hearts out! Trevor and I had to pass the certification first while Steph, Rick, Evan & Nicole got a head start. I kept getting the knots wrong, but the instructor guy didn't seem to mind.. he knew I had Trevor to help me anyway. I started out on the easy courses, while Trevor jumped right into the hard ones. Stephanie was pretty intense with the harder courses too, it was impressive to watch!

Trevor, Rick and Nicole raced each other!

After a few hours of climbing, we went to T.G.I.Fridays with sore arms. What a good workout!

Bonfire

We met up with Evan, Nicole, Steph & Rick for a bonfire up in the canyon. We fired up some hot dogs, talked and laughed lots, and of course made s'mores.

(Max looks like a little alien dog..)

Since we were up in the mountains, when it got darker, it got WAY colder. Max was shaking because he was so cold so we had to keep him bundeled up. He's so small!
This was our first (and maybe last) bonfire this summer. It'll probably be too cold next month to stand outside in the mountains at night.. oh man.

Tradition

Since most of the Sanford family works at APX, we've started a tradition of going out to lunch together every Friday. Stephanie and Oakley usually drive down and join us to complete our pack :) It's become something to look forward to at the end of each week, and I love it!

Enjoying the beautiful weather by eating outside at Iggy's


The boys reading an alcohol menu for the first time :)

We don't know how long this tradition will last since there will probably be a breaking point when some of us eventually won't work for APX anymore, but for now.. it's perfect ♥