My parents drove Micah up to Logan one day for EFY, and I didn't really think that sounded like much fun, so I contacted my friend Jayne to see if I could hang out with her for a while. She and I were talking, and I think we've seen each other a total of like 6 different instances, but I still feel like she's a really close friend. Probably because one of those instances was a two-week-long trip to Guatemala, during which we had many bonding experiences. This time around, I visited her in Morgan, Utah, and we went four-wheeling in the mountains close to her house. She let me drive the whole time, which I'm not sure was the best idea, but we made it back alive and it made it easy for her to tell me all about her four-month-long trip through Central and South America with her husband. We had a lot of fun, and I think the views speak for themselves.
While we were riding, I kept looking out over the gorgeous mountains and valley, and I couldn't stop thinking how lucky I was to be able to see things like this. Not like I would classify visiting Utah as "seeing the world," but I have seen a lot of the world, the mountains of Utah included, and that's not something everyone gets to do. I've seen towering, majestic mountains; powerful, sprawling oceans; vibrant, lush rainforests; and serene, green prairies. I've experienced many cultures, walked in ancient structures, spoken different languages, eaten a variety of foods, and met people from every inhabitable continent. I'm only 27 years-old, and there's a lot missing from my life that I desperately yearn for, but I have lived a very full and interesting life. I'm grateful for that.
Next on my list of people-to-see in Utah were my friends Andrea and Chrissi, who I've been friends with since childhood in Indiana. Most of the girls I grew up with in church now live out west, so it's strange to make it a point to see "friends from home" while I'm very far from home. We had Café Rio, chatted, and played with little ones (I usually had whichever one wasn't crying).
That night, I went up to Wallsburg (right up Provo Canyon here) with my friend Angela and her fiancé Tanner for their engagement photos. My job was to make sure Angela's smile didn't look fake. They're a beautiful couple so it wasn't hard to get gorgeous photos. I snapped a few pictures with my phone so Ang would have an idea of what they'd look like.
At one point, they trekked through a field down to a riverbed. No one informed me we'd be off-roading, so I was wearing shorts and sandals - not ideal attire for walking through tall grass and weeds. I hung out up by the barn and took some pictures of the mountains instead. I love Indiana's green trees and vast skies, but man, Utah is gorgeous.
The next day I met my friend Allie Weathers at Seven Peaks Water Park in Provo. Several members of my extended family came, too, but I'd already seen them so I spent most of my day with Allie. She's the only person from my last ward in Provo that I still keep in touch with regularly. If you could call talking on the phone one time since I moved as regular...
She had to leave a bit early, so after she was gone I spent my time racing Spencer and VoNique on the side-by-side slide. I won until Spencer figured out how to push himself off. My winning streak was short-lived.
Ooooo! Pretty pictures!
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