A Visit from Ron & Lois

My brother, Ron, and his wife Lois called in July and said they would be here in a week!  That was a pleasant surprise - we hadn't seen them in about a year so it was fun to visit and catch up and show them around our new home.

We took them to Snow Canyon, Kolob Canyon, and Zion National Park.  They aren't much for hiking but they sure enjoyed driving through the parks and enjoying the scenery from the car.  They also took the time to drive around St. George and take in the historical sites as well.  I don't think they cared too much for our 100+ degree weather but they sure enjoyed cooling off in the pool!  We told them next time they'd have to come visit in the "cooler" months - especially when they want to get away from all that rain in Everett, WA!

Kolob Canyon

View from Kolob Canyon to the main part of Zion NP

A few mountain goats take a moment to pose for a picture.

I always wondered how they got the rocks soooo red!
They PAINT them - doesn't it look like their paint ran a little?

Mt. Whitney Hike

Rob had the awesome opportunity to summit Mt. Whitney with the Young Men and leaders from our ward. He didn't know at first if he wanted to go because he knew it wouldn't be a piece of cake: 45 miles in 3.5 days, carrying a 45 lb. pack, 10000 ft. elevation start to 14505 ft. summit, likely altitude sickness, eating tortillas and peanut butter for 3.5 days, bears, sore knees...need I say more? He's not an avid hiker but because he's in such good shape he faired really well. Asked if he's glad he went? Absolutely. Would he do it again? No way. It really is quite an accomplishment to be able to say you've summitted the highest peak in the continental United States at 14,505 feet! Way to go Rob! Not bad for a 45 year old guy.

On the way to the trailhead, they stopped in Death Valley.

Within 3 days, they went from the lowest point in the US

to the highest.

They thought they definitely better start

this hike with a word of prayer if they

were going to survive!

There's Mt. Whitney in the background.

"Boy, we've got a LONG way to go!"

Washing up a bit...couldn't

bring deodorant because

it attracts bears.

Travis & Rob

Guitar Lake - aptly named, don't you think?

They descended the mountain a different way in order to get

back sooner but it meant that it was very steep and rocky!

Look at the switchbacks.

YW Girls Camp 2010

Well, I didn't skip a beat with going to Girls Camp!  I was worried I wouldn't get to go since we were in a new ward and stake but, alas, Heavenly Father heard my pleas!  It's always fun and interesting to see how different stakes run their girls camp.  The Buena Vista stake holds camp on a stake level but the camping is done on a ward level.  I always thought this would be kind of nice - having a smaller group would allow us to do our own cooking and other things that you can't do with larger groups.  It worked out great.  We had 3 yw and 4 leaders - yup! more leaders than girls! ha

Setting up camp

Sis. McRae, our camp director, takes a well
deserved break!

Enjoying some yummy
dutch-oven stew

We cooked, ate, slept, did most of the certification, carved our walking sticks, played games, did crafts and just plain ole had FUN in our ward level.  I don't think we stopped laughing the whole time!  Oh, and we also took our 1st year on a SNIPE hunt - never seen anything so funny in my life!  Except maybe when we taught Bishop and Bro. Yardley to play "Solemn Occasion" and "Big Booty".

Bishop Wilson and Bro. Yardley join in on a game of "Solemn Occasion"

The girls made buckets before camp
to keep their things in.  They also
doubled as seat with a
cushioned top.

 

As a 3rd year, Aleah needed to build
the fire for dinner

The rest of the time was spent together as a stake:  certification games, crafts, morning and evening flag ceremony, camp songs, ward camp calls (we had to come up with a different one each morning and each evening - it kept us on our toes!), skits, firesides and "Faith Walk".

Dr. Aleah "saves" Katie from a case of the DOTS during our skit.

Sis. Jourdain teaches CPR to the girls.

The camp was at Little Thunder Camp located up Cedar Canyon, outside of Cedar City.  It sat at about 8000 ft above sea level amidst aspen trees and majestic rock mountains.  It truly was a beautiful place and we had a great time.  Can't wait for next year when McKenna can go!  We'll have 6 girls by then - Yay!

Boulder Mountain Hike

In the middle of July, Rob was able to go with the Young Men on a two-day, one-night hike to the top of Boulder Mountain in central Utah.  This was to help prepare them for their upcoming 45-mile hike to summit Mt. Whitney in California.  More to come on that later.

Over the course of 15 miles, they hiked from 7000 feet above sea level to 11000 feet.  Rob said he could definitely notice less oxygen in the air at that level!  But they had a great time and are looking forward to climbing 14,500 ft. Mt. Whitney in a few weeks. 

I think Rob would prefer to stick to camping with the Scouts but our Bishop is a huge fan of hiking and had these trips planned before we arrived here.  However, Rob is glad he had the opportunity to spend this time with the boys and see some beautiful parts of the country.

The views were spectacular!

On top of Boulder Mountain

Plumb Family Reunion

All the Plumbs flocked to Spokane over 4th of July weekend for a family reunion and to celebrate Grandpa Plumb's 80th birthday and Grandma Plumb's 78th birthday. We had upwards of 60 family members there. It was great to see everyone again and catch up. We enjoyed silly games, ultimate frisbee, eating, volleyball, bingo, campfires, dutch-oven cooking, and just spending time together!

Mom & Dad Plumb and their 6 children:

(L to R) Mary, Patti, Rob, Sandy, Jim Stephanie

I love my sisters! (Jimmie's Angels)