our visit to moab was wonderful. we took friday off work but found ourselves leisurely moseying on down. we were banking blm camping which is first-come, first-serve, but we got there too late and there was absolutely nothing left. it must have been spring break weekend for every school district in utah and colorado because moab was packed. all campground were packed. we finally found one tent spot left at a commercial campground not dissimilar to the koa. i was super bummed about that because camping in moab in the middle of the desert is basically the reason you go. or one of the top ten reasons to go. i was stupid for not just reserving a campground in one of the national parks to begin with.

saturday morning two of jared's bike friends called and said they were in moab with their inflatable kayaks and invited us to float the colorado with them. without too much thought we drove into town and rented a tandem inflatable kayak for a really reasonable price. we parked our car at the bottom of the river and drove in their car up the river. we ended up floating about 14 miles and hit about 5 rapids. the first two hours were soo dreamy. paddling the colorado river, sunny, and 75 degrees. but jared isn't the fondest of water and he sort of hit this point where he was done. i'm not going to lie, i had definitely had my fair share of fun by the time we were going on three hours. finally we pulled off to the side and our friend hitch-hiked up the hill to the car. we only went about 2/3 of the way that we originally planned, but who cares! we had so much fun. there were these gorgeous cranes all along the river that were unbelievably beautiful, i kept wondering why they weren't caged up in a zoo. how sad is that?

we ended up camping with our friends on free land. which basically meant, three amigos style roughing it camping. walking far enough away to pee or poop. smores. talks about the meaning of life and bikes and guys wearing long hair, while jared and i politely declined their marijuana invitation. sunday was supposed to be rainy and useless. but lucky for us, it was actually 70 degrees and overcast, literally the perfect weather to hike and bike. except for five minutes when the sun came out, as is evidenced by my one blue skies photo. we started out the day, which happened to be my birthday, with an amazing mountain bike ride. it was the perfect trail. i wish i could ride it to start my day every day of my life.

we bee-lined it to delicate arch which was packed per usual. before leaving, we grabbed some delicious milt's stop-and-go which was even tastier than i remembered the first time, like so tasty i would drive back down to moab just to eat it again. and then we headed home, into an ice storm and back to our daily lives of work and school for me, and work and more work for jared. we are just trying to figure out how to make the vanlife work for us, because we wouldn't mind living this weekend every day of our lives.

i love it when the girls stop by for the summa..for the summa

some photos from moab right after finals...

patrick is so HOT right now. this was such a fun trip and i am truly grateful to everyone who went and pitched in their little tidbits of fun! we should do it again.

ok so far this summer is beautiful. the nights are not too hot and i guess since i spend all day in an air conditioned office..things could be worse! i'm sure all of you know that i spent a month riding the bus, that was fun but i'm glad that it is over! due to my best friend devouring the twilight series, i decided to pick them up too. i just got done with new moon and cannot wait to move on to eclipse!

best decision of summer 08: bought a lagoon pass. its what fun is! and if you would like to go with me just call i am always all about going with anyone anytime! i love lagoon!

t-minus: 16 days, 5 hours until i leave for new york city! we're going to visit the city for a week and catch a yankees game. interesting fact: the name yankees originates from the name john case when he settled the bronx (it was not the bronx at the time but that is the geographic region he settled). the natives couldn't pronounce his name and eventually it evolved into the word today, yankees.

well pretty much my favorite pasttimes are either biking or longboarding and lately i can't get enough. usually because there is so little time in my day to make it happen. my bike just got back from the repair shop! so i'm seriously looking forward to some good rides in the coming weeks. anyone who wants to join--feel free :)

the happy kids week 2: lindsey? check. cody? check. weston? check. jeff? check. the kjar family? check. katrina and kelli? ahhh they're lost! ...or just sitting in the bleachers! go happy kids! i just joined a co-ed recreational soccer league at utah indoor soccer and its pretty sweet! we won our first two games. my favorite part of course is the becoming tradition of kevas and movie at lj's.

corey was recently checked into th icu. he went into the hospital for a regular check up and they found out he needs a new heart right away. he's not on the list for a heart, so this is a scary time! please send your prayers his way, we will all appreciate them!!

rick goes into odyssey house on monday--good news for everyone! PLEASE pray for him as well! we see bright things in his future!

i will post more pictures soon, life's good i really cannot complain. there are too many beautiful things around me to spend much time on any of the ugly.