Fishing

We had another successful year on Birch Creek. My dad took Nic, Luke, Conner and me up to Idaho Friday night. We woke up early Saturday morning so we could get to the river in time to feed the fish their breakfast.

This is an interesting scene of events my dad just happen to catch on camera. This happens every year. Here I am attempting to lovingly help Conner tie his flies onto the liter.

As usual, he wants me to let him do it himself. He doesn't like me to touch the line, he just wants me to tell him how to tie the knots. I get frustrated and offended that he thinks I am being bossy and controlling when I'm trying so hard to be patient...

And he tries to apologize and kiss it all better.

It was cold-like 40 degrees cold! And Nic didn't bring Luke any pants! So we put his long pajamas back on and layered his clothes on top. We tried to put socks on his legs, but he didn't like it so we tucked his little blanket around him and hoped he wouldn't freeze. The sun eventually came out and warmed us all up.

My dad, Nic, and Luke walked to the far river and Conner and I stayed and fished the smaller stream. I love this picture of them walking off into the morning mist (unfortunately it was smoke from a recent wildfire...but I like to think of it as a beautiful morning mist).

He caught a guppie!

And then I caught a guppie!

The fish we caught weren't huge, but they were everywhere! We lost count of how many we caught. And a few times, we even caught fish at the same time!

We had lots of fun catching fish, listening to good music, and reliving the Egbert tradition.

Happy Birthday

I had a fabulous birthday this year. Conner woke up early and made me french toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Yum!

That afternoon, some of my best friends (Ashley, Lisa and Emma) came over to my mom's and we swam for a few hours. Emma threw an official party and brought pulled pork sanwiches and everything!

After swimming, I went shopping with my mom and Marissa before we met my family at Spaghetti Factory to celebrate. My mom gave me these pretty birthday flowers, and Marissa "bought" me the shirt I'm wearing (thanks to Mom's credit card).

And after dinner, Conner gave me a birthday present- an external hard drive for the computer. I never wanted this day to end! It was like I was 6 years old again and I got to spend the whole day celebrating! Conner said, "I don't think anyone likes their birthday as much as you." Can you blame me? I was a great day! Until next year...

My First Video

The Griffins. I am proud to say that I completed my first video on iMovie. It took forever but I'm happy with the results.

Pioneer Trek

I had the opportunity to go on Pioneer Trek this year with my ward. To be honest, I wasn't too excited. I went twice as a youth and I thought I had experienced enough. I decided to grin and bear it once again....and I'm glad I did.

Day one- just getting started. Below is a picture of a girls' potty break. We don't have the luxury men do; all they have to do is turn their back.

10 miles on the first day wasn't easy.

Day two- we were told to prepare for wind and sand storms.

They were all such good sports. I was so proud of their good attitudes.

Just a little example of how dirty my entire body was.

After making it through the storm, we set up camp early and took the rest of the day off.

We had a fabulous devotional by Gentry Fransen- she is now serving a mission in Russia. I loved spending time with this girl on the trail. Her testimony was incredible.

Solo time.

Let the games begin! We also attempted line dancing but it proved to be much more difficult than the pioneer trek missionaries thought it should be.

The girls.

Day three- The men were "called on missions" and the women were then required to pull the handcarts up the steepest part of the entire journey.

It was humbling to see all of the men leave us. The stake leaders encouraged us to pull in silence as we dragged ourselves up the hill. We made it, but it was HARD! Many of the girls, and boys, were extremely emotional by the time we got to the top. 2 kids ended up needing IV fluids after the pull (one was a young man in our ward-and he didn't even pull a cart up the hill!). That just shows you how difficult it really was. The girls were so happy when they made it. It was incredible.

Day four- the home stretch!

We made it!