Blackwell Family

Goals June 30, 2016

Earlier this week, I set a goal to walk every morning except Sunday. So far I have met my goal, and have been loving the solitude of the early morning. I especially love that when I get to the track at the high school, I get to watch the sun rise in the Provo Canyon. It's awesome!

I've also been trying out my new hammock. It wasn't a goal, but it sure is nice!

The kids love the hammock too.

I guess I'll share.

Zac June 29, 2016

A good friend of mine asked if I could watch her son today.

Of course I said yes...

Took him with me to get my oil changed...

While my oil was being changed, we walked down to the petsmart

He loved it!

Kinda made me miss having my own little munch to tote around!

Thanks for sharin' the love Melissa!

Achievement Days June 28, 2016

I was lucky enough to get to drive this fine group of girls to their activity today.

We went to the B.Y.U. Museum of Art, or MOA.

Sister Bird and Sister Dayley are their fearless leaders.

The girls got to dress up as women from the art that they were about to look at. All of the pieces we looked at represented how women have changed as time has, as well as how the times changed with them.

Isabel was dressed to represent a more modern woman

The girls were fascinated.

After the art, sister bird treated the girls to some ice cream, it was fantastic!

Max's Youth Conference June 24-25, 2016

Friday June 24th, and Saturday the 25th, Max was able to attend our ward Youth Conference.

Friday was a day at Lagoon theme park, and Saturday was temple square up in SLC.

After Temple square, I got to join Max for a fireside.

Justin Osmond was the guest speaker, and he gave a very powerful, Spirit filled, message.

He spoke of finding our motivation, and letting it work within us to help us achieve our goals.

I loved it!

Not the biggest youth group, but it's still a group, and they are amazing!!!

The Drive Home June 24, 2016

Because Reece dropped me off in Fresno to go to girls camp, this means I would need a ride home.

Thanks to my ever-trusted friend DaNae, I had a ride home and then some.

We actually drove through Yosemite, and stopped at a few view points along the way.

It was gorgeous!

After driving through the park for the better part of the day, we got over Tioga pass and started looking for a place to throw down for the night.

We found a place not to far off the road.

Silver lake, I believe, (Inyo National Forest)...

My morning face in my happy place...

Thank you for the ride home DaNae!

Fresno North Stake Girls Camp Crash June 22, 2016

On the way home from Hayward, I convinced Reece to drop me off in Fresno, so I could crash girls camp. It sounded fun. It WAS fun!

Before making my way up to camp, I got to see a few friends in Fresno, and then on my drive up to JA campground, I stopped at Mammoth pools to do a little exploring.

(click the link to see more photo's at Mammoth pools)

This first photo was from a lookout point on the drive in

These next photos were near the bridge, where the overflow would come out from the reservoir.

(See the link above for what the overflow looks like when it is full.)

After taking some pictures near the bridge, I hiked around a bit, and found a way down to the water

Pretty cool, but not what I drove 3 hours to see.

Onto JA campground to see my girls!

First hug... Jessi Klatt
Love that girl!

Next... these girls

After giving a sufficient amount of hugs, I went with Maddy to the repel, and got to watch DaNae and Jill do their thing.

On the way back, Maddy and I spotted a bear...

Later that night, we went on a bear hunt with about 20 other people.
With that many people shining flashlights, we didn't see any bears, but we did try to take a selfie...

I had planned on just staying over night, but the next morning Jen's ankle wouldn't work, and she was in charge of 4th year certification.

I told her I'd be happy to help take the girls on their nature walk.
I loved filling in, it helped me feel like I had a purpose in being there.
While on the hike, I got to spend some time with these two...

Thursday afternoon is always way too much free time, so I went with some crazy kids up to the swimmin' hole.

At the swimming hole, I took Maddy and Jessi up above the falls, and we did some serious exploring
It's these untouched places that create the moments, in nature, that I love the most.