get ready. . . this is just the beginning

So, we just got back from a 3 week vacation.  It was awesome.  You will never believe it, we brought our camera AND we took pictures.  A lot of pictures.  And then I discovered even more pictures I haven't blogged yet!  So, this is going to take a while.  Stay with me friends, there are a lot of stories to tell!

HUSBAND AND WIFE CONVENTION

Adam and I are truly blessed to be involved with Seminaries and Institutes.  Adam absolutely loves his job, and we have a very generous employer who believes in strengthening marriages.  Every year we are invited to participate in a Husband and Wife Convention, usually a day of meetings, trainings, activities, yummy food, and crazy seminary teacher fun.  This year our area recieved special permission to have an overnight convention in Flagstaff.  We were so excited, and YES, found another awesome friend to take our kids for 2 days.

This is where we started:

 Our objective was to participate in a challenge course and use our experiences to greater understand the atonement.  Wow, did I learn a lot!  I was so proud of Adam, he is deathly afraid of heights and this pole was about 30 feet high!  And he jumped!

 I decided at the bottom that I would be jumping off as quick as I could--let's just say things did not go according to plan.  I did jump, after about 5 minutes of panic and freezing.  And my jump included a primal scream that echoed throughout the course, leaving me famous among all the seminary teachers and their wives.

Adam and I did not get pictures of the Y we climbed.  Again, it was about 30 feet up but 3 different poles were connected so we both climbed and met at the top.  Then we climbed out to the middle, holding on to some ropes about us, and that's it.  The entire time I was telling Adam, 

"There's no way, we're not doing this, no way, we're not doing this!"

And somehow, I got to the top and we essential walked on a tightrope together.  It was wild, but so cool.  Having Adam up there with me made all the difference, and it was all over before I had a chance to get scared.  

 Next we hiked some cave dwellings and discussed what these families did to protect themselves.  A little less intense, but still a great learning opportunity.

 No more complaining about how small my house is!  This was what each family lived, slept, ate, and played in.