Summer 2013..the beginning of it at least

I ended the semester with a visit from my parents and a few days in Yellowstone. Here are a few pictures from the fun that we had, but very few compared to how many pictures were actually taken.

The beginning of the journey began with lots of fluffy clouds as we drove up Highway 20 towards West Yellowstone, MT.

One of my favorite things to do is take pictures of the state signs, this way I know which picture I took in which state. Welcome to Montana!

Now heading up to the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. There was still snow on the ground and that was what I wanted to see.

The entrance fees are now $25.00 for 7 days. I think the first time I went back before the fires of 1989 was less than $20 but I don't know for sure.

As you enter the West entrance you see the Madison River and there were elk on the other side of the river from where we were. But the mountains behind them make the picture even better.

The mountains are just breathtaking and I just loved every minute of being inside Yellowstone.

Next stop was the Gibbon River and Gibbon Falls. I actually saw these back in August but it was so much fun to share them with my family this time. I have grown to love waterfalls and will try to see as many as I can. Maybe one day I will be able to go with a group to some in the backcountry, as long as they know what they are doing.

My parents by Gibbon Falls.

Snow still on the mountains makes it just that much more beautiful. I love the trees and blue sky.

Norris geyser basin brought snow on the trail and lots of geysers. It was a little cool in temperature and so there was lots of steam.

This is a picture of the Norris Geyser basin as you first walk to the trail/walkway.

Steamboat geyser went off, but it was mostly steam. And it even tried to drop a few raindrops on us, that would be why my dad is holding an umbrella.

Rustic Falls is another waterfall that I really liked. There was still some snow along the falls on the right side.

I tried to take my own picture with Rustic Falls in the background, but I got the snow instead. I still like the picture anyway.

Buffalo were all over and this one I just happened to get a good picture of. Then we headed back to West Yellowstone and stayed the night in a nice motel.

The next day we began by seeing this bench in West Yellowstone. Each time I go to Yellowstone now, I hope to see a bear in the wild in a distance. Still haven't seen one, so this bench will just have to do. :)

The sign by the entrance and there was still snow by it as we entered the park for day 2.

I love the rivers that go through Yellowstone too. and as we were driving by the Firehole River heading down to the Old Faithful area, we were going really slow....

The reason for the slowness of the drive was because there was a buffalo jam.. There were buffalo that were walking on the road and a safety vehicle that was making sure they were okay. The Firehole River was really pretty.

We stopped in the lower geyser basin, midway geyser basin and saw lots of geysers. Some were going off, but some were not.

Here I am on the bridge over the Firehole River which was next to midway Geyser basin. I really loved the river and how the steam rose off of part of the river.

By the Grand Prismatic spring there were these footprints....maybe a wolf or bear. Not sure as they were long gone by the time we were there.

The Grand Prismatic Spring was pretty amazing and big. I love the mountain in the background.

I was hoping to see Mystic Falls this time and I figured out that to do that there is a trail from the Biscuit Basin area that you take about a mile to get to it. So we walked through Biscuit Basin and saw springs and geysers. At the trailhead I was expecting to walk the rest of the way to see the falls....

You cross the river and walk by the geysers to find the trail as seen below...

The trail was actually closed for bear management!! Which means I could not go see the Mystic Falls like I had hoped to. It opened up on Memorial Day. I talked with one of the rangers at the Old Faithful Visitor's center and learned that it does not necessarily mean there are bears along the trail. It is just an area that they try to restrict foot traffic during certain times of the year. So I will just have to go see the Mystic Falls during the summer and I recently learned that there are rangers that will take people on the short hike. I was happy about that since I may end up going by myself again one day.

Next it was on to see Old Faithful.. We saw the last little bit of it erupting and then went into the visitor's center.

There was still snow by the visitor's center, so I just had to have a picture of my mom and I by the snow that was still by the back side of the visitor's center.

This next geyser is Castle Geyser! I had never seen it erupt before and so when I saw it going off I jogged ahead so I wouldn't miss it. The funny thing is it erupted about 30 minutes after I saw it at the beginning. It kept going like the enegizer bunny...

A close up of the base of Castle Geyser which was pretty neat to watch it.

Here I am by Castle Geyser. It went off for about 30 minutes so as we walked around the Old Faithful area I saw it the entire time.

More pictures of Castle Geyser from different views as we began our walk.

The next geyser we saw going off was called Lion Group Geyser. It was pretty cool to see it as we just sat down to rest for a minute or two.

Self portrait with Lion Group Geyser

This picture shows Lion Group Geyser on the right side in the front, and Castle Geyser on the left side in the back. From where we were we could see both geysers.

These pictures are a few of my favorites with me and my family. I took them as we sat and waited to see Old Faithful erupt for the second time today.

Old Faithful as it erupts

My dad and sister just sitting in front of the gift shop at Old Faithful.

The road from Old Faithful to Yellowstone Lake was actually closed until this morning. Had we have actually driven this way yesterday we would not have been able to see the Kepler Cascades, and the frozen lake.

Kepler Cascades

Kepler Cascades which still had snow around it since the road was just opened up after they finished plowing the road. Here is a picture of me by the waterfall.

Another view of Kepler Cascades

Snow was still seen on both sides of the road and so we only saw the signs for the continental divide. I had hoped to go stand by it, but that was not happening due to all the snow.

Yellowstone Lake...frozen for most of it except for along the edges. I really loved seeing the lake this way. It was so pretty.

Here I am standing by the lake as close as I could get. It was frozen except for the edges.

Yellowstone River as seen from Fishing Bridge.

Welcome to Canyon area!!! This is the Upper Falls as seen from the south rim trail.

In between the upper and lower falls you can see Crystal Falls. I think you can see it in this picture, but it is behind the trees.

My dad, mom and I walked along the trail, but didn't go to far since we found snow still on the trail. I had hoped to go on Uncle Tom's Trail, but since there was snow still on it and there were LOTS of stairs we didn't go. Had I have had better shoes on I would have done it.

This is a picture of the board that is by the falls and the upper picture is what Crystal Falls looks like. I hope to one day be able to see it really well. but this will do for now.

The Lower Falls of Yellowstone canyon area. I love the snow that was still around. It just added to the picture.

Another picture of Lower Falls. It was taken from Artist Point.

My mom with the Lower Falls behind her.

Here I am with the canyon area behind me.

This picture shows Uncle Tom's Trail which is the stairs and on the other side from where we were. There is a waterfall that was going down underneath the stairs. I thought it was really cool to see it. Next time I go, I am definately going on the trail and a few others too.

More pictures of Canyon area in Yellowstone

This is a picture of Hayden Valley as you drive from Canyon area towards Madison.

Now after spending the day in Wyoming, we are now back in Montana and ready to head south back to Idaho.

The sunset on the way back to Pocatello. I love the rays of sunlight that are peeking down from the clouds.

I am so grateful to live in Southeastern Idaho so I can go have some fun and see such beautiful things. I do miss being in Coeur d'Alene, but I am grateful for the time that I have down here.

Half way through 2013

So since I don't post too often this could be either really long, or a few parts so here it goes..
This year has brought adventure, homework, work, and more homework. I began the year with a full load of classes to finish before applying for the pharmacy program at ISU. Just before my birthday in March, I found out that I had been accepted to the program and start this fall. I will be a pharmacist in 4 years. :)
In April I went down to Salt Lake City, UT to attend conference. I did not have a ticket, but was blessed with one on Saturday for both sessions. Here are a few pictures showing what I saw.

 These pictures are from Ogden when I stopped to see the construction on the temple that is being remodeled. The picture below is by a building near the temple.

 Then on the first Saturday in April, I waited for Trax to come so I could ride it up to Salt Lake. As I was waiting I met a sister who just recently returned from her mission and the friends she was meeting up from her mission had an extra ticket to the morning session. Here is the view from where we sat up in the terrace. No matter where you sit, you feel the spirit and love being inside.

 Here are other pictures from Temple square....the above one is of the people as they left the conference center after the session was over. Then I loved the blossoms on the trees all over the place so here is one of my favorite pictures of the Salt Lake temple with blossoms.

 Next, one of my favorite things to do in between sessions is go over to Deseret Book across from temple square and see who is there signing autographs and meeting people. I saw John Bytheway when I was a teenager and really loved listening to his great talks. When I first met him he had just gotten married, and now they have several kids. He is one happy father. I was happy to take a few minutes to say hi again.

 Later on back in Deseret Book I saw Michael McLean and McKenze Turley as they showed us some of the songs from his new show called Threads. It was really neat to hear their songs and to see him again. I enjoy going to see The Forgotten Carols as often as I can and saying hi to him.

 Lastly, the last few pictures are of scenery as I have come to love taking pictures of the beautiful earth we live on. The sunsets are beautiful as you drive from Salt Lake home to Pocatello. Then the bottom picture is of the tree that has 2 colors of blossoms on it in front of the building next door.

I have decided to make this into a few posts since there has been so much that I have done since April. The first part of the year has had its ups and downs, but most of all it has taught me that the Lord really does hear us. I was not planning on getting in for a session of General Conference, but I knew if it was to be the Lord would provide the way and He did. Then I didn't know for sure that I would get into pharmacy school this year, but I knew that if it was what He wanted me to do then the way would be opened. He is mindful of us at all times.

Many moons ago...part 2

 Here are some pictures from Christmas 2012...on the way down to Salt Lake, we stopped at Brigham City and took a few pictures. This is one of me and my sister that I think looked really cool.

 It snowed while we were down there and I wanted to see temple square covered in white. This is part of the nativity scene that they have there.

 Here are several pictures of the Salt Lake temple with Christmas lights. I love that time of year!

 The one below here is of the holy family on the reflecting pool by the temple.

 The one above is of the Ogden Utah temple that is being rebuilt on the same location that it was originally.

 Here I am by a Kentucky Friend Chicken in Salt Lake that has a statue of the founder. IT was snowing and I wanted a picture of me standing next to them with my elf hat on.

 My sister and I on temple square...yes it was cold and it snowed which is the reason why I went back to see temple square even though we had already seen temple square the night before.

 Here we are by the big tree that was in the City Creek center, and the one above was in the Joseph Smith Memorial building.

 Now for the silly fun pictures...In South Towne Mall there was this area for kids and here I am not tall enough to go it...yes I am sitting down but I just liked the dinosaur.
Then we also went to Iceburg Drive in to get some really BIG ice cream shakes and we took some pictures.

Once we came back from Utah we came home to all of this snow!! It was pretty crazy. So that is my adventure in Utah for Christmas.
From the beginning of the year (2013) until now there really hasn't been too much going on. I have been finishing up my last semester of school prior to getting into pharmacy school. I haven't been anywhere outside of southeast Idaho and I am ready to go away for a few days. It would have been nice to go some place for Spring break, but I have been working part of it and there just wasn't enough time to go and have some fun in like St George, 4 corners, Portland, or even Salt Lake. So all of that will be reserved for later.
So there it is...the last few months in a nutshell. Hope you have enjoyed all the fun.

Many moons ago....lol

Over the last 7 months I have been attending school and it has been tough, but well worth it! I have been taking organic chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, and a few fun classes too. It has all paid off as I was just interview for pharmacy school and then just last week I found out that I will be in the program at ISU.
I just celebrated my 33rd birthday this week during spring break. I didn't do anything major like I had hoped to but that is just because the roads to Yellowstone National Park, and Mesa Falls are still covered with snow. I have never been snowmobiling, or cross country skiing so I couldn't go do that. One day I will see those areas with snow on them. So instead, I spent the day in Idaho Falls, then met up with my best friend and her daughter for dinner with my sister too. We went to IHOP which was great!. Funny thing though is that I didn't take any pictures there or even be sung to. But for my sister's birthday in February we all went to Texas Roadhouse and she was sung to and sat on a saddle. It was really cool.
With all of that said that is why I haven't been blogging during the last few months. And the funny thing is...that now I have been accepted to Pharmacy School, things are only going to get crazier!. I get to do 200 unpaid pharmacy hours during the summer and get paid for some too, in order to make it through the summer and still pay all of my bills. It will be a busy summer, but I will make some time to go a few places too. Hopefully I will make it up to Coeur d'Alene, and then over to Portland. But pharmacy hours come first!
Also I had gone out on a few dates over the last 4 months, but I know that the guy I have gotten to know is just a friend. The day will come when I will meet the man of my dreams who can take me to the temple and always want to attend the temple with me.
Here are a few pictures from my adventures...

 The new sign for Idaho State University
Sept 2012

 The Twin Falls, ID temple. The first time that I went there was in October 2012 on my way to the open house of the Boise, ID Temple. It was a beautiful morning. The one beneath is me with the temple behind.

 The newly remodeled Boise, ID temple. This is the temple that I went to before my mission and it has the same basic structure but looks different on the outside. It is beautiful. here are a few pictures that I took from that weekend.

 This is a map of where all the temples are. It was quite impressive.

 This is the window that I stood by just after my very first endowment session back in 2001. It was nice to stand by it again.

 This is the city sign for Meridian where I lived as a teenager.

 Then it was back to home in Pocatello, and in November the snow began to fall. Here I am after church with snow on the ground.

 The new bengal Tiger monument on campus next to the student union building. It was very impressive and I am glad that we have it to look at now.

 The Rexburg, ID temple that I go to quite often because I love going up to Resburg to see friends and hang out on BYU-Idaho campus. They had a nativity scene by the temple

 BYU-Idaho campus...picture of the Taylor quad looking towards the Kimball and Taylor buildings.

 The Idaho Falls temple in December with Christmas lights, and a nativity scene.