Utah!

We had a great time in Utah visiting Rob's family. We coordinated with his sister Kim so that our trip coincided with hers, which worked out very well.

We started out our trip camping in the Umatilla National Forest just north of LaGrande, Oregon. Jasper did great camping!

Rob and Jasper 5 am

Our first night in Utah we spent at Kris and Jamison's in Bountiful. We got to meet little Abigail, their brand spankin' new, four-week old baby. She is so precious and beautiful. Their other two kids, Grace and Oliver, have grown so much since we last saw them. Oliver talks non-stop and we could only understand about a fourth of what he was communicating. Grace make believes TV cooking shows where she is the master chef. She cooks up some pretty fabulous orange juice and power shakes.

We then headed up to Heber Valley Camp, where Rob's dad and step mom are serving as missionaries. On the way up, we took a hike up in American Fork Canyon. <<<"It is SOOOOO hot!" -Sara. "It's great to be back!" -Rob>>> I was miserable after about an hour, but blamed it on Jasper being too hot, so we turned around early.



Quite a bit of the Egbert/Wright clan was able to meet up at the Heber Valley Camp Saturday night for dinner and games. This camp is beautiful. There are hiking trails, a lake with canoes and paddle boats, a challenge course, warm showers, and wonderful lodging facilities. My girl's camp experience was completely opposite. Our lake had leaches, our showers were cold, and we slept in tents in the rain. I loved it anyway, regardless of the discomforts. HVC is a really nice girl's camp facility. Since most of the family was together, Kris and Jamison decided to bless Abigail at church on Sunday. The blessing was really nice especially because the church meeting was outdoors in a pavilion and we were surrounded by quaking aspens and pinyon pines.

New gamble oak growth beneath fire damaged old growth

We then headed down to Utah Valley, taking a little detour to go by Cascade Springs with Kim and Aunt Bee. What an amazing place! I had never been there before. We all really enjoyed the scenery and especially the aspens through the Alpine Loop. Thanks, Bee and Kim, for braving the dirt road - and sorry about the dings on your undercarriage, Bee!

Mama Sara with Moby wrapped Jasper

Cascade Springs waterfall

We stayed the next few nights with the Brooks in Orem. Matt and Elena are always impeccable hosts and gracious enough to let us crash with Kim in their basement, eat all their delicious food, and play on their Wii. We had so much fun with their kids, Kayley, Hannah, Kennon, and Jonah. They all loved Jasper too, which was really great. Jasper was thoroughly entertained with all the attention and playfulness.

We went rock climbing with Kim and Rob's brother Dave and two of his kids, Katie and Nathan, in Diamond Fork Canyon. It was very, very challenging because all the rock was sandstone. Sandstone is coarse to the touch, but slippery when climbed upon. It also often crumbles as you climb (Rob pulled off a chunk the size of Jasper's head and tumbled in the process), so you have to be very careful. I did the lead climbing on the route but couldn't make it to the top due to an absence of satisfactory hand-holds. The last time I had (lead) climbed was when I was three months pregnant in Utah's Maple Canyon. It felt so good to get on the rock again.



Our last night in Utah, we spent down in Woodland Hills with Larry and Glenda on their preparation day. Kim also came with us which was nice. In the morning, we all got dirty and sweaty weeding and tending to Larry's garden and yard. Since they are gone most of the time, the garden had taken a toll from the heat and weeds. We got quite a bit of work done before we had to bid them farewell and start the long journey back to the cooler air of the Pacific Northwest.