Rexburg

The travel bug hit me bad this month. It has been a few months since I've escaped life with a trip. I'm anxiously awaiting Hawaii which is still few weeks away; so in the mean time I took off to Rexburg. Since this year marks my 5year graduation mark--also my 5 years as being a nurse, I decided it was time to visit. Mark and Heather came up with me and we invaded my Aunt Susie and Uncle Mark's house for a bit. I still can't believe it's been five years since I set foot on that campus. 

 

The adventure began Friday evening, after I was able to recover a bit from the 3 in-a-row shift adventure. Work for some reason has been extra draining lately.  Mark and I began with the ever-essential trip to Costco and sprinted to pick up Heather. Road trips are becoming one of my favorite things. Mark played DJ--actually he is quite amazing at picking the perfect song. About an hour into the trip we decided we were starving and crashed Carl's Jr.  Ugh, I still have flash backs to the painful stomach bulge after that meal. But it tasted soooooo good.  After rolling ourselves back into the car, the adventure continued.  Around Pocatello, an Idaho State cop decided he was bored and wanted to pick on the blue car full of adventurous Young Adults. Ugh the attitude. I REALLY REALLY wanted to kick the short, full of it, cop who I'm sure was just bored and wanted to pick on the out of states travelers.  Needless to say I drove away frustrated and with a $150 ticket on my license.  But as we drove up to Rexburg, I saw the temple sitting on the hill and felt strangely like I was coming home.  Granted it was all dark and difficult to see everything but I LOVED it.  However, it all had to wait as we drove to my Uncle's house and we greeted but 3 boys that are MUCH taller than I remember them being.  Seriously, when did they get to be eye level?! By this time I was tired and crashed hard.

Enjoying a Bit of Sun

Saturday morning we woke and took off toward the sand-dunes.  The kids took off straight into the water and waded the raft with all our gear on it. Can I tell you how much I have missed the sun?!  We explored the open water, shrieked a bit as the cold water hit my chest, and anxiously awaited the sand experience. Kyler led us to the secret spot.  Yeah, it wasn't that secret. We watched as crazy people on all sorts of off-road vehicles sped across the sand. My personal favorite was the groups that also had a can of beer in had. Job security. Wow.  Heather and I jumped on the inter-tubes and basked in the sun for a while. Mark then proceeded to dump me--not his wife--into the water. Good to know that some things never change.  Well Mark and Heather vanished on a boating adventure while me and the boys enjoyed the sun.  I just absorbed the sun. He and I have missed each other.  While enjoying the peace we were invaded by a large group of off roader's. They set up a water slide down into the dune. Oh it was funny to watch them go down. They even offered to let us go down and we had a party landing into the pool. Finally, the adults showed up and we waded out to the car, burned, hot, sandy, and sweaty.  Showers, naps, and aloe applying were all needed before our next adventure. 

 

Being the Elmers we are, Ice Cream was essential. Dairy Queen held special memories for all of us so we crashed it and ate the most chocolate filled ice cream we could find.  Hyped up on sugar we headed back for a movie and chill time. But not before I got a tour of my old campus.  Wow, things have changed. I'm kinda jealous I'm not attending school up there right now.  Walking around brought up so many memories. I will have to go up again when everything is open. The buildings all look the same, the Temple is gorgeous, and I miss the spirit up there. I just can't believe how long it has been since I graduated. I was a bit more read at this point and needed some more aloe, but it FINALLY felt like summer. My first true sunburn of the year. 

The New Building --the I-Center and Manwaring Center

The Clark Building--Where I Spent Most of My Time

Thank Goodness for Chocolate

Sunday morning my alarm went off and I got ready for church on campus. It was different getting ready with boys instead of 6 girls crammed into one bathroom. The Smith building became the chapel--I had my English class in this building.  Fast Sunday went by a little bit slower due to the hot stuffy room--I was up there is the freezing cold not the heat.  But Testimony meeting was one of the highlights.  I got up and bore my testimony. Oh How I missed it up there. That campus really does have a special spirit. After Heather and I found the boys we headed home and ate BBQ hamburgers and again crashed for another nap. The evening was spent Hiking up to Mesa Falls. The funniest part was watching us all dance around trying to avoid being eaten alive by mosquitoes.  The falls were gorgeous though. I don't know why I love waterfalls so much--but to me they are one of the best things in this world. I spent the rest of the night reading Harry Potter.

Stupid Bugs

Britton Became Mark's New Shadow

Finding the Dead Things

Monday morning was slow but we got up, ate some food, packed up, and left for home. Mark drove so I could crash before my shift. The drive was quick. I stopped and said hello to the rest of my family before taking off for the insanity of the ER. July 4th was wrapped up with dealing with 160 patients in the ER. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!