Family Reunions

This Saturday (tomorrow) is the annual Heaps family reunion. Grandma had a great idea. She asked for one representative from each of her daughters' families to help with activities and such. My mother had an even better idea; she picked me to be her representative. Now the thing is, family reunions are not always the most fun, especially with all those people you don't even know. Well that changes tomorrow! For those of you going to the Heaps reunion, be prepared for some amazing fun! Oh, but in order to have such fun, you MUST PARTICIPATE! The activities I've planned are designed to get everyone involved, which means they aren't all physical but of course highly entertaining for everyone. I guess you could say I'm actually looking forward to a family reunion for a change! So I will now always say, "go with the best attitude and be open to whatever may be thrown at you among family!"

One thing about growing up and becoming an adult is that I now have to make life changing decisions. Such decisions are where to live, what to do (work or school or both), what to study, who to date (which I don't mind that much :) ). Since I graduated from high school, I never really questioned what I was doing with my life. Now, after completing my third year of college, I am questioning whether it is for me. I'm not so sure that these doubts or thoughts are strong enough to make me quit, but enough to not want to go back to school come August. I think I have this idea that I should like school if I'm going to put myself through it. After talking with my sisters a little this past weekend, I've decided to approach school with a different attitude. I've gotten this far, so there is no turning back now, and definitely no changing course of study, no matter how demanding and intense mathematics can be. Thus far in my education, I've only taken required classes and have yet to allow myself a relaxing, fun class in my schedule. That is going to change or I will never get out of my slump. A fun class is something that I'm going to require in my schedule so that those rigorous math classes don't rule my life. So for those of you who are wondering about me and school, here is your answer.... School, here I come! (It better be worth it! But don't expect that masters degree from me until maybe ten years go by or so!)

Excitement

I asked my friend Heather what I should blog about, and she told me I should blog about my excitement for this weekend. So here it is! I think the last time I saw my Heather was October. Way too long ago :(. That is about to change. Tomorrow morning, I am making my way up to Salt Lake City. I have been trying to get up there to see Heather for months now, and finally I just decided nothing would stop me this time! My girl is getting married the end of July so we only have so much time before she is moved away by the military. I cannot wait and words cannot describe my excitement. Today I think is going to be one of those days that just seem to drag on and on forever!

Heather is practically my twin sister. Knowing me implies that you know Heather. We like alot of the same things (except the color purple) and think the same way. All my random thoughts that nobody else understands and makes people think I'm just crazy are the kind of thoughts Heather appreciates the most. So I'd say Heather and I are meant to be besties for ever! I love ya, Heather!

This is just everyone waiting for Carrie at the top of the waterfall. Well everyone that made it that far. We left three at the bottom of the first waterfall and three at the bottom of this waterfall. I think I would have been more excited than Bubba is in this picture, had I made it to the top of that thing.

This is Carrie climbing up the waterfall I wouldn't climb up! She was amazing. I think if the ladder had been more stable, I would have. I guess I have a fear of rope ladders.

Crazy Life!

One of the things I love about being young and single is being able to just go do anything, anywhere, anytime! Having a very flexible job helps in that as well. If I need to take off early on a Friday, I just work a little longer each day the rest of the week. And having every weekend off is oh so nice! Last weekend, some friends and I decided to go camping for a night. We went up Friday night and came back Saturday morning. The overnight trip was so much fun and full of adventures. We slept in the car hoping to get away from the bitter cold of the night. It didn't quite work out how we had hoped, but it was still fun! Saturday afternoon, after a two and a half hour nap, about 10 of my friends and I hiked Kannaraville Falls. It was so pretty! There was a trail for the most part, however, we chose to walk through the water instead for most of the hike. There were two waterfalls on the hike. I climbed up the first one on a ladder/log. I think going down that thing was a lot worse than going up it! The second waterfall, however, was a different story. There was no way to get up it without getting completely wet, and I most definitely would have died! Ok so maybe I would have just fallen or something, but I wasn't about to risk it. I think I did pretty well on the hike, only falling once (acquiring a very nice bruise and two lumps on my shin!) and getting one cut (from the ladder). It was another great weekend in the life of Natalie! (I will post more pictures when I get home from work!)

Kalai Concert

My second concert experience ever was definitely memorable! It was Kalai, with some other bands that aren't as cool. The concert was held at a farm in St George. It was literally a farm. We sat in alfalfa fields to listen to some amazing music! I guess you could say the itchy feeling still hasn't left yet. Having allergies like I do, I'm surprised it didn't hit me til today. And it all came at once. Itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, itchy throat, etc... Oh and the fact that there were grasshoppers and ants galore in those fields. So the feeling that something is crawling on me all the time from last night hasn't left yet. Anyways, it was my first time ever even hearing about Kalai, and all I can say is wow. Amazing! Not only can he play the guitar, his voice is good as well. The bands before him were not the best ever and took up way too much time. I say if you start a concert at eight, don't have three or four opening acts before the main attraction. Especially outdoors in Utah because you never know when the weather will turn for the worst. Pretty much we got blown out. The wind got to be too much so Kalai ended it early. We stopped at In and Out before heading home, and I must say that it is just food. I don't understand what all the hype is about over that place.

Jonny and Bubba, from above, and yes Bubba is flexing!

Aly posed for a cute picture!

Jonny was laying down on the same rock, but his face was in the sun so I left him out!

Yes, another one of Aly. I had the camera most of the time, and didn't see the need to take pictures of Jonny and Bubba all the time!

Bubba, just chillin on the rock pondering.

This one is probably my favorite with Jonny's head sticking out of the boulders! I'm not sure how he got in there nor how he got out, but he did!

Adventures of the Random Drive

Last Saturday, a bunch of friends and I decided to go on a hike. We met up at about one o'clock and were going to hike Kanarraville Falls. We were all ready for the wet hike we were about to go on. Then one person in our group told us we really needed a truck to drive the road up to the hike. So that plan went out the window. From there we just decided to drive up Cedar Canyon and stop somewhere to explore. Well our drive took us up over the mountain to Kolob Reservoir. It was about sixteen miles on a dirt road and along the way we came across a some cowboys herding their cows. The two drivers were from the city, so they didn't really know how to get through the cows quickly. Well eventually we made it out of the cows and continued on our journey to Kolob. About half a mile before the reservoir, we came across a miniature Pride Rock. Yes, it looked so much like the Lion King! So we had to stop there for pictures! Jonny, Alyson, and I posed for our band's magazine cover! We really only took this picture just in case. After driving around the lake for a while, our adventures led us to a beautiful sight. It was Kolob creek, and the canyon was amazing! Words cannot describe it, and pictures only say so much. To really appreciate the beauty, you need to experience this place for yourself.

Well we explored the area a little bit and then decided we were all hungry. We hadn't planned on such a long adventure so none of us brought food. On our drive back to 'civilization', we stopped at a Zion's National Park view point. That view was amazing as well. And to think that if we had gone back the way we went up we would have missed all the fun! The road back was longer than expected but full of amazing views and natural formations. Eventually we ended up in Virgin so we decided to just head on down to St George for dinner since we were so close. We ate at Ruby Tuesdays. After our eight hour adventure, we made it home! What a great day it was!