Friday, May 30, 2014

Here, With My Coffee Beside Me...

The last week-or-so, I've been out at the Wallace Ranch. I was pretty impressed with how far "out" it was - their driveway is around three miles long, and the house sits up on a ginormous hill with no neighbors in sight.

After we managed to find each other at the airport, two of our hosts drove us (and three other visitors) back to the house where we were greeted in fine style with the firing of a celebratory canon. ((Thanks Brother Russel!)) We felt very welcome, indeed ;)


Before anyone got a chance to be homesick, Seth Wallace hustled us over to a nearby mountain to see some Native American petroglyphs. We girls (there were six of us, altogether) must've been a hilarious sight to behold; gingerly stepping away from thorns, stumbling over loose rock, and laughing over our un-fitness. The two guys, mercifully, stopped a few times to let us catch a breath.


As luck would have it, I stuck my hand in a cactus the very first day. I thought it was hilarious - "Oblivious Northerner comes to Arizona and  has a first hand experience with the flora and fauna." Still, it would've been pretty embarrassing to make a big deal of it, so I picked as many of the needles out as I could and hoped nobody saw. Nobody did. But I still have a few souvenirs that haven't worked their ways out of my fingers yet. lol:)

The Wallaces Off-Road vehicle. :D It was amazing how many people you could fit in that thing...
The following days proved to be equally full and exciting: There were youth meetings at the Wallace's church with Brother Daniel Andes. On Saturday, we all went on a picnic/hike. Every night the youth came over to play Wally-Ball, Dutch Blitz and have snacks after church. It. Was. Awesome. Monday rolled around with a new week-full of adventures ahead - some dangerous, some hilarious, some ridiculous, but all terrific. 

Sister Elisabeth did a great job hosting us all. Their house was was always full!
Sister Elisabeth, on the right, receiving her "Thank You" gift from the Castle Keeper Group.

      Every night was very, very late. Yes- there's a reason there's "Coffee beside me" right now...

Altogether, I've added some pretty cool things to my mental memory box: {Some, I have pictures for, some I don't. Sorry. ;) }

 :Auctioning a Pie:


                                                                :Stargazing:

:Singing Onstage:

 :Accompanying an Opera:

   :Having a Picnic On a Mountain:
These girls are awesome: Bethany, Serenity (one of our sweet hosts!)  Grace, Natalie, Kara, Lydia, Sarah and Yours Truly.

:A Water-fight In a Moving vehicle....On the Way Down A Mountain:

     :Singing Underground in an Old Gold Mine for an hour with no lights:


      :Seeing the Grand Canyon:

       :Shooting A Hand Gun For the Second Time Ever:


  Exploring Three Caves: ((Each higher than the last))



            :Riding on the Sideboards of A Car: (Yes, I know...but it was MY first time!)



:Leading A Large Exercise Class: (Oh, the things you get into at 1:00 in the morning...)
Natalie and Serenity, goin' at it!

          :Making New Friends: (Here's one of them - Love ya, Bethany!)


I miss my coffee buddy!


                      "It was awesome" is an understatement. Can't wait to see everyone at B.Y.C. in a few weeks! The Wallaces did an excellent job of entertaining us - this has been one of the best vacations of my life, I'm sure. :) 


5 comments:

Elisabeth@Treasuring the Moments said...

Never heard about the cacti stuck in your hand. Glad you had a good trip. It was certainly a lot of fun for us, too.

Bethany Carson said...

Looks like a *lot* of fun!! And you look lovely!

Anonymous said...

Love the pictures :) I cant wait till BYC!!!!!! (ahh excitement overwhelms me) Sounds like an absolute blast. I'm going to call you and hear it all first hand, sometime soon!
Miss you :)
Zoethy

Anna said...

Can't wait, Zoe!!!!

Anna said...

Aww, Thank you Bethany!