And There She Goes

So as I have previously posted, I have this awesome group of cousins we call the fab four. It's Me, Madalyn, Monica and Elise, all born pretty much within a year of each other. We grew up playing and doing all sorts of cousinly activities so we are pretty close.

Today, the first of the fab four got married. Madalyn bit the dust and married Cam. I wasn't so sure about him in the beginning, but I got to spend a little bit of time with him at the reunion and now I'm convinced that they'll be great, I'm so happy that she found someone so wonderful for her, because she deserves it.

They were married in the Salt Lake Temple, so I didn't get to see the ceremony, but I was able to see them when they were done and watch the ring ceremony. We went up to Heber for the luncheon which was great and then the reception was in her neighbors backyard and man it was beautiful. I mean beautiful decorations, beautiful weather, beautiful couple, everything. It couldn't have gone any better. Anyways, congrats Madalyn, love ya!

Madalyn and Cam coming out of the temple

Me, Madalyn, Elise and Mona

Fab Four

Madalyn and Me

Rock Climbing

Check it. I am actually blogging about something on the day it happened, so I don't have to worry about playing catch up with this one!! (Even though I have a ton of catching up left to do.)

ANYWAYS...I didn't work until one o'clcok today so instead of experiencing the luxury of sleeping in, I woke up bright and early at seven. But don't you fret, it was for a good cause. I recently found a new friend that is a legit rock climber. I refuse to climb with amateurs because dangling off the side of a mountain is a little scary even with someone who knows what they are doing. My friend Chase has been climbing for years and has invested in a bunch of gear, so this morning, we went. We are pretty lucky to have Rock Canyon so close, because there are so many options for climbing up there. We found a sweet chimney to climb. Chase's friend Gage led the climb, and I give him total props because it was a beast in a few spots. Then I took my turn, and I would dare say it was probably in the top three hardest climbs that I've done. Not that that means much, because I'm not a pro by any means, but I do alright. I did cheat at one point so I could get a few inches. Basically, chase had me on the ropes and pulled, while Gage pulled on Chase's harness. It was so funny I could barely grab the rock because I was laughing so hard.

Once I got over that spot it was a great climb and I made it all the way up. I walked out of it pretty scratched up because I just wedged my body into the chimney, but none of it really hurts except the bruise on my leg, and it was totally worth it. Chase went after me and obviously went much faster, but I still felt good about it, he's a lot more experienced than me. :D Then we made an attempt at another climb, but we were all pretty beat and it was harder than the first climb so we didn't put much effort into it. Overall, it was a great morning and it reminded me how much I freaking love rock climbing. I should go more often.

Close up of the chimney

Me wedged into the chimney, just past

the hardest part (but not even halfway up)

Olpin Reunion

This last weekend we had our annual Olpin Family reunion. Easily one of my favorite weekends of the year. My mom has about 75 first cousins alone, and most of them come. As well as their kids, and now some of their grandkids. It is a huge group of people but man we have a good time.

Thursday there is the Timp hike. We hike timp from top to bottom, all 18 miles and it takes about 12 hours, depending on who you're with. I didn't go this year because of work, but next year. When they get off the mountain we have dinner (usually taco salad...delicious). Then we have a program and learn some about our family and our heritage. This year we had Brad Wilcox come and speak to us which was really neat. He writes a lot of the church material and teaches at BYU so it was neat to get to talk to him some. After that, we start the rook tournament!!!! Easily the craziest most weird tradition. It's a big deal. I freaking love the rook tournament. This year we only stayed up til about 2 am playing rook before calling it a night.

Friday morning we had pancakes and all the fixings that go with that. Then we went to a trap/skeet shoot. This is the first year that I have gone but I really enjoyed it. I shot a 12 gauge rifle for the first time ever and hit 2 out of 5!! Not bad for my first time. Then there are the crafts and games. Usually consisting of the sawdust dig, water balloons, cookies hanging from trees, etc. It's a good time. We have another family program after dinner and then we really dive into the rook tournament. This year we stayed up til 5 am. Totally worth it. I'm still trying to catch up on sleep given that we were camping so you can't really sleep in once the sun is up. Anyways, it was so much fun. I love my family, and getting to spend time with my extended family is so great. Also, I just want it to be noted that this is the last year that the fab four (the four girl cousins my age) will all be single. Madalyn gets married this week and monica is dating someone, so who knows what it will be like next year. But it is so much fun!

Me shooting

Elise, me,and Madalyn at the sawdust dig

Timmy with his prizes

Me eating lunch with baby Addie

Mike. Please take guesses as to how old this kids is.

Elise and me in the tent

Making cotton candy. Fun but sooooo messy.

The boys making breakfast

Boating

One of my favorite summer activities...boating. I have gone twice thus far. That possibly sets a new record for me for number of times boating in one summer. McKay lives in Saratoga so it is as convenient as boating gets to just go there at their marina. We went a few weeks ago and I got sunburned pretty bad, not my worst burn, but it was enough to put me in a skirt for the next few days at work cause my legs were so hot. I didn't get in the water at all on that outing, but we went this last monday and as soon as I got on the boat I was ready to wakeboard. I did better than I've ever done, which isn't saying much, but I stayed up for a while, which was a good start. And if I knew I was going to fall, I just let go rather than let the boat drag me down, because that always makes me killer sore. (Not to say that I'm not a little sore still, but less so.) Anyways, it was a blast. My friend Mango from Oakcrest came with me and we met up with McKay and his crew and had a great time!

Me wakeboarding. Don't mind the tan lines, they are the

remnants of the first boating trip when I got fried.

Ha. I let go of the rope, went out of the wake, and had time to

plug my nose before I sunk down. The best part is she got it on camera.

Me and Mango

McKay wake-surfing. I want to do this so bad.

Timp Cave

Ok, so this is me playing some hard core catch up. The next couple posts I make will hopefully be short and to the point and will include pictures to show little snippets of my summer, which is so fabulous that I haven't taken time to sit at my computer because I am having too much fun.

On June 26th the fam hiked to the Timpanogas Cave. You drive up American Fork Canyon and you can't miss the trail head. It is a fairly steep hike, but it isn't too long, so it's totally manageable. Plus, we had all the kids with us, so we stopped frequently since they were tired. We had a lot of fun hiking together, I'm glad I have a family that does that sort of stuff and thoroughly enjoys it, even the munchkins. Our tour guide at the cave was very friendly. She was probably about my age, and she had a great sense of humor and gave us courtesy laughs when we tried to tell witty jokes, my family thinks they are so funny that even when they aren't funny, they are. We got to see all the cool things of timp cave and the kids thought it was really sweet. I was proud of Melanie for making the hike being 8 months pregnant, atta girl.

Timmy easily won being the most quotable for the day, he was so funny the whole time. My favorite moment was after we were half way up to the cave, he sat on a bench next to his mom Danielle, who had a camelback with the water hose/straw thingy. Keep in mind this kid LOVES cars and trucks and trains. Loves them. He sat there, and completely casually reaches for the water hose attached to his mom's backpack and says "My mouth is out of gas." And starts sucking the water out. Funniest thing that kid has ever done. You kinda had to be there, but it was adorable, he is such a cute boy!!

"My mouth is outta gas"

Jami, Davy and Timmy inside the cave

Me and Rylee and Troy and Timmy

hiking up the trail

The Fam after we finished going through the cave

Elder Neiswender

Holy smokes, I cannot believe I haven't blogged in so long, talk about ridiculous, but life has just been crazy busy and great!! Before I dive into playing catch up, the first thing that needs to be said, is that my little brother is now on a mission. On Tuesday, July 6, 2010, he was set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That evening we had a great family dinner, and then went to meet with the stake president. He invited both my parents to say a few words and I was instantly bawling. I tried so hard to not cry and to be strong for Travis, but it just didn't happen. He was set apart and it was a great blessing that will carry him through his mission. He then shared his testimony with us as a brand new missionary and it all sunk it. Afterwards, we all exchanged hugs and didn't want to let each other go. It was easily one of the hardest things I've EVER had to do in my entire life. I hate thinking about life without him for the next two years. Not that this is to be depressing or anything, because it's not like I see him on a daily basis anyways, I haven't lived with him for three years, but I just think about the things that could take place in the next two years of my life, and it breaks my heart that my little brother won't be there.

However, I absolutely know that he is doing the right thing. I am so proud of him for his choice to serve. He will be in the Honduras San Pedro Sula Mission after he finishes his time at the MTC. He is going to be a knock out missionary and he will bring the gospel to so many people. He will be missed by those of us at home, but we love and support him so much and wouldn't want him to be doing anything other than this at this point in his life. Good work Little Brother, we are so proud of you and you are in our prayers!!

(For anybody wanting to follow his mission, I will be periodically updating a blog for his mission stories. www.littlebrotherserves.blogspot.com)

Dad, Travis and Mom

Me and Little Brother

Melanie, Me, Travis, Danielle.

The sisters that were there at the setting apart

Josh, Travis and Troy

The brothers that were there.

Davy and Travis

Davy wound up staying with us and coming to the MTC

the next day because he was so sad that Travis was

leaving.

Travis and Kristi at the MTC

Traditional single siblings picture

Normal Single siblings picture

Little Brother and me right before we

said goodbye.

I did good and didn't cry at this part, until I got in my

car where he couldn't see. ;)