Camping in the Uintas

May 28 - 29, 2013...You called me on Friday and said you wanted to see me sooner.  You had me meet you at your house and we went shopping for our camp food together.  I was just going to go after

work and get it all taken care of and then head up, but you were so excited to see me.  You are just adorable.  I love how special I feel with you.  One thing I realized this weekend was how some of my insecurities are leaving me.  You fill that void for me, and you validate me and some of the insecurities that I have had.  You make me smile, and you reaffirm to me the person I am and the person I strive to be. 

You just validate it all.  I hope I will be able to describe that in this entry.  We were just like little giddy kids excited to go on a vacation.  We were so happy to be able to just be together from Friday through Monday…every single minute of every day.  The one thing we both love is how we don’t get tired of each other.  We can’t get enough of each other.  We just want to spend all our time together, and it is precious time…we just are so in love with each other.  It keeps getting better and better…it is quite amazing to me to understand this concept.  We drove

up through Park City and into Kamas and past Francis and that is where we entered the Uintas.  We turned off to go to the campsite you wanted to take me to.  We started driving up the road and we ran into snow too deep to cross with your car.  We had to back down the road because it was too narrow to turn around.  We went up the canyon further and ended up hitting all this snow, so we kept driving until we were heading down the canyon.  We found a little dirt road and we tucked ourselves

back into the road.  It was BEAUTIFUL back there.  We set up camp, and that is where we were for the next few days.  We ate sooo well!  You made us some asparagus and peppers with yummy Amish butter each night to throw in the fire as an appetizer.  You did an AMAZING job with that.  It was so delicious.  Thank you for being so cute, and always willing to try something new, and make things awesome for us.  We made hotdogs on a stick with biscuits wrapped around them.  Then we just hung out and talked all night.  We sat by the campfire and just enjoyed the clean air.  The moon was super bright and so it made our campsite so lit up and beautiful at night.  We took Tango with us, and that was so much fun!  She LOVED

being with us, and we really enjoyed spending time with her.  I felt a lot safer with her there.  She would bark softly when she was warning us of something and then she would bark loudly when she thought something was threatening us.  She was a great guard dog.  We spent most of the night just hanging out, and we read an Ensign article each day together.  The next morning we woke up and didn’t get out of bed until about 10:00am.  It was so nice to have no schedule or agenda from day to day.  We would wake up when we wanted to, eat breakfast when we wanted to and do whatever we decided to do from moment to moment. 

We ate breakfast on Saturday morning and then went and ventured out.  We found a road that we started hiking on by our campsite.  We followed it up and past where vehicles could go because of the snow.  The weather was PERFECT.  It was cool enough that you were in shorts and a t-shirt and not sweating while you were hiking that much.  It was just so perfect.  I wore these new capris I got at Columbia and you just thought they looked so amazing on me.  You made comments about them all weekend long saying that you just loved them and they looked so great on me.  I was so flattered, because they were extremely comfortable and I didn’t think they looked amazing on me, but you loved them, and I loved that you loved me in them.  It was just cute how many times you made reference to how good they looked on me.  That i

s one thing that you gave me confidence in.  I love you for that.  I have just been feeling a little chunky lately, and you just make me feel so good about who I am and what I look like now.  On our hike, we just held hands the whole time.  You love to hold my hand.  We love to venture out and not stay on the trail, and we love to just take our time and not rush through things.  I told you that I absolutely love that about you.  If you were someone that just had to get to the destination but didn’t enjoy the journey along the way, I don’t know if I would enjoy hiking as much.  I don’t like being out of breath and so tired I can’t enjoy the environment I am in.  You love to

walk a bit and then stop and look around us.  It really is so much fun doing everything with you.  We are so similar and I love that about us.  All weekend long we kept talking about how much we both love us…together…  We got back to camp and just hung out for a bit.  We ate some pasta salad and sandwiches and then we headed out for another hike.  We drove to this hike and then took off.  We found this great trail and then went off the trail a bit.  There was a little grassy area that looked like it could have been a road years ago, but it hadn’t been traveled on in years.  We started walking on that trail, and it had grass and flowers covering the trail, but you could tell it was a trail because of the absence of trees on the ground right there.  So…we kept following it.  I got a little nervous, but you had a compass, and knew which direction we would need to go to

hit the highway if we did get lost.  I felt completely confident being with you and Tango.  I felt like Tango helped warn us of any danger, and you were my protector…which I really do feel like you are.  We walked hand in hand and would stop all around us several times to just enjoy the beauty.  We saw several deer, huge pine trees, millions of aspen and just gorgeous flowers and everything.  We just kept walking.  We walked for several hours and then the trail connected to another trail.  We walked down that trail and ended up back at our car.  It was so much fun being with you.  We got back to camp, and started a fire.  You made me some yummy foil dinners and that asparagus and pepper appetizer.  Then we made cobbler.  Everything was just

perfect.  We went to sleep that night and the next morning we woke up and had French toast for our Sunday breakfast.  It was that yummy French toast recipe that we both really like.  We ate and then went off and just walked up the hill.  We found a little trail up there and we think it was a game trail.  It was very small but defined.  We walked along that and then we came across a dirt road.  It was blocked off to vehicles, but we went up it.  Our elevation while we were camping was about 8600 feet.  We ended up hiking up to about 9200 feet.  We were hiking and we came across this really big field.  There was beautiful flowers there and it was just so open and pretty.  We also found a creek that had no water in it, but you could tell where the water ran.  There were soooo many rocks on this trail, and along where the water ran.  We saw a lot of animal prints.  Most of them were probably deer prints, but some were really big, so we think they might have been elk or moose tracks.  We ran into a lot of snow.  Tango LOVED the snow.  She would just go and flick it up and catch it in her mouth, lick it, lay in it and just play in it.  We would make snow balls and throw them at her and she would run and catch them.  She really did love being there with us.  We walked forever up.  WE saw so many heart-shaped rocks.  Every time we saw one, we would point to it and you said that every time we came across one instead of picking it up, we would kiss.  Let’s just say we were kissing a lot!  We came

across some areas that had really deep snow.  We could either go through it and then continue on our path, or turn around.  We just kept going up.  We finally stopped, and started heading down.  It was just so peaceful.  It’s hard to describe our feelings attached to this weekend.  We were both so content, so in love and just were loving every minute of every second together.  I just love you so much!  We got back to camp and ate and then just rested.  We took a mini nap in the tent…with the tent door wide open and the clean air all around us.  It was just amazing!  Another cute thing I forgot to say is that we prayed during each meal.  I am really bad at remembering to pray for meals unless I am in a big gathering of people and you know you can’t eat until a prayer is said.  You were constantly reminding me that we needed to pray.  It was so cute, and I loved that you would remember.  It made me so happy!  After our nap, you thought it would be fun to go on another little hike.  We just ventured out, but weren’t out very long.  We went up the other side of the hill we went to earlier that day.  It didn’t go anywhere and just ended at the highway and we were getting scraped up by the

trees, so we decided to come back.  We did and it was so much fun.  Tango found a stick to play fetch with and she loved it so much.  She wanted to keep playing, but  you stopped playing with her and so she decided she would just bring it all the way back to camp.  She carried that stick all the way back to camp.  It was so cute.  She would stop and chase birds and then come back to her stick and pick it up and carry it back.  So cute!  Once we got back to camp, you told me you had a feeling that maybe we should leave and not stay there that night.  I told you that one thing I have realized over the years is that you always listen to your thoughts.  Heavenly Father talks to us, and we need to listen when he does.  We made dinner (pizza) and then we packed up camp and headed home.  There were lots of things that I loved about our camping experience.  A couple things were  1.  I loved that every night we would work together and get wood and start a fire.  You would take the ax and chop the bigger logs, and I would collect the smaller twigs

and sticks for the in between fire to get it big.  It was so much fun to watch you with the ax in your hand, and you at work.  You are so strong, and I was just so attracted to that.  It was cute watching you work so hard, and build the fires.  One night I asked if you wanted me to start the fire while you were collecting the bigger logs and cutting them.  You didn’t seem to have confidence in me.  You finally agreed to let me build a fire.  I set it up and used two matches because the first one blew out in the wind.  It lit and I got it going in no time at all.  I knew I could do it, but you had less confidence in me.  You were sitting there and

when I turned around I asked you what you had in your hand.  You had lighter fluid in your hand ready to help the fire burn.  I wasn’t really offended, but I teased with you that you had no trust in me.  I made a great fire, and I always have…but you are right.  You have never seen me make a fire, so how would you know I can build and start a fire.  It was fun to do that and show you that I could do that.  The next day, you didn’t question me at all, you just let me do it.  2.  I think we work immaculately together.  It is amazing how in sync we are and how much fun we have working side by side with everything we do.  Thank you for being such a hard worker, and not treating me like a wimpy little girl.  I love how you treat me.  3.  We took your lights with us and put them up by our tent.  They are amazing…it was nice to have night reading and not have to hold a flashlight all the time. 4.  We can spend all the time in the world together and still not have enough.  We just love being together and we don’t get sick of each other, or bored of each other.  We never really watch tv or sit there doing nothing.  We are so active and are always on a walk or doing something

productive together to get to know each other better.  5.  We took the little “Rock Out” speakers and my ipod.  While we were hiking, we turned it on twice and listened to some fun music while hanging out and talking.  Everything is fun with you!!!  We decided to leave camp on Sunday night and come home.  On our way home we read a conference talk by Elder Utchdorf.  You think the world of him, and I do as well.  He is just an amazing man that really helps you see things differently.  He is a great storyteller, and really relates to me and you both.  Anyway…his talk started us off on a gospel discussion of our weaknesses and I really enjoyed having that conversation with you.  I love how vulnerable we can be together.  You told me that your biggest blessing in life so far has been me for sure.  You thanked me for being there for you and loving you.  I do love you, so so so much!  You are just amazing to me!!!

We got back to your place around 10:00pm and talked to your mom and JT for a while.  We made cobbler and ate that while we downloaded our amazing pictures onto your computer to look at.  We decided to go to Morgan, Utah the next day with your mom and JT.  It was sooooo much fun!!!  Morgan is such a beautiful place!!!  First of all, I LOVED being with you for a full weekend.  We had so much fun!  It is so hard to leave each other when we spend time together.  I can’t wait until we don’t have to leave each other.  That will be very nice to just come home to you every single night and know that I will wake up with you by my side.  Soooooo fun!!!!!!  Anyway…back to the day!  Sunday night when you tucked me into bed, you went upstairs.  I heard a knock on my door about 10 minutes later!  You came to my door to give me a cord for my phone to charge.  I had not mentioned a thing to you about my phone, but you knew I was camping with you for the weekend, and I hadn't charged my phone.  You just brought me a cord, just because.  I LOVE how proactive you are with me.  This is what sets you aside from other guys.  You are focused on you, but you are also focused on me.  You do such a great job of thinking about the small and simple things that make a difference to me, and you actually follow through with your thoughts.  I went to sleep, and didn’t really sleep too well.  The bed was a little hard for me and I didn’t have a fan, so I turned the bathroom fan on.  It only would stay on for 60 minutes at a time.  Once it would go off, I would wake right up.  I would go turn it on again, and 60 minutes later I was up again.  It was really funny actually.  I laughed almost every time I got up…it was just clockwork.  I woke up in the morning and got myself ready.  I was a little self-conscious because I hadn’t brought anything to do my hair or wear to a luncheon.  I was camping all weekend and didn’t know I would be going anywhere on Monday.  I felt a little under dressed and a little too natural since I didn’t have my blow dryer or straightener or anything.  It isn’t that I can’t be myself, I just don’t always feel good about myself, so when I do make an effort to look good, I feel like I am more confident in myself because I am more put together.  I want to thank you so much…you are AMAZING to me!  I came upstairs and you came down and looked at me and told me how beautiful I was.  You wrapped your arms around me and told me you were so attracted to the way I looked.  ALL DAY LONG you told me over and over and over again how beautiful I was.  I did feel self-conscious that morning, but by the evening, I just felt 100% comfortable in your arms as I was.  You told me you LOVED the natural look and I was so attractive to you.  That night we were on a walk and you told me again (for the 12^th time) how beautiful I was just being the natural me.  You told me I could be natural for you any day.  While we were at JT's sister's house, we had so much fun.  We were laughing and interacting with everyone.  Later you told me that you loved seeing me make everyone laugh and you were so proud to have me be your girl!  It was so flattering.  I just love you so much!!!  You make me so happy, and I felt so secure in your arms.  It is so silly to me how most girls have insecurities, but you make them go away just by continuing to do what you are doing.  Thank you for loving me.  JT has a great family.  We had a good time hanging out at Norris and Pam’s house.  I am telling you, we loved that house.  They have a couple acres and the home was just old and established.  They took such great care of it.  It was so small and quaint and just adorable.  Lots of green grass and old trees and a nice hill in their backyard that went up to the mountains.  It was all so beautiful!  We both were so happy there.  We went to the graveside of JT’s mom and dad and then we drove around the town.  JT took us to the old high school he went to and showed us where his dad’s store was and where his friends’ houses were.  It was so cute to see how excited he got to show us around.  It was then that we decided we both love small towns and old houses.  We aren’t really the kind of people that care how big of a place we live in, or what other people think about the house we live in.  We both want something that is affordable and something that we will love and feel comfortable to raise a family in.  JT took  us to the Chicken Inn where we ate some yummy fried chicken.  While we were waiting to be seated, you picked up a real estate magazine and we looked through it.  We found some really affordable homes in some of the smaller Utah towns.  We just got excited talking about things we like and things we are going to enjoy in our house one day.  Later when we were walking through your neighborhood when we got home, we were looking in all these homes that were being built.  We just walked in and looked around and talked about what we want someday.  You told me that we can build a home, but if we wanted to look for something already built, we would probably not move into a home until  5 or 6 years down the road when you are done with school and our first kids are starting school.  You said you want to find a good school district and that is when we will start to actually look at homes more seriously!  How fun is that???  Seriously…we had so much fun!  You told me that you were getting so excited for our future just by being together this weekend and by looking at homes.  It just all feels so right to both of us!  I temple LOVE you so much Babe!!!