Tunnel Falls

I'd never gone REAL camping before (I don't think Young Women's Camps count..) so I was so excited when we planned to hike/backpack up to Tunnel Falls near Eagle Creek in Oregon with Jonathon's family.

Jonathon couldn't come because he had to study and take a test to get his insurance license. :( We missed him! So Friday after I finished work at the Gillespies office, we were on our way to THIS:

Cool, huh??!

The trip had a great start on the car ride there with THIS:

Annie being a toothbrush

Nancy being.. I'm not quite sure what that is.

We also played "Find Dind" and the ABC game while stuck in traffic!

And I laughed so hard I cried

And Annie had a hairy eye

Before we started our big trek-

We had Bob, Susie, Robby, Nancy, and Annie to grace the mountain's presence that day.

(And those backpacks are WAY HEAVIER than they look!! I had bruises on my hips and shoulders for DAYS after!)

Happily hiking!

Mine and Annie's tent.

This is where we made up "Who sings songs about herself? Nancy does!" Repeat once.

We found shadows from a tree of a "Y'all don't know me!" girl.

And "Annie, who am I? " -Nancy

"Cosmo" -Annie

"Who am I? 'DYKE' (said in a deep voice)" -Annie

It was Josie, of course.

Hahaha! We laughed a lot this trip. And I love my little sister. :)

Demonstrating my dry shampoo in the morning- looking like a lioness

(Love this stuff!)

Bob being a good camper and starting up the fire

I took this picture to show just how STEEP the hike was if we were to fall down.. scary!

Me in front of Tunnel Falls!

Robby in front of Tunnel Falls! That little hole behind him is the reason for the name. It was really cool!

Inside the tunnel- the waterfall is to the right of me

Cute Susie in the tunnel. I thought her whole hiking outfit was just cute.

I think I need to invest in hiking boots someday.

Me and Annie in front of another waterfall on our way back down

We made it!

It was 7 miles up to the falls. We went about 5 1/2 the first night and camped.

The second day we hiked the rest then the 7 miles back down.

We had "one miracle" (We saw 17 Miracles the week before about the Pioneer trek so we kept relating our trip to them). It was starting to get pretty dark and we still hadn't found a place to camp. We FINALLY found a place at last minute as the sun went down. The next morning we realized we'd found the very last campsite before a really narrow scary part we would have had to do in the dark. It was our "one miracle."

It was a lot of fun and I'm excited for me and Jonno to do more of this in the future.

Washington

Here's a little glimpse of our lives the last two months:

The first text I received as the newest Washingtonian from Jonno:

"Welcome to Washington!

You are now an official Northwesterner!"

The BEAUTIFUL view of the lake and the cute red barn across it when you drive into our neighborhood

This is the trail around Lacamas Lake I run/walk on with Cosmo

Lacamas Lake, literally just down the street from our house. It's so gorgeous!!

Cosmo enjoying life as a Washington Husky!

Out on a walk

Sunset. Ahhh

Pictures never do justice. But we're loving this Northwest summer!

Blogging from...

MY NEW COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mine mine mine alllll mine!!!!! :D :D :D I LOVE my new computer!!!!!!!!!!! I got a white MacBook of my very own and it is SO CUTE! I LOVE IT!!!!

Jonno sold his MacBook Pro and with that money, he bought me my MacBook and had enough left over to get a MacBook Air for himself - two macs for the price of one! AKA: MAC ATTACK!

I love my computer so so much!

Signed,

Yours truly,

The happiest girl in the whole town - Nancy

Beauty Tips

*Beauty Tips*

For Sparkling Eyes-- Look for the good in Everyone.
For a Glow-- Focus on the positive in Life.
For a Slim Figure-- Work hard helping and sharing with those in need.
For a Young Look- Laugh Everyday.
For Beautiful Lips-- Say only Good Things about Others.
For Lovely Hands-- Use them often to Lift Others.
For Poise-- Walk with the knowledge that You are Never Alone.

I saw these on another blog and thought they were wonderful! :)


I'm getting my VERY OWN COMPUTER that will be all MINEEEEEE for pictures and blogging and Facebooking galore! SO, a WA update post is on the way, pictures n' all!

Huck Camp II - Day Two

Day Two: Monday, July 4th, 2011 - Huck-Olympics

This is a really fun day where we all compete in different sports. There is a big sign up for whoever wants to play. Some of the sports include: volleyball, basketball, belly flop, ping pong, corn hole, shuffleboard, putt-putt, and others.

Signing up for the fun

We began the day with the scouts raising the flag and singing The Star Spangled Banner

Robby, Austin Huckvale, and me/Jonno (he was my sub when I was nearly dying from heat exhaustion and blisters) were on a team for basketball and got 2nd place! Pretty good! It was fun playing out there!

2nd Place

Rick's team won, of course, and they are amazing! But we put up a good fight. :)

The other teams:

Bob, Ryan, Amy
Probably the cutest team

Dahveed, Tara, and Tyler
David had on a long sleeve shirt and long socks before we started and I thought he would die of heat exhaustion. He claimed to be fine since he is Arab. haha

Terri, Josh, and Donny Terri elbowed me in the face and was so funny/cute when she played and made a few baskets! Josh is a crazy good player! And Donny loves to cheat. LOL I would get scared when he'd come defend me since he'd usually yell something funny or jab Austin.

Next we played in the volleyball competition. Me, Bob, Shaun (Jenny's boyfriend), and Robby were on a team and WON FIRST PLACE! It was awesome! We compared ourselves to the UofU since we really probably shouldn't have won because the team we competed against for the championship always wins and are freakishly good.

Getting our medals at the Awards Ceremony
Robby, Nancy, Shaun, Bob:
1st Place Volleyball Champs

For example, one time Rick and Tara set up a perfect play and Tara spiked it down really hard right at my face. I just closed my eyes and stuck out my arms and returned it back perfectly to get us a point! We all just started laughing since it was so lucky.

We were all excited for this win!

Derrick vs. Jeff in Corn Hole.
I guess this game is really popular in Kentucky! Robby and I lost the first round-- I was amazed how good some people are!

Another awesome one was GRANDpa vs. Shaun in the age 11 ping pong championship. Shaun had to sit on one hand and play with his non-dominant hand to make it fair. Grandpa rocked it though and won! He was REALLY good!!

Getting the victory smooch from Grandma!

We were all pooped by the end of the day and I was sore the rest of the week and it was so worth it. Great day! Shaun even said this was the best day of his life. :)

Huck Camp II - Forever Strong

We went to the Huckvale Family Reunion at GRANDpa and GRANDma Huckvale's house in Southern California last week. It was a lot of fun! We love our family!

There are LOTS of pictures so I'll try to tackle it one day at a time. :)

DAY ONE: Sunday, July 3rd : Church, cars, Huck Camp kick-off - "Forever Strong"

-Church was great. Grandma bore her testimony for both her and Grandpa. The meeting was nearly over and Grandpa starting pointing at the stand and looking at her until she went up. Haha- He's a man who gets what he wants! They have the most sincere testimonies and love seeing their family live the Gospel and be happy.

-Afterward, there were some people coming to look at their house that is up for sale ( :( so sad to see them leave that house!) so we went over to the ware house and looked at all of Grandpa's cars.

This is Nancy's Favorite
(and it is actually GRANDma's car since it is the only one with HER initials written on the driver's side)

Nancy and Haley going for a drive!

Nancy, GRANDma, GRANDpa, and Jonno
I love their 4th of July outfits of choice!

-After we left the warehouse, we went home and ate some delicious dinner. We had fun catching up and then had the Huck Camp kickoff to introduce the theme: Forever Strong.

Grandpa and Grandma had seen the movie before and loved the message and decided to make it our theme. Grandma shared that Jonathon and her had talked in the past about the importance of remembering our ancestors and protecting what the Huckvale name stands for.

Donny announced that Grandpa and Grandma would be moving soon up to Boise, ID to be closer to family and hopefully that can allow Grandpa to heal better. We'll be sad to not be able to come visit down in CA where there are so many great memories but happy they'll be nearby!

Bob invited everyone to talk about their goals they'd made (this was the reason I ran my marathon-- see my other blog happyrunningduck.blogspot.com for more info). It was nice sharing that with Grandpa.

Then we watched the movie Forever Strong up on the Sport Court. It was really good!

This is a picture of the cute Langfords who were laying down in front of me-- they all fell fast asleep!

Everyone was exhausted after the movie since we were all still catching up on traveling so far the day before to get here. Trying to fit 53 people in a house is quite an accomplishment! Bob's family got to stay in the master room and we found we could even fit all four of us in the king bed! There were air mattresses all over the house on the ground and even out on the deck.

I am an official Washingtonian

I got my one-way ticket to Washington and made my official move up on Saturday. I began my dental restorative class on Sunday which was why I needed to come up earlier than Jonathon.

I have really enjoyed it so far. Here are a few experiences:

*On my plane here, I looked out the window as we were landing and saw it raining and thought "This is my new 'HOME' now... crazy!!"

*On Sunday, my first day of my restorative class, I met a few girls who are also in the class. When I told one I was from Utah, she said "Oh! Are you Mormon?" "Yep!" I think this is likely the first of many. :)

*I LOVE getting to live with all these people

.*Jonathon and I are living at his parents house. Bob and Susie, my in-laws, and their five kids, Bob's brother Derrick and his wife Shannon and their five kids, Jorge Acosta (Family friend here going to school) and 3 dogs, 2 cats, and a hamster are all living here right now! It's the Huckvale Hotel. It is SO FUN!

.*I love getting to come home and playing with all these cute kids. Luke, Macy, Haley, and Reed are so fun and sweet. (Chad is too but he's older so it's a different kind of cute and fun) They helped me make Jonathon's "Welcome Home!" poster. And always welcome me home with a great big hug and say "NANCY!!" Haley even tucked me in bed a couple nights ago! She read me a bed time story about Winnie the Pooh, gave me a hug, and tip toed out the door and turned out the light and closed the door. It was adorable.

*I love how beautiful it is here. Every time I drive into the neighborhood and see the lake (pictures soon!) and all the trees, I can't hardly believe it. I get to live HERE?!

*I love how everyone recycles!!!!!!! It's soo easy to recycle here- just ask Jonathon about how much I love recycling.

*Today I bought Chipotle for me and Susie to eat. I brought it home and surprised her with it. As we were eating, she said "This tastes different.. it doesn't have any meat!" And lo and behold, they forgot the meat! I called them and they said "We're so sorry! We'll write your name down and you can come any time and get a free meal!" I gladly will!

*Today one of the girls in my class named Kam who is Hindu but lives in Canada said "Can I tell you something personal? I have watched you since the first day of class and there is something very special about you- about the way you see people and interact. You are very calm and have a great positive feeling to you. I really like it. Your parents did a great job of raising you."

.*I was really surprised because I didn't feel like I was doing anything special. I actually felt the opposite since I've been so tired all this week and my head keeps bobbing asleep! This shows how we are always an example.

*I'm also excited for more missionary experiences. :) It's strange so many of these people aren't LDS already like they are in Utah. They seem like they are because they are just.. great! I love them already!

Well, that is my update. Oh! I am interviewing next week at Dr. Gillespie's dental office. I am very hopeful-- I would LOVE this job! Dr. Steve Gillespie was the dad who retired from this office and also was Jonathon's stake patriarch. His two sons took over the practice upon his retirement and now Dr. Brad Gillespie is in our biship ric. It would be awesome to work there.

I also went to Best Buy and talked to the manager there. Me and Susie found a $20 bill on the ground and felt it was "from Heavenly Father" so I could find it. I used it as an ice breaker and gave it to the manager and then introduced myself and asked if they were hiring and indeed they are! I mostly just want to buy a camera and a great warranty with the discount. We'll see how it goes!

Love all my Utah family and missing you much! Love all my Washington family and grateful for the welcome arms!

Mixed Feelings about MOVING TO WA

I am moving up to Washington State on Saturday. Two days from today. I have many mixed feelings.

I am leaving the place I've called "home" for the last 13 years of my life. So many loved ones. My mom. Grandma Richards. Grandpa and Grandma Roush. My sister Shirley, her husband Jared, and the two cutest nephews in the world. My brother Steven. My WARD family that helped raise me in many ways (too many people to name.. they are all amazing-- I have to give one special shout out to Patty Steadman who gave me a free plane ticket to get up to WA in the first place! She said her company had an extra that would expire next month and go to waste and wondered if I wanted it. I couldn't believe how sweet and thoughtful that was! Thank you soo much Patty!!!) So many friends and familiar faces and people I've come to love. Wonderful dentists and assistants I've gotten to work with. Sighhh. :( Makes me want to cry!!

And yet, at the same time, I am SO EXCITED to begin the next phase of life. I'm excited to step out of the "poor college student" phase. I'm excited to move into a new little apartment that we can DECORATE (I AM SO EXCITED TO FINALLY DECORATE!!!!!) and make our own. Excited to be close to my Dad and little brother Nolan. I'm excited to get to live with Bob and Susie and catch up on the last four years we've been so far away. I'm excited to begin a whole new life and try new things.

Some things on my list:

-Sewing classes

-Spanish classes

-New work out classes

-Possibly TEACHING work-out classes

-Learning how to be a missionary! :)

-Learning how to be a better cook

-Becoming a better BLOGGER

(My sister told me that if I'm moving to WA, I have to be better with my blog! I thought that was a pretty fair trade. :)

-Picking fresh wild blackberries and learning how to make blackberry pie

-Becoming licensed to do FILLINGS in both WA and OR

-Getting to spend more time with Jonathon

-I've been really excited to get to go for Northwest walks with him and have BBQs

-Make new little married friends

I have so many pictures stored somewhere I want to share. And WILL share as soon as I find them. OH- add that to my list:

-FINISH PHOTOBOOKS/SCRAPBOOKS!

-My Grandma Richards said she can't think of me without crying. And yet, she is so happy for me to begin this fun adventure! That is how I feel too.

It is such a bittersweet experience. I know that moving is the right thing to do for us. It's been one of those things we've both planned on for years without ever even having to discuss it. And it's all worked out so perfectly. So UNBELIEVABLY perfectly.

Jonathon will be working for Sentry Insurance as a Business Products Account Manager (I'm not quite sure what this means yet..) covering the Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA territory. He has a job WAITING for him upon graduation. Are you kidding me?! How amazing!

And I was able to work full-time Monday through Friday the last year gaining experience and learning so much. I worked at the greatest office in the world and.. the not so greatest office in the world and appreciate my experience at both.

Many times I've felt almost like we've received TOO many blessings. I don't feel deserving of all of this. And I know this is sad to say, but at times I even feel like I'm just waiting for something bad to happen since there is just so much GOOD in my life. I wish I could give it away to some people I know who have struggled and deserve some goodness in their lives too.

Well, now I'm just babbling. The main point is that I'm going to miss my home and it will forever be home to me. And I am excited for what lies ahead in my future, hand in hand with my wonderful husband.

:)

My Marathon!

I post all my running posts on my running blog which can be found here:

www.happyrunningduck.blogspot.com

Happy running!