Toroweap Overlook

Shawn N.had been wanting to take his oldest daughter, Lucky, to the Toroweap Overlook. We brought Mark and Mikayla and lunches. Shawn brought two Broncos and Lucky drove the other one. Shawn's Bronco started having transmission problems so we left it in Colorado City. The dirt road is a bit of a slog. It's 2 hours on a dirt road but the viewpoint is great. It's so remote that it doesn't get many visitors. Mark and Mikayla were on the edge and freaking me out of course. We ate lunch and then continued on to the Mount Trumbull schoolhouse. We drove for a little while and then stopped to do some shooting. Then we really continued on to the Mount Trumbull schoolhouse.

Spring Break Puerta Vallarta NOT DONE

I feel like this is a year of vacations. I've already been to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama with Laurie S. and the trips keep on getting planned! We are headed to Puerto Vallarta for spring break. Juliet doesn't get spring break vacation at BYU so she didn't come initially but came on Thursday. Our flight out of Las Vegas left at 10:00 so we got up and drove down to catch our flight. We were on a Alaska airlines and got free carry-on luggage. We all took advantage except Merril. Mark rode his luggage. 

Our flight was delayed getting into San Diego and we had barely enough time to get some food and get back on the plane. We cut it a little close. They were doing the 'this is the final boarding call. If we close the boarding doors they will not reopen' announcement as we ran on.

We got the rental car and got our first Mexico tacos and then went to the Airbnb condo. It was dark at the beach by the condo but we found hermit crabs crawling across the beach.

We got up and had a lazy morning. We wanted to have some adventures but not the really fun stuff until Juliet arrived later that evening. Our Airbnb was right on the ocean!

While we played at the condo, Merril went to go check out if we could rent kayaks to go to a group of islands called Los Arcos. There was a guy on the beach who asked if we needed a boat because you can't take kayaks out of the bay. His name was Antonio and he had a little Chihuahua named Benny Blanco. Merril set it up to meet him on Thursday and he would take us snorkeling and show us some of the beaches. 

Merril came back and we decided to go exploring in the rental car. We got caught in a group of VW convertible bugs. So we opened the sunroof and all the windows in the car to make buggy mode. The air was so nice that we often drove with the windows and sunroof open. 

We found Los Muertos Beach Pier. We looked it up. There was a shipwreck here, thus the name Death Beach.

We played in the ocean by the pier and watched the pelicans dive for fish.

We ate dinner by the ocean and headed back to the condo for the night.

We ate lunch at an acai bowl place because Merril had never had one. 

And Juliet made is safely from Salt Lake City airport and we picked her up and headed to dinner and the beach!

We chilled and played in the ocean. 

We found a churro stand behind a supermercado and they were the freshest churros! We ate them as we went into the grocery store and again as we came out. So good!

Friday morning, Juliet and Maxine did yoga on the beach. Merril went running by the beach during their class. We meet Antonio and Benny and went snorkeling at Los Arcos. We saw cool fish, a sea turtle, a spotted ray, and some deflated puffer fish. 

We ate lunch in the beach in Mismoyola. Antonio took us back to the beach and asked if we wanted to hike to a waterfall the next day. We agreed! Antonio was funny and his little taco bell dog liked to sit on our laps. He was a great boat captain.

Later that afternoon, we hiked from Boca on a trail in the jungle to Playa Colomitos. Mikayla was getting a cold before we left and didn't want to hike back because she wasn't feeling that great and coughing. I didn't want her to ride back alone so I went with her on the water taxi and there was another lady getting a ride. She had a pet, Peppe the goat. It got us back to Boca way before the hikers. As we walked through town, we found a michocana ice cream shop, which I definitely wanted to come back to! We got the crew and got the ice cream. Then Merril spotted a taco stand and we ate some of the greatest al pastor and asada tacos! We went home bushed. 

We met Antonio and Benny the next day for a hike to a waterfall that was just right. We ate a mound of guacamole at a little taco stand at the waterfall. Antonio took us to another private beach for lunch and playing in the ocean. It was a nice lazy afternoon! We got ice cream again and watched the sunset.

The next day was Sunday and we started the day with church. We visited another beautiful church in Puerto Vallarta. We walked in the beach and found these rocking horses. We went back to the condo and chilled for the rest of the afternoon. We lounged in chairs in the shade by the ocean and took naps. Some people swam. We watched the sunset. We also got a $100 fine for hoping the fence to get to the beach. We have a key card but Mark and most of the rest of us would do it occasionally when someone else had the key card. Whoops. 😬 We paid it and decided to be more careful in the future. 

We wandered back into the city that night for more street tacos and to wander the shops. Went back and crashed. 

Woke up the next day and flew home. Our flight to San Diego was the same as Juliet's so we got to fly with her part of the way. Then she continued on to Salt Lake and we went to Vegas. 

I felt like this was a really great vacation. I wish Mikayla felt a little better and then she got a wicked sunburn. Juliet felt achey one night with a little fever but woke up the next day fine. Not sure what that was about. People got along. It was a great trip! Puerto Vallarta was lovely!

New Basement Couches

The couches in the basement have served us well but one thing I didn't realize about them when we purchased them is that they are down. Little down feathers are always sneaking out of the cushions and the pillows and leave feathers everywhere. It's been annoying. The kids have jumped on these couches and they've collapsed. Since I've been driving. I've been saving up my money for a new to me couch. We found one and it's time to switch them out. 

There was so much garbage underneath the couches. So many Nerf darts, some spoons, garbage, and $0.47 cents. I cleaned and pushed the old couches outside. Merril was doing a radio repeater or it would have helped me. 

The new couch is in. It's definitely smaller. Mark, Mikayla and me went to Walmart and got a couple accent pillows and a soft throw. 

I feel like it lightened up the basement. I'm going to wash the cover on the LoveSac and everything should feel refreshed down there. Yay!

Rhino Rally 2026

 Wade said: Let us ride as fast as Travis, as smart as Merril, as fearless as Dillan, as talented as Darryl, as sexy as Shawn, and as happy as Ryan. Darryl added: as creatively as Wade and as humble as Ammon. Who knew Wade was such a poet? I didn't take any pictures of Merril riding. I got a picture of Mark next to Duke after their race.

Mark completed 3 laps and placed 4th in his division. His division take in kids up to 16 years old so he's small for his but he did great!

Merril was in this group somewhere. He raced and then drove up to Brianhead to sing with Maxine. He was pretty tired by the end of the day. Merril placed 15th in his division. 

My Fun Friend Laurie!

Laurie loves to go go go! She made a goal to visit all 50 states before she turned 50. She still has North Dakota and then 3 together of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. She threw out the idea of going some of her last states in mid-December. I couldn't make it happen and neither could any of my other breakfast besties. Her husband, Jeremy, took her to North Dakota at the beginning of January so now she only had 3 left. She asked if anyone could go the weekend of Nicole's funeral and I had to pass again. Plus, there was a major storm on the east coast that weekend that caused a lot of power outages. After the funeral, I was thinking about Laurie and said that I didn't have anything going on for the next 2 weeks and if she still wanted to try and get her last 3 states. She asked if I was joking and I said that if she needed a crazy friend to finish up those states, I was her gal! Turns out, she has 2 other crazy friends that could leave almost immediately. Kerry Dorius and Diane Kent. I've chaperoned with Kerry and been on some hikes with Diane and Laurie, so it was great! I got up at 3 a.m. and drove us down to Vegas and we flew to Birmingham, Alabama.

First stop: Lunch at Buc-ee's. That place is wild.

Then we went to the Birmingham Alabama Temple.

We went sightseeing around downtown.

Then we drove through the night to Louisiana. We stopped at a gas station and ate McDonald's. In order for the state to count, you have to eat there. We got to the hotel in Baton Rouge and crashed at 1 a.m. We were up and at 'em again at 7 a.m. to make it to the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple. It's almost identical to Birmingham's Temple and also Nashville.

We drove to New Orleans to get beignets. Yummy deep fried dough! 

We walked around and saw some of the beautiful balconies that New Orleans is know for and ate lunch at the Red Slipper Cafe.

And that's all the time we have for today folks! We raced to the airport and got there an hour and 15 minutes before our flight. We ran to TSA and it was completely empty! We breezed through and had enough time to grab snacks before we boarded our flight home. We were gone less that 48 hours but we got it all done so now Laurie can cross her last 3 states off her list! Yay! Her 50th birthday is February 2nd. We were cutting it close!

It was a great trip! I drove the rental car some as well and everyone was super easy to travel with. 

Mikayla Pierced Ears

Mikayla wanted second ear piercings. We toyed with the idea of going to a salon to get it done but it was a Saturday and Claire's was open. We did the classic ear piercing thing and went to Claire's to get her ears pierced. It's the first time I've taken any of the kids to Claire's for an ear piercing. The associate, Alex, did a great job and Mikayla is very excited about her new piercing. She said she wasn't as nervous as she was when she got her first piercing so that's good. She was shaking so bad the first time. 

We were able to get Mark to tag along with the promise of getting Pretzel Maker. That place if a giant fav with our family. I've tried other sauce flavors but vanilla glaze is the besttttttt! 

 

Nicole Bennett's Funeral

Nicole Bennett was laid to rest on Friday, January 23rd, 2026. The funeral was really hard. I tried my best to go to the viewing but couldn't do it. I cried in the hallway just outside the viewing. I waited for Mark and Mikayla and President Kuhlman gave me a hug. He seems so serious most of the time, kind of like President Oaks. That was a different side of him. I totally sank into that hug. Juliet and Maxine went to the viewing the next day and they said it was not their favorite. Juliet played a piano musical number and shared funny stories about Nicole with Kate and Alicen. They lightened the mood quite a bit.   

The graveside service was pretty cold and we were in thin dresses. It lasted quite a while and I was shivering. The luncheon back at the church was very nice. Pasta, salad, and great breadsticks and cookies. 

I'm kind of glad the funeral is over. I cried a lot. Now I feel like life will return to normal a little bit. We'll miss you Nicole. Godspeed girlie!  

Remembering Nicole Bennett

This week was a hard week. Juliet's friend, Nicole Bennett, passed away from a hiking accident on the 13th of January, 2026. Natalie, her Mom, called me at midnight on the 14th of January. Natalie said that Nicole hadn't come home for dinner and wasn't answering her phone. She said search and rescue was going to be called out because they had searched and found Nicole's car in the parking lot at Red Cliffs Recreation. I woke up Merril and he asked if I wanted to come out on the search. We found Natalie in the parking lot at Red Cliffs Recreation Area. She said that she got home from work at 1 p.m. and Nicole wasn't there. They called her but she didn't answer her phone. They figured she went to the temple. When it got dark, they feared she may have been hiking and was lost. They started searching in all the usual hiking places and finally found her car a little before midnight at Red Cliffs. 

Merril and I arrived in the parking lot around 12:30 p.m. Merril went hiking with Jake Bennett and Tyson and Heather Ence. A deputy arrived after some time and a helicopter with heat seeking capabilities was launched. Several search and rescue volunteers arrived, including Wade and Ryan. The helicopter didn't find anything. After searching until 4:30 a.m., SAR decided to pause the search and resume in the daylight. I had been reassuring Natalie that I was sure Nicole was just lost with a possible injury and that she would most likely be found. Now I wasn't feeling so sure. Jake Bennett returned to Red Cliffs at first light and started searching again. He found her body just after 7:00 a.m. Wednesday the 14th of January. We called Juliet just after we found out for sure. I could hear her crying while Merril talked to her. I called and asked if I could do anything. She didn't know what I could do but I decided to drive to Provo. Merril was assigned to work SAR at the Jeep Jamboree at the sand dunes so he stayed here with Mark and Mikayla.

Nicole was found with her scriptures, the preach my gospel book, and an Italian/English dictionary in a string backpack. It appears that she slipped and fell 80 feet from a cliff while hiking. Nicole was in good spirits and was about to start a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Rome, Italy. It's unthinkable that she isn't with us anymore. Juliet has been sad but is doing okay. I got to her  Wednesday afternoon. We cried and talked and laughed and went to dinner. She said that Alicen's family went to the temple and invited her. I stayed until Friday and drove her home. I am heartbroken for the Bennett family. Nicole is doing fine of the other side. I'm excited that she doesn't have to worry about scoliosis anymore or anxiety. I am concerned for Natalie and Jake and the brothers left behind. This is going to hurt for a long time. I'm doing okay and I'm grateful for my family. They are my favorite people, this would break me for quite a while if it was us. Nicole was supposed to give her farewell talk on Sunday the 18th. Instead of a farewell, her family is planning a funeral. Our prayers are with the Bennetts.

Nicole's obituary: https://heartlightfs.com/obituaries/nicole-bennett?fbclid=IwY2xjawPb29lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeEtru2ockBS5_EicCin7JgPjSEV57Quh_T5KdKRMbKEDNlMEBg6nssQLCdDk_aem_Q3iEGLqeXiGfVKlQ9r6mjg

Juliet was able to hang out with Kate and Alicen this weekend and I feel like that was really helpful. She rode back to BYU today with Alicen and her brother. She'll be back on Thursday night because the funeral is Friday at 11:00 a.m. and Juliet has been asked to play the piano and be a speaker.

We'll miss you Nicole. Can't wait to hear your stories when we see you again!

Hiking in Zion on New Year's Day

On New Year's Day, we decided to drive out to Zion. We thought we'd be able to drive up the canyon because the shuttles don't run in the winter. We were wrong. They ran them over the holiday. So we drove through the tunnel and went on the Canyon Overlook trail. 

We brought hot chocolate and snacks for after the hike. I didn't have any paper cups so we brought real ones.

We also had fun with the camera.

 

It was rainy and foggy but still nice to get outside for the hike. 

Christmas 2025

We went to the live nativity at Tuacahn this year on the 23rd. I feel like we haven't been for a few years. The kids say they want to be in the nativity again. It's been probably 8 years. We'll have to do it again but we have to get on the ball a little earlier.

On our way to finding our seats, we ran in to Merril's Uncle Dave and Aunt Lynnette. They were there with their kids and grandkids.

Then as we were leaving, we bumped into Justin and Rachel. So funny that we all picked the same night to go to Tuacahn and that we bumped into each other. On Christmas Eve, we had tacos and acted out the nativity.

I'll have to see if anyone else took pictures of Christmas day because I don't have any. The Saturday after Christmas, we went to Fiesta Fun to bowl with my family. I got of picture of Maxine and Mikayla on this giant polar bear and that's it.

There are some days that I'm wrapped up in enjoying the moment and don't take very many pictures. It's fine, I like being in the moment. Sometimes, the remembering is a little random.