The Christensen Family: Amazing August! Birthday, New Driver, FSY, 20th Anniversary, Guting Reunion

Amara's 16th Birthday

Amara is a joy to have in our lives! She's always loved to play games, and she really enjoys gaming on Roblox, Rocket League, and Star Stables. Her hard work with online driver's education earned her a driver's license shortly after she turned 16. She never speeds because she knows she looks underage which makes her more of a target to pull over.

Her focus for self-directed homeschool is preparing for the ACT. She also attends several classes at Alliance Learning Center (taught by me). She hopes to go to college in the future. She continues to dance with Miss Heather at the Cynthia Center. Her grace is truly beautiful as she dances! She works occasionally doing filing for a local insurance company and she recently got hired to babysit a 7-month old girl a couple times a week. She looks forward to getting more money. She loves to shop.

Amara got several fun little gifts and a big gift of getting the hamster she's always wanted, though she would need to pick it out herself. She ended up getting it a few weeks later at Petco.

Grandma Bobbie got her a new comforter for her bed.

She chose to eat at McDonalds. Her favorite things there are the cheeseburger and nuggets with sweet and sour sauce.

One of the best things that happened was that Amara's friend group secretly planned to surprise her when she got home from her Young Women's activity. Mandi and Lily are no longer in Young Women's so they decorated the house with balloons and other cute banners. When the rest of the girls were done at their activity, they offered to drive Amara home. When Amara got out of the car, and turned the corner to the front door, she was stalled because the door was locked. All the girls quickly filed through the back door and then I opened the front door for Amara. She was greeted with a big SURPRISE! It wasn't a very long party, but it was perfect for everyone's schedules. We had cake and ice cream with everyone there.

Amara's favorite cake- tres leches!

We bought a special candle that sings and rotates and opens like a flower to reveal 16 lit candles! Worth every penny ($7)!

Her hamster is named Toffee.

Ballard Ward Relief Society Women's Campout

What a pleasure it was for me to be invited to attend the Ballard Ward's Women's Camp. It was 3 days and 2 nights up Whiterocks Canyon. I had never camped there before, and it was beautiful. I invited my mom along and we had a fantastic time with the sisters from Ballard.

As we drove up, we opened the windows and the smell of pine filled our car! It was magical. The breeze was as fragrant music to the soul.

S'mores!

They had set up 2 Giant 16-man tents for those who didn't bring a camper along. We only used 1 of the tents, and it fit 8 of us with our gear. I think 16 people in there would be really tight and no room for gear.

The nights were FREEZING. I was so glad I brought a fleece onesie and my winter coat and an extra blanket. After the first night it was apparent to me that I should have brought a beanie and another sleeping bag. I was so cold I couldn't sleep. I was so blessed by another sister who had lots of extra blankets for my second night. I was warm but got so warm I had to actually shed my coat and unzipped my sleeping bag to cool off. I was sweating. haha! I slept much better on night 2, though.

Our mid-morning service project on day 2 was tying quilts to donate. That was a first for me. I've never tied a quilt in the forest before!

When we didn't have a planned activity, there was always a fire going and a circle of camp chairs to engage in some good conversation.

Our meals were always yummy and no one went hungry. Our camp cooks did such a good job feeding us.

another quilt

We had another activity of washing one another's feet, an act of our Savior to his apostles. We were given a small chunk of pink soap, a new washcloth, and a disposable pan with warmed water to wash one another's feet. Then we were also given a new pair of soft socks. I was so glad my mom was there to be my partner because it's already uncomfortable for me to touch someone's feet and to let anyone touch my feet. At least I had my own mom there to take that stranger discomfort away.

Our final night we had dutch oven parmesan chicken, a camping tradition for the Ballard RS president. It's not the Italian Chicken Parmigiana. It's breaded and baked chicken breasts.

FSY for the Girls

Lily and Amara went to Provo for FSY conference and got to share a dorm room. Steve and I dropped them off on Monday and came back for them on Saturday.

They had a lot of fun with their company and stayed plenty busy.

While they were there, Steve and I took our 20th anniversary vacay to Moab and Telluride. I took so many pics but my time to blog seems to be slim. Just know I journaled everything and here's a few tips for if I ever plan a similar trip:

20th Anniversary Vacation

MOAB-

We wanted a more quiet experience, not the touristy attractions, and we got just that. We stayed at the Moab Resort in a 1 room suite with full kitchen. I give it 5 stars. The room was clean, beautiful, and bigger than we needed, but would be great if we had brought our girls. It comes with breakfast (give yourself plenty of time to get it because it's restaurant style where you order and wait for your food).

We planned indoor activities during the heat of day and outdoor activities for the early morning and evening.

Morning helicopter tour (20 min)- ride of a lifetime.

Gorgeous views and somewhat bumpier than you'd expect. Fantastic picture views. Took my nerves a few hours to recover from all the shaking. Still worth it.

Evening cafeteria-style chuckwagon dinner with river boat tour-

Do this! It's romantic to be on the water under the stars among towering red rock. We saw beavers working on the side of the river, too. Learned a little about the area. The recorded program was a bit cheesy, but the audio quality on the boat was on point. I enjoyed watching the light show on the mountains as we floated back to the dock.

Morning hike to Corona Arch-

Do this! It's about a mile there and just a peaceful, beautiful experience. We went a little before sunrise and had the trail to ourselves in perfect hiking temps.

Hole in the Rock tour- HA!

I loved this place. It was so quirky but so unique. It's a 5000 square foot home that was blasted out of the mountain. We had ice cream while there and liked looking at the sculptures and various things. Do the tour. It's worth the $9 to visit. I even bought the little book for sale in the gift shop and enjoyed the story behind the people that lived there.

Doughbirds Donuts-This place has lots of interesting flavors and charm. I had the spicy chicken sandwich which was good and very messy and spicy. I wish I could've eaten it indoors because it was HOT in my mouth and HOT outside, and sitting in the shade was ok except the garbage can out there reeked.
Quesadilla Mobilla Food Truck- the quesadillas are good, but next time, I'd share one. It's a lot.
Grocery store has some good cheaper and healthier options for ready-made food. And we liked it because we had a full kitchen we could use to cook. If I bring my family to Moab one day, I'd hit up the grocery store for our food and enjoy it in the air-conditioned hotel room.

Telluride-

I knew it would be an expensive tourist town, and it sure was. There is nary a parking spot anywhere to be found, though there are a couple free lots. We stayed 24 hours here and here's my tips-

Stay in Norwood, go to Telluride in the day. Norwood is an hour away, but a cute tiny town with a delicious diner called The Divide (better food than the expensive, crowded restaurants in Telluride). You'll save hundreds in lodging. Plus the motel there is not scary or trashy. It's not posh, but feels safe. There was a cute farmer's market across the street (Thursday). And there is a grocery store if you want to grab food that doesn't cost bars of gold.
If you do stay in Telluride, the Camel's Garden is a good place. It's super close to the free gondola, offers a paid private parking garage, has nearby bike rentals, and an elevated continental breakfast.
Go to Bridal Veil Falls and take the jeep tour up there to save yourself the hike.So pretty! (also crowded) That was way fun. Super bumpy, but great views, and a good way to get to know the history and local tips from the tour guide.
GONDOLA- ride that over and over. It's free with gorgeous views.
If you're feeling adventurous- Mountain Village Bike Park-Rent helmets and bikes, get a lift ticket and go to the top of the mountain then ride down on the 5 mile trail. It's freaky and fun. Take it slow like I did and get off your bike and walk the really steep turns and such. Take the pull offs if there's someone behind you and let them pass. This says it's a beginner trail but it is intense for a beginner. Even my second time down when I was more comfortable with managing the bike, I scared myself on a couple occasions where I was glad my guardian angel helped steer me in just the nick of time. Tips: Don't get cocky. Wear long pants and a jacket and gloves, it's chilly in that altitude. My hands were buzzing from the constant bumps and vibrations. This, though, was a favorite memory of mine. Steve and I were kids again, except with a better appreciation for life and the beauty of nature. It was so pretty weaving down the trail in the forest!
The disc golf course in Mountain Village is all kinds of confusing, so I'd say skip it unless you're a die hard and can figure it out.

Guting/Ng Family Reunion In Utah!

We had so much fun for the Guting Reunion! Mom's siblings stayed with her at her house and my sibling's (April, Micah, and families) stayed at mine. It was awesome that all of my mom's siblings were able to make it! Aunty Raz and Uncle Ray even brought their dog, Colbee, with them as they drove across several states in their RV with Aunty Nani.

We went to the Uinta County Fair and Aunty Nani rode rides with Lily. It was her birthday! Then it started raining, so we went out to eat at 7-11 Ranch Restaurant. She wanted steak.

Aunty Kathy showing Alexa and Bridger something

Dinosaurland! We spent an afternoon at Dino National Monument and got to see the bones in the quarry and Josie's cabin (where we made picnic sandwiches and chips for dinner).

We also saw the Octane Motocross show which was amazing! Though all our voices got tired from cheering so much. And a couple of our group got puked on by a little girl who had too much sugar behind us.

fireworks after the show

We did our own family talent show and ham dinner. It was great to see everyone's variety of talents! Everything from catching a stuffed animal to Mom's siblings singing Sweet Caroline!