7 September 2008, Sunday. Hi Devan,

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1 7 September 2008, Sunday Hi Devan, How has your week been? Is it raining quite a bit? I love the rain, except when you have to go somewhere and look nice, and when you re camping. I know you read Dad s letter and heard about our camping adventure, but I thought I would tell you about it as well (it s also for my journal). with gas. We called Shauna and Rich and they said that they had left already. After that, we didn t have any cell phone coverage. Madison threw up in the car, but other than that we made it to Navajo Lake okay. We drove around in the dark for about twenty minutes, trying to find some campsites. We then spotted Shauna and Rich and honked. We decided on a camping spot and set up camp as quickly as we could. I had Jared blow up our air mattresses in the car. Shauna and Rich ended up sleeping right on the ground! Not too comfortable for a pregnant lady. I can t believe it s been a week since we went camping. Last Wednesday evening, Jared helped me get our camping bins down in the garage. (We have a shelving unit that goes to the ceiling of our garage. All of our camping gear is in Rubbermaid bins on the shelves). I ran errands Thursday morning and then packed the car that afternoon. We looked like sardines! Shauna and Rich had the same situation. They ended up taking their Suburban because they couldn t fit all of their stuff in their Acadia (it s a medium size SUV). Jared came home about 4:30 and we got off about 6:30 p.m. We stopped by Sam s Club to pick up ice, hot dog buns, and cupcakes for Drew s birthday. He was very excited because the cupcakes had Transformer rings on top. We left Flagstaff around 7:00 p.m. and drove up through Page and Kanab. We stopped in Kanab and filled up

2 Friday morning we woke up and it was a beautiful site. We had a wonderful view of the lake and there were lots of trees around, despite many of them being cut down because of the bark beetle infestation. We enjoyed French toast and fruit for breakfast and then made sandwiches and walked down to the lake with the kids. We had fun skipping rocks across the water. Rich tried skipping Arwin, but ended up throwing the dog in the water. She needed to cool off. Although the weather was just beautiful, we ended up getting pretty sunburned that first day. The kids enjoyed playing in the woods and making forts. We were all very excited when Mom and Dad, Gina, Christina, and Tyler Swain showed up around 7:00 p.m. Dad and Gina weren t feeling so well and they were really good sports. Jessica and Golden arrived a little while later. Saturday morning Shauna cooked breakfast again and we had a little devotional. We then sang Happy Birthday to Drew and gave him his presents. We gave him a fishing pole, a shark tent, and some legos. Mom and Dad gave Drew some rollerblades and he loves them! The kids got their swimsuits on and we were about to head down to the Lake to go rafting when the weather took a turn for the worst. Dad and Golden quickly set up some awnings and put plastic under them just in time for the rain to come, and boy did it come. Shaelyn, Carley, Drew, and I were trapped in our tent. Luckily I had a poncho and so I went over to the awnings to see what the rest of the family was doing. Everyone was huddling under the plastic/awnings trying to stay dry. Jared took ponchos back to the kids so that they could get out of the tent. Jessica fixed

3 dinner that night and we ate in the rain. It stopped raining after a good down pour and we were able to sleep pretty well that night (I think Dad s air mattress went flat on him). Sunday morning we went for a drive to Cedar Breaks. What a beautiful place that was. It s like a mini version of the Grand Canyon. It was quite cold, but we enjoyed it. Harley, Shaelyn, Ayden, Carley, Drew, Madison, and Katelyn all earned their Junior Ranger badges. They had to fill out several pages in a workbook. They were determined to get their (plastic)

4 badges. We went back to camp and I fixed sloppy joes for lunch. Looking at the sky, we all decided that we might go home that night. The weather was sure playing games with us. One moment it would look like it was clearing up and there was blue sky, the next moment dark thunderclouds would come over the mountain. We decided to drive to Cascade Falls and we hiked the one mile to the waterfall. There was a trail closed sign that looked pretty permanent. We found out why. There were several spots where the trail had been washed away. Katelyn and Mom were partners, Dad and Drew were partners, Gina and Carley were partners, Jared and Madison were partners, and I carried Avery the whole way. Isn t family wonderful?! After we got back from the hike, we made tinfoil dinners. Kelly and Derek had it laid out for us so we could all make our own. I haven t had a tinfoil dinner in a long time. They were very good. Dad did a lot of work getting the charcoal going. Mom and Dad always do a lot of work and are willing to pitch in. They re great! During dinner Jared took down our tent and I helped him pack it all in our van. He was amazed that I was able to get it all in there in the first place. Just as we were finishing dinner it started to downpour again. By that time, most everything was packed and we all hopped in our cars. It was quite a rushed goodbye. It was fun and we were glad that we went. I think the rest of the family had fun too despite the rain and cold. We ve talked about going to Yellow Stone or Jacob s Lake (North rim of the Grand Canyon) next year. You ll be coming right?

5 Well, we should be getting some grass in this week. I called Aspen Landscaping and told them that I m not pleased with the paver edging that they did while I was gone. I had asked the man to wait until I got back. He said he would, but they ended up doing it anyway. It doesn t look professional and I want them to do it again. Jared and I joked that I m not picky (ha, ha). We re paying them and they need to do it right. I stayed home from church today. I ran a fever yesterday and it s played over into today. I think I might have mastitis, but it ll be okay. Madison bore her testimony in church today all by herself. Of course it s while I m not there. Jared bore his testimony a few months back when I wasn t at church too! Can you believe that? I hope you had a great week. It sounds like you re having success. Are most people open to at least hear about the gospel? How did your pioneer activity go? What games did you do? Are you still a zone leader? How many missionaries are in your mission? Well, I love you and hope you re having a good time. I look forward to reading your letter tomorrow. Love you tonz, Liz.