488/365

Starting off with the arrival at Alpine, AZ... after a GORGEOUS drive through the state of Arizona we arrived in Alpine to see the welcoming committee! 

We had so many great adventures during the week- some calm, and some not-so-calm. We relaxed and enoed (if you look up this word it isn't found in the dictionary); we also scaled mountains and canyons. We loved our time visiting our family by blood and our family in Jesus (Grandview Camp staff).

So, I will now post pictures and walk you through our adventure. This will be a long post... here goes!

Jon and Benton... enoing. :)

Hannah Sute... SO HAPPY SHE COULD COME!

One morning we drove to the New Mexico border and spent some time legitimately "hanging out"...
enjoyed time in the Word, in God's beautiful creation. . . JUST relaxing!

Funny story is that we woke up around 4:15am so we could get packed and to the canyon for the sunrise. We then
RAN from the car to the canyon as not to miss the grand event.
Did we see a sunrise? No. Apparently clouds hinder that gorgeous sight. :)
We still had fun, though, only to dash back to the car in a rain storm!

Evidence of the rain... 

Couldn't resist... this about sums us up.

So very thankful for him!

 We also climbed a few mountains while we were in AZ, one of them being Gobblers Peak in Alpine (close to 9,000 feet elevation... HARD to breathe!).

We made it to the top of Gobblers Peak and got a gorgeous view of Alpine, AZ and its surrounding area.
You can see the remnants of the Wallow fire last year that almost burned the camp.
Incredible to see the burn and then the new growth- so much scarring yet new life poking through.

Such a strange thing. At the top of the mountain was a massive swarm of flying ants. You can see them all
above Jon's head... 

SO MUCH BURN!

We were attacked by briers all the way up the mountain... it was an intense little climb!

You can see the summit behind us... 

Jon carried Benton for part of the hike... he was pretty pooped by the end of the hike! ;)

We also enjoyed visiting the new camp property. For those of you who might not know, Grandview Camp has been working on building an entirely new camp outside of Eagar, AZ and are hoping to be full-time at the new site by next May. It's been exciting to see the process take place and the buildings/location are just gorgeous!

Dad and Mom were able to come out to visit while we were there which was a real treat!

Kathryn is growing up so quickly! Trying to break into one of the cabins...

You can see the burn all around the camp site but the buildings were all spared from the fire (minus one cabin...)

This is the view of Escadilla from the multi-purpose building that is underway.
Can't wait to see this finished!

WE ALSO got to visit Big Lake, AZ. It's about 10,000 ft in elevation which is pretty incredible for a LAKE. In fact, there are more deaths by lightning strikes here than anywhere else in the US. Pretty crazy how quickly the storms come and go!

Mom and Hannah

(I know, you're probably getting tired of pictures of Ronnie and me... sorry!!!)

LOVE these two!!!

Proud to call them family!

Man, there is so much more I could post right now but I'll leave it here for now. SO thankful for a safe trip to AZ and back and the time we could all spend together!

487/365

Had the GREAT OPPORTUNITY to go visit Matt, Rach, Kathryn, Benton and Sarah (and the rest of the Grandview staff) in Arizona this week. Ronnie, Jon and I packed up our bags and enjoyed a beautiful trek across the country.

We were able to see a lot of exciting sights and experience many new things. It was so neat to show Ronnie the camp and to catch up with our family. Benton and Kathryn are just precious and growing like little weeds!

I hope to highlight different parts of the trip over the next few days, but for now I will leave you in suspense with this...

This was the drive to camp from Phoenix. Talk about a beautiful, unique, open sky!

Thankful for the last week of safety and fun... and also, very thankful to be HOME in Clemson!

481/365

My Best Friend's Wedding....

SO THANKFUL to have spent some time in Florida with my dear friend, Julia Dawn Clement. In fact, I was able to spend time with MANY dear friends from college.

Sarah and I made the trek to St. Pete Beach, Florida for the celebration of Jules and Victor. It's so neat to see how the Lord has provided for Julia- she and Victor are absolutely perfect for each other. We had a great time at this destination wedding and enjoyed our slow trip back through Savannah, GA.

Isn't Jules just beautiful? Her youngest two brothers
walked her down the "aisle"- it was precious!

Beautiful day for a wedding. It was so special for Victor's dad to be able
to perform the ceremony.

Love my best friend!

Jules and her incredible, beautiful mom.

Thankful for a wedding week in St Pete Beach, FL.

On our way back Sarah and I took a detour for a couple of days in Savannah, Ga. We had the best time walking around Savannah, eating tons of food (including the famous prailines... mmm!), buying local art, taking lots of pictures, laughing... we had the best time together. It's been so busy this last year and I feel like this was a really great time to catch up with Sarah and just spend time together!

I love finding hearts in furniture... beautiful Savannah, GA.

This is the home of the famous pralines, and they are
AMAZING!!!

Sarah and I ate dinner one night at the Olde Pink House. It
is the oldest mansion in Savannah and the food was delicious.
What a FUN way to spend an evening!!

Love the architecture in this old city.

Thankful for Sarah!

After our stop in Savannah, Sarah and I stopped in Columbia so that she could print her ID and meet with her advisor at USC. It's hard to believe she'll be headed off to grad school in just a few months. Unfortunately we lose her to Arizona for the summer (which is really exciting for her- and she will have some awesome time with Matt and Rach), but then she comes home and to grad school she goes.

Thankful for this time with Louise, and for the time celebrating Jules and Victor. AND thankful for safety!

Now, thankful to be HOME.

480/365

Just reminiscing over a WONDERFUL family trip to Charleston, SC. So very thankful for the time that our family had together, but missed Monroe and Katie A LOT!!

We spent the week at the beach house we grew up going to with the Fants. It was neat to be back and to remember so many fun times our families shared in that house and at the Isle of Palms. What fun to be there now with the new little additions to our families, and of course, our boys. Jon Ledbetter and Ronnie were both able to come for a few days and that was a treat!

Kathryn is such a cute little strawberry! :)

Matt, Rach, Kathryn and Benton 

"Best friends"... just ask them, they'll tell you!

Carrie, Dan, Danile and Ellie

What a cute little beach whale! :)

Here we are missing Monroe and Katie!!!

Yes- Ronnie came! What fun!!!

Beautiful mom, handsome dad, godly parents. SO very thankful!