Evangeline

   Meet Evangeline. If you don't know the reference, you seriously need to consider watching The Princess and the Frog. Ray is a firefly from the movie (I have yet to catch him) and he's in love with the evening star which he thinks is another firefly named Evangeline.
    I love fireflies.. They may be one of my favorite things about Illinois. We've gone out to catch them a few times. They can be so difficult ha. It's amazing to go through the fields here and watch the bugs flash all over. It's a mini firework show!
    Lately we've both had a bit more time, so we've done more bike rides and walks along the beach and forest preserves (While being attacked my mosquitoes.. they are terrible here.. absolutely terrible). I love how green it is here and I love being so close to Lake Michigan. It's such a beautiful body of water.

We're "Starving"

    We really are enjoying our time out here in Illinois! It has been fun to experience something so new and different than what we grew up with in Utah. One thing I really miss though that I don't know if I can ever get over of course are the mountains. I miss the beauty of them but I also miss what you can do in them! Skiing, biking, and of course hiking.
    To hike out here, you have to drive quite a distance away.. So 120 miles and 2 hours later we hit Starved Rock State Park. There are 18 canyons to explore that run along side the Illinois river.. and we originally had planned on exploring a couple of them, but to be honest.. we ended up on a different trail than what we had planned. Apparently in the spring there are lots of waterfalls through the canyons, so we plan on going back next year to hit those up. For now there were just small trickles of water down the rocks.
    The big difference between hiking here instead of in Utah (besides the fact that in Utah we normally hike mountains and this was a hill compared to it) is of course the humidity. It's like being inside of a steam shower sometimes! In minutes we are drenched in what feels like sweat but is really all the moisture in the air just sticking to every part of your body. 
   It was a beautiful trail to follow and it felt like we were going through a jungle because it was so green! Starved Rock is a butte that sits right along the river. We joked that it was called starved rock because we were all "starving" by the time we got back to the car. Anyway! We had quite the adventure and really enjoyed the hiking. We'll be back next year for some waterfalls!

Sister Becca Boo

   One of the blessings of the weekend back in Utah for Mandy and Tanner's wedding was that it "happened" to fall on the same weekend as this girl's farewell. The Lord knew that I needed to be there and it was such a tender mercy that I was able to be there. It'll be tough not to be able to talk to Bex for 18 months, but I wouldn't trade it. I am so proud of her and know this will be the most amazing experience!
   How do you say goodbye for 18 months? With faith.. that's what I have to hold on to, knowing that soon I'll be able to talk and laugh with her again. Meanwhile, down in Paraguay, she'll be lighting some fires of truth. Love you Sister Becca Boo!

Brian often tells me that Becca is his second favorite person to hug because she is so short. HA!

Becca and I met Denise through the Best Buddies Program at Utah State. We have stayed in touch with her since and have maintained a wonderful friendship. Denise calls me daily (Rarely does she miss a day) in which they are usually the highlight of my day. Plus she is in love with our cat (that she has never met) as well as Brian always wanting to talk to Brian and hear Minnie meow. She has such a sweet spirit and Becca and I have been very blessed from our friendship with her. She was able to get a ride from Logan to say (hello to me) and goodbye to Becca.

Everyday's Independence Day

Today we just celebrate it a bit more :)

Happy 4th of July!

♪ Jump Right In! ♫

    Boating! Oh Boating! Oh how we have missed this! The last day of our short trip back to Utah for the wedding found us out on the lake (a few hours before our flight). We couldn't pass the chance up to do some water skiing and tubing before we flew back to Chicago.

Our nephew Hunter decided to be a photographer and take pictures of our tube ride ha!

Can't get enough of these two munchikns! Grandma Larson together with all her grandkids! Goal: Do NOT get my hair wet (Meaning-don't crash just joy ride) For once this was accomplished! WOOT!

I can't help but listen to the Zac Brown Band all over again, "You can jump right in, let the music pull you in! You can jump right in, oh and lose yourself again! As the Southern wind sings again an island lullaby!" La la la la la la ♫ ♪