Oh all the things that we have been up to!

We have to start of by saying this post is way past due....  Yeah were just bad at keeping it up to date.

Anyways here are some of the things that we have been up to this summer!  

Horseshoe Lake

We went camping here with Mitch and Ana early in the summer.  It was great fun but the mosquitoes were terrible.

Fishing at the lake.  (didn't catch a thing)

Even though you can't see it Cave Falls is just behind us.

Our next trip was to Palisades Reservoir with Russell and Jenna.  That was a quick trip but a lot of fun. This is the only picture we have of this trip.  Russell just got done caking me in mud from the bottom of the reservoir.

Next we went to Warm River with Gavin and Kara.  This was another fun trip but the river is NO WHERE near warm.

In our camp ground at warm river this fox kept on showing up.  He is not camera or human shy.  

Shaleece named it Roxy and this is a picture of Roxy eating one of the marshmallows from our quickly emptied bag.  We determined that it knows how to work the system because it kept on coming back for more until we stopped feeding it.  We happened to stay here a couple of nights and it came back almost the same time both nights. 

Us feeding the fox.  It would get within 6 or 7 feet of us.

On the way home we saw these two moose off the highway.

We also saw this antilope and family of ducks that we weren't able to get a picture of.

Also this summer we went home and Shaleece and her mom did a bunch of canning!  

We went to an Idaho Falls Chuckers game.  The Idaho Falls school district gave Shaleece tickets as a gift at her new teacher training.

We also took some pictures with the motorcycle.  I sure do love having that thing!

All and all this summer has been a lot of fun.  Unfortunately it is coming to a close faster than we would both like but with the end of summer comes a new phase for us.  I am headed back to school for a new semester and Shaleece is starting her first year teaching 4th grade at Hawthorne Elementary School in Idaho Falls.  

This is Shaleece on her first day of teaching 4th grade!  She has been teaching for a week now and is loving it.  She wouldn't say it but she is doing a great job!

Elder's Quorum Initiation

Last week in Elder's Quorum we (the three guys who's wives are doing their student teaching) asked if anyone knew of any good hikes that they recommended we should go on before we left Arizona.  Immediately someone spoke up and said "The Flatiron!"  Then everyone joins in, "Oh yeah that is a great one!"

Of course we then ask, "How difficult is it?"  Someone then responded, "Its not bad.  It is probably a 3 hour hike.  You will love it."

Well that sold us.  We decided that we were going to hike The Flatiron that Tuesday.  

  

This is what the Flatiron looks like from the top.

This place quite literally looks like an iron cut into the mountain.  

This is what Flatiron looks like from the park entrance.  Actually when we got there Ranger Joe gave us a map in exchange for our $7.00 park entrance fee and a parking pass.  After looking at the map we then learned that the Flatiron hike was going to take us up 3000 ft.  This is right about the time that we started having our doubts about his hike.

Nonetheless we knew that we could do it.  We had be told it was only a 3 hour hike, round trip.  

Part way up the trail Kyle decided that he needed to show some leg.  This wasn't for us... it was for his wife Anna!  (Anna he is a keeper!)  

This is the upper portion of the beginning of the trail.
Not to bad right?

WRONG!

These pictures don't do it justice but these are very steep!
This is where the pain begins.

From here it was nothing but up.  No one told us when we started that most of the trial was climbing up a trail full of boulders.

After climbing roughly half way up the mountain this was all that we could see.

At one point I climbed on top of a boulder and looked over the edge.  This was my view.  It was a long ways  down.  At this point we were hoping that we were close to the top but we still had another hour or so to go.

3 Hours later we did finally make it to the top.  By this point we knew that the Elder's Quorum was out to get us but we pulled through!  Nothing can stop us.

Here are a few pictures from the top of Flatiron but because I took all of these pictures on my phone they aren't the greatest.  Sorry!

These shots don't do justice to this scene.  You will just have to hike it for yourself for the real effect.

If you look in the picture above you can see on the right side a black rock face.  That is where a plane crashed last Thanksgiving.  Crazy!

                                                And of course the three Flatiron kings!!

When we finally got to the top we had been hiking for 3 hours.  By the time we got back to the bottom we had been gone for about 5 hours.

This week at church we reported to the Elder's Quorum that we had made it to the top of Flatiron!  We also made sure to call them out on their lie!  Today they all claimed that no one said it was only a three hour hike.

Another Arizona adventure.

What Hike Were We Going On Again?

Arizona Desert!

Jan 16, 2012

So we went hiking with our friends, Dan and Haylee.
Haylee is also a BYU-Idaho student doing her student
teaching at the same school as Shaleece.

We decided to go on a hiking trip for Martin Luther Kind Jr. Day
when the girls were out of school.

One of the first things that we noticed is that the
 Swarrow Cactus is H-U-G-E!

This is part of an old corral that is out in the middle of the desert.
Shaleece said she wanted to take someone's engagement pictures
out here!  Be grateful that she isn't your photographer.  It was
a long hike in!  (He-He Just Kidding, Dear :D)

Look at us!
 T-Shirts in January!
TAKE THAT REXBURG!

So I don't know what is worse, the goat heads in Idaho
or this!  What do you think? 

Walker Status Update:  We Are Doing AWESOME!

These are our adventures in Arizona.

Welcome To Arizona!

     Welcome To Arizona!

We never thought we would make it here but after a week of packing, moving most of our belongings into a storage unit, and then packing the rest into our car and driving 15.5 hours we are happy to say that we finally made it Mesa!

We were greeted with 75+ degree weather and a nice breeze.  Plus the nice weather seems to be lasting because everyday seems to be about the same.  It’s much better than that weather we have been hearing about back in Idaho.

As for our New Year... unfortunately Shaleece and I didn't ring in the New Year the way that we wanted.  We hoped to be at the Fiesta Block Party in Tempe but we spent the day at home because we were sick in bed.  Shaleece woke up not feeling very good and later in the day I felt the sickness creeping in.  Needless to say Shaleece had to wake me up at midnight for her New Year's Midnight Kiss.  

As for today this was our first Sunday in our new ward.  Let me tell you, it was quite the switch from our quiet little married college student ward.  This ward seems huge!  The commandment to multiply and replenish the earth is being fulfilled here.  Nonetheless it was fun to meet some new people and to be in a new area.  

This week Shaleece and I both start what we came here to do.  She will be starting her first week at Zaharis Elementary School on Wednesday.  She is very excited but very nervous to start at the same time.    Tomorrow I start selling phones again.  

Wish us both luck!  These are our adventures in Arizona!