national parks fee free weekends!

this weekend is the second weekend of three this summer that you can get into most national parks for free!!! so make sure to plan a trip with you family, your bf/gf, or your friends.

go early!

happy hiking!

image via

beckend coasters

so kendall and i have been making coasters. we made a bunch for mother's day and then i made more for my pay it forward post. {those three lucky ladies already have some!} this has been a fun summer project to learn how to do and we are seriously considering the idea of opening up an etsy shop. but for now i am showing them off on my blog because i think they are so darling.

these are the cute, mismatched ones that i made for my house.

some of the other cute options

so if you want a cute homemade gift to give or some cute coasters for your own coffee table. let me know. we are accepting orders. :)

new look :)

i finally made the time to re-vamp my blog! come check it out and let me know what you think!

floating down the virgin river

so i started my day off on friday at 5:30am! i was going to go hiking with corinne and mary in zion and they are way on time people so i woke up earlier than needed to make sure i was ready. :) we hiked watchmen's and then weeping rock and then had a fabulous breakfast at oscar's, which is still my favorite restaurant ever. {mary still needs to email the pics from our little adventure . . . yes mary - email them :) }

then i met up with my fab fam to float down the virgin river. we rented tubes from zion adventure company. they were awesome. they give you huge tubes, you float for like 2 hours down the river and then they pick you up at the bottom. and if you want to go again, it only costs five bucks.

heading down to get in the river.

the stick they are holding onto totally helped out because then the other person could pull you if you got stuck. the water wasn't that deep.

but it was so much fun! cold water. hot day. totally fun and relaxing.

there was even a rope swing!

my mom's first time ever going on a rope swing. can you believe it!? she said she was always holding babies and watching us go. she was funny to watch. :)

the perfect tarzan pose by michael!

jeff climbing the rope.

finished off the day with a little picnic!

totally fun! the river really was awesome. just remember to keep your bum up.

totally awesome trick me and michael discovered. :) love my family!

what is love?

happy 4th of july weekend!

this video is dedicated to my brotha brad who called me and we watched this video together by phone. and laughed. hard. :)

3 cheese chicken pasta bake

i don't cook very often, except to bake treats, so when i do i like to make it good. :) this was a recipe i read on cookbook junkies the other day. i made it a couple nights ago. sooo yummy!! it doesn't take very long and it's super easy!

Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

1-1/2 cups multi-grain penne pasta, uncooked (use whatever pasta you have)

1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1 jar (14-1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained

2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, cubed

1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

COOK pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water the last minute.

COOK and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 3 min. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer on low heat 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in cream cheese.

DRAIN pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole or 8-inch square baking dish.

BAKE 20 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min.

enjoy!

swimming lessons

yes. i am taking swimming lessons.

not normal swimming lessons, but learn the technique swimming lessons. i know how to swim, but this is teaching me each of the strokes and how to do them correctly. my first one was last night and wow! it was awesome. :) i have a lot to learn and a lot to train my muscles and my breathing on, but i am pretty excited about it. jen is an amazing instructor! thanks jen! i am hoping to prepare for a triathlon in the fall or something. yea!

new waterfalls at havasupai

i am a big havasupai fan, been there 6 or 7 times, but i haven't been there in a couple years. last year there was a huge flood that re-routed the river and changed the landscape, in my opinion, dramatically.

one of the falls, navajo, isn't even there anymore and there are two new waterfalls. i was searching for pics on the internet of these new waterfalls and came across this blog. if you have ever been there you have to look at it. and don't forget page 2. it's so weird to me that havasupai is changed forever.

but i am sure there still will be good memories made there. :)

it's britney!

i was lucky enough to go to britney spears with sabrina a couple months ago and finally took these pics from her blog cause i didn't have my camera. it was awesome. pussy cat dolls opened up for her. i love the pussy cat dolls. they are just as sexy in real life . . . from like a million miles away. haha. and britney was good. it was quite the show and quite the circus! but i guess i expected her to at least actually sing her slow songs. oh well. she's britney, so she gets to do whatever she wants. thanks sabrina!

this is us in the vip lounge. awesome! totally got a free chair massage too!

pussy cat

britney bitch!

away we go.

this movie looks so good. it's already out, but unfortunately because i live in a town that doesn't like good movies . . . i have to wait. the actors in this are amazing and it looks like such a good story. below is the youtube preview, but i loved this one from apple, because it has interviews throughout from the main characters. :)

weekend adventure: kanarraville falls

me and my fam had a blast on sunday at kanarraville falls! i first discovered it last year. if you are looking for a fun hike with the family in southern utah - this one is beautiful and okay for kids if your a willing to carry them through a few of the water parts! just get off I-15 at kanarraville, just south of cedar city, and turn east on 100 north. park at the bottom of the hill and start hiking up the dirt road. it will turn into a river with somewhat of a trail. just follow the river up to waterfalls and beautiful slot canyons!

here are a few of the sights along the way!
landon - he wanted to be on the motorcycle we saw.

jocelyn, sara and kailyn

cool cave hole! {that's what landon called it}

beautiful! mom and jeff

silly landon and brad

in the slot canyon - almost to the waterfall!

kanarraville falls!

cutie kailyn being carried out. . .

we stopped in silver reef on the way home to look at the historic sites . . . can't believe i've never really looked at all of it. i have been out there, but never noticed how much was left of the old town and its silver mines. :) here we are crawling out over this 15o+foot deep silver mine hole. we actually found a geocache hanging from the rebarr. pretty cool.

judd's

this is the 2nd week in a row we have met for lunch at judd's for soup, breadsticks and good conversation. love my fam!