a piece of heaven.

i've recently been thinking about a particular thing. cleansing. i've been hearing about different "cleanses" people are doing to either get into shape, be heathy, or just to find themselves. it's a very interesting concept to me. my dad was talking about all the fires going on and saying that sometimes it's just mother natures way of getting rid of things that need to die. (not that the fires are a good things but just in that perspective) and that's sort of like a cleanse too. mostly this has a few purposes. first i need to do a physical type of "cleanse". this means i have been running to every clogging practice and days that i don't have clogging i have been going to the gym to bike, or my latest and greatest love zumba. if i don't do that then i try to go on a hike with friends or some other sort of exercise. now waking up early is not my favorite thing whatsoever but i've actually really enjoyed the way i feel extra ready for the day after clogging, the gym, or whatever i decide for the day. second, i think i need to do a heathy type of cleanse. you know, the ones where they eat really healthy and people feel so great. thats what i want. i'm slowly adjusting. i don't drink caffeine (my diet coke addiction was getting a little out of control) and i'm going to start to try and not drink soda. also when grabbing a snack i will make the effort to make it healthy. lately thats my apples and peanut butter. (this is also becoming a serious addiction) now i know this is lame so far but i promise it gets better. lastly, i recently had a "cleansing" type of weekend. i went to my ranch. now it's nothing like you wold expect a ranch to be. we don't have a cabin there or anything of the sort, we get no cell phone service, and we sleep in tents. and this is always the highlight of my summer. even though its just a piece of land that my family owns and there is not really anything there, it is heaven on earth. we have 3 different types of swings, 2 different forts, an outhouse that is way better then digging a hole in the ground to go, lots of four wheelers (8 big ones and 4 smaller ones), food, campfires, and family. i'm certain there is no other place like this in the world. and it was just what i needed. each night we sit by the campfire and sing the songs my mom has been up there singing for 35 years. we sing songs in memory of loved ones that have passed away or that couldn't make it, we sing new songs that the little kids have learned, we sing silly songs, and we sing spiritual songs, but when we sing there is no better feeling. because we are family and thats something that has always brought us together. however two of my favorite traditions are one, the women's ride and two exploring with my uncle. the first one we see just how many girls we can get onto the four wheelers usually its all the aunts and some us the cousins. this year we got 14 of us on one ride. pretty good. and we follow a trail that leads to amazing places where you feel on top of the world and pretty much like you can see the whole country. the second, exploring with my uncle, happens every year. i'll sit on the back of his four wheeler and we will head up a trail and try to find or sometimes even create new trails. this year was amazing we got way back in the mountains and started finding trails everywhere. neither of us had a watch or anything to keep time but has we got farther and farther we started running into locked gates and such so we decided to turn around. as we were coming back we talked about how if we got lost no one and i mean no one would be able to find us. we barely knew where we were ourselves. we pulled up to a swamp that we had driven through and suddenly couldn't see any tire marks or where the trail and had left began. we drove around that area for a good while and couldn't find it. i was a bit scared for a minute but then out of no where we found it. definitely a miracle. we continued back and continued finding more and more trails. we could have been out there for days. at times we would come up over a mountain the the view would give me goosebumps. it was an amazing ride. we were about to pull back into camp and four of the four wheelers were outside the gate with my dad, and three of my uncles on them. me and my uncle had been gone for two and a half hours and they had started to get really worried we were lost. but no fear we made it back safely. we go on the exploring ride every year and it's my favorite part of the whole trip. this year we got to take katelyn since she is living with us and it made it all the better. we laughed a lot about grandma's unreal snoring problem, songs that are incredibly stupid, and dance moves that i think only katelyn, katie, and i could do. all in all it was a fabulous weekend. and i wish we stayed longer but it was very nice to shower. we took lots of pictures and even a few videos that i can't get to upload. sorry i'll work on that. enjoy.

me and natalia

lewis crew

braxton and talia

the moon rising

katelyn was sooo excited she got to go for a ride on this bike.

landon and gigi. the cutest kids around

koda

katelyn was a bit tired

                                  kyle and liss                                                me and liss

me and kyle

the butterfly that landed on katie

talia landon gigi and stowe

                                braxton                                                                             katie just swingin

after the girls ride. really dirty.

on the girls ride. even grandma rocks the helmet.

one of the many amazing views

enjoy this amazing summer weather. much love.