Yellowstone

Back in September we were able to take a trip up to Yellowstone. Tyson's parents were living up in Montana this summer while his dad worked on a Dam. We decided it would be a good reason to take some time off and take another trip before the weather got too cold!

We had a lot of fun while we were up there. We were able to visit the Yellowstone National Park and saw some great things! We were able to walk around and see all the beautiful pools. Beauty Pool to be specific...

We saw a lot of wildlife while we were driving through. We actually got out of the car once and watched a bear cross the road. He was right by us, but I was not quick enough on the draw to get a picture! We did get some great pictures of Buffalo though!

We were able to visit Virginia City. It looks like a great place and looks like a lot of fun. Too bad we got there about a week late! They had just closed things up because tourist season had just ended. Didn't stop us from walking around and peeking in the windows though!

There were a few places that were open.....

When we were walking through the little town and peeking in the windows I noticed some of my favorite things across the street. I wanted to go over and play! I quietly waited for Tyson and his dad to finish peeking in windows and we crossed the street to see the......

CHOOCHOOS!!!!! I love trains and I was so excited that there were old run down trains we could climb in! It was AWESOME!

Who needs wildlife when they can run around on trains?

We were able to see a lot of beautiful places and wore ourselves out with all the walking we did. It was a perfect vacation for the two of us. Not just because of the beauty all around us, but we really enjoyed visiting the Ellis parents. We have so much fun when we get to hang out with family!

Kyle Landon Crown

I have been thinking a lot about my little brother lately. It might be because he is leaving on his mission soon, It might be because I just adore him. Either way I wanted to write a post about him.

Kyle is going on his mission to Mexico City, Mexico! He reports on January 5th and the whole family is going to miss that boy (okay, maybe he is a man). I don't feel like my little brother is big enough to be a missionary! I do know he will be the best missionary ever. Kyle has great skills when talking with people and he can really relate to those around him. These skills are going to help him in the field!

I am so proud of Kyle for making the choice to serve a mission. He has done a lot in the last few years, but he is willing to put things on hold to serve the Lord and the people of Mexico City. He is sacrificing so much for what he believes and knows is true! I am so glad to know he has a firm testimony and is acting on it each day.

Kyle has a way of making me happy no matter what. I am pretty sure he has this effect on anyone around him, but I have seen it first hand. If I am having a hard time in life I am always able to just talk and cry to my brother. He knows how to make me feel good about myself and shows me how to look at the bright side of things. He always sees things for the best that they are and takes the high road in life.

Kyle is one of those people who just has a light about him. When he walks into a group of people you can tell he is there and you can feel his presence. This light is something that attracts many people and makes everyone want to be around him.

The light he has not only brings a lot of people in, but it shines when he is on stage. When Kyle is performing you can't help but be transfixed by him and his sheer skill. My little brother was born to be in the limelight! He is just too good not to be! He has been in plays, musicals, choir groups and even sang during Conference once! He is just amazing.

I would say that Kyle is one of my very best friends. Our whole family is close, but Kyle and I have a special bond. We can talk about anything. We share jokes just by looking at each other. He is just the best pal and a great brother!

I am so lucky to have Kyle as my brother. His presence has blessed my life in so many ways. I am glad to have him around! He is going to be a wonderful missionary. I know while he is out in the field he will bless the lives of those around him, just as he has blessed my life.

What happens in Vegas, goes on our blog!

Due to popular demand, and one bad grade on my blogging skills, I am now taking the time to update our blog. It has been a while and I know everyone is dying to know what has been happening in the Ellis home!

August has been a busy month, with family ailments and school starting we have been go go go! With summer drawing to a close (I count summer as over when the Fall semester begins) we had our last BBQs, parties and camping trips. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of these events because I was too busy having fun to take pictures!

Before school started we wanted to go on a trip. Las Vegas was the place to go! We took some time off and drove on down to the strip. We were really lucky to get a great hotel, for a low price and it was just a block from the strip! We didn't have to drive around much at all, just parked at the hotel and walked our way through our trip.

Little did we know, Bryan, Nikki, and Lucas were travelling to Vegas the same week! We were able to meet up with the crew and head to the Aquarium. Another lucky move was the day we went, it was the 10 year anniversary of the Aquarium being opened and we got discount tickets! WOOHOO. It was so fun to go with a group, and to have kids with us. I sure do love watching those kids as they look at the sharks with big eyes.

I am pretty sure the whole gang loved going to the Aquarium!

There was a shark tunnel, and even a hole in the floor we could watch things through.

I loved looking at the turtles and the octopus the most!

Tyson and I were able to go see Phantom of the Opera while there and it was amazing! The set, the actors, the experience was just incredible. Anyone who is going to Vegas should really go see that show! We did not get to see the Blue Man Group, but I got a picture with them anyway.

We saw many other random items..... a large M&M

A Jelly Belly Statue of Liberty.....

Even a Medusa Motorcycle!

Before we headed out we were able to make a stop at the Pawn Stars shop. Some of you might not know of the show Pawn Stars but it is one of Tyson's favorites. The shop wasn't all it is cracked up to be. I would be fine just seeing it on the TV and not going to it again.

We had fun for the few days we were there. We walked the strip, stopped where we wanted to and had a no stress trip.

The week after we went to Vegas I started school. Tyson is taking this semester off due to not getting into the classes he needed. So cross your fingers that he gets in next time!

There is the update for August, hopefully I will get an update for September up pretty soon!




I am sorry the formatting is off. I can't it the way I want it! I am giving up now.....

Jolly July

We had quite the 4th of July weekend this year. It was full of family and friends and of course FIREWORKS (possibly a little bit of fire as well).

We started the weekend with Yard Sales, where we bought this jewel of a pinata. We buckled her in so she would be safe on the way to the Crown home.
She seemed to enjoy the ride. But this ride had to end somewhere. We took her out, tied her up and I began to teach Lucas about how pinatas work.
Once he introduced himself he was ready to get the candy out.Kyle swung a little too hard, ripped the rope right out of the pinata and we had to fix it up.
Turns out Tyson knows how to tie a noose. Creepy, but I guess that is what they teach you in boy scouts!
Once the noose was fixed up it was time to smash this thing.Everyone got a turn, but Dad was the one to break the thing open. But not all the candy came out! So he continued to smash it when it hit the ground.Kyle filled his shirt and the rest of us picked through to find the prizes!Needless to say there were some pretty cool things hidden in that pinata!Once we had the sugar in our bodies we were ready to play! That is when we brought out the hula-hoops!Then Lucas decided Grandpa had worked too hard with the hula-hoop and deserved a ride.Then it was time for the boys to build our grand finale of fireworks! They used a long fuse to make sure all the fireworks were connected. There are also several different army men and random toys taped to the board so we can see how they melt in the end. Bryan has made this melting of army men a tradition for the 4th.When the sun went down we lit them off.There was a small fire afterward but nothing these boys couldn't take care of!

The night was awesome. We had a great time with the Crown family! But the weekend was not over yet! Tyson and I had Monday off of work and it was a beautiful thing. We ended up going to the Bees game!We sat on the lawn, so we would have great seats for the fireworks after!We did have perfect seats for the fireworks. I wish I had taken video of the show, it was great and we saw something I have never seen before! You know how you can see them burning as they go up, then they explode in the sky? Well we watched one go up, then come back down, and it exploded on the field! Luckily it exploded in a place where people were not sitting, but green fireballs did go out into the crowd of people! It was so scary, everyone screamed. I don't think anyone was hurt but I definitely would not have liked to be down there! The show continued as normal and there were no more mess ups.

It was a great 4th of July weekend for us!

Summer Lovin

Tyson and I were tired of working, and we had built up a little bit of PTO. We decided to take a trip for just the two of us. Neither of us had been to Lake Powell before so we decided we would camp and swim and play. There were many stops along the way though!

We started out in Moab. We didn't want to drive all the way to the lake on the first day, so we stopped and camped in a random place in Moab.

This was the fire we had built the first night. It looks well and good. Little does this picture show that it was SOOOO windy that night! I really was scared that the fire was going to engulf me when a gust of wind hit it. Tyson just laughed at my non-fire-knowing ways. Silly me and only knowing about contained non windy girls camp fire (with a bucket of water and ice near by)...

We could have spent money and bought ourselves a tent. Or we could use what we have and camp in the car! You might think that is a bad idea, but this was a great set up! We were able to take out the back seats, lay down some padding and we were both able to sleep pretty well. I was surprised at how well this set up worked for us.

We were sleeping pretty no matter where we were camping. No need to mess with setting up a tent! Lets just drive and sleep wherever!

You can see I was pretty excited about this.


We spent the next day at Arches National Park. We took time to drive around and see the pretty sights, and we stopped to hike for a while. It was fun to be out in the open and see these awesome parts of nature! Tyson and I love to hike and play around outside!

This was a double arch we hiked up to. We didn't think we would be hiking when we left, so we were both in sandals, but we ran around all the same.

Tyson wanted to climb up high, so I followed him for a while, then I decided my flip flops were not going to cut it all the way up.

I did climb around a little though! It was harder to get down than it was to get up.

When we were tired of climbing and hiking we decided it was time to head down to Lake Powell. We were able to find a campground where we could drive up right near the water. So we parked the car, and went swimming!

You might think it is weird for two adults to have their noodles, but we loved it! We swam for hours and floated with our noodles.

This was the view from the back of the car. There were a few people around but not many, so it was not too crowded or loud.

We stayed here a while, and when we wanted something different we decided it was time to drive to another area of Lake Powell. I was nervous about this, but Tyson is a man of adventure and so we went exploring.

After a few hours of driving we saw this great sight! There was a canyon with water at the bottom. We saw the road that would take us down and Tyson was sure there would be camping. I was not so sure but we went on down and alas, it was beautiful.

We ended our vacation here. We found a camping spot where we could really hop out of the car and into the water! It was amazing! There were also almost no people in sight! We enjoyed ourselves very much, and expect to come back again.