Dominican Republic Trip!

 We landed in the DR and immediately got wheels. To the excitement of the kids - we got this van to drive around in. Super fun! Little did we know how tight parking and driving was going to be, but we had the space to each have our own row!

Our first Airbnb had an infinity pool in the DR mountainous jungle of Jarabarcoa. What a neat place to stay, and we loved our adventures there!

The next day we went rafting, and these were quite the rapids and waterfalls! We had a blast navigating the river with our guides.

Canyoning was another fun adventure in Jarabarcoa!

This is a cute street in downtown Jarabarcoa that we had dinner near several nights. 

Here is the view from our local restaurant near our Airbnb. The view was amazing from here!

This is 24 waterfalls, what an amazing place! 

The goal here was to jump and slide off of as many waterfalls as possible. Here is one of the slides. Pretty amazing!

Then off to the city - Santo Domingo. Can you believe this was taken right downtown at a little grotto area under the city? So pretty!

The original fort in Santo Domingo! Audrey is looking out of a guard tower. This is the place that Christopher Columbus first landed, and we really enjoyed the history here!

Scootering around Santo Domingo

The Chocolate tour - we made our own chocolate, yum! No milk chocolate here...

Inside the Columbus memorial.

Having lunch and playing games with some Dominican natives. This was a really fun day. We hung out with some relatives of the woman that got baptized in Danbury when Audrey was there.

We arrive in Punta Cana, first meal was on the beach.

The view from our porch the next day.

Punta Cana was beach days everyday, surfing, fishing, inflatable obstacle course, bodyboarding, etc. Very fun!

Graham catches a fish!

Parasailing at our beach

We had a great time. We had the experience of no wifi, a night without electricity and running water. How crazy for us. We also experienced rush hour in Bavaro downtown - crazy! I was glad to be on our way home when the day came.

One last obstacle, we got a flat tire on the way to the airport. We had help and got it fixed and made it on our flights home. How exciting. So glad to be home safe!

June Is Fun, Family, Tabernacle and Camp

June started off pretty peaceful. Here Kate and I are hammocking in Little Cottonwood Canyon and enjoying the roaring Cottonwood creek.

We had a really special day at the temple for Brock's endowment and Logan's endowment by proxy. What a beautiful experience. The youth did baptisms for the dead while we were doing the endowment.

BJ and Mauri got Married 2 days later! How fun!

The cousins at the Payson temple together

June 10, 2023 marks the 10 anniversary of mom Chardan King's death. We got together with family and had a celebration with the foods we remember her making for us. Tacos, guacamole, Spanish rice, primary salad, pecan pie, homemade ice cream and more. What a neat day. Then the girls and I created memory boards with her memorabilia. Here is an example.

I could tell it was going to be a hard anniversary, thank you so much Julie and Jen for helping me through that day.

Then Kate celebrates her birthday! She is 17 years old! I can't believe it! We had a family party with Cafe Rio Salads and cheesecake. It was also Brock's farewell, so it was an eventful day!

Kate also took a group of friends up Big Cottonwood Canyon for her friend party. She managed the whole party herself. She is a very capable young woman.

Then Monday began the Tabernacle missionary assignment. Here is a video of building our Tabernacle.

Here are the missionaries called for the first two weeks. This was so much fun!

Sister Mecham, Sherry and Kimberly Coon were at the Tabernacle daily, with small breaks from around 8 am to 9:30 pm. Long days, but so many miracles!

Kate and Graham were at camp for the last week, I don't have pictures yet, but they seem to have survived. We are so grateful to their leaders. They are doing a great job!

May is busy and great

May flowers after all the showers!

 This spring, Graham was a goalie on the 7th/8th grade A team, one of two goalies. It has been an interesting season. He had a concussion to start the season and that was a hard beginning. After he was healed, sometimes he would split game time with the other goalie, sometimes it was only Graham. It felt like we never knew what to expect. His team made it to the semifinals, but lost to Corner Canyon, who won the tournament. Great season, proud of you, Graham!

Alta Lacrosse 7th/8th Grade A Team photo

Kate's soccer team finishes strong and earns a place in the P2 division next year. Well done girls! Kate says that she is done with soccer, so, we also had her last game this season.

Here is Kate's last game. She played hard, made a difference and finished strong. It has been such a pleasure to be her fans. We love you, Kate!

Here are three of Kate's fans! Mia (Emily's grandma's dog), Chad and Bagel.

Graham had his spring percussion concert. He is on a marimba with Tate Jensen and Sam Toa.

It was a pleasure to work with the Alta High PTSA this year as the Secretary. Next year I will be back as the treasurer. We have a great group of Parents! Thanks for letting me serve with you all!

And, that brings us to our Memorial Day trip to Capital Reef National Park.

Here we are in Burro's Wash. This was a very tight slot canyon. 

Rachel enjoying the curves.

We spent Saturday exploring the Torrey area in a side by side. Super fun. We did Velvet Ridge, hiked to Hell's Hole and then up to the top of a mountain. What an adventure!

These hills were insane, and super fun.

On our hike.

We made it. Chad to left, Rachel on right, Audrey on a rock in the distance.

Top of the world.

Our campsite

Visiting Cassidy Arch. Sherry, Rachel and Audrey standing on top.

Rachel and Audrey with arch in background.

Wow, What an April!

In April, I got the pictures from Cristal's wedding! Here are Cristal and Trey with mom Carolina, dad Sabastian, and Me, Kate and Audrey. We had so much fun celebrating with Cristal!

Dancing with Julie at Cristal's wedding!

Kate and 9 friends fly to Spain to be with Carmen for Spring Break! What a fun experience!

They all made it on the plane.

 

What fabulous times in Valencia!

This is a picture of the group that played an impromptu soccer game in the town square. The boys are from France and soccer was the common language!

Meanwhile back home.....

Kate goes on a tour of Utah State.

I made a rain cover for the clubhouse. It was too snowy over spring break, so I had to finish the next week!

We celebrated Easter. So fun to have Audrey home! 

Playing on the tramp in the back yard on Easter

Grandpa King comes to town. Here we are at a Himalayan Restaurant. I love you dad!

Rachel celebrates her birthday! Happy Birthday, Rachel!

We go hiking in the most beautiful place for a week! 

Havasu Falls

Hammocking riverside in our campsite

Mooney Falls

Kate plays soccer versus her cousin, Ivy, in Logan. Funny thing, we didn't know she was on that team until we got there. Here is Kate taking it to her. Kate definitely didn't hold back!