A Week With Buddy {07/11}

I love spending time with my little brother. First of all, he's an absolute hoot. Second off, he's always up for an adventure. Aylexie was off to Girls Camp this week, my mom had gone up to Everett to celebrate my Grandma Feely's birthday, and my dad had work-this mixture of absences provided for the best kind of adventuring. And of course, we did just that. We started off with a hike named Angel's Rest--one of the prettiest hikes I have been on in my years--and Thomas was petrified. He had never informed me that he was afraid of heights (where did this come from!?!) and was constantly asking to go back to the car. Unfortunately, I am me so he had no chance of returning to the car until we had gotten to the very top. He eventually began to get more comfortable and there was less complaining. The hike up is pretty steep and rough--which was not smart to do after finishing Asylum Volume 2 Legs day....my legs were killing me! But Thomas and I pushed through. The top was completely worth all the effort. It over looked the Gorge and had a 360 view of all the beautiful nature around. Thomas and I enjoyed our lunch on top of this beautiful mountain and then read. He brought his book and I brought The Book of Mormon. It was amazing to see the difference in the spirit I felt as I read in 3 Nephi on the top of a legitimate mountain. When I am in nature I feel all that closer to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, you look around you and see the beauty, the natural beauty around you--it all testifies of Christ. It's amazing. If you're looking for a powerful spiritual experience, read your scriptures at the top of a mountain.

After we finished up lunch and reading we headed back down. On our way up Thomas had saw a trail that led somewhere and he was determined to find where it led. I was a bit skeptical, and my legs were telling me that I couldn't take anymore of this climbing/hiking stuff, but my curiosity got the best of me as well. We found a HUGE waterfall and it was absolutely beautiful. We stayed there for a bit and took some pictures, during which Thomas got soaked (haha) and I came out completely dry. We decided that a hike like this called for some ice cream--so we went to the best of the bests--Salt & Straw--which was beyond delicious and hit the spot. Upon returning home we hit up Lakeshore for a bit and then decided to wind down with some good old Star Wars. I didn't realize that the movie was 3 hours long, so I was in for a treat......Afterwards, Thomas came up with the genius idea to build a fort and sleep on the floor in the family room. I woke up completely sore from both the power leg workout the day before and the hike, but it was all worth it. My brother and I made some awesome memories and we have the pictures to prove it :)