Summer 2012

A fun summer has come and gone, and what a summer it was!

It started out with Graduation at the end of April.  I walked as I brought my undergraduate education to a close.

 

Erica didn't graduate, that's next year but we decided it would be fun to wear the gowns together. 

After graduation, I prepped for my Hearst competition.  The first full week of June, the foundation flew me out to the beautiful city of San Francisco.  I competed for 2 days in collecting interviews and sounds as well as editing.  I placed fourth in the country!  It was a difficult competition.  I competed against the best of the best.  I learned so much.  It was great.  I also got to meet some of the best of the best in the professional world of journalism.
You can read about more about the competition here.

 

My Hearst Award for qualifying for the finals.

The weekend after the fourth of July, the Tanner Reunion happened at the Young Women's Camp in Heber, Utah.  As you know with the Tanners, there was plenty of sharning and wonderful catching up with cousins, aunts, uncles and more. 

David, myself and Emily looking cool with our Tanner Family reunion t-shirts.

In July, Erica and I flew to L.A. to visit the family and then drove to Carlsbad.  The WHOLE family came out to celebrate Emily's birthday, as well as run in the "Bolt to the Q" 5K sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, the company my Mom works for.  We all ran the 5K together and had a great time.  You start at the Charger's practice facilities and end at Qualcomm stadium, where the San Diego Chargers play their NFL games.  It is wonderful to spend some time with family.

The photo with the Charger girls before the race.

The next week, Erica and I packed our bags and drove to Moab, Utah with a few of our friends.  We camped out in Moab, then we went white water river rafting.  Unfortunately, because of dry winter we had, it was more of a float down the river.  It was very enjoyable none the less.  After we finished on the river, we went to Arches National Park and found some cook hikes.  We also hiked the famous Delicate Arch.  That night, a HUGE THUNDERSTORM ripped through Moab and got our tents and stuff wet.  So we decided to pack up and leave that night.  We finally got on the road at 1 in the morning and got home around 3:30 AM.  Let's just say there was NO ONE on the highway back to Provo.  I think maybe 3 cars passed me the whole three hours.

Us before we went rafting.

The gang at Delicate Arch (Hailee, Missy, Eldon, Erica, Me).

Erica and I under the arch. 

The next weekend, Erica and I jetted off to Oahu, Hawaii.  We were able to spend some quality time with my Mom and Dad, but also have some much needed R&R time to ourselves.  It was our first time to Hawaii, and it was very relaxing and fun.  We surfed at Waikiki Bay, spent a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie.  We snorkeled, ate plenty of shave ice, spent time at the beach, hiked Diamond Head, went to the Honolulu Country Club, went to a couple of museums.  The day we were supposed to fly back, we our plane at mechanical issues, so the airline bought the last tickets on the direct flight from Honolulu to Salt Lake City.  They just happened to be first class. :)  So we had an extra 13 hours in Honolulu.  This was great because we got to go to Pearl Harbor and see the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial.

Not a bad view.

Erica surfing in famous Waikiki Bay.

At the Polynesian Cultural Center.

PCC

Ate Shave Ice where President Obama eats his shave ice.

Relaxing

At the Royal Hawaiin.

The Duke!

Waikiki Bay

Waikiki Bay.  Beautiful.

Pearl Harbor

Labor Day weekend, Erica and I flew out to go to my cousins wedding near Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park.  It was a beautiful wedding, and we got to have another mini family reunion, and a family reunion for the Feeley family.  Nira's wedding was beautiful.  It was held at Lair of the Bear deep in the forest.  It was a great way to end the summer.

Nira's Wedding.  (David, Eric, Ima, Keegan, Erica, Me, Emily, Brooke, Stewart).  Oh yeah, I grew a beard too.