The Capel Family

It's been long overdue to have a Capel sibling family reunion. It had been almost 6 years since our last adventure out west. Joe's brother, Ben got married which helped push along our plans to make the long journey out there. We strongly considered driving, but then even more strongly considered our sanity so we decided to fly. We drove to Texas where Joe's sister Angie lives then flew from Dallas to Las Vegas. The wedding was in Southern Utah so Vegas worked out great. We were able to reconnect with several friends on this trip as well. On our way to Texas we stopped in Shreveport, LA to see our old neighbors from Whiteman, Adam and Melissa. Then we stayed overnight in Ft. Worth with some old friends we knew in Turkey, Karen and Jose. The military definitely has its perks, we love knowing people all over the world! It seemed like we could have just turned around and been satisfied with our vacation, but the journey continued the next day when we met Joe's sister at the airport and flew out west.

For the reunion we reserved 2 family condos that everyone shared. The resort was very family oriented with a park outside our units and several swimming pools. Our first day there we went to Zion's National Park where we did things like jump off cliffs and slide down slippery rocks under a waterfall. The kids really enjoyed their cousin time as well as almost giving their mom a heart attack while running ahead near 100 ft drop-offs! Joe was able to celebrate his first birthday with his family in a very very long time! We gave him the royal treatment with his favorite meal (Chinese Food), favorite cake (Carrot Cake) and of course silly string after he blew out his candles!

Ben and Chrissy had a beautiful temple wedding. We were so honored and privileged to attend the endowment and sealing. Each time we enter the temple we can't help but remember the day we were sealed for eternity and how special that day was for us. It was so neat to see so many of Joe's family members in the same sealing room together. It was also fun to spend time on the temple grounds taking pictures with the family. This is an occasion that doesn't come often and we took full advantage of that great opportunity to record those memories.

The remainder of our trip consisted of a short getaway with Dan and his family to rural Boulder, UT, home of Hell's Backbone! No pictures were taken, but just imagine driving through a huge windy canyon with a narrow road and absolutely no barriers, only to reach the very top of a narrow what would seem to be a bridge (but it's not, it's very much a road with no barriers and a million foot drop on both sides...yikes!) It was very nerve-racking to stand near that ledge for any amount of time! We are very happy we could spend so much time with family we hadn't seen in a long time. We hope it won't be long before we can do it again!

                                      

 I had some airline credit that was going to expire so Joe took leave from work so that I could go to California to spend time with my brother and his family. We had a really great time. I was able to visit San Francisco for the first time. What a beautiful place that I would gladly go visit again. While I was there I ran my first half-marathon with Cassidy and Anita. It was a really great experience.

This year Joe planned a trip for him and I to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains. It was my first time snow skiing.  I fell about 7-10 times and Joe fell about hmm....zero times!...jerk! Though it was somewhat of a mind-over-matter (emotions) kind of thing, I did have a good time and am so glad I made it out alive! I think the next time we ski we will choose a less intimidating destination.

This year so far has had a wide range of crazy weather. We first experienced snow/ice in January, which is abnormal for any part of Florida. It was a pretty chilly winter to say the least. In April we experienced a storm unlike any we have had in this area. The rain poured and poured and poured....and poured for close to 20 hours. There was some serious flooding in some parts of the panhandle. Our yard had never been as flooded as it was, but fortunately the water did not flood the inside of our house. There were many effected by the flooding in the Pensacola and surrounding areas. Sadly, many did not carry flood insurance that lost their homes. It's during times like these that I am reminded to always be prepared.