Vacation Recap Tubing The St. Mary's

Family Tradition: We strap tubes to our cars, drive just outside of Cardston and float down the river.

We've been doing it forever. For as long as I can remember. At least once a year, when the Utah Aunts come for a visit (or more if we're sans jobs). If we're lucky its hot when we go down the river, if we're not the Utah Aunts also brought miserable rain with them. But its always fun. There's a cousin posse. I love the cousin posse. I would choose to hang out with them over anyone. They're one of my favorite parts of coming home. 

(Amy Wilde & Jesse)

(Uncle Matt & Meribah)

Pretty classic to strap the tubes to the roof.

One year when held the tubes outside the windows as we drove.

We also got pulled over by a cop that year.

(Aunt Paula, Mom, Peyton, Uncle Dale)

Maikal decided he wanted my tube.

I was opposed to that idea. 

He tried to snipe the tube from me. I won.

Round one that is.

He got me back on the river by dumping me from my tube and usurping it.

Jerk face.

(Mysha & Iohane)

Uncle Dale is always prepared. Full body wetsuit? Check. Large makeshift tube raft? Double check.

Our cousin tube train was maybe a little ambitious. Usually just a couple tubes latch together to ride the river. We decided to go with six or seven different tubes. Nice inclusive idea... that resulted in one massive tube explosion when because of the lack of mobility, the tube got caught on a really pointy rock. 

Bahaha. I love Mysha's face here.

(Iohane & Mysha)

(P.S. I love Amy Wilde's face here. She is just completely adorable and I'm glad she stayed so she could come tubing with us)

It was a great day. Even when Ben drove off in the Red Car with everyone's stuff in it.

(Dont worry, that XL little boys PJ set was skintastic)

We had a big extended family FHE. Which was something.

The story of how my Grandpa and Grandma Lowry met was told.

He was on his mission in the Cook Islands. And my grandma (who wasnt a member) got dared to come into the church building that the Elders were building or renovating. He saw her, she left and he got transferred to a different island. But apparently he couldnt stop thinking about her after he'd been transferred. They were maybe in the same room for five minutes. So he wrote to her and asked her to wait for him to finish his mission, and then he'd come back and marry her. She said no. So he asked her to pray about it and she changed her mind.

I realize that this is my heritage and that the story, of course, happened because I am a direct result of it. But my mind cannot wrap itself around it. If one of my brothers wrote home and told me they saw a girl for five minutes and now wanted to marry her, I would tell them they were crazy. Things like that just arent done. They dont work out. That course of action, is russian roulette with your heart and completely foolish. I just dont see how its possible to love someone so immediately. My grandfather didnt know my grandma at all - so how could he love her so instantly. I realize its history and doesnt matter, but I dont understand it. Not even a little bit. I explained my skepticism to my father and he said that my great grandpa Lowry was already dead so my grandpa Lowry didnt have a father to write to and who would tell him to keep his mind on his mission. I mentioned my unbelief in the situation to a friend who chalked it up to following the Lords counsel. Both those are all well and good, but where was the risk assessment, the pro/con list? Cause I feel like, situations like that, more often than not, would end very badly. 

My brother asked the question "Is it possible to fall in love in three days?" To which I would respond a resounding no. I understand that if you have a checklist of things required to fall in love, and within three days someone meets the checklist, you might call that love. But I think that constancy and appreciating someone for who they really are make up love. And both of those require time. I doubt I'll have to eat my words anytime soon, but I dont think I could trust a "three day love"... if those emotions were generated so quickly, couldnt they just as easily evaporate? You have to be able to trust the dependancy of someone's affections and how can you possibly do that if you dont really know the person? Call me cynical but I think crushes can be a three day thing, not love.