Wool Socks to Flip Flops

I need to just take a minute to for this slobber monster. This creature brings me so much joy in her goofy, gangly, all-leggedness. Here’s to ‘go’ing for ‘walks’ ‘to get the mail’ and ‘ride in the car’ to ‘grandpa’s house’ to see the ‘chickens’. 🐓 I never knew I needed a dog so much and she’s my perfect match. 🐕 (I mean, she loves warm blankets fresh out of the dryer as much as I do. It was a match made in Heaven, really).

I’m so grateful for flight. Airports are magical portals that take one to new and exciting places. Today I’m especially grateful for flights taking me to the most magical place of all— Home. 🏠

Heart to heart talks, late night phone calls, and chats while we make our commutes. Silly texts, funny memes that make me belly laugh, inside jokes and speaking in fluent movie quotes. Grateful today for my sisters— my six best friends. They are constantly teaching me about what matters most in life— Intelligence. Wisdom. Strength. Curiosity. Confidence. Service. Humility. Humor. Joy. Tradition. Family.

Together. My favorite place to be.

Most of our plans have been put on indefinite hold this year. It’s frustrating being so limited and not knowing how long this will continue. But we are taking action on the things we can control in finding creative ways to get some fresh air and clear the cobwebs of our minds. COVID-19 may have cancelled nearly all of the performances at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival (our one summer commitment must!), but we can always take a walk down the nature path to the river behind the amphitheater for a picnic dinner date night. 🥖🧀 🍇

What has been your favorite modified summer activity thus far?

I’ll give you my answer
filled in a form
Yours for evermore
I will still need you
I will still feed you
Now that you’re sixty-four.

Happy Birthday, my love! 🥳

*Looking back on a memory*⠀
Before we head on in to 2020, let’s take a look at the places & things that brought us here:⠀
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2009: 🇭🇳 Honduras scuba w/ friends! We both broke our legs in “The Deck Accident.” Jill graduates from BSU.⠀
2010: 🇩🇪 🇦🇹 Germany & Austria with family including in the summer & Christmas in Mexico 🇲🇽.⠀
2011: 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic. A rough year battling mental health issues and a lot of time in therapy. Grateful to still be here on this beautiful earth with those I love. If you need help, seek it.⠀
2012: 🇧🇶 Bonaire in the spring, 🇨🇭🇮🇹🇻🇦 Switzerland, Italy, & the Vatican in the fall (including the tunnel of death!). Focused on our relationship, spending time together, & strengthening our marriage.⠀
2013: 🇧🇶 Bonaire for SCUBA diving. Jill starts full time work & we make strides in meeting financial goals. 🎯⠀
2014: 🇧🇶 Back again to Diver’s Paradise! Jill takes 3rd place in her first body building competition.⠀
2015: 🇹🇨 Turks & Caicos at Club Med Turquoise. We are sealed in the Twin Falls Idaho temple for time & all eternity on Pi day (03.14.15) by complete coincidence.⠀
2016: 🇰🇾 Cayman Brac for diving— spent most of it topside with colds 🤧. Paid off our mortgage 🏡 and are 💯 debt free!! Took up backpacking in earnest. 🥾⠀
2017: 🇬🇧 🇬🇷 Great Britain and Greece. Michael celebrates 15 years at HP. 1st annual sisters backpacking trip.⠀
2018: 🇧🇶 Bonaire & more backpacking. (Can you say ‘Predictable?’ 🤔 😄) 2nd annual sisters backpacking trip.⠀
2019: 🇹🇨 Turks & Caicos w/ friends in the spring & a trip to CA in the fall to visit family and dear friends. 3rd annual sisters backpacking trip (does this make me a guide? 😅) Michael retires from HP & enjoys a LOT of fishing in the summer and volunteer work.⠀
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Whew! 😅 What a ride it’s been and we’re just getting started! So many amazing things planned for the year ahead including exploring a new sport & a dramatic new vacation destination. 🤞🏻⠀
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Looking back, what is something you are proud to have accomplished in the past year, or even ten?

With love from our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

Just because this deserves its own post. I found this photo in an old photo album of Michael’s and fell in love with it. I want to make a huge print of it and make it the center piece of the interior design concept for our home office— something I have never had the interest in doing. It’s amazing what a single piece of fine art can inspire! Do you have a piece of art or photography that inspires you? I’d love to hear your story.
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Backpacking to Lake of the Lone Indian, John Muir Wilderness, Sierra Nevada Mountains.⠀
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Michael Clayville Photography circa 1995.

Katherine’s Landing⠀
Embarkation point for many an adventure⠀
Family favorite hangout⠀
“The River”⠀
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Unwittingly, we just happened to be here near the 5 yr anniversary of Michael’s Dad’s passing. Coming here to a place he loved and spent time with family just felt right.⠀
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Sometimes you choose the place and other times it chooses you.⠀

On a side note: Thank goodness for our America the Beautiful pass that let us in for free. We would not have paid the hefty fee to drive in, park, and walk around, but because of the pass we did not hesitate to come back a second day. It has paid for itself.⠀
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My dear Aunt Faye,⠀
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Thank you for being you. Navigating familial relationships of extended family has often been hard for me, but despite my awkwardness you have loved me unblinkingly and without hesitation. You accepted me with open arms the moment we met because I have always been your niece— no questions, no exceptions.⠀
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I love hearing your telling about what life was like on the farm in Kerman, and stories about your various family members. I know, without a doubt, they each hold a special place in your heart— from your gentle giant of a brother, John, to your father who raced a neighbor down the road in their milk carts, losing all the milk along the way. And your sisters— the special bond you have to each other stretches on into the eternities.
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Thank you for answering all my questions about the Who’s-who in your family, your Russian heritage and the Molokan culture you were raised in as a child, as well as sharing the little tidbits of your everyday with me.⠀
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Seeing and getting to visit with you was a joy to my soul. 💛 I count myself blessed to have your influence in my life.⠀
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{This picture is now one of my favorites from our trip. Thank you, Shelli, for asking us to squeeze together and for taking it!}

The best part of being married to your best friend is making memories together of the places that meant the most to you throughout your life.⠀
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The Los Angeles Temple has been one of those places in Michael’s life. This was the temple he attended as a teen, young adult, returned missionary, and on. Ever since I have known him, He has always talked about taking me there and attending together.⠀
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This past week we were finally able to make this dream a reality and the time spent here together will always be a treasured memory. This temple is a good example of how large the temples used to be. The instruction rooms are HUGE! I couldn’t get over how tall the ceilings were!⠀
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Do you have a favorite place from your past that meant more after sharing it with a loved one?⠀
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Funny story: As I was asking for directions from a attendant, she noticed that I was from Boise and casually mentioned that her sister worked in the temple in Boise. When she told me her sisters name, I told her I knew who her sister was and that her sister’s daughter had married my uncle. I was having a conversation with my aunt’s aunt! When I told Michael later, he just shook his head, smiled, and said, “You’re related to everybody.” 😂 ⠀

California Boy 🥰😍🥰

“Catch a wave, and your sitting on top of the world.”
—The Beach Boys

✌🏻☮️💟

Are you a fan of Halloween?⠀
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We are a house divided. Michael really enjoys the holiday and me not so much. My theory is that Halloween is a city kid’s holiday. I grew up in the country where trick-or-treating was a car entrance/exit marathon (more workout than fun, carefree activity). Also, living where one has to wear a coat over a costume kind of defeats the purpose. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Poor Michael has to save his scary movies for whenever I am out of town because I am also not a fan of the ensuing nightmares. 🙈
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Yet here I am, creeping into spooky season with my boo. 🎃 👻⠀
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Tell me where you stand: Are you Team Michael or Team Jill?⠀
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Haha!

Happy October!

Well, hey there! (or should I say ‘hay’? 😏) Happy Fall Y’all! 🍂⠀
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It’s the first day of Fall and with it comes my usual melancholy. It’s no secret that summer is our favorite, and this summer seemed to scream by exceptionally quickly. I’m surprised that we are already trading in our flip flops for wool socks. While we wait for summer to come back around again, we count our blessings that we get to live the life of our choosing, cultivating relationships with those we love near and far.⠀
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Today I’m grateful for my sister who seized this corny 🌽 photo op with me at a car dealership for no other reason than it was there. This is the spice of life, I tell ya.⠀
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What is your favorite fall/winter activity when the temperatures dip below 60°F? Help a girl out; I need some inspiration!⠀
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Here’s looking at you, Kid. 💙 👀⠀
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Michael and I attended the Idaho Shakespeare Festival's production of the Million Dollar Quartet last night. It was so, so, good! This is not just a play. It's a live musical performance every night channeling the energy and personalities of Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. These actors are exceptionally talented. There are still tickets left for the next two weeks!

Thank you to the recent review and to this sweet Google review from Sylissa Franklin “Last night I watched, The Million dollar Quartet, the final production for the season at Idaho Shakespeare Festival, it is not to be missed. It's a musical treat, a lesson of American history and the birth of rock and roll. Only for two more weeks! The tickets are very affordable, the ambiance is magical, you will be so glad you went. I'd love to go again.” Take their word for it and get your tickets if you don’t have them! 208-336-9221 Box Office. 📸 by

Wool Socks to Flip Flops updated their website address.

There's still time to get out into the mountains this summer. Hiking level: Beginner, Scenic level: Gorgeous! 😍

A Beginner's Guide to Hiking the Sawtooth Mountains | Visit Idaho There are countless opportunities to access easy hiking trails in the Sawtooth Mountains for any first-time hikers. Here are just a few to get you started.

Surround yourself with good, and good is all you’ll see. ✨⠀
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Give that a double tap if you agree! ☝🏻⠀
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Perhaps it’s because it hardly ever rains in the high desert of , but some of my favorite memories have been made in the rain— whether it was getting caught in a tropical downpour on the Bay Island of with the Hubster on a trip and laughing our heads off, or squeezing four of us sisters & best friends into a 3-man tent only to fall asleep snuggled up together to the sound of thick drops falling from a mountain thunderstorm on the roof of our . Life is always better adventured together.⠀
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What’s your favorite ‘caught-in-the-rain’ story?⠀
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This past weekend marks the 3rd year I have backpacked with my sisters in the Idaho backcountry— a favorite tradition. Squeezing 4 people into a 3-man tent to escape the torrential downpour was as exciting as it sounds, but some how we all slept {relatively} well and stayed safe, warm, & dry. But even in the rain, the beauty of Ants Basin didn’t disappoint.

Cheers from Beef Stroganoff, Chili Mac with Beef, and Lasagna with Meat sauce; photo by yours truly, Chicken & Dumplings [our (failed?) attempt at trail names 😆]. You can swipe to see our album cover ➡️. Did we nail it or what? @ White Clouds Wilderness

We love everything Idaho, and Banana Ink satisfies all of our cravings. Check out this sweet Idaho Popsicle sticker. Must have for that water bottle sticker collection, as a car decal, or to stick on the cover of your Idaho Adventure Journal.

NEW Idaho Popsicle sticker! 😋

Adventures can be messy, but that’s what makes them fun. ☀️🏕🌲🏔

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.” I’d say the view is pretty good from here. 😍🥰⠀
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Throwback to our 2017 trip to Santorini, Greece. 🇬🇷 Santorini is like the Las Vegas of Greece. There is something there for everyone if you know where to look. For some, there’s the hustle and bustle and shopping on the rim of the caldera. For us, it was this quiet beach with its own restaurant and marina on the east side of the island. Slow pace, good food, the best company.⠀
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Quote: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Airman’s Odyssey.⠀
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Handshake with a wave. Hello, Old friend.

Let’s be honest, all my my photos from our trip to in look like some variation of this— white sand turquoise water. I make no apologies.

After an exceptionally soggy May, it looks like it has FINALLY to stopped raining and the weather is starting to warm up. Perfect timing, since the community pool just opened for the summer!

What are you looking forward to the most this summer season?

Remembering the sacrifices of those military men and women who make days like this possible. Grateful hearts, always, for the blessings of freedom. ❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

In case you were looking for permission— here’s your free pass to happiness! Now, what are you going to do with it? Share your plans for the weekend below, so I can celebrate with you. ⤵️