Ibapah 2008

Jesse's family reunion is held every year in a tiny little town called Ibapah. Here is a picture of the welcome sign:


No, I am not joking, that is it. Notice that it is in the middle of a big ol' empty field. Well, that's what Ibapah is. A big desert. Population of approximately 100 people. Now, my first year there I didn't have the greatest time. It was over 100 degrees every day, I didn't know many people (Jesse and I had been married for a little over 6 months, so I wasn't very close with his siblings and parents(yet)). I am not an avid dirt biker *note the sarcasm* and thus I sat in a chair in the blazing sun for 3 days. My Harry Potter book's binding melted as I read it...no joke, I still have it as proof. It completely fell apart. I was trying to look like I was having a good time, but I honestly wasn't.

The next year I had to go to Girl's Camp, so I was off the hook. Jesse could tell I was a little too excited about the fact that they over-lapped and was hurt. He does love Ibapah so very much.

The next year it was a bit better. I knew more people, it wasn't as hot as usual, and I found ways to entertain myself while Jesse was off riding dirt bikes.

Last year was even better. I love Jesse's family. I am truly a Hubbard now (or so I feel) so I fit right in (though I still didn't jump in that scary, still-standing pond...which Jesse will tell you is not a still-standing pond. He will tell you there is a current in there, but I'm telling you people, there is not. There is a little film on the top of the water that you have to break when you enter. I like to call it "Pond Skin".) I enjoyed the raffle, the roasting of marshmallows, the conversations, and just had a great time.

But this year, I must say that I loved it. I loved every moment of it. I enjoyed the ride out (I watched "Just Friends" while we drove, which is one of my very favorite movies). I enjoyed our stop in Wendover, Nevada for Arby's. I enjoyed the additional hour-long drive thru the desert past Wendover. I enjoyed driving up, and seeing that they had stopped letting the cows into the pasture that we sleep in, so there was a lot of green grass, hardly any cow dung, and plenty of shady trees. I enjoyed setting up my tent, roasting marshmallows (always my favorite part of camping. I love how satisfying s'mores are! They can take care of any craving.) I loved Saturday morning when we made breakfast. This was the first year that I didn't forget anything of great importance so I didn't have to ask to borrow any of my mother-in-law's things (she's always so nice to lend me forks, milk, ice, whatever it is that I so stupidly forgot). I LOVED the Saturday morning games. We had so much fun. And, my favorite part of the whole experience is the fact that I SHOCKED Jesse. I love to shock Jesse. It's probably my favorite thing to do at the present time. I love to show him that after 5 1/2 years of marriage I can surprise him.

So, there is this MASSIVE tree that has a rope for you to jump out of. This tree is probably 20 feet tall (at least). And I am definitely afraid of heights. I truly am. And I don't trust me and ropes jumping out of trees. But I decided to just walk up to it, climb up that shaky little later, and then jump out of the tree. The problem is, when I got up there I chickened out. But Jesse had seen me at this point so he started to grin, and tell me he couldn't believe I was up there. Then a crowd of people gathered around (probably 30 people) and they were all waiting. I am frozen up there, thinking of how my 8-year-old niece had just done this exact thing earlier in the morning and had the guts to go thru with it, so how could I chicken out? Jesse proceeded to climb up the ladder, help me grip the rope and get in a good position to jump and then I jumped...here I am...with my horrified expression and my double chin...
Now look at Jesse's facial expression! That is priceless. He really couldn't believe I was jumping off. I love that...I love to be cool like that...hahahah...I am so just kidding! How cool can I actually be when I have to have my husband climb up the tree to give me a pep talk? Man, I just need to grow up...

The main reason why this year was fun is because my twin sister Meg and her husband Quenten came with us! Now, some of you might think: "This was a Hubbard reunion and Meg and Q are Jennings, not Hubbards..." Well, that's another story for another time, but Meg and Q are Hubbards. They definitely are. They come to all of the Birthday parties, Mother's Day celebrations, Father's Day celebrations, and they even come to the Hubbard's house on Christmas morning with us. So, it seemed right that they come to Ibapah. And they did! Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with Jesse at Ibapah, but his idea of having a good time out there and my idea of having a good time out there are completely different. I like to read, chat, eat, and play games. He likes to dirt bike, go target shooting, and jump into that dirty pond I spoke of earlier. So having Meg there was a great time. We love to do the same things and we definitely love to chat...and Q and Jesse love the same things as well, so we split up for certain parts of the day and then the 4 of us hung out during other parts.

Anyway, the point of me bringing them up was to put this picture on my blog. I love it so very much! This is Meg and Jesse as they are going down the zip-line which ends with you dropping into that dirty little pond...

Please note Jesse's facial expression again...how priceless is that?! He can't believe Meg is doing this with him either. He is just learning of Meg's obsession with water. That is one of our MAJOR differences. Meg will do anything she can to get wet. And I will do anything I can to stay dry. She is always hot. I am always cold. And therefore she is always trying to cool off and I am always trying to stay warm.

And finally, a picture of Quenten playing Frisbee golf, or "frolf" as I like to call it, with Jesse...

Sorry if this was a boring blog for any of my fellow bloggers, but I had to say that I finally truly enjoyed myself at Ibapah and am looking forward to next year. I never thought I'd get to that point, but I have!!!! Yea! And I will post again later with some pictures of Meg and her new best friend Copper...