It actually really really snowed

Presidents day Monday it snowed a ton. Utah really needs the water so that was good. The bad thing was Amber and I were driving home from Vegas in it. That was not fun but we made it home safely it just took a couple hours longer than usual.

Tuesday was my night to go to dinner with Jana, Erica and Michelle for my birthday. We all go out together four times a year to celebrate our birthdays. Since it had just snowed I asked them if we could snowshoe instead of go to dinner. They all agreed, probably because it was my birthday. We went up to Tibble Fork and had a great time.

It was a gorgeous evening!

 We went up for as long as we could before we had to get people back to their families. It was a fun girls night out.

The views were amazing.

 Wednesday Hannah and I snowshoed up Rack Canyon after work.

 We went up for 45 minutes because that is what time we had. It was beautiful up that canyon as well. It was a great after school activity!

This year I am not coaching track. It was a really hard decision but one that I feel good about. I am excited to come home after school and not have the stress of managing 200 kids. The behind the scenes work of coaching track is what is really stressful for me. This way Moki and I can go for a hike and enjoy the outdoors right after school.

I have been wanting to snowshoe to Silver Lake Flat all winter. The problem has been that it hasn't snowed. Finally we had snow and so I made it happen on Saturday. Jana and Kelsey were willing to come hike with me. We started early so Jana could get back to her family and the hike ended up being shorter than I anticipated, so that was good. We hiked up the Silver Lake on the road that was covered in snow. It was 3.1 miles from the Tibble Fork parking lot to the dam. We started hiking around 7. It was nice because no one else was up there yet. When we finished there were lots more people.

 We made it to the lake! It was freezing at the lake. The wind was so cold.

On our hike up we noticed snowshoe tracks going down the side of the mountain instead of on the road. We decided to take those tracks back down. It was awesome. We were in way better snow and it was beautiful.

 It was also only a mile and a half back to our car. Next time I might try to go up that trail as well. It is steeper than the road but half the distance.

 It was really nice to go down a different way than we came up. It is fun to get two different perspectivies.

 Portrait mode shots:)

 The sisters were matching!

 It was really fun to snowshoe with Jana and Kelsey. After we finished we went to the Hancocks and sat in their hot tub and warmed up. That was amazing. Then we ran to Costco. Because we got down so fast we had lots of extra time:)

My favorite comment from the day was from Jana's oldest son Benji he asked Jana if this was her knew hobby or something!!!! I laughed so hard. I would love it if it was. Such a fun way to start off my Saturday!

Presidents Day in Vegas

Most years I take my birthday off of work. This year I took the Friday of my birthday week off so I could have an extra long Presidents weekend in Vegas. Amber Ellis headed down to visit her sister and so I was able to join her and visit Katie. Katie just moved into a new house so I got to see that and we got to catch up. Really it meant lots of laughing, shopping and staying up way too late.

I took my bike and luckily it was warm enough to ride. I rode 21 miles on both Friday and Saturday. They were slow miles but it felt great to get out and bike. It was still pretty chilly but I am glad I biked.

We went to lunch Friday at a a restaurant that has very fresh beef. We tried fried mushrooms, creamed kale, and fried spinich. All new dishes to me. Then we had a delicious burger as well. We were stuffed.

 We also had a weird waitress.

 Then we went to Marshalls. Where I bought way too many clothes for my new niece, well soon to be new niece once she is born!

 Katie's new house has a pool and hot tub. You better believe I sat in that hot tub everyday. It is seriously amazing. I also got in her freezing cold pool so I could try it out.

 Saturday after I biked we grabbed doughnuts and then shopped some more.

 That evening we went to The Chubby Cattle, a hot pot place. I haven't had hot pot since my mission so that was fun. It was really busy so we waited a long time for a seat. It was worth it.

 They had lot of different broths. The tomato one was out favorite. It was so good.

 I think we both rolled out of there when we were done eating. I was so full!

It is always so fun to visit Katie. We can laugh for hours. She is one of my best friends and I am so thankful for her. It was a great weekend.

My Birthday

How am I so old? It is crazy. I don't feel old except in the morning when I first wake up. I wake up pretty stiff most mornings. I had a good birthday. I woke up early and worked out, I worked, that is unusual for me, then Anthony and Caleb joined me and we swam in the Homestead Crater in Midway, I made them dinner at my house and had a city league basketball game. It was a pretty typical day and that was great!

The Homestead Crater was pretty cool. The crater is 200 ft deep. The water is around 90 degrees year around. This was activity I have been wanting to do for awhile so Anthony and Caleb were nice to join me. It is a little creepy in there. It is dark and misty, but the water is amazing.

 You have to wear life jackets which is a bummer but it was still fun.

You pay your money and then you get to float for 40 minutes. The water has a bunch of minerals in it too. The nice thing was that it did not smell like sulfur.

 The water was also very clear when you were in it.

 The crater is used a lot for scuba diving certification. We could look down under the water and see the scuba divers way down there.

I hope 38 is a great year for me. It started off fun!

January Wrap Up

I started working out with Celissa again. There was finally a day that snowed. Basketball season was in full swing and my team was playing all of the other hard teams. I was still going to work and coming home from work in the dark, which totally stinks. My classes at school all changed and my semester has been going great so far.

Kaitlyn had a birthday!!! She is so funny to Facetime with. 

 I got my hair done and I did something different. That is a big deal for me. I had her make the top my natural color and then leave the ends blonde. It has been a fun change.

Hannah, Moki and I snowshoed the south fork loop the Saturday it snowed. The snow was amazing. We went earlier so we were the first ones there and enjoyed a beautiful morning.

 Moki and I also hike the Y on the weekend that snowed. We tried to get out as much as possible because this winter has not had much snow.

Aquarium

January and now almost February have flown by. I am actually embarrassed that it has taken me this long to blog this year. It is busy but really that is not a great excuse. Basketball ended. My team played amazing this year. I miss those girls. I loved coaching them so much. I had a GREAT team. Not only were they good athletes but they are all such great people. It was so fun to spend so much time with them.

Before my mom headed back to California we took Andrew and Emerson to the aquarium. They had a blast. We spent a few hours there while their parents went on a date:)

They are both at a great age for the aquarium. We played hard and wore them out. They were really good. We ended the trip with an ice cream run to McDonalds and then we played at a park. Yes, a park. This winter has been so crazy we went and played at the park the first week of January.