Home Decor

Right after I bought my house I bought this cute little shelf. Well it sat on the stairs for over a year because I just could not decide on where to hang it. Finally with Katie's help I hung the shelf. I love it. And I love the picture of President Monson that sits on top of it. I just think it is the cutest picture. It makes me happy.

At the begging of the summer I bought another shelf. Yep, I bought another shelf before the first one was even hung. In June I was feeling crafty so I got this shelf with a %50 off coupon at Roberts and then painted it to match my bay window. Then I bought plain wood frames and added scrapbook paper to them so they would match my living room. This shelf was not easy to hang. Let's just say I will be filling up some big holes before I sell this house. But it is worth it because they are cute and they make me smile.

Help!!

Let me start by saying I have been thinking about attempting a half marathon for sometime. Why, I am not sure, but I have been thinking about it and even talked to a few people about it. So Tuesday I signed up for this:

I then printed an online running plan. I had to start on wee 4 because time is short. But it's all good because my only goal is to finish. At least that is what I am going for. So far I have stuck to my scheduled runs this week. Only two more runs to go. The 8 miles on Saturday will be interesting. I am not so sure I am ready for those kind of miles but hey I have no choice, right?

So I need help because it is on Halloween and there are prizes for the best costume. I know I won't be good enough to get a prize based on my time but hey maybe if I had a SWEET costume I could win that way. So give me some ideas and remember I have to run 13.1 miles in whatever I decide on.

Sunscreen & Sweat

The school year is well under way and I can attest that I return home each afternoon reaking of sunscreen and sweat. I try to bike to work most days and then I teach outside all day and so I have not discovered a remedy for this terrible smell. I now have a student teacher and the weather has been much cooler so I think the smelly days are close to done. Thankgoodness.

Ben Lomand

For Labor Day Amber and I hiked Ben Lomand. It is the peak overlooking Ogden. It is just under 10,000ft. Not super high but the hike was actually 16.4 miles. It was relatively easy compared to some other hikes we have done but it was nice to be outside enjoying the great weather. We did it in just under 6 hours.

And what would a hike be without a self portrait.

Start'n' it off Right

This weekend is the kick-off for the college football season. The only real way to start the season off is to have a bbq. Luckily for me and Sam, Dan and his buddies planned a great bbq. Dan was the chef so it was amazing, of course. We had chicken, shrimp, steak, and sliders (mini burgers). I ate more meat at this little party then I ate all of last week combined but it was sure good. I brought a watermelon just to mix things up a bit. I will say the bbq shrimp was AWESOME. I also had a great time annoying Dan. That is done by picking at the food he has cooked before it is actually time to eat. What can I say I am a grazer and I love to annoy him:)

Sam and I ditched the party after the food so we could watch the game at my house. I cleaned during the game. I just have a hard time watching the whole game because I am nervous for BYU and I get so frustrated when they mess up. Lame I know. In an effort to control my anger I do other things while watching the game.

BYU thankfully pulled this one out. We are off to a good start. I must say I was dissapointed that no one in my ward mentioned the game in Sacrament meeting today. (not really dissapointed but totally suprised.) Provo was crazy last night while students lined the streets and let the world know the BYU pulled out the upset. Here's to a great start on the football season!!

Annual Timp Hike

This is my fifth or sixth summitt of Mt Timpanogos. It is such a beautiful hike and it can easily be done in one day. This year Amber and I hiked it in 7 hours and even ran some of the way. We were no match for the triathletes that biked to the trailhead and ran the entire hike, but hey we were not in too much pain at the end of the day!!

Overall it was a great way to spend our Saturday. We even saw a moose and a few mountain goat. One mountain goat was up on the summitt. It was crazy to watch how he just climbed so effortlessly.

Back To School

So this week was back to work. SAD!! It actually has not been that bad, except that I am exhausted when I get home in the evening. But have no fear I am a master nap taker. (This is no joke it is one of my hidden talents.) So I get home around 4 take a nap for an hour or two (at least 90 minutes so I go through the REM sleep cycle at least once so I can have all the benefits of sleeping) and then I still have many hours to play before I go to bed at 10 or 11.

Soon enough I will be feeling much like this poem:

I’m Staying Home from School Today
	by Kenn Nesbitt

I’m staying home from school today. I’d rather be in bed, pretending that I have a pain that’s pounding in my head. I’ll say I have a stomachache. I’ll claim I’ve got the flu. I’ll shiver like I’m cold and hold my breath until I’m blue. I’ll fake a cough. I’ll fake a sneeze. I’ll say my throat is sore. If necessary, I can throw a tantrum on the floor. I’m sure I’ll get away with it. Of that, there’s little doubt. But even so, I really hope my students don’t find out. Text © Kenn Nesbitt, reprinted from Revenge of the Lunch Ladies

Unfortunately I have a conscience or I would skip school once in a while and do something like this.

Graduation

My Mom came out for my graduation this week. It was so fun to have her here. We went shopping and just hung out which was nice. It was also a good week for her to be here because we got to be around when Sam came home from a date with Amanda engaged (they are getting married October 9th).

This time around we skipped the big graduation in the Marriot Center and just attended my department graduation on Friday. It was fun to wear the hood for graduate students it really makes the outfit look so much nicer.

Graduating in the summer is nice because there aren't as many people and so the ceremony was pretty short.

Katie and my mom were my fans. Katie is so thoughtful, she brought beautiful flowers. Dan could have come but he said will you be mad if I don't come. I obviously said no so he knew he was off the hook. I can't blame him they are pretty boring!

I was just really glad my Mom was able to come out. We had a great time. We missed my Dad but his health just isn't good enough to be making trips back and forth to Utah.

And last but not least my "riding the cougar" picture for Jana.

Bryce Canyon National Park

One of my goals this summer was to make it to as many National Parks in Utah as I could (there are 5). Sam has Tuesdays and Wednesdays off of work so we thought it would be fun to plan a little over night camping trip. Sam, Amanda, and I left Monday after Sam got off work and headed to Bryce Canyon.

After last weeks camping trip in the backwoods I decided to car camp in style and I bought one of these.


I slept like a champion. Sam and Amanda made fun of my huge bed but it was so comfy. I was planning on eating like I eat when I backpack but Amanda brought some good food. So we had smores on Monday night and banana chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast Tuesday morning. I will admit that they tasted much better than the granola bar I brought to eat.

We hiked the peek-a-boo trail as well as the rim trail. We slept in so we did not start hiking until 11ish. After those two hikes (7.6 miles) in the 100 degree weather we were beat and decided to head home.

The landscape was beautiful and I am glad we took the time to go. It was really fun. Now my mom is in town for graduation later on this week. YAHOO!!!

4 days, 40 lbs, and NO SHOWER

This last week I was able to go on my "big summer adventure." Luckily Amber and I are friends and her family plans super fun trips and they are nice enough to allow me to tag along. Last summer it was Havasupai this summer we backpacked the Teton Crest Trail.

Here is Amber hiking up the trail on day two. We did 11 miles this day. Pretty exhausting with 40 pounds on your back.

This is me in my little one man tent. The tent was a cheap purchase when I bought a pack, sleeping bad, and tent all together that are matching for $100. I did not want to spend too much money because I just graduated from college and did not know if I would ever use it. Well the gear has been on multiple trips and I must admit the tent has surpassed my expectations. There was a big wind, thunder, and lightning storm every single night and my little tent kept me warm and dry. It is a little claustrophobic in there but it held its own.

I have only ever seen pictures of lakes with glaciers. I have always thought they were beautiful and now I got to see quite a few with my own eyes. This was the view looking down from Hurricane pass. Oh and they are a beautiful sight.

This is me on Hurricane pass. The peaks on the left are the Grand and Middle Teton. We summited the peak on the right the south Teton. It was around 12,500 ft.

My self portrait on the top of the mountain. The highest mountain I have hiked thus far. I will say that I actually felt the elevation for the first time in my life. I had to keep stopping because my legs would not work anymore they were not getting enough oxygen.

This was also the fist time I have climbed a peak that doesn't have a designated trail. You just scramble to the top. I must admit that I prefer to climb when there is a trail.

Another picture from the top. I put my coat on because it started to snow while we were up there.

The snow was not bad but there were some NASTY clouds in the distance and so we did not stay to long on the top and called off the hike to the peak of Middle Teton due to the weather.

On our way down I learned how quickly the weather can change on top of the mountains. When we started hiking at 2 it was hot and clear, no sign of clouds. As we were descending around 4 the thunder and lightning rolled in. I don't know if I can accurately described what it felt like to be in the middle of a thunder storm at 10,000 ft. It all started when we got down to the saddle. It had been raining a little but now there was thunder, lightning and hail. All of a sudden there was a huge crash of thunder followed by massive lightning that sent the four of us running through the rocks and ice fields. We were all running in different directions with the same end destination as our goal. We just needed to get back to our gear ASAP.

In case you are imagining this remember I run slow and I am at a high elevation and I am running through big boulders or on glaciers. It was very scary. The hail was getting bigger and bigger and the lightning was getting closer and closer. I was now running, praying, and trying to remember what you are supposed to do in a lightning storm.

Eventually I slipped and fell on the boulders. Surprisingly it did not even hurt. I jumped up and kept running through the storm. Here is what my leg looked like the next day.

Finally we all made it back to our gear. Our gear was left out unprotected because the weather was good when we left, oops. now it was all drenched. We quickly set up a tent on a glacier and jumped in for protection. Here are Daniel, Ben, and I trying to stay warm while waiting out the storm.

The storm was crazy. The hail went from the size of skittles, to peanut m and m's, to the size of quarters. The last of the storm was so loud that everytime the hail hit the tent it sounded like someone was firing a gun. All in all the storm lasted about an hour and a half.

The storm was an extremely humbling experience. It made me realize that you can not be in control of all situations. It made me realize that all those stories I have read about how quickly the weather can change are TRUE. And again it reaffirmed my testimony that our prayers are heard and answered. And that we can be guided in every decision we make, like whether or not to continue hiking or to turn back. I was grateful for protection on the mountain that day. I also learned that I need to learn more about outdoor survival. I am still not sure that pitching a tent on a glacier during a lightning storm is a good idea.

Once the storm cleared we hiked to our camp. Unfortunately I spent the last night a little chilly because I didn't do something as simple as putting my rain cover over my bag just in case.

And so I must admit I was forced to hike out in my pajamas. I know this was a horrible sight to see and so I took a picture for rememberance sake. As soon as it warmed up I changed back into my damp hiking clothes.

Overall the week was a blast. I was really nervous to be so far away from civization but I loved every minute of it, minus the day storm. I love being in the beautiful outdoors and having time to appreciate the world in which we live. My thoughts always turn to Heavenly Father and how grateful I am for the beauty all around as well as all the blessings I have in my life, especially the blessing of good health.

4 days, 40 lbs on my back, almost 40 miles of hiking, and no shower! Let's just say I was a little smelly when I got back to civilization.

Girls just wanna have fun

Jana, Cali, and I took a road trip to Vegas and met up with some friends and had a fun little girls weekend.

We did a little eating.

And a little shopping.

And a whole lot of catching up. We stayed up way too late. And the weekend was too short, but I love these girls and I am so grateful they are my FRIENDS!!!