Hiking Squaw Peak

When you are going throughout your day do you ever stop and take a minute to look at the world around you? Do you ever look at the highest point wherever you are and say to yourself, "I'm going to climb that."? Maybe I'm weird, but this is something I do all the time. If there is a mountain to be climbed, I want to climb it.

Living in Utah I found myself surrounded by mountains and I wanted to climb all of them. Unfortunately, due to weather and a move coming up this didn't happen. However, Andy and I were able to get out there and climb Squaw Peak on May 24th (the weekend before we moved).

Having never hiked Squaw Peak before we weren't quite sure where the trail head was. We parked in the wrong parking lot and hiked an extra half a mile or so in search of the trail. Don't worry though, we found it. We always do.

Andy starting out on the trail.

Round trip the hike was 7-8 miles long and it was a steep one. We had our trekking poles with us and we were both really grateful that we brought them; they were put to good use. The hike up was beautiful! We hiked though trees and meadows and crossed over a stream several times.

Close to the top.

The closer we got to the top, the deader it looked.

For some reason the bumble bees were attracted to Andy and one would come and fly in circles around Andy's feet. He would step on it or hit it until it died with his trekking pole and a few minutes later another one would come. Each time a bee would come, we would stop so he could kill it. The killing of the bees really slowed us down. For those who don't know I am terrified of bees so this was a scary hike for me in that regard.

The view from the top was amazing!

The view from the top was amazing! You can see the Provo Temple, Mt. Nebo (still need to climb this one, it still had too much snow on it), Mt. Timpanogos, and Eagle Mountain.

Looking down the cliff face almost makes one dizzy. It's kind of crazy to think that we climbed that much in elevation over the course of just a few miles.

Andy feeling proud that we made it to the top.

We did it!

I love this photo because you can see my arm muscles that's a first.

  

We didn't stay on the summit for very long because the sun was starting to set and we didn't want to encounter any animals on our way down (bears and cougars). I'm so glad we had our trekking poles for the hike down; my legs were shaking on the way down with the poles. I can only imagine how bad they would have shook without them.

We hiked part of the way out with our headlamps. As we hit a part of the trail that we gravel I couldn't help but notice shiny green eyes in the rocks. I quickly discovered that these green eyes belonged to hobo spiders. I was amazed how many spiders there were, they were kind of creepy. **Note to self** Don't go walking on this trail in sandals.

We both really enjoyed ourselves. This is one hike I would definitely do again!

*There is something about doing something that seems impossible and daunting to me that I love-- maybe that is where my love of hiking comes from. Or maybe it is just that I enjoy being in nature and taking in the world around me. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many beautiful places that God created for me to enjoy.

Farewell Henry Schein

I'm not one who typically gets teary eyed but saying good bye does something to me. My last day working at Henry Schein was May 23rd and I had a hard time leaving and saying good bye. Henry Schein was my home away from home and my co-workers were like family. I learned a lot while I was there and I made a lot of memories.

On my last day me co-workers threw are barbeque for me and gave me a good bye card. As I was saying my good byes and packing out my stuff I started to cry and I cried a good portion of the way home. To my Henry Schein Family, thank you for everything! I miss you dearly! Please keep in touch!

*I'm getting teary eyed just writing this post.

Provo Recreation Center

I think it is safe to say I love swimming! I wouldn't classify myself as a great swimmer but I sure to love being in the water. Remember how back in December we went swimming at the Aquatics Center in Jackson? In case you missed that post, you can read it here. We had a great time swimming in Jackson and can't wait to go back.

When Provo built a new rec center complete with an aquatics center we were excited! We remembered how much fun we had in Jackson and couldn't wait to try out the new facility, this was something we had to do before we moved.

One Friday after work, we grabbed some dinner at Olive Garden and then headed to the pool. Sadly, the new facility wasn't as fun and we had hoped it would be. We went down the water slides to quickly discover there was a small space between each piece of the slide, it made for a painful ride and one time down was enough for each of us.

Next we decided to go swim some laps. I wanted swim and mile and  Andy said he would do it with me. We quickly discovered that the water was very cold. I kept sneezing because I was so cold. As you could probably guess, we didn't end up swimming our mile.

We spent some time in the lazy river but that water was pretty cold too and we could only handle the cold for so long. The majority of our time was spent in the hot tub trying to stay warm.

Swimming was a bit of a downer for us but we did enjoy spending time with each other. Hopefully we can get back to our favorite swimming hole in Jackson one of these days.

Our Dear Friends The Prices

Shortly after we moved Orem, the Price family moved into our ward and we quickly became friends with them. We spent a lot of time with the Price’s and their four kids. We laughed together, we cried together, we played together, and just had fun with them. Most Sunday nights were spent playing games together. It was in playing games with them that I developed a love for the game Risk—crazy I know.

Before we moved we were able to get once last game night in with Fenima and Malachi. Unfortunately, Scott wasn’t able to be there.

I am so grateful that the Price family came into our lives; they have truly been a blessing and joy to know. Andy and I both love this cute family and consider them part of our own family. We hope to be able to see them again sometime soon!

Here are a few throwback pictures when Fenima and I danced together for Indonesian Independence Day back in 2012.

Cafe Rio & Packing

On Friday May 9th we had planned to go on a date, unfortunately by the time we got home we were both exhausted. Instead of doing what we had planned, we decided to grab something to eat at Cafe Rio one last time (since they don't have them in Oregon). After eating we headed home to pack some boxes--packing boxes didn't make for a very exciting evening, such is life sometimes.

You Ask Why I Follow Jesus?

At church one Sunday the teacher handed us some bookmarks with the poem below on it. I really like this poem, the words resonated with me so I thought I would share it.

You Ask Why I Follow Jesus?

You ask why I follow Jesus?

Why I love him the way I do?

When the world's turned away from His teachings

And the people who serve Him are few.

It's not the rewards I'm after

Or the gifts that I hope to receive

It's the Presence that calls for commitment

It's the Spirit I trust and believe.

The Lord doesn't shelter His faithful

Or spare them all suffering and pain, 

Like everyone else I have burdens, 

And walk through my share of rain.

Yet He gives me a plan and a purpose,

And that joy only Christians have know,

I never know what comes tomorrow, 

But I do know I'm never alone.

It's the love always there when you need it;

It's the words that redeem and inspire,

It's the longing to ever be with Him

That burns in my heart like a fire.

So you ask why I love my Lord Jesus?

Well, friends, that's so easy to see,

But the one thing that fills me with wonder is

Why Jesus loves someone like me. 

Zip Lining With A Twist

While we were out at the cabin we learned that there was a zip line. Somehow we missed the zip line on all of our previous trips to the cabin. Since zip lining was something I had wanted to do, we decided to go for it. Andy, Brittany, Wyatt, and I all took turns zip lining on Saturday.

Sunday morning before we left I looked at Andy and said something along the lines of, “I know its Sunday but I really want to go down the zip line one last time.” He told me that I better go fast and he raced to the zip line with me. He grabbed the rope and hauled the seat to the top of the hill. I climbed into the seat and away I went.

As the zip line came to a stop I saw something black and fuzzy just above my head. I thought it was a bee and I let out a scream, I am terrified of bees. However, I quickly realized that this black fuzzy bee was not a bee; it was a black widow lowering its self on a web toward my face. I freaked and did a fast maneuver to get out of that seat.  When I looked back up at the seat I noticed that the spider was gone and thought he must have fallen on the ground with me.

I ran as fast as I could up to Andy screaming because I thought the spider was on me and I didn’t want to get bit. When I reached Andy, I was out of breath and it was hard to talk. He just kept laughing at me thinking I was running away from a bee. When I told him what really happened he became a little more concerned but kept laughing. It's too bad we didn't get the black widow ride on camera that would have been great!

Moral of the story, keep the Sabbath Day holy and don’t go zip lining. You may take a ride with a black widow.

*This was one of the scarier things I have experienced, I’m glad I was kept safe.