I Enjoy Long Bike Rides

I can still recall what my first bike or should I say trike looked like. It was pink, it had ice cream cones on the seat and I believe that it has tassels that came out of the handlebars. My first real bike though was yellow and it had a banana seat. I sure loved that bike, it took me everywhere.

I have fond memories or riding that yellow one speed with my Dad while he was on his evening runs with our dog, Sparky. The route we would take involved going up an overpass. My little legs didn't have the strength to peddle that bike over the overpass, so my Dad would push me while he ran.

My Dad has always (since he was a teenager) loved to ride road bikes. When I was about eight years old he purchased a tandem bicycle and install a special crank system so that I could ride the bike with him (my legs were too short at that point in my life to reach the peddles). We would hook a bike trailer to the back and pull my two younger sisters around town. It was always a good time.

Our family has gone on many bike rides over the years. The long rides were always my favorite. Each of us kids would take a turn riding on the back of the bike and we would stop and camp for the night. We rode from Seattle to Portland (temple to temple) and we rode from Seattle to Spokane (temple to temple).

Look at these gems I found, I know I have a few more somewhere in a box. 

Start of our ride from Seattle to Spokane. (Jake, Sadie, Megan, Kim Kayner & Me).

Sadie, Kim, Jake, Megan & Me.

Sadie, Dad, Jake, Megan, Mom & Me.

Mom cooking dinner at our campsite.

When I was sixteen years old I completed my first century (100 miles in a day) bike ride with my Dad and my Grandpa in Wenatchee, Washington. I'm pretty sure I was the youngest person to complete the century ride that day. I really enjoyed that ride. Was it hard? Yes, but it was such a good experience and I had a great time.

Me & Dad getting ready for the start of our ride.

Dad & Me at a pit stop.

Shortly thereafter one of my sisters said she wanted to do a ride with my Dad. He signed them up for a metric century (about 75 miles in a day). The night before the ride she told my Dad she didn't want to do it so I ended up going on the ride instead.

I remember that ride being really hard. The first part of the ride was uphill and we had a headwind both ways. By the time we finished riding it was pouring rain and the lightening had just started and that was the last long bike ride I went on.

Two years ago I set a goal to complete another century ride and it didn't happen. Quite frankly I was afraid to ride my bike on the road while we were living in Utah. Utah drivers can be kind of crazy. We knew too many people who had been hit while riding there bikes and Andy had seen a handful of strangers run over.

This year completing a 100 mile bike ride went back on my list of goals and this year I achieved my goal.

Dinner With The Whettens

The Whetten family in our ward invited us over for dinner on Thursday August 14th. John (the husband) served a mission to the Philippines the same time Andy did. John made Filipino food for dinner, he made a dish that I had never had before and it was really good.

After dinner we played one of the Settlers of Catan expansions. This was mine and Andy's first time playing this particular version, it was confusing at first but by the end of the game we had caught on. Andy enjoyed it so much that he wants to buy it now.

We enjoyed our evening with the Whetten's and look forward to getting to know them better.

Picking Blueberries

On Saturday August 9th we went and picked blueberries. Once again our timing was perfect, it was the last day of the season to pick blueberries. Since it was the last day of the season they weren't charging people to pick berries, they were just accepting donations. We donated $5.00. The bushes were kind of picked over, but we managed to pick about six pounds of berries in two hours.

And & I.

After we finished picking berries we went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch-- the food was okay but not a place I would go to again.

Then we went a picked up a bike rack for our car. Earlier that day Andy found the bike rack on www.craigslist.com and did some research and learned that this particular bike rack retails for $130.00 and we picked it up for $35.00. We got a steal of a deal on that bike rack.

A Weekend With My Sister

Megan came to visit us on Friday August 1st. She arrived late so we didn't really do much that first night, we all just went to bed.

The next morning we woke up early and headed to Voodoo Doughnut for breakfast. This was our first time going to Voodoo Doughnuts and we were impressed. The doughnuts were so good!

Andy & I.

Me and my doughnut.

First bite.

Megan.

Andy being a monster doughnut.

After we ate breakfast we hit up some yard sales. The yard sales weren't very good that day, none of us found anything worth buying.

Our next stop was Florence. We took Megan to the North Jetty and found a seal and some jelly fish. It was fairly windy on the jetty so we didn't stay too long.

The beach next to the jetty.

Andy.

Andy & I on the jetty.

We decided to stop at the Sea Lion Caves. It was our lucky day-- they were open so we got to go inside the cave. We rode an elevator down about 300 feet and found ourselves inside the cave. It was a neat experience, definitely something to do atleast once in your lifetime.

Andy & I.

Megan.

Love this photo of Megan.

The trail to the elevator.

Me and Megan walking to the elevator.

Inside the cave.

View from inside the cave. You can see the lighthouse in the distance.

Me and Megan.

Megan and I.

After we emerged from the cave we walked down a trail to the "mating rock." There were probably 200 sea lions on the rock and they kept making noises, they sounded like a bunch of people farting, we couldn't help but laugh.

Me and Megan pretending to be sea lions.

The trail to the "mating rock"

A lot of sea lions.

Me.

Megan.

 

Andy trying to be a merman.

We continued on our journey and soon found ourselves at the Heceta Head Light House. The light house is fast becoming one of my favorite places to visit. We hiked up the lighthouse and spent the rest of the day playing on the beach.

Andy- he dreams of going inside sometime.

Me and Andy.

The next day we went to church and Megan came with us. It happened to be fast and testimony meeting and Megan leaned over to me and said something to the effect of...

"Remember when I was little and you used to bribe me? You would tell me that if I bore my testimony you would give me chocolate."

I didn't have any recollection of this.

She continued, "Do you have any chocolate at your house?"

Before I knew it Megan marched up to the pulpit was recounted the previous conversation to the members of our ward. She then bore her testimony.

I am so grateful for my sister and her sweet testimony. In case you were wondering, I did give her chocolate.

Megan left after sacrament meeting but before she left we introduced her to one of our favorite missionaries, Elder Bethea. Like Megan Elder Bethea only has a right eye. Comical I know, we thought so too. It was kind of an awkward meeting but it made for some good laughs.

I'm so glad Megan decided to come and visit. I love spending time with my family and it seems like it doesn't happen nearly enough.

Four - A Divergent Collection

Just after I found out that I landed the job Andy and I headed to Costco to pick up a few things. Anytime we go to Costco I have to look at the books to see if there is anything that catches my eye. On this particular visit to Costco I happened to spot Four A Divergent Collection - I kind of freaked out a little bit when I saw it. How did another book in the series come out and I not know about it? Naturally, I had to buy it. Plus I just got a job so a reward was in order.

I read Four rather quickly, it is a fairly short read. What I really liked about this book was that it gives you more information in regards to how Four became Four and the person that he is. It also tells his version of the story of when he first meets Tris. It was a great read that gives lots of insight.


*Three more books to go to make my goal of twelve for the year.

Riding Bikes With The Young Women

On July 29th I went on an eight mile bike ride with the Young Women in our ward. I wasn't so sure how we would do since it was ninety degrees out but everyone did great! We rode our bikes out to the wetlands and stopped to watch some animals swimming in one of the ponds. I really enjoyed being outside, exercising, and getting to know some of the girls in our ward better.

An Opportunity To Speak In Church

Andy and I were asked to give talks in sacrament meeting on July 27th. The bishop told us that the recent talks had focused on the Articles of Faith. He said that the topics for our talks came from the 13th Article of Faith. I was asked to speak about virtue and Andy was asked to speak about benevolence. The bishop also asked that I take a few minutes to introduce us to the ward since we were new and he wanted our ward members to get to know us better.

Believe it or not, I think the thing I struggled with most when giving my talk was the introductions. I took a public speaking class in college and our professor told us to never introduce ourselves while giving a talk. I did as the bishop asked though and introduced us and then proceeded to deliver the message I had prepared.

When I prepare a talk I pray and ponder a lot. My goal in speaking is to share what the Lord wants me to. I don't usually prepare a talk word for work, I like to leave room for the Spirit to guide me and my thoughts.

Below is the outline for my talk. Note: I added things and took other things out when I actually gave it.

What you think of when you hear the word virtue? Do you think of the scripture in D&C 121: 45, “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly”? Do you think of the Young Womens Value? Do you think virtue is a good thing but aren’t quite sure what it means?
 
www.dictionary.com defines virtue as "moral excellence; goodness; righteousness."

Thrift and Industry
When I think about thrift I think about people who live frugally. I think about people who buy second hand, plant a garden, can their own food and people who buy things when they are on sale. I remember them teaching us in my Marriage and Family class at BYU to buy “quality used until you can afford to buy quality new.” This is something that we have tried to do since we got married. It’s been a lot of fun to buy something old and ugly and give it a face lift and make it our own.

Have you heard the saying, “Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”? The first time I heard this I was puzzled, but as I have gotten older this saying has begun to make more sense. My Dad is a great example of this principle. If something breaks, he fixes it and keeps using it. If it breaks again, he fixes it again. He will continue to fix something until it cannot be fixed any longer. In my lifetime, there has only ever been one car that he has gotten rid of because he could no longer fix it.

When I think about work I think about people who work hard for what they have. A few years ago, while visiting with my Great Uncle Hal he shared with me a story about my grandfather (Papa) that I had never heard before but really touched me. My Dad came from a large family and they struggled to make ends meet. One day Uncle Hal and Papa were out cutting down trees to make firewood to sell—I think they were doing this to help pay for my uncles’ missions. After they had been cutting down trees for awhile Uncle Hal could no longer hear Papa’s saw and decided he better go find him. Papa had Parkinsons Disease and had limited strength and had become really weak that day while cutting down the trees. Uncle Hal found him crawling on his knees from one tree to the next. Despite his pain and lack of strength he still worked hard to try and make ends meet for his family.

I believe in working hard. I don’t think you will really appreciate what you have unless you have worked for it.

Gratitude

President Brigham Young said, “I do not know of any, excepting the unpardonable sin, that is greater than the sin of ingratitude” (Brigham Young, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 177–82).

Gratitude is something we tend to think about around Thanksgiving but it something that we need to think about throughout the year and not just during the holiday season. We have been blessed with so much, we have much to be grateful for.

It might seem strange but one thing I am grateful for is the hard times. It is during the times of struggle that I learn and grow the most.

Optimism

It seem as if we live in a world where we are constantly surrounded by negativity. When was the last time that you turned on the news, listened to the radio, or read a magazine where they were talking about the good things people had done? I can’t seem to recall this happening very often.

President Hinckley said, “Criticism and pessimism destroy families, undermine institutions of all kinds, defeat nearly everyone, and spread a shroud of gloom over entire nations. We must resist partaking of the spirit of our times. We need rather to look for the good all about us. There is so much that is sweet and decent and good upon which to build. Above and beyond the negative, the critical, and the doubtful, we can and must learn to be positive and affirmative.”

Winston Churchill is an example of someone who was positive despite what was going on around him. During World War II England was next in line to be taken over by Nazi Germany. Naturally, people were scared for the future as it seemed to be fading. It was during this time that Winston Churchill said, “Do not let us speak of darker days; let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days: these are great days- the greatest that our country has ever lived.”

Faith

What does it mean to have faith? In True To The Faith it says, “Faith is a principle of action and power. Whenever you work toward a worthy goal, you exercise faith. You show you hope for something that you cannot yet see.”

President Hinckley said, “Each of us has burdens. Each of us has challenges and confusing options. For each of us, there are days when things don’t work out. But the Lord will help us- each one of us- carry our burdens and meet our challenges. To bring that about, however, we must believe, we must have faith that He has the power to help us, and that he will help us.

Everyone has heroes and people they look up to in life. Someone that I really look up to because of their faith is my younger sister, Megan. *Tell Megan’s story about giving up her eye.*

I know from experience that if we strive to live more virtuous lives that we can be happier and that life tends to go a little more smoothly.
 
Andy did a wonderful job with his talk-- I'd share it too but I don't have a copy of it.

I love speaking in sacrament meeting and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to speak.

*Note* There are more virtues than the ones I spoke on, I just picked a few to focus on.