Mt. Timp

We decided to hike Mt. Timp the Monday night/Tuesday morning of the 24th to catch the sunrise and we invited Nick and Kim to go with us. We went to bed at 8 pm on Monday night and woke up at 11 pm to get ready to go down to Provo and meet up with Nick, Kim and Peyton. We met up with them at about 1 am and got going on the hike at about 1:45 am. 

The hike up was crazy hard. At first we had the adrenaline of just getting going, so it wasn't too bad. The only that made it a little more difficult was that it was pitch black, so even with flashlights we took the wrong path a couple times. However, we didn't get lost when the girls were leading.... 

Our goal was to catch the sunset at the summit, but we were quite a bit slower than we anticipated. To say we overpacked would be a gross understatement. We were concerned about not having enough water and being cold, so we packed 3 apple juice bottles full of water plus we each had two smaller water bottles and I even had my winter coat, hat, gloves and scarf. Fortunately, and unfortunately since we had so much equipment, neither water nor the cold were an issue. The issue was the weight of our packs. We did drop off water along the way, so that helped a little bit.


We caught the sunrise while in the meadow just before reaching Emerald Lake. It was beautiful. Once we crossed over the meadow, we had to cross quite a bit of snow before the steepest part of the hike would take us to the top. It was so strange to have beautiful flowers on either side of this snow. 

Emerald Lake

That silly snow. I love Peyton's little pink sock sticking out.

We decided we can say we made it to the top of Mt. Timp, but we didn't reach the summit. We were all exhausted and the winds seemed a bit too precarious to me to continue on to the summit. Another time. And that time we will be taking the American Fork side.

 At the "top"- see my windblown hair?

And there's the summit. Not worth it.

Coming down was almost as bad because our legs were so sore. Plus, it was getting hot. But, it was kind of fun to see everything on the trail that we hadn't seen on the way up. The waterfalls were amazing. It was also a lot easier to cross the waterfalls in the light. We all stayed much drier on the way down.

Yes, I am as tired as I look.

The views were spectacular.

We ended the night/day with a trip to Maria Bonitas where I was served the biggest burrito of my whole life. It was delicious. The trip home wasn't as exhausting as expected, but climbing our three flights of stairs was pretty miserable. 


I have never been so sore in my life. Soccer conditioning and two a days don't even touch it. But, we can now say we made it to the "top" of Mt. Timp.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Before Peter and I started our new jobs, we went to California for a few days. We stayed with my Uncle Alan and Aunt Julie who live in Laguna Niguel, which is just south of the famous Laguna Beach. It is so beautiful there and there are always so nice to let us stay with them. We decided to hit the beach one day and also go to Disneyland and California Adventure since neither of us had been to Disneyland since we were really young or to California Adventure, ever.


We got there on Wednesday evening and headed to Laguna Beach because we couldn't wait to see the ocean!

After sitting on the beach watching the waves for a bit, we headed to Dana Point for some fish and chips. So good. Who would have thought that I would crave fish and chips? It's true. I do.


Thursday morning we went to the most beautiful beach in California. My cousin, Christina, called us in to a friend's private beach and it was amazing! She also hooked us up with a wet suit, surf board and beach chairs. It was so nice!

Check out that water! There just isn't water that pretty and clear in California. It was seriously amazing. We had such a fun day at the beach; reading, boogie boarding and Peter surfed a little bit. 

Here is Peter walking out to surf. I obviously don't know how to flip the pictures.

That evening we headed over to Salt Creek to watch the surfers. It was so amazing to see so many people bobbing out there and so many catch a wave at the same time. It made me want to see a surf competition.

 All those little specks out there are surfers.

One of Peter just because he's cute. I just realized this looks like an Oakley ad. Presenting: the straight jacket

Friday we headed to Disneyland. Cars Land opened in California Adventure that day so Disneyland was pretty much empty. We walked on to so many rides. It was awesome. We even had to get rid of our fastpass to Splash Mountain because we had already walked on to it twice and we wanted to get a different fastpass. 


We did Disneyland super hard core. We were there right as it opened and stayed until about 30 minutes before it closed. We went back to our car for lunch and a nap, no $6 hamburgers for us, and then again for dinner. We were wiped out by the end of the day, but we had so much fun! Even Peter said it was a lot more fun than he expected. 

On Indiana Jones

On the teacups.

I really loved watching the parade. Lame, I know. But, I liked the music and it was even a little fun to see the characters. While we were watching, I was looking down the street looking for the next float. When I turned, the guy pushing Abu from Aladdin was standing right next to me. Apparently he wanted me to kiss him on the cheek, but he startled me so much that I didn't even know what he was doing. Everyone around us had a good laugh at that one.

 These guys were pretty much the only ones in the parade that could actually dance. It was almost shocking.

Saturday morning we got to the park at about 7 am, an hour before it opened, to get in line so we could execute our game plan to get to Cars land. We talked to a couple on Thursday night who said that people waited for Radiator Springs, the main ride in Cars land, for 7 hrs that day. That was definitely not happening, so we made a plan that people would run to the ride and I would run to the fastpass line so we could hopefully ride it twice. Our plan went pretty much perfectly. We only waited about an hour total and we rode it twice! It was awesome. Cars land was pretty incredible. Everything looks exactly like the movie. Radiator Springs was a fun ride, too. 

 Even the line was amazing. We almost moved through it too quickly. I wanted to take more pictures.

 This picture is for my nephew, Dax, who is quite obsessed with Lightning.

Because Cars land was so busy, the rest of the park was pretty empty. We hit all the rides we wanted with little to no lines. We had so much fun!

 We had a dance party with Phineas and Ferb. We were sad that Dad missed it.

 California Screamin'

 Buena Vista Street

 On the Ferris Wheel

Traditional picture with Mickey

We had such a great trip, even though it was quick and involved a lot of travel. We drove all the way on Sunday, our Anniversary! Not the best way to spend our 2nd Anniversary, but we just pretended the other days were our Anniversary and celebrated then. 

And, the gushiness required for an anniversary post: I really am so glad to be married to Peter. We have so much fun together and he makes me so happy. He is such a hard worker and is so intrinsically motivated. I have no doubt that he will accomplish all his dreams, even the wild ones.

How I became a runner

I've always kind of run.
Playing soccer for years sort of automatically signs you up for it.
But, it wasn't until just recently that I have really enjoyed running.


Before, when I would run it was simply so that I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight, which is still a plus, but is no longer the main motivation behind it. Now, I go because I love the way I feel after I run. I love the feeling of accomplishment after I've completed a long, hot run. I love that I know now that I can do hard things.


Equal to those benefits is the quality conversation. I run with a good friend, Andrae, and I really look forward to talking with her. She is the Stake Primary President, has two kids and her husband is applying to Physician Assistant school, so we never tire of things to talk about. Running is the one truly social part of my day and it is good for my soul to get out and do something active while also chatting.

Changes

Things around these parts are changing. Mostly they have changed since I haven't blogged in a month and a half, but there are changes, none the less. 


Peter started his new job in the middle of June and he is really enjoying it. He is already in charge of an entire lab and is getting a lot of valuable experience. He rides his motorcycle to work and his commute is only about 15 minutes. He enjoys riding his motorcycle and I am glad that it is getting used and we are saving gas money!


I also started a new job about the same time. I am working at Emeritus Assisted Living Center in the memory care section, working with residents with dementia and Alzheimers. I actually like it a lot more than I expected to and I have become fairly attached to the residents in a short period of time. One of the residents had a fall last week and two more in the last couple of days, leading to her passing away last night. I was not prepared for how deeply the news affected me. My eyes filled with tears and all day at work I was looking for her. I sure will miss her. I am also learning a lot about how to work with residents with dementia and Alzheimers, which can be fairly difficult. It has been a great experience so far.


The next really wonderful change is having Connor Joseph join the family! My sister-in-law, Amy, had him on June 30th, the day before her birthday. A great birthday present to us all! I cannot get enough of his cuteness. I could seriously hold him and look at him all day long. He had a little stint in the NICU, but is doing great now. His big sisters and brother ADORE him. Max calls him his buddy-probably the cutest thing I have ever heard.

 Peter needs a baby, don't you think?? 

I adore this picture because this is exactly what happens when you sit down to hold Connor. He has quite the fan club for such a little guy.

On to more changes: Yay for married friends!! Kate got married June 1st and Jessica got married June 6th. Now if only I could convince them to move to Salt Lake so we can hang out more....

Pretty sisters

Pretty friends

So beautiful and happy

The last change is that my friend, Britny, went on a mission today. She is going to her absolute favorite place in the world, New York City, and I could only be happier for her if she wasn't leaving me. We all went to lunch on Monday because it's tradition to go to lunch for all our July birthdays (Britny's is the 17th, mine is the 18th, and Kate's is the 31st), and to say good-bye to Brit. It was as enjoyable as always, but we missed Shannon.

I remembered one more change, this one not happy. One of my counselors got called to the Stake Relief Society Presidency, so I have to get a new one. This happened almost three weeks ago and I am no closer to a full presidency. It is so stressful to figure it all out. I'm sure the Bishop is wondering what is taking me so long, but I just do not know what to do. I am working on it, but it sure is slow going.