Dear January. I’m afraid I was too hard on you. I apologize for being so negative. You were just what you should be and gave me a chance to slow down. I mean I saw the top two arches probably in the world in your first few days. I also went on 5 other hikes, included one of my favorite winter hikes on your last day. You also allowed me to read 10 books. Then again all that doesn't seem that much since you were 49 days long.
Out to JCWs with Kelly and Tami. What great friendships that were solidified when we served in primary together so many years ago. I like that about the church organization. You make friends with people because you serve somewhere together and that friendship doesn’t end when the calling does. I still can't believe these two (with the help of Kacee Bartholomew) pretty much did Kenzie's reception. The waffle bar was so delicious! (October 2015)
Just another evening of the girls chatting and FaceTiming with Ry with some singing. Tonight the music came from Phineas and Ferb and “Get Out” by Casey Abrams (classic sing along song).
Doctrine and Covenants 128:23 Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers!
Made me smile that Cam and Sadie went sledding at the pit today. Although the pit is now the park. And Cam is Arsenal’s biggest fan as shown by her jacket. Ha ha. FYI - they discovered that boogie boards do not double as sleds. Thankful that Jessie had a sled big enough for all of them.
The sunrise! Beautiful pink clouds everywhere over white mountains and then orange/yellow light shining though the break in the mountains. Sigh. I couldn’t believe I was the only one taking a picture. (And the picture isn't even close to how beautiful it was - definitely more pink than this shows.)
How I love the Pine Hollow second meadow. The aspens reminded me of my mom and dad. I didn’t call them on the phone enough but I would have called them today to tell them about the quakies.
Lots of just being right now. Darren and Sadie are sick and it is freezing so Baylie is a bit neglected. She looks at you like she doesn’t understand why you wouldn’t take her to the park even though it’s 15 degrees.
A successful Sunday School lesson thanks to some help from above. I'm always thankful when my week teaching goes OK and is done for a month.
Costco birthday cake doesn’t last long around here - even when it’s not actually someone’s birthday but we still want cake. Also - the girls crack me up (KRCS were together today). They were telling me all about their IKEA visit and finding a bathroom to “drop a meatball”.
Kelly’s birthday calls for a snowshoe. Or a snow hike since we just used spikes. I took her to Tibble meadow (yes I had just been there 2 days ago) for some beautiful winter. When the sun came out we would stop and bask in the little more warmth. It was lovely. And I always love me a snow path through the quakies. We told Kelly we had to call to reserve some birthday bighorn sheep and have them ready as we drove up the canyon.
Almost every time before a winter hike I second guess if I really want to go. And then I go and am reminded that I really like fresh outside air in the winter. We had fun on our short winter hike above Tibble with awesome sledding conditions. (Awesome sledding conditions = not fast or icy and what an old lady would enjoy.)
Draper girls Beaver Dam getaway for 3 nights in Beaver Dam. Jenn wasn’t able to make it and it wasn’t super warm but it was a success with good feelings and good times. There was fresh air, grapefruit (I love Clayton's grapefruit), free froyo from Bridger, lots of Jackbox games, and even a hike (at least for Brooke and me). Good times getting caught up with everyone.
I love when there is a pink morning sky. I don’t love when there is an old man on my favorite elliptical machine.
We hit Arches before heading home. We hiked to Delicate Arch with very few people which was fantastic. Between Druid and Delicate, we hit two amazing and iconic arches back to back. Now that’s a great way to start a year. (Thanks to Darren for snapping this photo.)
I absolutely loved today!
Our Canyonlands - Needles hike was amazing! (And almost 12 miles,) We hiked to Druid and then over to Chesler Park and back to the car.
So much awesome - the needles, the snow capped mountains in the distance, the huge arch, the crow calls in the canyon, the Chesler Park section, views and views and views, looking down on Elephant Canyon from Druid and Chesler Park, the Juniper Titmouse that we watched for a few minutes. Oh, and don't forget the guy from Texas taking our picture at Druid - "Go back there, I'm not done yet." :)
Then we topped the day off with Canyon Co Pizza (and salad). Delicious. Like I said, I absolutely loved today!
We realized we didn’t get to Arches in 2024 so we decided to go to Canyonlands. Ha ha. And Arches. But Canyonlands first. Actually Moab Diner first but Druid tomorrow.
