Blog Challenge

Okay, Amanda told us that if we accepted her blog challenge to do a quick post telling what we hope to accomplish with the challenge. Like usual, I just jumped right in and posted the first blog of the challenge. So here is my quick post.

I plan to get into the habit of blogging once a week so that my friends and family who are far away can share in my adventures! I know you all wish you could be here in "God's Country" with me...so hopefully through my blog you will be.

View from the top of Angel's Landing

At Angel's Landing

Going back down

Looking down at the easy part!

I am just trying for the twelve weeks to get into the habit. Then I will see if I like it enough to continue. And, I couldn't resist adding some more pictures from my Angel's Landing hike. Look where we are going to take you next year, Amanda!

Birthday Vacation

Echo, Utah, Cemetery

Carma and I recently returned from our annual birthday vacation. And, because Amanda is getting a little testy about my starting on her blog challenge, here is my recent vacation blog. Happy, Amanda?

Muddy Shoes in Ogden

Any of you who have read Carma's blog know that we went to St. George for our birthday this year. Mostly because neither of us could afford much of a vacation, and we could stay in my time share in St. George for nothing more than what I am already paying. So all it cost us was gas and food.

We letterboxed all along the way.  I love this picture at Echo cemetery because I angled it just right to catch the sun coming through a hole in the rock.


We did most of our letterboxing the first two days in the Ogden area. It was wet and rainy, and we hoped for better weather in St. George.

Square Goats

The next four clues are in this picture.

Little Lizard

Dinosaur?

On our first long hike (the clue said 4 miles round trip, but they had changed the trail so it ended up being 7 miles + what we added on looking for the boxes) we only got one box out of the three that were supposed to be there. And, this was not one of my long adds--just for the record. I did misread the clue, so we probably added another mile that we shouldn't have. We spent a lot of time looking for a man with his hands hanging down with a lobster to the left and a 13 above him. There were plenty of men with their hands hanging down. But the clue just before that was to look for square goats. Then we would have been on the right path. On this same hike, we saw a rock that someone had stuck smaller rocks in that made it look like a dinosaur head. And, I managed to catch a couple of shots of a cute little lizard. One of the many we saw.

Angel's Landing towers above Carma

Walter's Wiggles

Angel's Landing from Scout's Landing

Before we left, I made a goal to climb Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. Two years ago I would never have attempted this. I am afraid of heights, but not extremely terrified. I did make it to the top, but I can tell you that coming back down was the hard part. When you are climbing up, you don't constantly see how far it is to the bottom of the canyon. On the way down, however, it is always in front of you. I made it by concentrating on where I was going to put my foot next. I will admit that even though the top of Angel's Landing is relatively flat, every time I put my camera up to my eye to take a picture I was overcome by vertigo. My knees would start shaking and I got sick to my stomach. I put my camera into my backpack to go down. I carried it on my neck strap on the way up, but I didn't want to have to worry about it on the way down. It was a good decision, but I wished I had turned around and taken 360 degree visuals on the way up because I really missed some awesome photos.

See the chains?

Sister's Landing

One of the tough parts

The top is in sight!

That hike, and the hike in Red Canyon, were highlights of our vacation. But, we letterboxed every day, also. I loved the box that was placed in a major bookstore. The most amazing thing about letterboxing is the places you see. We never would have hiked Red Canyon if there hadn't been three letterboxes placed there. Even everyday places become exciting when you are looking for treasure. I do agree with Carma that the Farmington letterboxes were amazing. Not only were they excellent carves, but the clues were great. We even met the letterboxer who placed the first box we found on our trip to Tennessee last year. CW Sunseeker was out with her niece, Flowergirl, checking on one of her plants and picking up a few others. We actually met twice, and had been to three of the same places that day.

Looking as straight down as I could get.

 

Youngest niece and youngest nephew

After we returned to Idaho City, we had an Easter dinner at my parent's house in Boise. Most of the family was able to attend. I'll be back for G's first birthday party on May 21, 2011. 

Waiting for the sky to fall...okay, the roof, actually.

Look, Mom! I'm Queen of Dion's hill, too!

Is today going to be the day? I really wish my garage roof would slide soon. I have been locking Blew up in the garage so that she (or her chain) won't get buried, but it is taking its own sweet time. Blew probably wishes it would happen, too. She hates being locked up. If it doesn't slide by the time I leave for Idaho Falls around noon today, I will take her with me. She won't have much fun, waiting in the car for me to do my shopping and then a temple visit, but I wouldn't feel right about locking her up in the garage for over eight hours, either. At least this way I will be able to take her on a couple of short walks. Slide, roof, slide!

Free Snow...Come and Get Yours Today!

When I came home for lunch today, there was no sign of Blew, just her chain stretching up over the snow by the side of the house and out of sight. I went inside and put on my snow boots, snow pants and gloves, because I knew she was probably tangled up out back somewhere. I did look out the sliding glass doors (which I haven't used since at least December) to see if I could get to her easier that way. I can't figure out how to rotate the picture in blogger, so you will have to turn your head sideways to see why I couldn't go out the sliding glass door to rescue her! (I rotated the picture on the disc, but it didn't load that way.) So, I climbed the hill and set off out back. Sure enough, she had gone around the post holding the bird feeder and not just once! Evidently she found out she was stuck and kept trying to untangle herself. She just doesn't understand that you have to go the opposite way around to get undone.

After I got back from having my teeth cleaned, I got my camera and went back out to take pictures. Blew thought we were playing and she romped around and rolled in the snow. I tried to get a picture of how long the hair is on the bottoms of her front feet, but it didn't turn out too well. You can tell she is having fun, though. It is nice to be able to see the 5 foot marker on my snow pole. The snow has melted a little bit--and yes, that is snow falling as I am taking pictures.

Anybody want some snow? Come and get it, I won't object!

The Countdown Begins!

I AM TIRED OF THE SNOW!!! This is a picture I had my carrier take of me last week standing by the snow pile in the back of our parking lot. She didn't quite get the top of the pile in, but you can tell we have a little bit of snow. Mormon Hill in the church parking lot is pretty amazing, also. Two years ago it was still quite high for Memorial Day Weekend. I'm hoping it will melt a little faster this year.
Okay, so I know that I have at least two and half more months of seeing the white stuff, but I am so ready for some green.
This year our birthday vacation is St. George, Utah, and the countdown has begun. Only 37 more days! Are you ready Carma?

Today celebrates two years of my successful weight loss journey. And yes, I still have a ways to go until I am down to where I want to be, but this is the first time a diet has worked for me continuously. :) So, I decided to be brave and post before and now pictures. I combined them so that they are side by side to more readily see the change I have made for the better. Here is to continued success!

Island Park lost an earthbound angel to the heavens yesterday. Kari Dalton lost her fight with cancer. She will be greatly missed by the entire community.

I was privileged to work with her for a few months in the Young Women's organization. She taught me so much. She established the after school program to give the children in this community opportunities that they would never have enjoyed if not for her unfailing determination.

The greatest thing she taught me was to look for the promise that God gives to us for each of His laws we obey. Every day as I read my scriptures, I look for His promises. Thank you Kari for giving me that insight.

I took this family portrait (with the two children still living at home) just over a year ago, near the end of Kari's first round of chemo. During her entire battle, she always showed us a positive outlook and absolutely glowed with the spirit of God that dwelt within her.

Although I am glad she will no longer suffer the pains of this world, I sorrow for those she left behind. May her memory always be in our hearts.