Hiking & HUMVEEs

Last weekend, my aunt decided to take a last-minute trip up here to Flagstaff.  She got up here right after I got out of class and we jumped in the car and drove down to Sedona.  We stopped at the bridge and hiked around for awhile - even in the winter, it is beautiful!

As we drove into Sedona to look for another hike, Kathy decided that a Jeep Tour would be fun... 30 minutes later, we were speeding off in a HUMVEE for a "Cliff Hanger" adventure with our driver, Diggy. Those vehicles are pretty incredible!  They can drive over just about anything!  It was quite the ride!!  You know the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland? - It was that ride, except for real!  The weather was perfect.  The scenery was amazing and Diggy had quite a few facts up his sleeve to share with us.

We then stopped for some food, and turned around and headed back to Flag.  Day trips are awesome! 

Thanks Kath!

Happenings Over Break

This past weekend, everyone kept asking if I came home just for D's Eagle Court of Honor.

I absolutely LOVED this 5 week break that just ended!!

I already blogged about some of the things that happened, but there were SO many more! 

                             A's Jewelry Board           State Fair Puzzle      Boots @ the Suns Game    Orangutans @ Zoo

• We finished another puzzle as a family in NO time!  We have decided we need to do harder puzzles from now on! 
• I saw tons of friends!  (But still not everyone that I wanted to see!)
• I spent a ton of time at the gym - It makes working out FUN! 
• I watched 8 kids for 7 days while their parents were gone!
• I tried a Bowl of Heaven - you should too! 
• I went to a Suns game!
• I ran errand after errand with my mom (we were practically inseparable during the break!)
• I went to the zoo with 2 of those 8 kids, my cousin and her little man!
• I made a jewelry board with my sister for her room (and one for mom too)!
• I watched movies and DVR'd shows with my siblings! 
• I attended 3 of J's Bball games!
• I played outside in the unusually warm weather!
• I saw D receive his Eagle Scout Award!
• I slept in! :)

It was the best 5 week break!  It was long and wonderful! 

Happy New Year, 2012!

I found out a few weeks back that I needed to be in Flagstaff for church on January 1st, but I didn't want to spend New Years Eve alone.  Last year, I took A with me for the weekend; this year, I decided to take D!  We started brainstorming and decided to make an entire weekend out of it all.  He invited 5 of his friends and we packed into our parents SUV, and headed up to the cooler weather early Saturday morning!  (The boys didn't exactly fit in the back of the car...).

We spent the day playing walleyball (for 2 hours), racquetball, pool, air hockey, etc.  We then watched a movie, made and ate dinner, got ready for the night, played games, and went downtown to see the famous Annual New Years Pine Cone Drop.  We drank our hot chocolate, danced, and counted down with half of Flagstaff to 2012.  It was fun but we got out of there pretty quick afterwards as not enough of the city made a goal to quit smoking pot in the New Year.  Oh, Flagstaff!!

Sunday, they all came with me to the singles ward.  After church, we went out to Lake Mary for a picnic.  The lake was much more frozen than I expected and it turned into an afternoon ON the lake!  It was fun!  How many times can you say you walked on a lake?!?

Monday, we woke up early and headed up to snowbowl for a day of snowboarding.  Four of them had never snowboarded before, but they caught on quickly and thankfully, we didn't have any major injuries (thanks to our helmets)!  It was fun but we came back cold and sore.  So... we went hot-tubbing, had dinner at Freddy's Steakburgers, and watched movies all night long.

Tuesday morning, the girls made a yummy, warm breakfast while the boys packed up the car and we relaxed before driving back home.  It was a great group of kids!  D has an awesome group of friends!  I haven't laughed that much in a LONG time!  I'm so glad they came with me and turned a potentially lonely weekend into a hilariously, fun weekend!

I am really looking forward to 2012!  I have a feeling it's going to be a FANTASTIC year!  It sure has started off great! :)

All I Want for Christmas is...

All I want for Christmas is... my back molar tooth, my back molar tooth, my back molar tooth!!  Oh wait, I GOT IT! :)  I started this whole process back in March and had my second surgery in July.  In the end, it took 17 appointments, 2 surgeries, I won't even tell you how much money, and 9 months of only chewing on the right side of my mouth but I FINALLY have a tooth!

I took pictures of the whole process.  It might be gross to some of you, but I think it is pretty cool so here they are...

The tooth that hurt so bad, I wanted to rip it out...

Swollen, stitch-filled, toothless mouth...

Phillips Screw after surgery #2...



















New porcelain tooth.  It felt so weird to have a tooth
again and my left chewing muscles are quite weak,
but it's a tooth!  YAY!

The True Meaning of Christmas

On the first day of December I decided that I wanted to make this Christmas special.  I decided to read out of Luke 2 and Matthew 2 just a verse or two a day to really focus on the true meaning of Christmas - Christ.

(Our family room on Christmas Eve)

It was a really neat experience and I learned so much from this story that I thought I knew quite well beforehand. Christmas falling on a Sunday also added to the sacredness of this Christmas.  It allowed me lots of time to really focus on the reason for the season.  I also went to the Forgotten Carols with my roommate and her family.  It helped me to reflect on the story of Christ as well.  It was very neat musical that I intend to see again!

(Christmas Eve dinner)

It was a wonderful Christmas.  I know Christ was born into this world that He could show us how to live and then offer us a way to live forever!  I am so thankful for my Savior!  I really want to find ways to make each and every Christmas more centered on Christ.  It made a great difference and was absolutely wonderful!  Any traditions that help you remember the reason for the season?

Flat Iron - Superstition Springs Mountain

A few days before Christmas, I told my dad that I wanted to hike the Superstition mountains this break.  I have lived in the valley for a good 20 years and still have never hiked anywhere in the Superstitions.  My dad spread the word and a few people from the home ward joined us for our hike to Flat Iron.

It was cold when we started and in freezing temperatures when we got to the top!  My dad and I somehow got off from the typical trail onto a much more difficult trail.  It was a little scary.  It was straight uphill and loose gravel.  My dad loved the challenge; I contemplated my possible fall down the mountain with every step.

The view from the top was BEAUTIFUL!!  But it was also quite windy as you can clearly see below.

We could see for miles and miles and Flat Iron really looks like an iron!  It was worth the hard hike up although the way down was steep and really exhausting too.  My legs felt like jello when we finished but it was a wonderful hike!  The desert is truly breathtaking!