Meteor Showers

I stayed up way past my bedtime with some good friends to watch the meteor shower last weekend. 
(I'm still paying the consequence of that choice... exhaustion!) 

AMAZING!!!

The longer you stare at the sky, the closer and closer those millions of stars feel!  

Elder Nelson said, 

“Some would say the most magnificent sight they have ever beheld is looking heavenward on a summer night, seeing stars beyond number dotting the sky. Some might choose the view of the Grand Canyon at sunrise; others, the beauty of a mountain lake. Some might select a peacock with its tail in full fan, or a hummingbird seemingly suspended in midair while feeding. These magnificent sights are wondrous beyond measure. They are all “great deeds” of our divine Creator.

Now, ponder the magnificence of what you see when you look in the mirror—a child of God—created by him, in his image. If we lift the lid on the treasure chest of the marvelous attributes of our bodies, we can discover, at least in part, the magnificence of man... The magnificence of man is matchless. But, glorious as this physical tabernacle is, the body is designed to support something even more glorious—the eternal spirit, which dwells in each of our mortal frames.”

After staring into the beautiful night sky, I had a hard time imagining anything more amazing!  

Although God's creation of all the stars is pretty incredible, 

His most prized creation is 

us.  

Grand Falls

The beautiful weather is back and, be warned, so are my adventure posts! 


Shortly after I moved up here to Flagstaff, we heard of a place called Grand Falls.  Everyone told us we needed to go once the snow runoff started.  Last year, we missed the runoff.  So this year, we HAD to make it no matter what!  


We had seen pictures and so I thought I knew how great it would be.  Only, to get there, I was blown away at how Grand it really was!  It is huge!  There was hardly any water running by the time we got there (when it's really running, it is one massive waterfall), but I was literally blown away by how vast it was!  It was a humbling experience!  In my mind, I knew it was grand, but I had no idea it was that Grand!!

(I wish I had a picture with a person in it to help you grasp how grand it is... but I guess you'll just have to go for yourself to find out!)


It made me think about the scripture, Doctrine & Covenants 84:36-38, 
36. For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;
37. And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;
38. And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.


If we strive to do our best here and accept the Savior, God has promised us all that He has.  I know that is a very Grand gift; yet, I cannot fully understand how Grand it will be with my limited, mortal mind.  We can truly only imagine such a thing right now.  How incredible!! 


Elder Joseph B. Worthlin describes it as a "glorious and incomprehensible future."  He said, "Heavenly Father in His love for us has revealed the path we must walk in order to reach the ultimate goal of eternal life. You and I understand this path as the commandments....[or] “the way”—the path that leads to a glorious and incomprehensible future."


I gotta make sure I live "the way" so that someday I will be able to enjoy the Grandness of the incomprehensible future that is promised to all that keep the commandments.

News Flash!

Lots going on lately so here is the news flash...

• I finally made it to the Snowflake Temple (only lived in the district for nearly two years now)!  It was a beautiful day and a cute little town filled with the worlds nicest people - trust me, I'd know!  We got lost and had to ask random people to help us, but we weren't really lost; we could still see the temple, we just couldn't get to it!  
• I took my board exam... and PASSED!  Phew!  I was really nervous as I waited to hear back!  Passing means I never have to take another exam again!!!!  I can't even begin to tell you how liberating that feels!  
• My brother J turns 16 this week!  OH MY GOODNESS!  He is a fabulous driver and my mom is thrilled to only have one that needs rides now!  He is such a sweetheart who is turning into quite the awesome young man!  He has an incredible knowledge of the scriptures of which he works very hard at improving daily.  He is a wonderful example to all of us!  Love that kid! 
• D has always known that he would put in his mission papers the second he could.  That has made his limitless options for college very limited (nobody will defer if you won't stay for at least a semester).  So BYU became his main efforts since they defer for missions! :)  Last week, he was named a Monson Scholar!!!  Um... can you say cool?!?  He is so brilliant, it makes my head hurt!  It is now guaranteed that we have a Cougar in the house to break the tradition of being a BYUless family.  So proud of him! 
• And... I got glasses!  I recently noticed that anything more than 10 feet away became hard to read.  Everything was fuzzy!  I don't need them all the time, but they are great when I do!  I feel pretty nerdy in them.  I guess it's time to embrace nerdy...

Snowy Cities and Orange Blossoms

Spring break turned into winter break this year as we got our first official snow day at NAU the day after Spring break was supposed to end.  No complaining here!  We drove back up on Monday and played in the three feet of snow.  It was SO fun!

                

*Please Note: Anyone who says it doesn't snow in Arizona is very mistaken!  Flagstaff, Arizona was named 8th Snowiest City this year making it in the Top 10 Snowiest Cities for 5 years straight!  Yeah, that's a lot a snow... the difference? - It is also sunny here so it melts, FAST!  That 3 feet of snow we tromped in was gone in 48 hours flat!

Yet, I spent all Spring break taking in all the orange blossoms I could because it is definitely spring in the valley!  I have had the best of all worlds this month.  Snow, orange blossoms, sunny days, wet pines, etc.  I seriously LOVE this time of year!  The tiny chirping birds, and flowers, and yummy smells, and sunshine!  I love spring SO much!

It truly does remind me of Easter and the sacred New Beginning that makes all other new beginnings possible!  I am so thankful for my Savior and His sacrifice for me!  Happy Spring!

Spring Break in TEXAS!!

I took advantage of good deals on flights to Texas and headed off for the better part of four days to see the Horlachers. As I got into town, I was greeted with great big hugs!  They are all so grown up, and it's only been 7 months since I saw them last!  I can hardly believe how fast they grow up!

While I was there, we saw The Lorax, we read Barney's Halloween at least five times, we ate at tons of yummy places, we jumped on the trampoline for hours, we went to the Dallas Zoo (that is one incredible zoo!), we went swimming, we went to an amazing aquarium, we watched movies, we played in a fort, we ate jelly beans till our tummies hurt, we colored pictures, and ate ice cream at an old-fashioned palor.

Heidi also went with me to the temple one night.  It was a beautiful temple (they all are) and a neat experience!  Temples are so wonderful!

On one of the last mornings I was there, I slept in without setting an alarm.  I was woken up to little 3-year old feet running into my room and jumping up on the bed and snuggling in right next to me and whispering, "Kourt-ey, are you seeping?!" That is by far the best way I've ever been woken up!!  My heart melted as we snuggled and talked about what we were going to eat for breakfast and what we were going to do that day!  I honestly love each of those kids so much!!

The trip went by SO fast and I tried so hard to soak up every single smile, and laugh, and little voice, and personality trait so that I could save it in my memory until I get to see them again!

Fa La La

My family kinda sorta maybe really likes music!  D made the regional choir a few weeks ago.  The choir sounded amazing!  It's pretty cool to hear the regions best high school singers come together and perform something they have only practiced together for two days.  D and J had their high school choir concert.  My mom thought the songs they sang were a little different.  My dad loved them!  Our family went to the musical, WICKED last weekend.  I have wanted to see this musical for a loooong time!  I was so excited!  I already knew all the music and was so excited to finally see the musical.  It was incredibly well done!  I absolutely adore the story!  D made All-State Choir too!  Rumor has it, the director for his choir... Mack Wilberg (musical genius and director of Mormon Tabernacle Choir).  What a cool experience that will be if he is!  Yesterday, we went to The Piano Guys concert as a family.  If you don't know who they are, look 'em up!  They are ahhh-mazing and such good entertainers!  We laughed and loved every minute of it!  A is learning Jon Schmidt's piano song, Waterfall.  She practically has it finished and will be performing it at her next piano recital.  It is so cool to hear that song played on our family piano!  J has picked up his guitar again and we jam out to songs like, You and Me, Collide, Come & Get Higher, and Your Guardian Angel.  He is pretty stinkin' good!  He is looking forward to starting up lessons again!  D's choir is also going to Skywalker Studios at the end of this month - you know, where Star Wars music was recorded.  Music is the best!

 

Love this quote about music...
"Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul." - Anonymous

PHX Inaugural Race

Last weekend, my dad and I participated in the Inaugural Phoenix Marathon Race.

This year, they offered a 10K and a 1/2 marathon.  

I ran the 10K.  My dad ran his very FIRST half-marathon! 

It was one of the most well-run races I have ever participated in and it was SO fun! 

The huge groups of fans at each water station were so inspiring! 

The course was awesome (ok, the last half was awesome, the first half was uphill - 'nough said)!

The proceeds go to the same group D did his Eagle for - AZ Brain Food!

My dad finished the Half in 1:48:27!!

I finished the 10K in 58:14.

I have now literally run twice this year... in two races.  

Maybe I should start training for future races by actually running!

Next year, they are offering a full marathon.  The course looks amazing!!  

The real question... Should I do it?!?!

I've always wanted to stick a 26.2 sticker on my car...