You win some, you lose some

For High Fitness, there was a September challenge. For the past three years, I have been the winner. You have to get blackout and every year, the hardest one for me is to "go on a hike" to check a box. This year, I asked my good friend Angie if we could schedule a hike so I could get it done TWO WEEKS before the end of the month. She was happy to oblige (seeing as how she hikes every day anyway). Thursday morning we got up and went to Bells Canyon first thing in the morning. The weather was nice, the trail not too crowded and I was feeling good.

There were beautiful Fall leaves everywhere and the prospect of the waterfall was alluring. It started out pretty smooth. Not too much of an incline but as we went, it got steeper and more rocky and I felt more and more like dying. We pushed our way up and made it to the falls, had a snack and I was so proud of myself, all the while never thinking about the way down.

We started our way down the mountain and passed happy hikers, one gentleman who wished us an "enjoyable hike". Walking along, thinking about how great it was going to be to be finished and then one. wrong. step.

I hit the dirt. Instantly felt like throwing up. I had twisted my ankle pretty badly. 

I could barely walk and almost started to cry just thinking about how far I had to go to actually make it back to the car. I said a quiet prayer. Angie let me rest, we said a prayer together and hoped it would work out. Angie, being the seasoned hiker that she is, had a pack full of supplies. Me, being the optimist that I AM, brought my own ibuprofen. We medicated, wrapped it and started our way down the mountain. Angie had called her husband and the plan ensued. A sweet couple who had passed us, stopped and offered me one of their poles (since I was using a stick that could barely support me). Dave at Whole Foods, thank you. David (Angie's husband) dropped his lunch, ran to the mountain and then literally ran to bring me an ankle brace and poles. He had also contacted Sandy City who sent Charlie to the access road to come and get me. I had to walk quite a ways to reach Charlie but once I saw him I knew I could make it to his truck. My ankle was huge, swollen and already bruising but I had never been happier to sit in a car. David then went on to track down Whole Foods Dave to return his pole and then to finish "hiking" since he was already there. Machines those Richmans. 

The power of prayer was real. I could barely take two steps but I KNEW that if I had faith we could make it. I am so grateful that I was hiking with someone who was experienced and her sweet husband who saved the day. After all said and done, my ankle is still huge, I undoubtedly have lost the High contest. Makes for a great story though. 

Happy to have made it- right before I hurt myself

Charlie wasn't too keen on having his picture taken so Angie sneaked one from the back of the car. 

A lovely shade of purple

 

#yurtlife

When Jordan District decided to push school opening back a week I knew that was our chance to have one last summer hurrah. Our neighbor had stayed in these fancy Yurts in Orderville- lucky for us there was ONE left for the time we wanted to go. It was SO much fun! The Yurt was like camping with Hermione Granger- air conditioning, fridge, toilet/shower, swimming pool, BBQ, fire pit. It was awesome. I would gladly "glamp" like that any day of the week. 

Our first night we BBQ'ed kebabs, watched a movie and got up early to head out to see the sights. Kanab was the next biggest town and there was plenty to do. We toured Moqui Cave- a hollowed out mountain that had natural air conditioning and lots of cool rock specimens and dinosaur tracks. We next decided to "hike" the Sand Caves- man made caves from sandstone. We asked/googled the best way and were told to go wayyyyyy to the left and walk over. There was a young couple ahead of us that scaled the front- not a good choice.  We came back when it got super hot and had the pool all to ourselves. 

We visited some rock/gem shops and of course the second we said, "Don't touch anything!", Enzo dropped and shattered a gem. He was worried the rest of the trip that he was going to get arrested. 

Moqui Caves

We had an unexpected rain/thunderstorm which cooled the weather about 20 degrees. The kids played in the sand hill behind the yurt for two hours. Filling water bottles with sand (Enzo, "Look mom, it's like my testimony!"- overflowing) and trying to get it to stick. 

We spent the remainder of the week at the Hurricastle. I haven't been in so long and it is always a nice break. We spent Friday on the boat at Sand Hollow- the water was so cool and like glass. We did lots of tubing- the kids were brave and then got tipped so that was the end of that. Ha. There was a weird National Park called Pipe Springs that we ventured to- the visitor's center was closed because of COVID but we were able to walk around. It was a natural springs that was in the middle of nowhere and was a telegraph station back in the day. We love spending time with G & Chris and having the kids get that one on one time. 

It was a great LONG break before the kiddos went back to school. We talked about their life goals, ate good food, slept in and enjoyed being together. I am glad that we have these moments with our kids. 

 

Lady Liberty Day

No surprise that we love the 4th of July. This year was a little bittersweet- we found out on Enzo's birthday that Tyler's childhood/still friend Alex Ruegner had died in a plane crash. He and his wife were supposed to come to our "Stadium of Tyler" show. We decided it was only fitting that we dedicate the night in his honor. He left behind a young wife- only married 9 months and a house they were supposed to close on the following week.

Tyler spent his usual $4000 on fireworks and then added a few more to mask the pain he felt from losing a dear friend. 

The fireworks did not disappoint and TONS of people filled his circle to watch the show. With COVID, they had asked people to stay home, wasn't going to happen. I am grateful for this country- even though it's been struggling in 2020. We have so much to be thankful for. I think this year, more than any other has taught me the value of choice. Living here, we have choices that many don't and that is the greatest blessing. 

God bless America. 

Kell and Jess joined the party. 

When sisters match. 

The aftermath. 

 

Hulk smashes S I X

And then my baby turned six. Another year slipped by and it felt like six was too big. Enzo had very specific birthday wishes- Bot Bots, Ramen and Thanksgiving Point. We were happy to make all those things a reality. Oh Enzo Niels- it makes me a little sad that you are turning into a big boy. Your chubby cheeks are fading away and you are starting to become your own little person. You are still deathly afraid of Halloween. You love Transformers, tiny things (like Bot Bots, coins, minifigs), long baths, "scary" things like Jack O Lanterns like on your favorite shirt, playing with friends, riding bikes and having sleepovers in the basement. I love that you still love to snuggle and that you are so tender. You are the best at following directions, drawing Godzilla and robots and making us happy. We love you.

HAPPY SIXTH, HULK.

Feeding a Llama

R A M E N

 

Combined birthday at Mimi's with Hamburger cakes. 

Lawrences take St Geezy

When mom asked if we could all make it work to stay in a house in La Verkin (St George) that had it's own pool you know all the Lawrence kids were stoked. We had an amazing weekend. I think that this was the first time in almost 6 years that all of us have been on vacation together. 

We had an absolute blast! The kids (and the Lawrence sibs) lived in the pool. We had meals together, the kids had their own bunk beds and we just enjoyed being the same space.

The house was awesome! We all had our own bedrooms, there was a theater room, a huge kitchen, enough bathrooms for everyone and plenty of space.

We went to the Stagecoach for an expensive steak dinner, stayed up late, waited up for Brittnee for her online date, swam, ate, snacked and swam. We all voted that we should do the exact same thing next year. It made the summer that much more enjoyable and felt "normal"- like something we would have done prior to COVID- and that was what made it so awesome. 

 

K Man Turns 9

Kingston Grant is N I N E!  

What a fabulous boy you are! You had a great day- the most favorite gift was your baby Yoda doll. Who would have thought that nine year old boys would love a little doll that much- the whole first day, you and all your friends gently packed him around. He has already come on one vacation, one playdate and is with us all the time. 

You are one cool kid. You love LEGO (for life I am sure), Star Wars, friends, being outside, candy, snacks, soda, long baths, Nacho Libre, doing back flips on the trampoline, swimming and buying anything at the Dollar Store. You are sweet, tender hearted and kind. You are a great friend and we love that you always help others to choose the right. You don't like when we tell you that you can't do something and usually, with copious amounts of whining, you will get your way. You can build any LEGO set in record time, solve a rubix cube like it's nothing and make us so happy every day with the kind of boy you are. WE LOVE YOU, DUDE MAN!

You picked Sakana for sushi for your birthday dinner. You ate an entire roll and a half by yourself. Love our seafood loving boy.

CHHS 2000

In January 2020, Jeni Sorensen reached out and planned a weekend trip for us to get together- a HS reunion of sorts of the people we would actually want to see again. We planned for April and then COVID happened. We rescheduled for June and her sweet parents offered their house in Preston, ID or us to stay. I was SO ready to get away for a weekend. 

I literally haven't "seen" most of these girls in almost 20 years. We are all friends on insta and FB that was all. It was SO fun. They are all wonderful, beautiful adults and we had a blast. Jeni's house is HUGE- we each had our own room. I slept in, left the window open to let in the breeze, we had rain and thunder to wake us up one morning. There was also a rooster wake up call at 5 AM. 

Our sweet friend Jen Walker cooked for us the whole weekend (we only ate out the first night). She made tikka masala, breakfast cinnamon rolls from scratch, chicken salad,  breakfast burritos- no cooking was the definite win of the weekend. 

We laughed, looked at yearbooks (those inside jokes we thought would last forever were clearly forgettable). We talked about our kids, our college lives, our jobs- we have a lawyer, a Derm PA, teachers, city councilwoman and moms with awesome kids. We have all been successful in our own right and that was the most amazing part.

We did the Napoleon Dynamite tour- what else is there to do in Preston, ID? It was nice to go to a place that wasn't completely shut down by COVID too. We could go in stores, didn't have to worry about masks. It is such a small town- so weird. They have soda machines on the street so you can get a can of soda after church on Sunday and not have to break the sabbath. There are literally two stop lights, one grocery store and farms for miles. It was beautiful and quiet. We took out the side by side to a quiet lake, sat on the wrap around porch and just enjoyed being outside. 

I don't remember much from high school- I wanted to be done so badly but what I do remember is these ladies. We were good friends and they were good examples. It made my heart happy to spend time with people who knew me when I was a teenager and still like me now. These are the kind of high school reunions I can get behind. 

Napoleon's house-  left to right, Jen Walker, Ginger Thompson, Jeni Sorensen, Karissa Young, Rebecca Sorensen, me, Trica Norwood. 

Karissa and I- I think I missed her the most. We were SUCH good friends. I missed being able to laugh with her about stupid movies and music that we used to watch. 

Yearbooks

breaskfast and chill