Same Day. Same Place.

We Did It. Finally.

If you scroll down a few posts, you will find an entry about a mountain called Lone Peak and how I wanted so badly to climb it and totally failed due to an allergy attack I got (that Tiff prayed for).

So, I climbed it Sep. 23rd, one year later. Teaching me, if you fail, try again in a year.

I also learned:

-I got all the stupidity genes in my family

-Also, you can lose a toenail in a day and two hiking poles

-Don't forget, God put pine trees on earth to give us something to grab when we fall

-Cairns don't always mark the best route

- I do get tired of PB&Js

-trail mix is the most correctly named treat to date

Yes, the mountain is a learning experience, and it's free (if you don't count the time off work and the mental and emotional exertion)

Luckily, this hike was nowhere near the 'learning experience' that Timponogos was a year ago (scroll even further through the blog entries for that life threatening lesson). Probably because we didn't have the exact hike group members as the year before. Namely, Tiffany. She got a job and thought about joining but didn't. We had Elle, Val, Drexel, Danielle, Kassie, my brother Dan and cousin Adam.

Started at 6:30 a.m. at the Jacobs Ladder trailhead and we booked it up the trail. It felt fast and good (not like our return).

Took a group shot at Lone Rock and then began the 2400 ft elevation gain on Jacobs Ladder. Folks, a ladder it was. That's all I can say...straight on up for 1.3 miles. I didn't mind the first half of it and I won't mention how I felt about the last half. What's cool is once you knock out the first 3 miles, everywhere you look is impressive. It was unlike anything I've done.

Rolling waves of granite slabs were everywhere with some fascinating intricacies carved into the stone from millions of years of mother nature working her awesome miracles.

Craning your neck upwards you can see the intimidating cliffs creating an unforgettable cirque, and we were still 2 miles away. There were detours and doubts about trails. Worries that others were on the wrong trails but all accompanied with the faith that people could see which direction to go. I felt so relieved and happy when we spotted part of our group surfing the granite slabs.

It was comforting when I hear various members "whooping" and yelling from different sections of the mountain. I'm just sayin'

The Top: Was scary...period. We found ourselves on a flat stone slab about 5 square feet. Three of the four sides had a 1000 foot drop :) (maybe like 300 ft but it felt like way more!). For some stupid reason, I like doing crow on mountain peaks. However, I didn't dare lift my feet from the slab. My brother Danny crawled onto the summit and made sure as much surface area of his body was touching the slab at any given second.

My friend Drexel (real name) claims she is new to hiking, but she's more like a pro. She handles a mountain like it's an apple. She doesn't need to hike anymore because she's conquered the best ones on the front. I mean, I've been preparing for Lone Peak for three years, Drexel prepared for like a month. Her neon jacket was the best. You could see her anywhere on the mountain.

Dan and Adam worked the mountain like it was the living room. Poor Adam, I think the closest one to Adam's age was still 10 yrs older then him. He and Dan could've done the hike in 7 hrs or so. However, they are extremely smart and opted for the company of the less agile and age-ed.

We did the 12 mile, 5700 foot elevation gain hike in 10 hrs. I think that's awesome. Definitely my favorite hike I've ever done. Unforgettable. I can't stop looking at the Peak. I drive Suncrest as often as I can to get a look at that gorgeous beast.

Thanks to all who hiked it. I love you all! You all add so much to the experience. It wouldn't be the same without you. This is the first summer I've had the great opportunity to hike with my brother Dan. There are 7 years separating us, so we've not had many opportunities to do things together and this summer has been a treat. Love you Dan.

Karma Works for Me Now

You know how if you say, "I will NEVER do that!" You will, one day, actually do that. Or you feel contempt towards a friend for something rude and inconsiderate they did, you will, one day, watch yourself do the exact same thing? It's like a universal rule, Karma, a law...infallible. I try to watch what I say, because I know I will eat every critical, contemptible, arrogant and prejudice remark that escapes my lips. Unfortunately, those things still slip out. However, today my friend Amy Poulsen introduced me to a whole new world of thought. My eyes are open and I am overwhelmed by the possibilities this new thought will shower upon me.

Amy, Tiff and I sat at Zupa's today. I ate an asian salad (mmmm...sesame ginger dressing), Tiffany some onion soup with coconut (barfarama) and Amy some lame drink...probably water...because she ate a sandwich before she came...that's cheating (and I can accuse her of that and not fear Karma because I too have been guilty of that treachery). Anyway, Amy sat there mocking her brother's parenting skills with caustic and slanderous digs. I agreed 100 percent with Amy's analysis of why the kids have poor.....(fill in the blank...I still don't dare say it). And then, the epiphany decended upon us, like a train on it's track (oh...that's a good one)....Amy proceeded to dare Karma to prove her wrong. Almost shouting the child raising errors to the skies. Give her a chance big K....prove her wrong. Give her some kids of her own and SHOW her. TEACH her. SUBDUE her! I dare you. (By the way, Amy is single, she run's 6 miles a day, rode the Lotoja, and ran into a tree in college when trying to escape a boy chasing after her). Seriously, why not? If there is something missing in our lives, critisize someone who has what we want, and I bet....pretty soon...we will be on our way to having exactly what we want.

I'm gonna get a bumper sticker make for this : Tricking Karma since October 20, 2009.
And a wooden sign with this painted: Kicking Karma est 10/20/09 which will hang where my real one ought to have been hanging for the last 10 years.

My heart works better when I'm around these cherubs

Felt an urge to post a bunch of pictures of my lil' guys and gal. I never had a clue how much I would care about these little ones. I miss them everyday of my life since each of them was born. (It's obvious that there are more pics of some then the others, not because I'm biased, only because some parents post more pics than others)

Olive in Utah, chilling by grandpa's car, holding Pyper

Olive and James in a stroller war

Olive and James with their favorite aunt

Max in skeleton PJ's and tights

Sam and me after chowing on ice cream

Max demonstrating downdog

Just rescued Sam from getting pelted with water (I thought it was funny, he didn't)

Classic brothers shot

Max and Sam (who looks ticked)

Best outfit EVER!

They are gong to be great friends

The boys with their dad

James and his dad asleep in my car

James sucking on a hose

James talking on a camera

??Just having a good time

Love the tongue

Sometimes Failure is the Best Option

I felt like I should knock on wood as I made the statement, "I'm so excited, I'm going to accomplish my physical summer goal." It was 5:30 am and I was in the car with Tiffany Peterson as we headed toward the Ghost Falls trailhead that would take us on a 12 mile journey to Lone Peak. I've wanted to hike this for years, but felt intimidated. This year was going to be different.

Tiff and I on a campout up Big Cottonwood

This IS NOT Lone Peak, but I wanted you to see a picture of mountains incase you didn't know what they are

I couldn't sleep the night before. I can never sleep when I'm excited about something. All night the elevation and distance of the hike were running through my head as I made comparisons to other hikes (Olympus, Pfeifferhorn, Timpanogos). Seriously, numbers rolled through my brain all night. It also didn't help that the wind was blowing...I can't stand the wind...except for the time I was a passenger on the Santa Maria (sister to Nina and Pinta) crossing the Atlantic.



To be honest, I felt like I should throw the towel in when my alarm went off. No sleep, wind and an already 76 degrees is not a combo platter I want to order. However, you all know I can be extremely stubborn and I was afraid this might be my last chance for the year, since snow was predicted for the following day (prediction correct). I didn't care. I just wanted to accomplish my goal. So off we went.

This is to show how stubborn I can be

And stupid (but a fighter too, yes?)

So when I forgot to clock the distance on the dirt road (supposed to go 2.6 miles) to the trailhead we just weren't sure where to start. Tiffany expressed some concern about getting too late of a start, I of course shrugged it off and thought we should go back and clock the distance....we would only be 40 minutes behind schedule. Tiff is a person that I think understands how I operate....I just need time to come to the right decision...AND I need an insurmountable obstacle in my way. WHich is why I'm positive she prayed that I would have the worst allergy attack I've ever had in my life. It's two days later and my eyes are still swollen shut. The attack was awesome! In three minutes time I was sneezing like crazy, tears streaming down my cheeks, eyes puffing up...and I was driving. I was too dumb to have Tiff drive, because it was only 20 minutes to my place, I didn't know that in minutes I would be blind!



I usually feel really bad when I don't do what I say I'm going to do. Even a good excuse makes me feel like a loser. However, there was NO STINKING WAY I could've done that hike. And now? I'm left wondering if I will accomplish my goal...and if it doesn't happen...it doesn't happen. It was a good lesson for me, sometimes you gotta give, and if you don't, God will blind you.

My Time, Well Used

I have several things to discuss or state at you so I might have to break it up into a few different posts.

First: Serena Williams. What the crap?! I get it...you work so hard to get to the finals (this is tennis we are talking about) and then someone makes a bad call in a CRITICAL part of the match...You still don't yell the f-word at a little Asian lady making the call. You are a big, powerful, black woman and a scrawny little lady will run to the umpire judge and get you in all the trouble she can...she is afraid for her life...I was afraid for her life just watching it on the tube. However, Yippee for The Belgium who went on to win the championship...she took two years off to become a mom and in the first year of her return, unseeded, she won a grand slam event! WOW!

Next: I went to Seattle for what was supposed to be five days and it ended up being eight. I had no clue Seattle has the weather in the summer that is my personal heaven. I've never been happier, not even the day my kids were born.

Two things happened...the first...I got to spend those days with my Elaine Benice dancing niece, Olive and my amazing sis-in-law Shannon.

I was introduced to Mad Men and watched it everynight on my double decker air mattress placed perfectly in front of a huge flat screen tv (I think I slept about 10 hrs a day, 2 hr nap included...I always napped when Olive did). Olive and I would chill on the bed in the mornings eating cheerios and watching Sesame Street...which is now my favorite tv show (I also grew to hate Curious George and a book with a bunny rabbit that would hide).

Olive and I had a pizza party while Shannon was fulfilling a bride's dreams by being her wedding planner. We watched Grease, can you see it in the background? Can you also see my double chin?

We also rode the ducks all over Seattle for a tour. The transportation was WWII vehicles that could go on land and water. We did both...it freaked me out on the water.

This is Olive's happy place

Olive and I took the bus into town and ate fish n chips, fed disgusting Seagulls, and walked the streets of Seattle looking for New Born Vampires

May I also report for my second thing that happened...since I was in Seattle...I naturally thought of Vampires, New Borns. WHich led me to thoughts of Port Angeles and Forks...which happened to be a couple hrs away. We never quite made it to Port Angeles (where Bella went shopping and almost got killed by the four gross men...and Edward saved her)...we probably got about 5 miles away from the city limits, on our tour of the Olympic Peninsula.

On the ferry to Bainbridge Island that would eventually get us to the Olympic Peninsula. This was right before Olive fell off a seat in the ferry and landed on her head. Shannon got it on video and aunt Chrissy was too late to catch her from falling...stupid aunt. But there was a beautiful dark haired single man right by us who thought is was just as funny as we did. I kick myself for not kissing him.

What a gorgeous tour it was. I would love to live there, in the summer. I'm planning a nice long trip next summer to the area which will include Seattle, Olympic Peninsula, Victoria, Vancouver and Oregon Coast....google them...they are beautiful and you should join me. Unfortunately, I've become obsessed again with the vampired. I watched the movie again, also with commentary and it was hilarious. I highly recommed it to those who were upset with the film. I was/am one of those, it seemed so poorly done in countless ways BUT the actors, Bella and Edward, were so funny with the commentary and pointing out the same things that I thought were lame that I'm not as upset as I had been. I'm ready for New Moon to come out. I'm totally recommitted and I'm looking for a group who will go with me to the midnight showing, something I swore I would never do again. It's gonna be awesome no matter how dumb it is...because one day the dvd will come out with the commentary and the world will be right again.

The Girl Then and the Girl Now, Is the Same

Everybody in my family seems to be moving to new homes. It has been a bit hectic. I now have the urge to simplify and downsize my posessions. Although I would like to increase my vehicles to two. Boy am I unbalanced. ANyway, I'm in the mood to clean out closets and tonight I've accomplished destroying my loft with crap and clutter. It's everywhere. Shambles. Because, of course, I got caught up reading journals. I've always wanted to write a book. The first time I started at book was my senior year in high school. I've been reading it tonight and, although it has no point or purpose that I can find, it has been entertaining. I was not a very nice girl back in the day. At one point in my unfinished book I was attending a church meeting (to my embarassment as a full functioning adult, this occurred right after sacrament before we separated to sunday school) and when the chorister asked the congregation for hymn suggestions, I requested AC/DC's Back in Black. Ugh. I am shocked but not surprised. ANyway, I wanted to share a small portion of the book:

I have two interesting things to tell you about dying cows (then I go into a long explanation about someone you wouldn't expect to laugh like a dying cow...and I eventually get to this point...). Just today (april 1) in a class some girl started making some wheezy dead noise and it was such a terrible noise that I thought she was just doing it for fun. And all of a sudden she flung her head down on the table..hard!! And she just laid there groaning and it sounded like she sneezed so I cynically asked her if she wanted a kleenex and she burst out laughing...so I thought. She was like that for two minutes and all of a sudden she said,"will somebody get me a kleenex?" I thought I was going to die laughing, and none of us got her a kleenex so she used the piece of paper under her. When she flung her head down on the table she hit it so hard that she gave herself a bloody nose. She claimed she was choking and I say, "no way." I was just about to say, "why didn't yo hold your neck or something?" and she says, "Geeze (yelling) I was giving you guys the international sign for choking."

I vaguely remember this experience...and I do remember laughing...hard. Especially when she flung her head onto the table. Even better that it gaver her a bloody nose.

Someday I will post about the hard core rant I go on about abortion referring to the baby as "it" and pleading, "You don't kill it" and "give it a chance." It was a very strong voice for a 17 yr old with very little tact. Sounds about right.

A Few Random Thoughts That Might Relate to the Above Paragraphs, Or Not

This is my hike group that may never re-group for a hike again

This is a glacier that my hike group slid down last wednesday at 10 am. that turned a 10 hr hike into a 15 hour hiking disaster

This is Tiffany. Tiffany and I attended high school together (and Jr. High) and was part of my inspiration for my book writing. Tiff almost died on the glacier and escaped with relatively few injuries. Sadly, after she almost died and I knew she was alive and wouldn't die, I broke out into hysterical laughter, and it quite possibly sounded like a dying cow. After reading my partially written book and thinking of my reaction to Tiff's near death experience, I realize I have not matured and am still very much the same girl

However, the girl back then and the girl now has always been grateful for her long lasting and unwaivering friendship with Tiff...and hopes to never witness something like that again!