Weak in the Knees

Prayer.

It works and tonight was an answer. 

For the last few weeks I had been praying for something to happen. 

That I would be in the right spot at the right time. 

Tonight I think I was. 

Off the Beaten Path

It's early Friday morning and Solon, Pam and I are off to Provo.. or at least we thought we were. It was really early and I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and ended up driving the WRONG WAY to Utah. What was wrong with me?! I was headed to Grandma's I guess. So after a rough start, Solon took the drivers seat and we were headed for Utah! Just a few hours later than we had planed but luckily Solon and Pam didn't mind too much and found more amusement in teasing me over the situation 

rather than getting mad.

While on our way Solon had always wanted to stop and check out the cave at the base of this rock formation. After putting us back 3 hours how could I say no?! So we headed toward it. Little did I know that the road to the rock wasn't meant for little cars like mine! Off-roading to get to it is a bit of an understatement but we managed to get there without getting stuck. Muddy but not stuck! 

 I happened to have a flashlight so we could really investigate this cave. That wasn't necessary though. This is hardly a cave but it was a fun little side adventure to finally put our curiosity to rest.

I thought while we were on adventures to places we had never checked out we might stop at the Hole 'N Rock that I have passed over 100 times. Sadly I can't say we stopped. Like I always say.. Maybe next time.

These windmills are so creepy! Don't ask me why but every time I pass by them they just give me the hebbie-jeebies!

We love this place! We always try and make it to this restaurant while we are in Provo and this time we did! We order the same thing every time too. Why mess up a good thing. We were so hungry I am sure we would have loved it no matter how it tasted.

By the time we were done eating we were so tired from being in the car for 15 hours. We were going to stay at Solon's aunt and uncles house but couldn't get ahold of them. We decided to stay at the Super 8. I can't remember if it is a hotel or a motel so I will just call it that!





We made it to the bookstore too! I bought two really cute shirts with the help of Sarah. There is so much stuff too look at and too many decisions to be made for me to pick what to buy so I recruited her help. Now I have options for our football Saturdays!

 We also gave Sarah a new nickname on this trip. "Coy" showed us J Dawgs. A local hotdog joint that was founded by a BYU Business student. Coy and Diva chowed down while Peter Pam and I held out for something tastier. 







We held out for In-N-Out. Just as we thought it hit the spot!

After this we were in a food coma. Diva in the back acting just as his name describes as we decide what to do next.

 We had a few hours to kill and so I suggested that we go see a movie. I knew about the new Ryan Gosling movie Drive that just came out and suggested we see it. That is literally all I knew about the movie. Wow! This movie was definitely rated R for a reason but it was so good! If you're into that kind of movie then I really suggest you go see it. I wanna go again!

 We met a few friends for dinner before the game. Zupas is a soup and sandwich place and it was good and the company was better! Michael Castle and Megan Hardy met us there and then we were off to the game!

The stadium looked a little different than the last time we were there. They painted the two pillars blue and added the Y. Looks good!

A few of our friends couldn't come to the game so we had Diva scalp the tickets. He did a great job!

 Aren't we the cutest BYU fans in the stadium! We were completely surrounded by Ute fans and Coy and I were about to go buck on them! As the game went on more and more BYU fans were flooding out of the stadium. Our cougars lost pretty badly but we stayed until the very end. RISE UP!

The second night we stayed at Aunt Kathy's. It's like having a hotel room there! It is so nice and we appreciate it when we can stay there. We will be up a few more times before the football season is over!







On the way home we were making good time(maybe we were just jaded by how long it took us to get there) so we decided to stop at a restaurant in Moab to eat lunch. Pasta Jay's was so good!

 I thought that I would try to stop at this arch on the way home, too. When we had passed it on the way there was a family leaving the arch. Those kids looked like they were having so much fun and I wanted to join in! We passed this for the second time but I am going to make sure we stop the next time we go up!

I had such a fun time even if the cougars lost by sooo much. Seeing Sarah was such a blast and Pam and Solon are the best travel companions even if I was banished to the back seat for the rest of the trip. In a couple months we will be having just as much fun as we did this time!

Happy Campers

A few weeks ago a group of us had gone to go camping and trying to get our group of friends organized is, to put it simple, an act of congress but I did it. It did turn out to be disaster after disaster.

1. Almost too many people were going which makes things not as fun.
2. When we got to the lake to camp it was closed because of near by fires.
3. We decided to go to the Jemez to camp but it would take us about an hour and a half to get there.
4. Once we got there we couldn't find a camp ground.
5. The hotdogs we made were burnt.
6. I am surprised I didn't freeze to death after the worst night of my life.
7. Woke up the the forest ranger 'bout to write us tickets for camping in a Day Camp but we looked like good kids and let us pack up and leave.

All and all I still had a great time with friends but Solon decided before the summer was over we needed to go camping. Real camping. The kind of camping men plan. So I said have at it. This was the results.

1. We were all left in the dark about when we were leaving. About an hour before we left we were notified where to meet.

2. Some of the people that would have come had been taking their Sunday naps and didn't wake up in time to catch the ride out of town.

3. When we were getting our "food" at the gas station we were told about the raging party that was happening at the Canyon next weekend. We'll have to definitely get back for that! ;)

4. When we got there, Solon forgot the guitar so we just sang songs and played my "awful" music from my iPod.

5. Joe mad a bomb fire like a real man.

6. Pam and I were toasty warm most of the night and woke up to a pleasant temperature.

7. We made it in and out of the canyon with just a few mishaps but nothing like a few prior experiences.

8. As much as I want to admit it, it was better that the time before but I don't think it's because "men" planned it.

Best Friends Are Like Diamonds, Precious and Rare.

It was Sami's birthday on Friday and I decided to take her to get a pedicure. Sarah was in town so she came as well. We went to a place that was up the street from my office because we remembered the Grand Opening Godzilla that was on the roof. Sadly it wasn't there when we got there. We went inside and it was so nice. The ladies told us to pick a color and Sami, of course, choose "Cougar Blue" and Sarah choose "Lobo Red". I went with my usual French Tip however writing this now I realized we are really patriotic by our color choices! Maybe I will call mine Freedom Tip from now on. ;)

As we were getting our toes done it came up that it was Sami's birthday the next day. The lady asked if she had plans for the day and she said probably dinner with my husband. Sarah and I winked at each other because we were in on a secret. Beckett had been planning a surprise dinner at the Sushi King for just the young folk. Rocky spent the night at Mamy and Papa's house and we met them at the restaurant. I couldn't wait to see her face when she walked up the stairs onto the balcony to see all of us there. She was so surprised! She had seen the menu Beck had out for dinner but didn't expect for all of us to be there. We had so much fun and I am not really one to like sushi but with the help of my high class sister Sarah I loved every bite! So good!

We went back to our house for ice cream cake and gifts. It was such a fun night. They left to go home while we watched "The Proposal", for probably the millionth time. I love that movie it never gets old!

Let's Roll

There aren't many days in my life that I can remember so vividly as I do with September 11, 2001. I was 14 years old and had just gotten out of seminary. Sister Peay had told us a little of what she knew had been happening out in the world. She usually gave us a ride home and then Mama would take us to school. Sarah and I were usually chatter boxes being as how we had been up for a few hours already. This day was different. We were silent and when we got home we told Mama about a plane hitting a tower in NY. Mama was confused and turned on the T.V. She seemed to not leave view of it for a week. As we drove to school the the 2nd plane had hit the building. I was a naive girl at the time and didn't understand that people had done this intentionally. Once I understood I then couldn't understand why people would want to inflict so much pain and hurt on perfect strangers. How could this happen to America? How would this end?

As we got to school my first class period was P.E. We had a long discussion about how this would mold us as a generation. Coach Schultz was a tough guy but this was the first time I had seen him get emotional and teach us about what our lives were gonna be about. He knew this was going to change our nation and the way we were going to grow up. He tried to prepare our minds for what was to happen.

2nd period wasn't the same. Biology. Something you would think you could go on without learning for a day. No. Our teacher told us that the T.V. would be on but that we would continue with the lesson. I didn't understand because in history class we always had to interview someone that had lived through an important time in history. This was my experience. By this time the plane in Pennsylvania had crashed in a field and the Pentagon had been hit. This was getting worse as the day went on and I can't count the times I had cried during my classes as we talked about the events.

Well, it's been 10 years and today my mom and brother were remembering the things we have learned from that day. Here are some highlights:

-Heroes are everywhere. Sure the firemen and police were "just doing their job". They could have done other jobs that day and avoided the area and many went to help on their day off. Everyone has a choice. They chose to help save lives that day. As people were stumbling down the stairs on their way out of the building the firemen running up the stairs never missed a beat. They had been trained for this. They were not going to quit.

-Nationwide everyone was glued to the T.V. Most people didn't have a connection at all to NYC however, everyone took the attack personally. How could this happen to "us"? What could we do to help? Pictures of people coming out of the rubble, posters of missing family members, and days of searching for anything lead Americans to show their patriotism. Flags were hung everywhere. Prayers always had protect our country and support our troops. We were all united in a passion for freedom.

-Flight 93 was a perfect example of what it means to be an American. Their flight was delayed and resulted in many of the passengers finding out about the previous plane hijackings. They decided and voted on what they should do. They planed and executed a scheme to overtake the plane. They were heroic that day in saving who knows how many lives. They sacrificed everything for people they knew nothing about. This was the first successful battle for the war against terrorism.

-After this day you couldn't go anywhere without seeing a flag. As we waited line to be dropped off for school every car had window flags, pick-up trucks had them on either side of the beds and motorcycles drove with them on the back. Flags were everywhere to be seen. Driving through neighborhoods every home had either a flagpole or flags on their garage. Sami had Daddy and the boys hang her 6x10 flag we once had in our room out in our front yard. It hung in between the trees and no passing car could go without seeing it. Mama still has the flag she put in her car from that day. It's a little faded from before but still hanging from our mirror. 

-America IS a blessed nation. Our leaders have been inspired by Heavenly Father to make our nation what it is today. There is no other place I would rather live in this world. We all have an obligation to do our part whether it's helping someone in need in our community, voting, or united together in a cause that is much greater than we may understand. We all give some but some give all.

We have come so far in 10 years. The sacrifices others have made for me remind me of the sacrifice that Christ has mad for us all however we are not strangers. He knows all of us by name. He loves us and protects us while still give us our agency. We are forever indebted to him for his Atonement.