3rd Annual Fall Colors & Dutch Oven Dessert

We did it again. Some friends and I went up to the mountains to enjoy the fall colors and a little fresh peach cobbler in the dutch oven. We went to Bridal Veil Falls park though... weather and time did not permit fulfillment of all the aspects of the tradition. We had such a good time.... took pictures, walked up to the falls, played with Potter, the Great Dane, and ate the dessert.

I Love Rainy Days

This is why I love rainy days - the clouds shroud the mountains that are literally right outside my bedroom window.

Hoodlums in the Cemetery

Mike is in town this weekend and he just spent the best ever 2 hours with me (in between afternoon session of General Conference and Priesthood session). Ha!

First let me tell you about Find-A-Grave. It's a website where people can input information about their ancestors (names, birth date, death date, etc) and if they know where the ancestor is buried then they can request a photo of the headstone. Well, people like me sign up as contributors so if someone requests a photo of a headstone in the Provo cemetery then I'll run over there with my digital camera, take the picture and upload it to the website which then notifies the requester. And in my case, if I request a photo of a headstone in North Platte, Nebraska then one of the 10 contributors within 10 miles of that cemetery will run over and do the same for me! It's a really cool website. And I requested 5 photos today and fulfilled 4 for someone else. Talk about teamwork.

Anyway, Mike went with me to the Provo cemetery to take the pictures. In the rain - yeah, Mike brought it with him from Seattle. What a trooper. And then I had to document his visit and take pictures of us. And then off to Wal-Mart for a little grocery shopping. See best 2 hours he has ever had... and it was with me.

Here is a pic of me trying to look like a hoodlum with Mike. He is way to good at it. I couldn't stop laughing.

Recipe for Lovesickness

Wow. So I just finished watching North & South. Ashlee was right - it did get me in a good mood. I feel so much better now. Even good enough to write about the movie immediately afterwards. This movie is akin to Pride & Prejudice... in rankings among my top favorite movies and in length! (It was 4 hours long.)

First meet the handsome, rich, business-savvy, rough-around the edges, maybe a bit of temper, but chuck full of potential hero, Mr. Thornton:

And then meet determined, out-spoken, charitable, relies-too-much-on-first-impressions, kind, and sees the potential heroine, Margaret Hale:Throw in some strife at Mr. Thornton's mill with the union and some other heart-breaking news...throw in a few major events that induce humility and walah! You get this:

And you get me - staying up late to blog about it, sigh over it, and hope she can dream about it. Sigh....

Birch Hollow Canyon - Zions

Sometimes I think the photos say it all. And I think that is the stance I will take on this entry...mostly. This canyon was a fun, dry canyon, but with a very long and very wet hike out. The canyon only took us (Lindsey, Jen, Jed, Joey and I) 3 1/2 hours to complete whereas the hike took us through Orderville Canyon and The Narrows - which took 6 1/2 hours to hike out. We were hiking through a river the whole time and there was one part in Orderville where they was no way around it, but to jump right into the river - over our heads. Of course, it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. :)

Anna's Weddng

I went home to Boise to go to the wedding of my best from high school, Anna. It was beautiful and she was beautiful and her husband is very nice... very deserving of her. While there, my mom and I ran into old family friends: my childhood friend, Kelli, and her mom Jerry Lee. It was so neat to catch up with them again.

First (and Only?) Soapbox: On Being Single

Generally, I don't/won't post a soapbox kind of entry on this blog and I kind of hope I don't do it.... truly (since I don't consider this a true soapbox)... again. But, since I view this blog as a kind of journal (in a public sort of way :o)) and because I intend to publish it in a book and keep it for my posterity, I want my posterity to know I was happy during my single years. I have not and intend to never sit on my "hope chest" and wait for my life to begin by way of getting married. I do know for a fact that I will marry someday and I do hope for that - hence the comments about my posterity... :o). But anyways... I just read the most amazing blog entry posted by one of my good friends (which spurred this entry on my blog). I hope she won't mind, but I want to quote some of her entry right here on my blog just because I couldn't agree more and describe it any better. You can see her full entry here.

my life is the way it is. i have done so many great things with the opportunities that i have had. i'm not unhappy. i choose not to be. and it *is* my choice. i find joy in the experiences i have had and in the ones i look forward to.

i'm not saying that i am glad that i haven't gotten married yet "because it has given me the opportunity to have the experiences i have had". i don't say that because there is no comparison -- there is no conceivable way to compare my life to the one i could have had if i were married already.

which thought reminds me of a question i got many times as a kid: "so do you like having your birthday right before Christmas?" well ... my response: "do you like having yours *not* right before Christmas?" how do you answer that? have you known it any other way? or, another frequent question: "did you like moving around a lot as a kid?" well, "did you like living in one house the whole time you grew up?" can you really form a like/dislike opinion about something for which you have no basis of comparison? do you really know if you like chocolate if you haven't tried vanilla? like/dislike is a relative measure.

...

i wouldn't trade my life for any other, not because "i *love* my life" and "i wouldn't trade it for any other" ... but quite simply because i *can't*: i *can't* trade it for any other. my life is a blessing that Heavenly Father gave *to me*; it is *for me*. i am not bound to try and "return" such a gift. and i am not going to let Satan or anyone try to convince me that it isn't the "right" gift ... it's *my* gift ... from the One that knows and loves me the most.