A Snow Shoeing Weekend!

Hey all! So my birthday snow shoeing was just as fun as I expected it would be. So much fun that we did it again on Saturday!

Thursday night was pretty chilly, but not too chilly for our awesome down coats! I became hot hiking up to the meadow and then stayed plenty warm hiking downhill back to the car. The company was me, Lindsey, Jen, and Dan. We brought the ever fun Potter with us. Potter is Lindsey's adorable Great Dane dog. He played with us and even barked at me when I would tackle his momma (Lindsey) in the snow. Ha!





Here I am blowing out my candles on my birthday cookie! We had hot chocolate and cookies after the snow shoeing extravaganza the night of my birthday.

Saturday was a beautiful day. Camille, Lindsey and I hiked the same trail but went much further--all the way to Big Springs. That was probably a couple miles. We got up there, ate our lunch for 5 minutes and then headed back down as it was still quite chilly and it is especially chilly to sit there in your sweaty clothes, not moving, and have the cool weather cool you off via evaporation of your sweat. Think of getting out of the shower on a cold morning. Brrr. So we headed down. When we got to the road, which was snow covered and closed to vehicles, we sat on the little light-weight sleds we brought along and sled the whole way down! It took us 10 minutes to sled the distance it took us 2 and a half hours to hike up. So fun! Absolute riot! Potter ran along and would bark at us as we sledded down. Funny dog. At one point he pulled Lindsey off the sled and started pulling her away from the sled by her Camelback. We think maybe he was scared, thought she was scared and in trouble, so he saved her. So cute. Enjoy the pics!

The Birthday Girl!!

Happy Birthday to me! Yes, I am still up at this absurd hour of 12 midnight. I made the mistake of staying up to talk to my roommate and have now hit my second wind. I have been thinking for a while what I might write on this, the 27th anniversary of my introduction to the world. Unfortunately, nothing profound comes to mind. Sorry. At the age of 27, I am now on a steep double-black diamond slope to 30. But... I still have 3 years. I don't know why 30 worries me so. I have plenty of friends that are 30, and I admire them so much! They have lives worthy to emulate. Maybe it is because 30 is the cutoff I gave myself--to decide if I should still be in Provo, and especially if I should still be renting as opposed to owning. So that means I have 3 years to figure out what I am going to do when I turn 30. Move back to my hometown? Move somewhere big and exciting like San Francisco, New York, DC or.... Salt Lake City? Ha! Buy a house? Well, some words of wisdom come to mind (and probably the only ones that will come at this hour): I will cross that bridge when I come to it. Until then, save, save, save. Any of the above options will be expensive.Here are some photos to enjoy from a birthday of mine, many years ago. That is my beautiful mother with me in the picture with the cake and the candle. The other picture is with 3 of my fabulous sisters--from left to right--Robyn, Joni and Jill. They will probably love that I added this picture and put it on the internet for all to see. Ha!Today is going to be a good day. I can feel it already. Work is going to be exciting. Last weekend I left on Friday wishing that Saturday was actually Monday and I could go back to work. I love my job! And then tonight will be so much fun. Some friends and I are going snowshoeing up the canyon and then we will come back to enjoy some hot chocolate and cookies. My favorite! Seriously, hot chocolate is my favorite. I think I probably have at least 8 different cans of Stephen's Hot Chocolate. Yum.

And then here is a little update since my last entry: I had my Lasik surgery and I can see!! It is a little blurry in the mornings but I think that is due to dryness when I first wake up. But by 8 or so I can see just fine! Getting that surgery was quite the adventure. I will give the short version: My mom came down to give me a ride back from my appointment and then to take care of me afterwards. We took her car up to Salt Lake City for my surgery. When we were seriously only 5 minutes away from my vision center, we hit a metal rod in the road--it flattened a tire, wound itself in the wheel-well and then also tore up the bottom of my mom's car. The rod was 5 feet long and about a half inch in diameter--we did not see it until we hit it. And there was no way to dodge it--we were in the middle lane of the freeway with traffic on either side of us. As soon as we pulled over to the side of the freeway, mom called AAA and I called my vision center. Luckily, some other patient of my doctor's overheard my conversation with the receptionist and volunteered her dad to come pick me up so I could make it for my appointment.

I felt rotten leaving my poor mom on the side of the freeway with a broken down car in a strange and wild town. But people were super nice to her--a good Samaritan stopped and stayed with her until the tow truck came and then when the tow truck came, the tow truck guy gave her a ride to the vision center even though he wasn't supposed to. And then my mom called my friend Lindsey and she drove up to come and get us and bring us back home. My mom arrived at the vision center just as I came out of surgery. I burst into tears when I saw her! I am not overly emotional--I think the Valium did it to me. Laughing Gas makes me cry too so I guess all relaxants will make me cry. Go figure. My surgery went well and my doctor was very pleased. Not to mention me!! I am super pleased. It is so wild to go to bed without taking out contacts. The story ends with my mom being stuck here with me for a week more than she planned, as it took a week and a half for the mechanic to fix her car. Very upsetting--tell me about it! I thought it was a sign of divine intervention that I was not supposed to have this surgery. But so far it wasn't. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Year in Review

Happy New Year’s Everyone!!

Sampler of how 2006 treated me. Pretty decent if I might add.

1. Celebrated my 26th birthday. I am officially on the downhill slope to 30. Yikes!
2. Certified in SCUBA, although I have not yet been able to go scuba diving.
3. Bought a digital camera, which then required the purchase of a computer—a beautiful iMac. I am officially dependant on technology.
4. Returned to London! It was an adrenaline trip of only 4 days actually spent in the city and not an ounce of jet lag was to be had.
5. Tragic loss of my step-dad. That is the one sad bit of news of the year. It has been a difficult time for all of us and he will be missed. Consequently, my mom has moved back to Boise to be closer to family and friends.
6. Started two blogs: www.skierjess.blogspot.com and www.walkergenerations.blogspot.com. The first is one that I use to post pictures and happenings in my life—check it out today! It took a couple of my friends to inspire me and I thought you all might enjoy it as much as I enjoy my friends’ blogs. The second is a blog I use to post family history stories so that all of my family can have access to the stories I continue to find about my ancestors.
7. First expedition to Glacier National Park. I joined my sister for their family vacation for the 3rd year in a row. We hiked 30 miles, gained 3,000 feet in elevation, on 3 hikes in 3 days. Yup.
8. Sang my heart out at the Soul2Soul II tour with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Not on stage though—only in the audience.
9. Hiked the 11,749 feet of Mount Timpanogos for the first time. Nearly killed me too. Boy that thin air can wipe you out. Next on the list: Everest—from my living room.
10. Discovered the beauties of canyoneering. Canyoneering is the sport of down climbing and rappelling through slot canyons in southern Utah. My friend, Lindsey, has introduced me to the sport by canyoneering through Key Hole canyon in Zions National Park.
11. Promotion time! This is the best news of all: I got a promotion!! I am now an Area HR Consultant on campus and therefore the one-stop-HR-contact for 1/4th of campus. It will be an awesome growth opportunity for me and will open many doors. Plus—I moved up to the second floor from the basement. I am no longer a mole!

Thank you all for being such dear friends and family. I love you all and think a lot of you. I hope you will keep in touch with me as I love to hear what is going on with you and your loved ones. Best wishes for the new year!!