2014 Year in Review

Mike and I had a ton of adventures this year! In fact, I became infamous at work for being on vacation nearly every Friday. So I've dubbed this past year as the year of the Weekend Warrior.

Christmas

This year for Christmas, Mike went home with me and it was so fun to have him there. We did the usual that my family does - nice dinner Christmas Eve with Mom, Jill, Mike, Jen, Parker, Chandler, Justin, Amy, Alec, and Andrew; and then Christmas day at Jill and Mike's house. Lucky for me this year, Spencer called a little later in the day so it was fun to see and talk to the missionary! Then the day after Christmas I took Mike up to Idaho City and we went snowshoeing. Thank goodness the Christmas Eve storm put down some fresh snow.

Helping Mom put on her Christmas apron

Christmas Eve dinner at Mom's

Christmas Day at Jill & Mike's talking to Spencer on his mission

Snowshoeing up by Idaho City

I Passed my Senior Professional in Human Resources Certification Exam!

For the past three and a half months I have been studying and preparing to take the Senior Professional in Human Resources certification exam. And yesterday that day I was preparing for came and went. I was so nervous because I had dedicated so much time to it - what if I didn't pass and all that time was wasted?! But thankfully.... I PASSED!! I wanted to cry afterward just for the relief of it finally being done and not hanging over my head anymore.

To celebrate, Mike made me tacos for dinner and bought sparkling cider for us and served it in some margarita glasses! And then he also bought some of my favorite desserty-treats: dark chocolate covered blueberry-flavored acai berries. Yumm!

Mountain Biking in St George

Mike and I took a quick trip to St George to get out of dodge and go mountain biking! We left early Saturday morning and met up with our friends Steve, Tessa, and Joel to ride Bear Claw Poppy and Zen. I'm pleased to report that I wasn't as discouraged after riding Zen this time around because I think I actually did ride a little more than half of it as opposed to walking my bike over all the technical parts.

Then Steve totally surprised me and Mike and let me keep his brand new Santra Cruz Nomad to try out and ride on Sunday since he knows I'm on the hunt for a full-suspension mountain bike. It was heavenly and so fun to ride a full suspension! I was much more confident to do technical spots in the trails. Mike and I rode Barrel Roll and then Prospector and Church Rocks, and then we headed home.

Finished my Chevron Quilt

With my quiet fall, I was able to finish my chevron quilt. I started it in March with the intention of finishing it in time to use on my bed for the summer, but .... well we see how that turned out. But here it is in all it's queen-size glory!

It's Been Quiet Lately

Well, I have only a few, small adventures to report for the past six or so weeks. It's been kind of nice to have a lower-key few weeks. And it's allowed me to get obsessed with family history again! And to finish my quilt top.

This is the one and only pic I took from when Joni and Whitney (and Teri, Mom, and Jill too) were in town to shop for a wedding dress for Whitney. After we finished shopping on Saturday (in the major downpour rainstorm of the century!) we went to the BYU Museum of Art to see their exhibit on the costumes of the cinema. I just couldn't resist taking this picture when all three of them were on their phones, inside waiting out the rain, but just as I took the picture Joni looked up and ruined the pic! :) 

I planted a Gerbera Daisy in one of my pots this year . . . it had a single bloom on it when I bought the plant, and then it didn't bloom again until the fall. So I had to document the later bloom for which I had labored fruitlessly all summer! 

Mike and I went on a long mountain bike ride on October 11 with some friends up around the Fifth Water trail and saw all these beautiful fall colors and this water fall by the Diamond Fork hot springs. 

And then on October 18, Mike and I and one of his friends went mountain biking up Big Springs and Corner Canyon where I got this beauty of a fat lip (and cut gums, and later a very swollen cheek). I just took a small, embarrassingly dumb tumble but my bike must know I'm looking to replace it because it popped me in the kisser with the end of one handlebar.

For Halloween, Mike and I carved these pumpkins. It's my first time breaking out of the triangle-eyes-and-toothy-grin carving job - I did the cat. Then on actual Halloween night, we hung out at my place and I made some pumpkin pie bars and dinner in a pumpkin and we watched a scary flick. I told Mike that if he wasn't going to answer the door to pass out candy to the kids and I was going to do it alone then I wanted to do it at my house where I'd get to see the kids I knew and love! (We spent Halloween at his house last year, and I was the only one answering the door to all these stranger kids I didn't know.) But . . . I bought way too much candy for only about 7 groups of kids. Bah. 

One Last Backpacking Trip to the Uintas

Mike and I snuck one last backpacking trip in before the season disappeared on us: to Naturalist Basin in the Uinta mountains here in Utah. We left work at 3:00 on Friday so we could start hiking by 5:30 and hoped to get camp set up before the dark hit - and we were just barely successful! Joel, a new friend of ours that backpacked Bryce Canyon with us, and his friend Colleen were supposed to hike in that night to meet up with us.... but they kind of got lost on the trail in the dark, decided to call it a night, finish the hike in the morning, and ended up camping only a mile from the trail head! I'm so glad that was their circumstances and not the disastrous injuries I imagined when I heard a helicopter fly overhead in the middle of the night. Then Mike's really good friends, Jordan and Julie, hiked in Saturday as well.

Mike and I laughed that his 0-degree bag that I borrowed was nearly as big as my pack.

Mike and I at the trail head

Mike and I hung out around camp for a bit hoping Joel and Colleen would arrive in time to hike Spread Eagle Peak with us, but they were an hour behind us so we went ahead and headed up to the peak. It was pretty fun! We took our time and explored by Jordan Lake and a waterfall that dumps into it, then we made our own trail across a pretty barren moon scape of grass and rocks and passed two other lakes on our way to the peak. Hiking the peak was pretty nuts - there was no trail! We had to scale up a pretty steep slope to the saddle/ridge, then after that attaining the peak wasn't too bad. This was definitely the highest peak I've climbed so far! Its elevation is 12,540 feet above sea level. Coming down from the peak, we practically slid down the slope the whole way because it was so steep and loose. Then we explored, and Mike fished, some more lakes, including a very beautiful Blue Lake where we happened to run into Joel and Colleen!

Jordan Lake

Mike and the waterfall

Pointing where Spread Eagle Peak is

Mike leading the charge to the peak

On top of Spread Eagle Peak

Mike's tiger trout he caught

Blue Lake

Mike fishing at Blue Lake

Mike's colorful fish out of Blue Lake

Colleen, Joel, and me at Morat Lakes

In camp with Jordan, Julie, Colleen, Joel, Mike, and me (left to right)

We hiked back down to camp and met up with Jordan and Julie there, built a fire, made some dinner, chatted, gazed at the stars, and went to bed. And then.... we woke up to rain Sunday morning. But I was kind of excited! For two reasons: I wanted to try out my new rain jacket to see how water proof it was, and it would save me from having to hike Agassiz Peak with Mike since he wanted to maybe hike a second peak on Sunday. Ah! I could barely walk as it was from hiking Spread Eagle Peak - I was that sore.... in fact it took me three more days to recover from my sore muscles. :) So we hiked the five miles back to the trail head in the rain. But my new boots and rain jacket kept me nice and dry and warm.

Mike - hiking out in the rain and clouds

Me, Colleen, and Joel in the rain