Snow Canyon and Kannarraville Falls!

A few weeks ago the fam took a lil trip to St George. I really should have taken more pictures. I did some serious slacking this trip. My bad. Next trip I will for suuuure! Our last day there we did some hiking! We first went to Snow Canyon.

 On our way to Jenny's Canyon!

 It was a nice, short little hike a the mouth of Snow Canyon.

 It ends at a short slot canyon.

 Check out that face! Doesn't it look like he was photoshopped into the picture?

 My cute parents :)

 After Jenny's Canyon we started on another trail, although I don't think we stayed on it. . . We roamed around the red rock.

My dad LOVES hiking and had a lot more energy than the rest of us. He was quite the adventurer. He stopped here to wait for me to catch up. It looks like he's meditating, so my mom snapped a quick picture :) 

He caught me when I slipped! ;)

We made it to the top :)

On the way home we stopped for another hike. It was in this tiny town called Kannarraville. This hike was the greatest time I'd had in a loooong time. We were living life on this hike! It was a blast :) I can't wait to do it again!

We pulled up and were ready to go, waiting on Dad. . .

He changed in the car into his cut-off shorts and sandals. His feet and legs had not seen the light of day in over 10 years. I'm not exaggerating. He was proud :)

 

Brys and Mom excited to get started!

The unique thing about this hike is that you walk in a river for most of the time. It was COLD! But so worth it.

Bryson was the champ on this hike. Truth be told, we may not have made it without him!

We made it to the slots! :)

This was the first of two falls. There are man-made ladders for hikers to use to get over them.

The water got deep! At least for my legs. Bryson had no problem. He's got giant legs! :)

Brys helped me the whole way. What a sweety pie huh?

Cute little stepping stones.

The second falls! The 'ladder' wasn't much of a ladder. My mom's face says it all!

Dad going up!

We reached the top! :)

Brys guided us on the way back down, and we all made it back to the car with minor injuries ;)

 

Here are my dad's feet at the start of the hike. . .

And at the end :( 

 His feet were not making it after being shielded from the sun for 10 years. Poor guy. But we pulled our resources together! I had taken my little socks off at the beginning of the hike, so he used them as padding for his blisters. He didn't want to use Bryson's socks. (Bryson's Nike socks are a prized possession of his.) But in the end, Bryson took one for the team and even helped my dad put his sock on ;)

This is in the top funniest moments of my life. While this picture was being taken my dad said, "Trust me Bryson, I don't like this anymore than you do." Oh man, I love my funny family :)

Kannarraville Falls = Success :)

Heaven is Here

“It's a beautiful heart, not a perfect body, that leads to a beautiful life.” 

A couple weeks ago I finished reading Heaven is Here. I remember seeing Stephanie Nielson on Oprah years ago. She talked about the hardships of taking care of her children after recovering from 80% of her body being burned. There was another woman on the show that day, another stay-at-home mom. She told of her struggles in that role. She had a hard time enjoying her children. She spent a day with Stephanie and saw the struggles Stephanie had. Because her skin was so sensitive at that time, she couldn't do the simplest things for her children, such as holding them. I remember one of her kids crying because he wanted to be held by her.

Often times I wonder, when the time comes, if I will struggle with enjoying my kids. Motherhood is such a daunting task. It'll change everything in my world. Seeing Stephanie show her struggles in the simplest things made this other mom grateful that she was able to take care of her kids, although it's not always easy. I think Stephanie taught a lot of women to learn to enjoy each moment, and be grateful for what they have.

In the book, Stephanie tells of her life growing up, getting married, and having children. She grew up in Provo, Utah and is LDS. It was neat to be able to relate to her in that way. She tells of the airplane crash she was in with her husband and their friend, and tells of their recovery. It's an inspiring story. It made me grateful for the simplest things I am able to do. I can get out of bed on my own. I can feed myself. I could zip up my nephew's jacket if he needed me to. I can buckle my seat belt. I can lift my hands above my head. Can you imagine not being able to do these things? These are things we don't even think about being grateful for. This book taught me to be thankful for the tiniest things in my life, to enjoy each little moment of joy I have, and to trust God in his plan for all of us.

“Your heart matters most, so be gentler and more patient with yourself, and their hearts matter most, too, so be kinder and more compassionate to others.”

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

Each year for the 24th we get together with my dad's side of the family. We go to my grandparent's home and have dinner and light off fireworks. This year, I wanted to make a dessert to bring. I decided to try some cookies and cream cupcakes. They turned out so well!! I am so excited for them.

The best part is, they're super easy to make. Just make your standard white cake recipe. Then, mash some oreo cookies: place them in a ziploc bag and go to town on them with a rolling pin. Mix some oreo crumbs into the batter and cook as usual. Save some cookie crumbs to top off the cupcakes after you frost them, and vuala! Easy enough right? And look how cute they are:

Happy 24th :)

young. old. just words.

I fell in love with this:

I can't help but notice all the negativity associated with being 'old'. So many women have a  hard time simply stating their age: The number of years they've been on the earth. I find it a funny thing. I've never understood why it's so hard to say, "I'm 40". Maybe when I'm there I'll understand.

As I've gotten older, I've noticed changes in my appearance. If I compare myself now to pictures of me five years ago, I see differences; My skin isn't as great as it was, I'm not as thin as I was, etc.

But, when I compare my mind and heart to where they were five years ago, the difference is tremendous. It'd be impossible to write down everything I've learned and every way I've grown in the past 4 years or so: I'm so much braver, I have a far better sense of who I am, I've learned what love is- not just in a romantic way- in every way, I've learned what's important in life and what's not, I've learned who I want to be now and in the future, and I could go on and on. . .

My point is wrinkles and weight gain means wisdom. I wouldn't trade what I've learned in the past few years to always look 17. If knowledge, experience, and wisdom means finer lines on my face and gray hair, count me in.

My grandma Ash talks of how she knows she's old, but she feels so young. That's what matters: How you feel. Isn't that what we're taught from the moment we can understand it? "It's what's on the inside that counts." I guess somewhere along the way we forget that. Let's try to remember: "It's what's on the inside that counts".

The Hiding Place

Three words: New. Favorite. Book.

Lately I've been trying to spend more time reading and less time wasting time. Books are one of the best ways to learn. Reading takes me out of this world for a moment and helps me step into another person's shoes. This life is all about learning from each other. What a better way to do that than by reading each other's words.

This story was incredible. I had a hard time believing it actually happened (which it did). Not only because of the firsthand account of the cruel actions of the Nazis in World War Two, but of the way this woman, Corrie ten Boom, and her family handled the reality of it with such resilience. Corrie tells the story of her family who ended up running so much of "the underground" work in Holland. They hid Jews in their own home, found places for Jews to stay, forged ration cards for food for all those they would help. They took so many risks to help other people, most of them complete strangers.

Eventually they were found out and taken as prisoners. Corrie's father is given the option to leave prison as long as he "won't cause any trouble." Instead of taking the freedom, he replies, "If I go home today, tomorrow I will open my door again to any man in need who knocks." He could have left, gone home, lived his life and been free. Instead, he told the truth and did what he felt was right.

Corrie tells of her experience in concentration camps. Her sister Betsie was her light in all that darkness. Betsie is an unbelievable example of love and forgiveness. One of the prime examples of this was one morning, during roll call, a guard beat a prisoner to death:

"Betsie", I whispered, "What can we do for these people? Afterward I mean. Can't we make a home for them and care for them and love them?"

"Corrie, I pray every day that we will be allowed to do this! To show them that love is greater!"

And it wasn't until I was gathering up twigs later in the morning that I realized I had been thinking of the feeble-minded, and Bestie of their persecutors."

One of my favorite exerpts is:

"As the cold increased, so did the special temptation to think only of oneself. It took a thousand cunning forms. . . Selfishness had a life of its own. As I watched Mien's bag of yeast-compound disappear I began taking it from beneath the straw only after lights out when others would not see and ask for some. Wasn't Betsie's health more important? (You see, God, she can do so much for them! Remember the house after the war!)

And even if it wasn't right- it wasn't so very wrong was it? Not wrong like sadism and murder and the other monstrous evils we saw in Ravensbruck every day. Oh, this was the great ploy of Satan in that kingdom of his: to display such blatant evil that one could almost believe one's own secret sin didn't matter."

I had to read this part a couple times. I was a bit flabbergasted. I thought, "First of all, the yeast compound is hers. It was given to her and her alone. Second, she doesn't have to share, it's hers! When did not sharing become a crime?"

Then I remembered a scripture in the Bible. Matthew 25: 35-36 "For I was an hungered, and ye game me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."

It's easier to give when you have an abundance of something.The true test of compassion comes when we have almost nothing to give. 

This story teaches so many lesson. So many of passing no judgment, of selflessness, of compassion, of triumph, of faith, and ultimately of love.

Read it. You won't regret it.

Words for the Week

One thing about me: I love words in all the ways they come; quotes, sayings, jokes, lyrics, or statements. One thing about Mondays: They tend to be viewed in a negative light. So, I'm starting "Words for the Week". Just a little quote each Monday to shed some light on the beginning of the week :)