capitol reef

This weekend Derek and I went down to Capitol Reef with my brother and sister-in-law.
We went down on Saturday planning on hiking a slot canyon, but the clouds were looking pretty scary.
So we decided to do The Frying Pan Trail, which was 3 miles.
Little did we know, you have to hike a 2 mile trail before you reach Frying Pan and a 1 mile trail after you've finished the hike.
So after 6 miles we were a bit dead (at least the girls were).
But we did find a cool arch, big rocks and lots of lizards.
The second day we woke up early and looked up to the skies.
There were no clouds so we decided to hit the slots.
(The canyon, not the machine)
This one was a 2 mile hike to the beginning of the trail and then a 5 mile hike through a river.
So, again, we were dead.
(I don't think I need to work out the rest of the week right?)
But the slot canyon hike was SO fun.
This is Derek's all time favorite hike and I can see why.
The water was lower than he remembered, but I was secretly happy that we didn't have to swim through any parts that were too deep.
It was so fun to #getoutside for the weekend and spend time with family.
Also, a funny story will be coming later this week;
So look out.

Capitol Reef:
2.5 hour drive from Provo
No entrance fee
Fee or free camping options as well as nearby motels
Easy, Moderate, and strenuous Hikes
Fruit Picking
Lots of history and geology (Dinosaur tracks!!)

 

throwback

It has now been one year since my time in Europe with my cousin Kelsey.
So I thought that I would share a story that I've never shared on my blog.

While we were in Luxembourg we had quite the difficulty understanding what people were saying.
This was our first real foreign country experience and it was really kicking us in the rear.
On the second day of trying to attempt exploring the city on our own;
the only thing that consoled us was the fact that our host was going to pick us up at the end of the day so that we wouldn't have to struggle our way home.
After hours and hours of exploring castles and tunnels we contacted our host and said that we were ready to go home.
We decided on a pick up location and started heading in that direction.
We arrived before our host and so we started goofing around a bit.
The car pulled up and while we were laughing we ran over to the car.
Kelsey got in the back seat and suddenly a young man ran up yelling at us in German.
We were really confused and wanted to get away from him so Kelsey got deeper into the car and I started to mosy myself on in as well.
Right as I'm about to sit down I look up to the driver's seat and think,
"Who the heck is that??"
I turn to Kelsey who still doesn't realize and just in pure panic say,
"Kelsey this is the wrong car. This is the wrong car!!"
She looks up and sees that we do not know this lady.
Or this car.
We jump out and the yelling German man jumps in.
(There's one mystery solved)
And we proceed to die of embarrassed laughter until our ACTUAL car pulls up.

ginger

(Sometimes it's hard to match pictures to blog posts about nothing.
And this one was the MOST relevant.
Hopefully by the end you're figured out why.)

Today I bring you another tale of the old folks home:
There was one little old lady with dementia who had a daughter named 'Ginger'.
And whenever she was confused or worried she would yell, "Ginger!!!!"
Everyone that had worked there for a while knew what was happening when she started yelling that.
But there was a new girl who didn't realize that 'Ginger' was this lady's daughter's name.
And since this little old lady didn't know who this new girl was she would yell,
"Ginger!!!!" every time this girl walked into the room.
The new girl finally told the nurse,
"I don't think that she likes me very much. She always yells, 'Ginger' when I walk into the room."
And the nurse just laughed.
And so did we.
Because what I didn't mention is that this new girl is a redhead.
And she thought the old lady must just REALLY dislike redheads.....

uncut sunday

Image Via

I had a teacher once in elementary school who would always tell us,
"Opinions are like armpits. Everybody has them, but some people's stink."
I would also like to add on,
"And they shouldn't be shoved in people's faces."
I was in a YouTube vortex and stumbled upon a girl who promotes a certain lifestyle.
Which is great!
BUT she does it by being a very naughty word that starts with a B....
Bully ;)
On her channel she shares videos that other people have worked hard on that promote a different lifestyle than hers; and she just tears them apart.
She doesn't even always necessarily disagree with everything that they are sharing.
But since their lifestyle isn't exactly the same as hers, she would still destroy everything that they were saying.
All of her videos consist of her ranting and raving about everybody else on YouTube.
Even if they are making healthy choices it is just not good enough for her.
And what is that accomplishing?
In what way is she influencing others by encouraging her followers to go watch people's videos and tell them that they are awful for living the lifestyle that they have chosen; just because it's different from theirs?
You may have your beliefs, but nobody has all of the facts.
So you can't tell someone how to live their life.
I, as a viewer, have the ability to not watch her videos.
But I, as a person, have the ability to stand up for my beliefs WHILE not degrading others just because their lifestyle is different than mine.

friday the 13th

It's Friday the 13th.
So I've gotta share some scary stories, obviously.
*These were all taken from 97.1 ZHT's website.*
**And they're all true**

Sometimes I hate babysitting my little nephew because he always points at the same corner in the room and says "Scary"....

I was babysitting a young girl and tucking her into bed when she asked if I was reading her a bedtime story or if the old lady at the end of the bed was.

My baby boys toy went off on its own. He looked over at it, pointed, and said hi then started laughing like he was playing with someone.

I was feeding my baby when 4 yr old son comes in to tell me that he can't hear his cartoons because the man on the floor won't stop talking to him.

My 5 yr old son told my mom he had to sleep with his back to his door so he didn't see the woman with the scary green eyes.

My 4 yr old told me, "The people in the floor want you...they said 'finders keepers'".

My 10 yr old niece going to bed told her dad she couldn't go to sleep because there was a man smiling at her-the type of smile where he liked to do bad stuff.

I was driving with my ex and his 4 yr old daughter. Out of nowhere she tells me, "you're going to die soon, don't be scared though..."


Spooked yet??
Now go watch a scary movie and not sleep at all tonight.

america

I moved to this country in 1993.
I quite enjoyed my previous residence but some of my family had moved here and so I decided to join them.
Ever since living here my family and I have been big advocates of the constitution.
But our favorite amendment has got to be the 2nd one.
Our right to bear arms.
And bear arms we do.
Especially when we are practicing for the apocalypse.
(Zombie print outs and all)
So this weekend we took the equipment out to the lake.
We shot guns and I shot the camera.

facepalm

It was a nice sunny day outside so I innocently took the kids I nanny out to the front yard to play.
I was sitting on a bench enjoying the sun and the kids were on the sidewalk enjoying their friends.
I was feeling good.
Until all of a sudden some lady comes jogging up in her sunglasses and yoga pants, ready for a conversation.
She looked like the lady that lives upstairs so I thought we were on the same page.
We chatted, she told me she was in charge of visiting teaching, and I answered her somewhat strange questions.
Then, about five minutes into the conversation, it dawned on me.
This lady thinks I'm Brittany* and that these are my kids and that I'm in her ward.
I was suddenly overcome with PANIC.
What the H.E. Double toothpicks do I do now?
I'm in too deep!!
It's too late to correct her now!
That would be awkward and I'm not good with awkward.
And just when I have decided to not reveal who I actually am for both of our sakes, she starts asking personal question's about my (Brittany's*) life.
Do I answer as me?
Or do I answer as Brittany*?
Well, I'm already in too deep.
I guess I'll go deeper.
(Sidenote: That's what she said.)
So....I begin answering as Brittany* to the best of my knowledge.
"So where are you from?"
"New York."
"Where is your husband from?"
Oh crap. I don't know that one. Think fake Brittany, THINK.
"California."
Good one.
"You're kids are so cute!"
"Oh thanks! That's so sweet."
Soon after, she bids adieu and heads to the neighbors to say hello.
I immediately worry that if she talks to the neighbor that she will find out that I'm not actually Brittany* and I'm just the nanny.
Who is apparently also very creepy.
So I snatch the kids up and race them inside, telling them that it's lunch time.
"But McKenzie we just had breakfast!"
Shush children!! My name is Brittany* and it's time to eat!
Once I'm safely inside I text Brittany* and tell her,
"Well you just met someone from the ward. And she probably thinks you're a weirdo."


*Mom of the kids. Also, a psuedonym for the protection of the person I impostered.

record pt. 2

I'm not sure why I've always had this desire to keep memories and write down everything important.
But I'm glad that I have.
And now I am to the point where all of those things are actually organized, which makes it a lot easier to continue saving my memories.
In a recent post I talked about how important it is to write a record and leave a legacy.
And now I'm going to show you how I do that.

^I keep a smaller shoe box-sized (ish) box for all of my travel and adventure keepsakes. Souvenirs from travels, maps, pamphlets, tickets, etc. ^

 ^I LOVE to make home movies. And I have been ever since I started college. So every couple of years I put them onto a DVD so that I can always go back and watch them. ^

^Derek and I both have a BIG box of our childhood memories. His is filled with trinkets, toys, and mission stuff. Mine is filled with journals, yearbooks, cards, trinkets, wedding announcements, etc.^

^I also scrapbook most of my pictures. (If they don't make it to the scrapbook I put them in a movie slideshow to be put on a DVD) I used to scrapbook the old school way with paper and stamps. But now I use blurb.com to make all of my scrapbooks. I made my first one when I went to Europe and now I'm working on my first "adult" life one. And then I plan on printing them out every two years.^

^I of course write in my journal as well. I write all of the more "Dear Diary" mushy gushy stuff in them. And then my blog posts and stories from my life are written in the scrapbook.^

^And lastly, I keep a folder filled with mine and Derek's memories together. Tickets, love notes, pictures, etc.^ 

"Although anticipation is about savoring the future, it is worthy to note that you can also generate positive emotion by savoring the moments you once anticipated. Whether it is a mental snapshot, or a conversation spent reminiscing about a special moment, savoring the past is one way to extend the joy beyond the moment."