I'm a cheerleader!

Okay, I have a confession - the previous post's "Happy New Year" was not actually done by me, it was just something I found on the internet. I had to admit that when someone asked me where we had been for New Year's, and I had to confess that it was spent in the snow, not on the beach. So, lest I mislead anyone, I took the chance this weekend to rectify my "plagiaristic" blogging and the new New Year's greeting was actually written by me.

Some friends of ours have been training for an 80-mile backpacking trip in Patagonia, and have invited us to tag along as their cheerleaders on a number of occasions. Prior to the holidays, I accompanied them on a 10-miler while Jon spent a Saturday writing final papers. This last weekend we did 16 miles with them on the Point Reyes National Seashore coastal trail north of the S.F. Bay.

I have to say, it was one of those days that make you love living in California! A gorgeous day with not a cloud in the sky, and temperatures in the mid-60s.

Most of the trail had the ocean on one side and hills on the other, and the sky was so clear we had views of islands, lighthouses, rock arches, and other gorgeous scenery (we were hoping for some whale watching, but were disappointed there).

Part of the hike was right on the beach, followed by a climb up the side of a waterfall that flows onto the beach and into the ocean. Jon and I had it pretty easy, and I'm sure we looked plenty wimpy carrying our tiny little day-packs hiking alongside Katie and Lee, each lugging full 50 pound backpacks. I have to admit, though, that after 11 miles, it was still a relief to take off our shoes and soak our feet in the cold water.

At the base of the waterfall, there were a number of tide pools, where we got to see (and play with) starfishes of varying shapes, sizes, and colors. We even caught a glimpse of a mini octopus.

We came home with aching muscles and some pretty painful blisters -- but it was so worth it!

Happy New Year!

Happy new year everyone and welcome back from all your holiday festivities! We had a great holiday break -- visiting families, sleeping in, and eating way too much. It was so fun to have all of my family together in Ephraim for Christmas, including the soon-to-be new sister-in-law as well as the adorable baby grandchild/nephew. We also got to have all of Jon's family (minus Kate the missionary) together for a brief gathering, followed by a few of us spending the week at his parents' in Richfield. In addition, we got to see some beloved friends from high school, college, Upward Bound, and Colorado. All in all, I was reminded how blessed we are to have such wonderful family, and have a new year's resolution to appreciate them more.
Now, I'm trying to get back into the routine of things -- I always look forward to having a routine again when I'm on vacation, but then dread getting out of bed each day when I'm not! But it is nice to come back and have a fresh start, and I am looking forward to doing lots of new things in my internship as I continue to round out my experience and figure out how to really be a school psychologist. Jon's started back up into a new quarter, and has already begun the rigor of late nights translating Chinese texts (now, doesn't that sound like something that would keep you up at nights?!)
I hope that everyone is having a wonderful start to the new year, and that you are still keeping up with your new year's resolutions!

Merry Christmas

There are lots of things I love about Christmastime -- the lights, the music, the treats, the gift-giving and receiving. But with all that Christmas brings, I can't help but occasionally come back to the simplicity of what it really is all supposed to be about -- remembering the miracle that our Savior came to earth.

Merry Christmas!

Let it Snow!

It's cold and rainy here in California today, so I can't say it doesn't feel at all like winter. But, really, with Christmas coming I must say I'm missing a good, old-fashioned Rocky Mountain snowstorm. So, I've been digging up some tricks to make it feel a little more "snowy" around these parts, including this great snow-falling-on-the-blog trick, and a couple of fun winter pictures from days gone by. So, for anyone else missing snow right now, I hope you enjoy.

Happy happy turkey weekend

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend with my family in town! Here's a recap:
We saw Stanford campus.
We went shopping in Chinatown. Christian was in heaven . . . Kaitlyn was not.

We hung out at the Bay.

And met a long lost "cousin" on the Trolley car.

We went to Monterey.

Christian was in heaven again (a crab and a sand dollar, what could be better!)
That's about it! Oh yeah, we had turkey too.

Things I'm Thankful For

One thing I've been working on lately is being more positive with myself and with others. I truly believe that gratitude is a major antidote for all sorts of problems (real and imagined), and so I've been trying to put that into practice in my life. And, with Thanksgiving coming up this week, I think it is especially apt to make a brief list of things that I am grateful for:

• I'm thankful for having an internship/job where I get to work at something that is both challenging and fulfilling. I'm also thankful that I can go play in kindergarten pretty much whenever I want.


• I'm thankful to live on the fifth floor of our apartment building, and the lovely view from our living room windows -- particularly of the sunrise each morning.


• I'm thankful that we upgraded from the crappy Stanford issue mattress that we started with, to a newer, more comfy mattress.


• I'm thankful for the Stanford campus -- there's lots of open space to go walking and running.


• I'm thankful that our gas bills have gone down since my commute is only 10 minutes every morning.


• I'm thankful that my family is coming to visit for Thanksgiving this year!


• I'm thankful for the Milk Pail and the Dish.


• I'm very, very, very, very, very thankful for an amazingly patient and loving husband who works so hard at whatever he does (including making me happy!)


• I'm thankful for God's love, and the perspective that His love gives me on life and its challenges.

That's the short list, maybe I'll add more this week. I will add that I'm also thankful for you, because if you are reading this that means you are someone who cares about me and who likely has had an influence for good in my life. So, thanks!

Happy Veterans Day!

Okay, I'll admit, Veterans Day generally goes by unnoticed by me. But, this year, school is out here for Veterans Day, which means no work, which means I am totally celebrating Veterans Day this year! It's kind of weird, though, since we had school on Monday, then no school Tuesday, then school the rest of the week -- like this random floating holiday in the middle of the week. But, hey, I'm not complaining!
However, lest this become all about me, I feel I must put a word in to those who made this restful day possible for me. So, now, a bit about the history of Veterans Day (Jon will be so proud!) ... which was actually originally named Armistice Day for the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended WWI (which ended hostilities on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918). President Woodrow Wilson originally signed the holiday into law to commemorate all those that served in WWI, and then Pres. Eisenhower extended it to all veterans. It is always celebrated on 11/11, unless that falls on a weekend, in which case it moves to Friday or Monday.
Well, there you have it, I hope you learned something new today, that you take a moment to pause to remember those who have served our country, and that you have a lovely Veterans Day wherever you are! (Oh, and for a bit of an English lesson as well -- the correct spelling of the holiday is, apparently, Veterans Day with no apostrophe in veterans. Thank you Wikipedia!)