alyssa

Mint.com

2012-01-20T11:48:00.001-08:00

Have you tried Mint online? It's awesome. It's free and it puts all your bank accounts in one place and let's you budget too.

mint.com

My friend also explains it better here.

It's awesome!

Lots of Posts

2012-01-19T11:49:00.001-08:00

I posted a bunch of blog posts all the way back to Oct 3rd. Scroll down to see all of them.

Alyssa

Skiing at June Lake

2011-12-30T16:07:00.000-08:00

On Dec 30th, Donny's dad took us skiing at June Lake in central California in the High Sierra Mountains. It's about 3 1/2 to 4 hours from Donny's hometown. We woke up at 4 am to drive there. When we woke up we found Krystalee's boyfriend (who was visiting for the first time) puking in the bathroom. That's the 3rd person to puke this Christmas vacation! Donny & I went with Ty, Cambria, and their 3 year old Jeffrey as well as Donny's dad.

I didn't feel all that well either. I ended up having the stomach flu, but NOT vomiting (thank goodness!). After a stop for pepto bismal, my sister and father-in law wanted to down some too!

The drive was beautiful and we passed the places Donny took me right after we were engaged. I was really interested in going skiing at June Lake, because right before Donny and I got engaged, we went on a backpacking trip in the Sierra on the John Muir trail and we hitchhiked back to our car. We hitchhiked with nice older man who said he was conceived on June Lake. ha ha! After hearing that I really wanted to go there.

This trip was the second time I have ever downhill skiied. (I have been snowboarding twice before). I snow plowed the first time down and the runs after that were surprisingly easier than I thought. Although I didn't zoom down the mountain as fast as the teenagers, it was really fun. I might have been more daring if it wasn't starting to get icy. It was 70 degrees in California most of the time we were there. It was fun to do something different with Donny!

Tyson zoomed down the mountain. Grandpa and Donny helped little Jeffrey ski alot of the time. We ate lunch in the lodge and skiied some more. We got back to Weldon pretty late at night, but my father-in-law told some great stories that we laughed uncontrollably all the way home. Here's some pictures:

Christmas Day!

2011-12-26T15:04:00.000-08:00

Here's how my Christmas went according to my sis-in-law:

Tralalalala La La lala

Yes, we celebrated it one day late aka because of me and Donny, mainly because of me because I was freaking out about paying our sales tax. We drove a GEO that Donny's brother Ty fixed up and sold to his parents, so gas was SUPA cheap. We left really late in the night, so we stopped in my favorite canyon by St. George and pitched our tent and "slept" in the canyon. We got there in the afternoon and Donny's family gracious let us celebrate Christmas the next day (26th), but then Sierra got the stomach flu and was puking in the night and was so sick she couldn't open presents. Then two days later, I woke up to Donny puking in the bathroom and Donny eats ALOT so he was puking for a longggggg time! and so I decided I had better be a good wife and go and see if he needed help even though I was so sleepy and I knocked on the door twice and he didn't hear me, so I went back to bed. . . . and the rest of Christmas I was HORRIFIED that I would get sick and wake up puking in the night, but alas, I didn't. It was a good thing!

Christmas in Boise

2011-12-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

This year we had two Christmas'. Donny & I went to Boise to celebrate with my family and even better, my little sis who is a pilot and works every Christmas was able to come up so we celebrated it early. I haven't been home for Christmas for 2 Christmas' now, so it was nice. Donny & I taught our lesson to our Valiant 10's and then we drove to Boise. We celebrated Christmas on Monday, Dec 12th. We met up to take family pictures with my friend Tiff who's a photographer. She even brought her daughter Jess.

and here's my cute parents:

and then we had a big Christmas Dinner at my sister Heather's. Then we opened presents. I got a bear bell and deer warning from my sister Natalie. Donny gave me a GPS. My parents gave us a giftcard to Costco. I gave my mom a book about our trip to Hawaii together and some scrapbook paper that's perfect for her. I also gave my sister Heather a book of her wedding. I gave each of my siblings a picture of all of us from my wedding.

We also went bowling as a family and since Donny dislocated his shoulder, he bowled left handed and even won all of us the second game. It was a miracle!

We also spent one afternoon at Tiff & Doug's ranch and seeing their girls. Chad was also there. Emiline has grown so much and I was excited to see her, but she was napping the whole time I was there, so Tiff told me to go poke her to wake her up so I could see her. I poked her and she looked and me and asked, "Do you remember me?" and she did! I couldn't believe it. She was walking and talking. Cute girl. It's always fun to see Tiff and Doug.

I went to lunch also with all my sisters at Rumbi's.

Overall, it was a good time. Love my family!

Happy 30th to Me!

2011-12-07T13:55:00.000-08:00

For all those ladies out there that are 30 or turning 30 soon, read this article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/kate-middleton/8999811/Dear-Kate-Middleton-the-best-is-yet-to-come.html

For my 30th birthday, my friends Lynnette & Rachel took me to Applebees the night before my birthday. The next day, my friend Christine took me to lunch at Panda Express, gave me this beautiful painting of Christ walking on water in a beautiful frame (I can't think of anything better for me), went shopping at Tai Pan Trading (very bad, very bad store that I love), and looked at lights at Thanksgiving Point with Donny and my second family. It was a simple day, but lovely.

Turning 30 has a different feeling to it than my other birthdays. Before I felt 1/5 closer to dying, but all of a sudden I feel 1/3 closer to dying, but it could be 1/2 closer to dying actually. But turning 30 feels great! and I sure loved & learned a lot in my 20s, but I believe the best is yet to come!

All I want for Christmas

2011-12-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but it's getting harder and harder to figure out what I want for Christmas. But here's some ideas:

--"The Egyptian Endowment" by Hugh Nibley (can find cheap ones at used book stores)

--other Hugh Nibley books (but I want the Egyptian Endowment most)

--Cricut (if you can find a sale ~$89) or less (sometimes you can find on ksl.com)

--"Reflections from a Mother's Heart: A Family Legacy for Your Children (Your Life Story in your Own Words." by J. Countryman, a used unwritten in copy (can find on Half.com for $4-9)
--a GPS

More ideas (as of today):

--a bear bell (a bell you attach to your backpack when you are hiking)

--a deer bell (a bell you attach to the front of your car that makes a high pitched sound that keeps deer from running into you)

--bear spray

--cute photo boxes (can buy at Micheals with 40% coupon)

Knottsberry Farm & Newport Beach

2011-12-05T22:03:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of December, I had just gotten back from southern California to visit Donny's family for Thanksgiving, when my sister-in-law invited me to go southern California with her, all expenses paid. You see she is the assistant coach of the Provo High School x-country team and got to bring a guest. We left on Wednesday in a tour bus and after the coach's son fell in McDonalds & hit his head, we had to make a trip to the ER in Beaver. After a long night, we made it to our destination. The next morning, we went to Knottsberry Farm Amusement Park. Krystalee and I got vouchers for free food in the park (I never get food at amusement parks) and we rode all the big rides until we were sick. We got a picture with Snoopy, but decided it didn't look like him:

So we went back and got this picture. Even Snoopy wanted to see it.

The next morning, we went to Mt. Sac so the kids could register for their race and the kids got to practice on the course. I guess x-country in California is alot harder than in Utah. It was fun to see where Donny and most of his siblings ran x-country in High School at regional meet.

Afterwards, we went to Newport Beach to swim (well the kids swam, it was pretty cold). Me & Krystalee:

We talked to this older lady who was fishing and she "caught" some star fish.

That night KL and I walked around and went to IKEA and In & Out that was by our hotel. The next morning (Saturday) we headed home while the rest of the kids stayed to go to Disneyland. Overall, it was really fun and I'm glad I had the opportunity.

One of the ladies I met wrote down some of the funny things the teenagers said on her blog.

Police Officer Memorial

2011-11-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

We went to visit my family in the beginning of November, b/c I hadn't seen my sisters for over 14 months. When we were there, my parents took me to this memorial that honors my great great grandfather who died while he was a police officer in Pocatello.

I just realized that I look really similar to him. His jaw line, his nose, etc. When he died, he left 11 children.

Here are half of the police officers killed in Idaho. Ends up my aunts dad also died. He is on the bottom right--three people in. I didn't realize this until visiting this site.

Nov 8 2011

Here Comes the Snow!

2011-11-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

Nov 5 2011

Marcel Quote

2011-11-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Remember Marcel??? Love this guy!

Today he said this:

" 'Any religion (and I Marcel add education system) that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.' Martin Luther King. Therefore, I'm happy I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is a church concerned with the slums, economic conditions, and social conditions that strangle people. In part, Christ fixes it one person at a time, through the Gospel God gave Him."

Need Suggestions

2011-10-20T15:29:00.001-07:00

How do you organize all the paper in your life? The mail, receipts, papers, etc. I'm just looking for better ideas since the amount of paper in my life has drastically increased with the business.

I will follow-up next week with what I do, but I want to hear your ideas first.

Alpine Loop

2011-10-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do in the fall is drive the Alpine Loop. I haven't done this for quite a few years, so we decided it was high time to. We went with Donny's grandparents.
When we were there, we drove past the dam where Donny kayaked with his brothers in '09. You seriously get some speed on this thing.

Isn't it beautiful?

When we got near the end of the loop, we had a picnic in the grass. Purely heavenly!
Oct 17 2011

Red Pine Lake

2011-10-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

In October, Donny and I went for a hike to summit a mountain.
The farther we hiked, we realized we were unprepared to summit b/c of the amount of snow.

Donny would have kept going if it wasn't for me.

Can you see me?

The lake from the other way:

I was so nice to be in the mountains and we take for granted how close they are to us.
Oct 12 2011

Hardshell Kayaking=1st Time

2011-10-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

So I'm married to this hardcore kayaker, yet I haven't been in a hardshell kayak on a river once. So I decided at almost two years of marriage to finally give it a try. What better river to try it on than the Provo? It started raining when we started, but it quickly warmed up.

Do I look like a pro yet? . . . hardly! ; )

Oct. 3 2011

Life Lately

2011-08-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I haven't posted a blog since April. Well lately my life has consisted solely of this:

My husband has been gone for 2 and a half weeks and that means it's all up to me. Last week, I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic wondering how I was going to pull it all off. I work on the business day in and day out from when I wake up to when I put my head on the pillow and apparently still think about it when my head is on the pillow! ;). An 8-5 job is looking pretty fine . . .

Last week the grandpa came to help out with the shuttle. He drove to the put-in, to the take out, to the put-in, to the take-out and helped us pump up the boats. Afterwards, grandma said, he came home laid on the floor with his arms outstretched in the sitting room he was so exhausted. When he finally got enough energy, he went and took a shower. He said to grandma, "I don't know how Alyssa does it. I'm exhausted and all I did was drive the shuttle . . . you should have seen Alyssa she was all over the place and guided . . . I don't know how she does it!"

That made me feel better, no wonder I'm always so exhausted!

Counting down the days til winter . . .

Sweet Quote

2011-04-18T19:13:00.001-07:00

“A fanciful and flowery and heated imagination beware of; because the things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanse of eternity—thou must commune with God. How much more dignified and noble are the thoughts of God, than the vain imaginations of the human heart!” (Joseph Smith, Teachings, 137).

Japan

2011-03-20T20:33:00.001-07:00

I happened upon this blog tonight about LDS missionaries in Japan from one missionaries perspective.

I know that God watches out for his missionaries. I felt that as a missionary as I went into the mission field in Irvington, New Jersey, rated that year as the most dangerous city in the US. I have heard & seen many, many stories of righteous people being saved from certain disaster because of a "slight change of plans" aka God knows His children and He knows what you are doing at all times.

This earthquake in Japan is just another instance of this very thing. The church is true!

Brandon Davies: Lost of BYU Player Because of Honor Code

2011-03-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

So you may have heard. Best rebounder and center forward of BYU basketball team was let off the team for not following the Honor Code. Before he left, BYU had only lost two games and was seated #3 in the country. Immediately after Davies left the team, they lost their game that very night, lagging behind by 18 points. They are still lead by Jimmy Fredette (best player in college ball right now), but many say it will cost BYU's first chance they had of being in the final four in history. But I think this situation can teach us many things.

1. Worldly fame lasts a short time, but your integrity lasts eternity.

I'm sure Brandon may feel some sadness about not being on his winning team anymore, but I'm sure for a fact that he feels a whole lot better for coming forward (no pun intended). Right now it seems devastating for all of us BYU fans, but in reality, what will anyone remember in ten years? I doubt if BYU even made it to the final four, no one would think about it much at all in a few years even a year.

2. No one shuns you when you sin, it's actually you that doesn't forgive yourself.

What I admire about this situation is that when it would be easy for Brandon's teammates to be mad at him, they AREN'T. Fredette said this:

“He told us everything. He told us he was sorry and that he let us down. We just held our heads high and told him it was OK, that it is life, and you make mistakes, and you just got to play through it," Fredette said after Wednesday's loss.

The one thing I CANNOT stand is people who won't forgive themselves and move on. They know people know their sins and they let it hold them back. Who cares if people know about it or not, don't let that keep you from being who you know you should be and deep down want to be--a good person, a righteous person.

3. Believe it or not, your actions do influence others lives.

People who carelessly sin often say, "It's my life, I can make my own decisions--it's my life." They indirectly say that what I do doesn't affect other people. When it actually does alter the lives of everyone around you and those that come after you (your children). You are the link of generations that came before you and the generations that come after you. Your actions directly influence the outcome of your children lives, your grandchildren, your great grandchildren's lives. Your actions directly influence your immediately family and friends. I wish Davies actions were only applicable to him, but his actions influences his team, his school, his family. We wish it wasn't that way, but our actions do CHANGE other people's lives. It causes a domino effect. No man is an island.

Overall, everyone makes mistakes. What matters is how we handle them. In God's eyes there is no allowance for sin, but He has given us Jesus Christ so that we can make it right again and so that one day we can stand before His feet and say that we are clean and worthy to be in His presence.

The last great player in BYU history said this about the BYU Honor Code:

"I think it's a great code of conduct," said Ainge, whose children have also attended BYU. "It teaches discipline, teaches kids to not live in a world of instant gratification. It's a different culture — and I love that culture."

I do too!

Two Amazing Stories

2011-02-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

Today, I shared these two short stories with my 3-yr old Sunbeams. I don't think I've ever had their attention more that I did after sharing them.
"I was probably about eight years of age, or younger, when I was taken by my father to a farm some distance away. While he worked I tried to busy myself with things that a young boy would. The day was hot and dusty and I played about until I was tired. Over the fence there was a broken-down shed that looked very interesting to me. In my mind I thought of this broken-down shed as a castle that I would like to explore, so I went to the fence and started to climb through to go over to that shed. There came a voice to me that said this very significant thing, 'Harold, don't go over there.' I looked about to see who was speaking my name. My father was way up at the other end of the field. He could not see what I was doing. There was no speaker in sight. Then I realized that someone that I could not see was warning me not to go over there. What was over there, I shall never know, but I learned early that there are those beyond our sight that could talk to us." --Harold B. Lee

The Holy Ghost can warn us and guide us when we need help. Sometimes the Holy Ghost whispers out loud, like he did to President Lee, but often he just gives us a feeling about what we should or should not do.
"One night while President Woodruff, his wife, and their four children were on a journey, they stopped to sleep at a friend's house. Three of the children slept in the house while President Woodruff, his wife, and one child slept outside in the carriage. President Woodruff said, "I had been in bed but a short time when a voice said to me: 'Get up and move your carriage. ' It was not thunder, lightning or an earthquake, but the still, small voice of the Spirit of God--the Holy Ghost . . . . I got up and moved my carriage . . . and set it by the side of the house. As I was returning to bed the same Spirit said to me, 'Go and move your mules away from that oak tree.' . . . I moved them to a young hickory grove and tied them up. I then went to bed. In thirty minutes a whirlwind caught the tree to which my mules had been fastened, broke it off near the ground, and carried it one hundred yards, sweeping away two fences in its course, and laid it . . . where my carriage [had] stood . . . By obeying the revelation of the spirit of God to me I saved my life and the lives of my wife and child, as well as my animals."

--Wilfred Woodruff, "Leave of my Journal"

Tasha

2011-02-22T21:37:00.000-08:00

I loved this post by Tasha

Tasha is one of those people I've met in life that reminds me so much of myself, yet we never lived with each other or really had any experiences together, yet we passed one moment in time, if that makes any sense.

I mean she's an RM, a RMYL major (I was almost one a million times), went to Jerusalem, went to Hawaii & BYU Provo, we know a million of the same people.

But I loved her post. So check it out!

Jazz Game

2011-02-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

On February 5, we got to go to the Jazz Game with my aunt. We were on the 8th row center court. We didn't know it at the time, but it would be one of Jerry Sloan's last games as coach.

We got to our seats by passing the backs of players and we heard Raja Bell's kids say as the game was about to start, "We got to let Daddy go, he's got to go to work now." ha ha. Hard job right?

Darren Williams warming up:

The Jazz were ahead the first half by 15 points. But towards the end of the game, they were 20 points behind. We left a little early and one Jazz shouted at us as we left, "You have too good of seats to leave this early!"

We had VIP passes, which meant we got a nice dinner beforehand with prime rib, salmon, chicken, desserts. At half time, we got nachos, popcorn, and soda. At half time, the Jazz cheerleaders brought out their dads and their dads did a little cheerleading dance. It was hilarious! The bear mascot climbed a huge ladder and did a headstand from the top of the ladder. It was pretty crazy.

Overall, we had a great time, even though we lost. It was fun to see Darrin Williams and Kevin Durant so close. posted on 2-19

Snowshoeing

2011-01-19T15:00:00.000-08:00

On January 19th, we went with our friends Amy & Morris snowshoeing up Big Cottonwood Canyon. (Amy went with us on a rafting trip in British Columbia back in August 2009 before Donny & I were dating.)

It was a full moon that night, so we didn't need headlamps. We hiked up between two mountain peaks to where a small lake is. It was covered in snow, but there was a huge meadow. It was so beautiful and peaceful. It was so nice to be in the mountains again.

Sad

2011-01-13T18:11:00.000-08:00

About a week ago when I got to work, I heard that someone had went over the overpass and landed upside down on the ramp I go on everyday. Here is the story:

KSL article here

My co-worker and I have been thinking about this lady all week. It just hit home because it happened so close to us, but also because she came into my work several times within days of the accident.

Well today her widowed husband came in. My co-worker and I just wanted to cry right then and there. What do you say to a man that is experiencing such tragedy? I told him that we had been thinking about her everyday of this past week. My co-worker offered him her condolences. He went on his way.

Why must we suffer so in life? There are daily reminders to be thankful for what we do have.

My co-workers and I asked each other the question, if you could turn back your life and start over again, when would you start it over? We all thought about it, but by the end we all concluded that we wouldn't want to start over and we didn't want to make it so that we didn't have trials or tragedy, but that we would stay right where we are, in this present point in time, because through all of it, we like how our lives are and we like who we've become from our experiences, our joys, and our tragedies. And we've become the people that our trials have made us and we are stronger by them.

The Lord told Joseph Smith, "and all these things shall give thee experience and shall be for thy good."

My Uncle Ed

2011-01-02T21:46:00.000-08:00

On New Years Eve, my uncle Ed passed away. He was the 9th of 11 children. My mom is #8. He is the first of 11 to pass away. It all came as a shock to many of us. He had 4 kids, 3 which are in their 20s and a 10 year old.

On the left is my Uncle Ed with two of my mother's brothers and on the right is my grandfather Don.

One thing that comforted me is that two days before Ed passed away (last Wednesday), he woke up in the middle of the night and he sensed the presense of my grandfather Don in the hospital room with him. My grandfather passed away in 1987. My grandfather came to prepare him to come home.

I do know that we will each live again after this life. That this life is not the end. We will each live again because of Jesus Christ. Our purpose on this earth is to be tested to see whether we are worthy to live with our Heavenly Father again. He desires us to live with Him again and as long as we are pure and clean, we will be able to be in His presence. I know that we can have an eternal family forever. I know that as long as we are living the commandments we will not be taken before our time. It must have been Ed's time. I will miss him and his jokes and being a part of my life. But I do know that I will see him again and my grandfather once again. I know it.

This is how I feel EXACTLY.

2010-12-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

I read this on my fellow FHE cochair's blog today and it reminded me exactly of how I feel right now at this point in my life except her little list of course!

Noelle:

adrift.
i've been told my entire life that i wasn't a strong swimmer. and that may be true.
but i'd rather be a weak swimmer than a floater.
and lately, i'm adrift.

i stay up too late.
i sleep in.
i eat dinner for breakfast.
or snacks for meals.
i work from 11-1pm. 4-6pm. 9-11pm.
i shower at random.
or when i think the bathroom will be warm enough.

my days are as structured as a wet noodle. and while some people may revel in the freedom of a life without boundaries, i find safety, security and productivity in a regiment.

at one point in my life i was en route from point a to point b. charting a course, adjusting, changing, swimming, and making progress. on my way to this "finish line" -professional growth, academic success, personal development, relationship building - there was purpose and fulfillment. each buoy passed gave a sense of accomplishment. i was getting "closer" and improving along the way.

and then that course changed.

i was pulled from my race and dropped in another - somewhere in the middle, no end in sight and no clear course marked. and i'm having a hard time getting my bearings.

unsure of which direction to swim (and afraid of heading in the wrong one) i've stopped moving forward. i'm floating, drifting, subject to currents and waves and headed nowhere. at first, it was nice to enjoy the view. rest my lungs and muscles. shake off the stress of competition. now it feels like i'm barely maintaining a position, and each day that passes is forward progress lost.

but i don't really know where to go

Christmas Party

2010-12-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

For my work Christmas Party, we got to go to a formal dinner at the Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. It was beautiful and so fun to sit next to my cousin and her husband. Check out how nice it is:

http://www.grandamerica.com/

Halloween 2010

2010-11-23T19:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is a little late, but here you go.

For work, it was a requirement to dress up for Halloween. I haven't dressed up for years. Yes years.

Things to Think About

2010-11-07T22:53:00.001-08:00

Only hope we find GOD again before it is too late ! !

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees... I don't feel threatened.. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu .. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.
In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about.. And we said okay..

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

Another Helpful Hint

2010-11-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

My co-worker exclaimed yesterday that I was the quickest person to do copy & paste on a computer. This is how & some other shortcuts as well that I use over and over and over again.

Ctrl X----> cut (sections of text)
Ctrl C----> copy (sections of text)
Ctrl V----> paste (sections of text)
"Windows" button E----> Windows Explorer

P.S. Do you have any you want to share with me????

Helpful Hint

2010-10-30T22:22:00.000-07:00

In the next few weeks, I will be posting some helpful hints that will surely make you want to hug me. I promise. You will for sure want to thank me profusely like I want to thank the kind hearted people who told me in the first place.

Need to know an address/directions/phone#/answer to any question?

Text Google. That's right text "466453."

You will receive your answer in minutes. And it's FREEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Hazard Photo Gallery

2010-10-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

Photo Gallery

Check out these pictures of my husband, his brothers, and me. I'm in the two top right pictures. If you click on the picture, they get bigger and there is a next and previous button in there, but you'll figure it out!

15 Passenger Van

2010-10-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd own this:
Last Friday, we did a moonlight trip with 27 people and our trailer was stacked high with 3 rafts and two inflatable kayaks. It was crazy! We had a great time with Donny's sister and her friends and BYU students on dates. One of Donny's sister's friends, I met at a party last year. And when he saw me & my husband pumping up the rafts, he asked, "So do you work for the company?" I laughed before I said, "We are the company!"
The moon was full. It was so serene. We heard two beavers plop into the water. The people in my boat exclaimed, "This is better than Disneyland!" I have to agree!
Friday night, Donny & I just camped there for the night (instead of lugging our gear and ourselves home to Draper). We awoke in the morning to this:

but only a few hours later, it was 85 degrees!

Saturday is suppose to be in the 80's as well. So I think all of you should come up to the canyon, listen to conference on the radio & have a picnic, & then join us for a float from 12-2 and then listen to the rest of conference in the beautiful canyon. We'd love to see you! $10/tube

By the way, our front page of our website is working now. The rest is almost done. (The pictures of the front page are my husband mostly).

Customers from All Over The World

2010-09-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about our company is meeting people from all over the world. Are they just more adventurous? Or is it the fact that it's not in their backyard?

So far, we've had customers from:
New Zealand (who were 70 yrs old!!!)
Mexico
Laos (they had two little girls)
Georgia
Venezuela (they brought 5 little kids & their grandma)

and we met a couple who just moved here from Australia--and they came to our house for a BBQ last Sunday.

and the best part is when I go to pick them up from their shuttle and they have huge grins on their faces & when they realize that they were so scared for nothing! The best part was when the grandma said she wanted to learn to roll a kayak like my husband's brothers were doing. Hey why not???

Last Saturday

2010-09-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we didn't get any customers, so I made Donny go down the river with me. We couldn't reach any paddles underneath the big red raft and the IKs so we went down the river without paddles! I had my doubts, but it worked. It was later in the evening so no one was around (which is unusual--because the Provo River is usually a zoo on a Saturday).
Can I just say--
that I love that my husband loves and appreciates the outdoors like me
especially rivers
and that if I really want something he'll let me do it
and that we had the whole river to ourselves, except a few fishermen
and that we didn't have any paddles because . . .

we were so quiet that we saw a Beaver on the shore and with his huge body we watched him go into the water and watch us for a long time.

and it was just so green and calm

it really is amazing that we have such a beautiful river and canyon within 10 minutes of the city.

and to be honest I've just been really down lately about our lack of income and not being able to use my degree, but it's so nice to have moments like those that make life memorable & sweet.

Here's to making each day different than the next and to trying new things.

2 Days Before Alaska

2010-09-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

At the end of May, Donny & I took a rafting trip near the border of Oregon and Washington. Right before the trip, we got invited to Alaska with my good friend, and boy am I glad we ended the rafting trip when we did or we wouldn't have been able to meet up in Seattle for our trip to Alaska. What added to the craziness is that my parents sold their house and had to be out the weekend after our river trip & most of my belongings are at their house!!! What was even crazier is that we were already headed to northern Oregon when we found out and we need our passports & I didn't know where ours were. So in two days we had to drive from Northern Idaho to Draper (& I didn't find my passport after looking through absolutely everything) to Pocatello then to Seattle. Lets just say it was CRAZY!!!!! Luckily I found my passport right where I told my mother to look first thing. We loaded all my stuff (9 mini vans full) with the help of my homeward into a storage unit and headed off five hours later. Long grueling hours later. We drove all through the night to Seattle and left on the yacht first thing.

Follow Your Promptings

2010-09-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

I think I've said this time and time again, but there are two stories I want to share about this.

First watch this clip & pay attention to what the girl says about buying sunglasses:

Video Here

Where did this feeling come from that told the girl to buy sunglasses minutes before the attack?

Call it intuition. Call it a gut feeling.

What it is--is actually the spirit. In the scriptures, the spirit is referred to as the still small voice. It's a calm feeling. Galatians describes it was "peace, love, & joy". The spirit is the comforter in times of trial. But the spirit also protects us from things that will harm us [in her case it prompted her to buy something she hates to wear minutes before & in return it saved her eyesight].

Another story--
A few weeks ago, man in church spoke about how he goes to the prisons and teaches inmates about Jesus Christ. He has asked the inmates time and time again, "Before you committed the crime to which you are in prison for--Did you feel something that told you NOT to commit the crime? Did you feel prompted not to do it?"

Every single inmmate told them that they had indeed felt something inside of them tell them not to do it.

The spirit of God is so powerful. God loves us so much. He wants us to be happy in this life. He wants us to do the things that will bring true happiness. God has given everyone the 'spirit of Christ' to know right from wrong. When we do something that is not right, we feel a gut feeling that what we are doing is wrong. This is the 'spirit of Christ'. As we live a clean life, we will feel the promptings of the spirit more clearly in our life. We will begin to recognize His promptings.

God protects those that are righteous. "If you do not do my will, ye have no promise." Our Heavenly Father will protect us by keeping us from harm and by giving us those promptings that comes through the still small voice of the spirit.

I know and have witnessed many, many, many times in my life the still small voice of comfort, of warning, and protection. I know that as we come to recognize the promptings of the spirit that we will be kept out of harms way and be lead to the things that will bring us the most happiness in this life.

Best Headline of His Lifetime

2010-08-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

A man came into the bank, slapped down the newspaper of the day and said, "Today I have witnessed the most monumental headliner of my lifetime!!" This man was a very old man, probably 80 or so.

What on earth could be the most monumental headliner of his lifetime be?

The Church is now in CHINA!!!!

Joseph Smith once said, "The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

Lone Peak

2010-08-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of August, Donny's cousins were in town, so we decided to climb Lone Peak. People say that Lone Peak is the hardest hike in Utah. I've done ALOT of hikes in Utah & I would have to agree full heartedly.

We started in the evening with his cousin Logan & his wife Rachel. Before the hike I was thinking that I wish I had brought a hat. Low and behold right in front of my car was a hat laying on the ground at the trailhead. Pretty lucky! I had Donny & my things in my backpack and Donny carried all the climbing gear (ropes, shoes, etc). Logan & Rachel were faster than us and after it got dark, we finally stopped at 11:30 and called his cousin to tell him we were sleeping right there.

We realized too late that we slept on the windy plateau and both of us didn't sleep a wink that night (this is usual for me on camping trips, but not for Donny). I think Donny prefers to sleep on the floor than a bed anyways. : ) It comes with Donny & his brothers constantly training to climb mountains.

The next morning, we left our stuff and headed to catch up with his cousin. On the way I was humming (in case of bears) and what do you know, I saw one cross the trail and run straight down the mountain (that makes two this summer).

When we got to the shelter near the top, I decided I couldn't go any further, so his cousin and wife hiked up to the cirque. Our original plan was to hike to the base of the cirque and Donny & his cousin would rock climb to the summit. But it was rainy that day, so we decided against it.

This is his cousin Logan. Can you tell they are related???

We headed back down the trail and near the end I saw a snake crossing the trail right in front of me. I should say I saw it cms before stepping on it. I was jumping up and down with a yelp and there happened to be a couple of hikers right in front of me. To say the least we all thought it was really funny.

It was really fun to get outside and spend some time with Donny's cousin who I've heard so much about.

I hate my job!

2010-08-26T18:18:00.001-07:00

I hate my job.
I have that same feeling that I had when I worked at Standard Optical, this feeling in the pit of my stomach that it wasn't right and I should find something else FAST, real FAST and not waste my time learning how to do it.
I don't feel like myself.
Or that others can see who I am.
I feel like I have alot to share.
& offer.
Don't get me wrong, the girls there are amazing.
They are so upbeat & fun.
And work seems pretty relaxed when I get to know how to do my job.
But inside I'm just dying.
& I'm just resentful that my classmates are making an average of $49,000/yr.
& now I'm making less than when I was going to college.
But there's no way to pay the bills.
Why learn a job I just feel like I'll leave just when I have learned it?
& I hate the traffic
Somedays
I just want to move back to Pocatello
where everything was only 10 minutes away
& you could drive home without feeling like you're going to run into someone
and things are calm
and you can enjoy the trees
& you're not in a race to keep up with the Jones.
I thought I once wanted a big city life
the job in a skyscraper
a big house
a plague saying "Employee of the Month" or the CFO title.
But anymore, I just want time to explore this HUGE world
with nothing to hold me back
including that big house,
the corporate job.
I just want my small little house with a tire swing in the back
& time to cook cinnamon rolls
& a nice little river in the back would be swell too.

Here's to our company having our first customer, hope they come quick.

Our Business Starting TOMORROW!!!!

2010-08-20T15:35:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow as in Saturday, August 21st.

Come float the Provo River with us!
Guided raft, kayak trips!
Tube Rentals with shuttle & lifejacket!
Kayak Instruction with one of the best kayakers I know (my husband)!

Ask about our tube rental SEASON PASSES!!! good now & next summer (good for 365 days)
Ask about our discounted group rafting trips Monday evenings.

Groups go out at 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm. Reserve your spot (801)403-6990 or just show up!

Find us on the old highway road in front of Bridal Veil Falls in a big white van & blue sign on top.

Find our page on FACEBOOK & share it with your friends.

Help us get the word out . . . it's been a long year w/no $$$ preparing for this, so help us get in a few good weeks in before the summer ends.

Hope to see you on the river!

Unemployment

2010-08-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

So it's been a long, long year with both my husband & me being unemployed. We've had many job prospects we thought were "in the bag," but when it came down to it, they all didn't work out. But unemployment has taught me a lot of things & made me grow in ways I never expected. I'm still going through "growing pains".

So I've decided to write a few pros & cons of being unemployed.

Cons

many sleepless nights
job hunting is much more work than having a job
feeling guilty for having any fun at all
your resume and character being put down
not being able to buy a piece of clothing, shoes, or anything for myself for that matter
feeling worthless
having an occasional panic attack
not being able to support my friends like I always do (I'm too embarrassed to come w/o a gift)
having to rely upon others
no schedule
when I say we "have no money" no one believes me--makes me realize that people use this too freely--many times as an excuse that they don't want to do something instead of just saying they don't want to do it.
no health insurance

Pros

you can take vacation anytime you want (but you still feel guilty)
5 Weeks in Alaska on a yacht (the one time I was glad to be unemployed!!)
time to figure out what I really want
Can you say RIVER TRIPS??
Met my husband, wouldn't have gotten to know him or his family so quickly if I wasn't unemployed.
you minimize all the bills you can
you realize how much you REALLY do need
you realize that you can live on less than $10,000 a year if you have to
you realize that just because you're an American you have been brainwashed to over consume.
More "wants" are considered "needs" than we realize.
All you really need is shelter, food, water, and one outfit. Everything else is a want.

Future Perspective or Day-to-Day Perspective?

2010-08-10T11:19:00.001-07:00

Is it better to think about the future or today? I say to you what is better?

See what Harvard Business School professor thinks of that:

"If you study the root causes of business disasters, over and over you’ll find this predisposition toward endeavors that offer immediate gratification. If you look at personal lives through that lens, you’ll see the same stunning and sobering pattern: people allocating fewer and fewer resources to the things they would have once said mattered most."

Good Quote:

"And if your attitude is that only smarter people have something to teach you, your learning opportunities will be very limited. But if you have a humble eagerness to learn something from everybody, your learning opportunities will be unlimited. "

Good Stuff:

"I have a pretty clear idea of how my ideas have generated enormous revenue for companies that have used my research; I know I’ve had a substantial impact. But as I’ve confronted [cancer], it’s been interesting to see how unimportant that impact is to me now. I’ve concluded that the metric by which God will assess my life isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives I’ve touched.

I think that’s the way it will work for us all. Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people. This is my final recommendation: Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success."

Read the whole article HERE.

Good comment: "Yes, you will cease to learn new things, the day you don't have humility to respect other feelings and thoughts."

Pictures!

2010-08-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ever since I can remember it has been my lifelong dream to be a photographer. When I was a little girl I would look out the car window and imagine taking pictures of the scenery within the frame of a camera. That was years before I ever got one.

Throughout high school and college, I spent most of my $$ developing film of the pictures I've taken--more than anything else.

I have 17 scrapbooks of my life until the year 2001. ha ha ha

My absolute favorite thing to do is look at pictures and edit pictures. I know I'm weird. : )

So I am going to offer a portrait session for anyone if they book this week.

It will only be $40 if booked within the next two weeks.

You will get all your pictures on C.D.

Email me at alyssagarbett{at}msn{dot}com.

This would be good for families, bridals, engagements, babies, headshots, etc. etc.

My prices are sure to go up, so book today.

Bye Bye Birdie

2010-07-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we went with Donny's parents and grandparent's to Midvale to their production of "Bye Bye Birdie."

If you have never seen it, or want something fun and unique to do on Friday night, go see it!

Their last performance is on Friday, this Friday.

Friday, July 23rd at 7:30 pm

Midvale Outdoor Stage in the Park

400 West 7500 South

for 6 of us it was only $20.

Paul McCartney Concert

2010-07-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

Beatles!
I would NEVER get a tattoo, but if I did I might be tempted with this one (Abbey Road). Someday I'll walk across that road like the Beatles.
What is this?

I thought this turned out cool.

He did a tribute to John Lennon and George Harrison. Here's the pictures of George & Paul.

Notice my shirt
Live & Let Live--they let out these huge fireworks. It was awesome!

Famous Book of Mormon Painter Dies

2010-07-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

Arnold Friberg died last week. Check out a couple videos of his viewing and funeral that explain his work.

He was 96 years old.

Viewing video

Funeral video

A Splendid Evening

2010-07-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Tonight is going to be magical.

Maybe because I never thought I'd see the day.

When I'd get too see a Beatle in person.

So maybe I've attended every impersonator concert [1964, IMAGINE).
Maybe I've got photos with the impersonators

Okay and maybe my friend since 7th grade was always with me.
1964 @ Ricks College
IMAGINE @ Bannock County Fair

and maybe too this same friend went to NYC's central park with me as well.
To view Strawberry Fields
and to see the place where John Lennon was shot and killed.

and so maybe I met Yoko Ono's good friend on my mission.
and maybe I was going to teach Yoko Ono a first discussion the week after my mission.
but didn't have the chance, but I was so close!

and maybe Yoko's good friend gave me her own record of Yoko & John
and maybe when this friend died
Yoko attended her funeral

BUT I NEVER thought I'd see the day when I could see one of the last 2 Beatles alive in CONCERT

Looking forward to singing:
"Silly Love Songs"
"Jet"
"Live and Let Live"
"Penny Lane"
"All You Need is Love"

at the top of my lungs with my friend from 7th grade
like we did in Seattle in 2007 at a Beatles Astronomy showing
and amazed that this friend lives in my neighborhood now

CANNOT WAIT!!!!

Bucket List:
See a BEATLE in real life CHECK

Ok, so maybe this wasn't on my bucketlist, b/c I never dared think it would happen.

Lately I feel like him . . .

2010-07-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

"After graduation in May 1988, my first thought was, what now?"
For years, I'd been a student [H.S. valedictorian and finance student at Notre Dame] and an athlete [track scholarship to Notre Dame] and had pursued those goals with an unwavering intensity. I had done as I was told, I had followed the rules. Yet, all of a sudden, both worlds were behind me, and I found myself adrift. I had no idea who I was, what I wanted to do, or where my future would lead. I'd always believed that because I'd followed the rules the world would beat a path to my doorstep. But the world didn't seem to care at all."
. . .
"Despite graduating with high honors, I wasn't accepted to any of the law schools to which I'd applied, and so that door was closed even before it openned. All my friends had taken corporate jobs in New York or Chicago. . . With my head filled with foggy notions of the future, I found myself on a plane back home to Sacramento. My first job was waiting tables. Even with a degree, I found myself earning minimum wage."

~Nicholas Sparks "3 Weeks with My Brother"

except I can't even get a minimum wage job.
Sorry, I'm just a little devistated.

July 12: Draper Days

2010-07-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

In July, we went to Utah Symphony's Star Wars Concert in Drapers new amphitheatre. We went with Donny's sister Krystalee because she was in town for EFY. It was such a beautiful night.

June 16: Leaving Petersburg

2010-06-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

(Lots of new blogs posted. I ran out of picture space, so pictures will come later. However, I added pictures to some of the first days.)

Watched the girls while Tiff’s dad worked out a contract with Icycle foods shipping fish next summer. Walked into town for a little bit. The one lady I talked to was all inquisitive as to why I was there, because she must know EVERYONE in the town & I was a stranger & there was not a cruise in town at the moment.
As I walked into town, I saw two huge bald eagles sitting on the mud. My camera battery was too low and I couldn’t take a shot. Took off from Petersburg. Saw seals on the breaker. Spent practically the whole night making pizza while Tiff & Donny dropped off the shrimp & crab pots.

June 15: La Conde Glacier Cruise

2010-06-20T18:50:00.001-07:00

In the early afternoon, we walked down to the other dock and got on an aluminum boat to take a tour of La Conde Glacier. As we got closer to the glacier, we saw huge icebergs and the blue colors were the most amazing blues I have ever seen. These pictures are NOT edited in any way.
We passed a waterfall called the same name as our boat Thunder. As we were approaching we saw a seal with her baby. We got up close. We saw so many mama seals with their babies. It was amazing. As we weaved through chunks of ice, we got as far as we could and as we ate smoked Salmon, Salmon, and Shrimp dip, we saw an iceberg break in half and smoke up right next to our boat. I guess the icebergs break in half when the mass below the surface is smaller than the top.
On the boat was a professional wildlife photographer and it was really interesting for both me and Tiff to talk to him about his equipment, see some of his photos, and get some tips. One of my favorite so far! But hey, I say that a lot on this trip!

June 14: Wrangell Narrows & Arrival in Petersburg

2010-06-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

Left Wrangell in the morning. We travelled through the Wrangell narrows, which are really shallow—sometimes as low as 24 feet from the bottom of the boat. I made dinner. Tiff met George Brett (famous 3rd base player—one of the best 3rd base player ever) on a fishing boat next to us. Donny & I took a walk around Petersburg, this city with a Norwegian influence. We went to a park that the women used to look on for their husbands returning with their fishing boats.

June 13: Church, BBQ, & Nemo Point

2010-06-20T18:46:00.001-07:00

The branch president’s wife picked us up at the dock to go to church today. It was so nice since we can’t rent a car here. The branch was really small. The RS usually has the teacher and one woman. But today there were 7 because of us and a couple that are visiting Alaska via the Ferry. We met Amber who apparently had heard stories of this infamous Donny Hazard. So it was pretty funny that she actually got to meet him. Donny’s famous apparently or his stories are unheard of.
Amber and her sister-in-law told us that a few days ago, they were sitting by the dock and they saw this huge 4 story boat and that the both of them were dreaming as to what it would be like to have such a nice thing. Little did they know they would meet the owner on it in a few days! The Wilson’s were planning on having a BBQ with us at a park, but the girls seemed so excited about the boat and it was rainy outside that I suggested we have the BBQ on the boat and that it would be a sure treat for the Wilsons. The Captain agreed and it was really fun to have them. Afterwards, they took us at to Nemo Point (which was spectacular!) and a little lake on the island called Pat’s lake. I made crepes with the girls before going to bed—I’d been craving them for months.

June 12: Rainbow Falls

2010-06-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

Got a ride to the trailhead for Rainbow Falls. It was a 0.6 mile hike in that we took the girls on. The trail was really mossy with a lot of old forest trees. The trail was made of wooden steps most of the way. The falls are 100 feet high and we went to the very lip of the waterfall. Afterwards we went tide pooling to see if we could find anything. I found a couple of large seashells that were still attached. Tiff (the biologist that she is) is showing her girls a little fish they found. Watched “Hang them High” with the captain.

June 11: Walk Around Wrangell

2010-06-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

We woke up early to move the boat so the upper light could be fixed. It is quite the ordeal to move the boat. It’s not an easy task and is actually pretty stressful to tie it down and put bumpers on the sides so the boat doesn’t get scratched. Donny, Tiff, and I do the ropes and bumpers while the captain moves the boat. It takes all of us to do it. Later on we took a walk to town in the rain.

We went to this clan house where the Tligit Indians used to live.

and also this little city park with Totem Poles.

We also went to the Wrangell museum. Wrangell is famous for these cliffs where you can find rubies. Here's a rock at the museum that has one such rock.

We went to the bank, the Post Office, and the library. I fell asleep at the library. At the library I recognized a stuffed dog and knew right away that it was Clifford the Big Red Dogs friend T-bone. I knew I had been hanging out with kids for too long. : ) We started walking to the Petroglyph beach park, but a guy felt bad for us walking in the rain that he picked us up and the lady behind him offered to take some of us too. She had just moved to Wrangell from Boston to marry someone she knew him high school. She left her corporate job in Boston to marry this man that had lived here for 35+ years. She was sweet.
The park had petroglyphs made of animals and faces. You could search the park for some.

I also looked for starfish, but didn’t find any. We found a lot of petroglyphs though. We started walking back in the rain & took this silly picture. It was pouring rain—the girls were cold and crying. When we were almost to the boat dock, we pulled underneath an overhang and the girls were crying so loud that a man and a young man came out. They offered to give us a ride in their trucks. The man I drove with had a fishing company and sold it and spent his time taking him jet boat up the Stakine and hunting and fishing and “looking at jobs”. He had his own private dock and nicest house in the town. We stayed inside the rest of the night—out of the rain. We watched Cutthroat Island that night. It was fun to watch a ship movie while we are on the sea.

June 5: Totem Poles & Tide Pooling

2010-06-20T18:37:00.001-07:00

Today was perhaps my second favorite day. We went all over Ketchikan. First we had a picnic lunch at Totem Bright Park where they have a lot of Totem Poles that are replicas of Totem that have deteriated or fallen.
The park was right next to shore and the tide was down, so we went in search of star fish. Jessa’s one wish on this Alaska trip was to see a starfish. We found 4 or 5 purple ones.
We also went to the Clan House which would house several families at the same time. There was a fireplace in the center and steps that could store stuff underneath it. The front is decorated with two raven eyes. The raven is sacred to these people—he was a symbol of the creator.
We also went to the museum in downtown Ketchikan and walked the boardwalks through the town on stilts over the Ketchikan creek.
In the evening we drove down to the newer dock to check it out.

June 10: Arrived in Wrangell

2010-06-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Wrangell early afternoon. Donny & I tickled the girls til they got tired. The bishop & his wife stopped by and drove us around town. I held both Jessa and Emeline on my lap just about the whole trip.

They just returned from visiting Hawaii and they asked Donny who was wearing his BYU-Hawaii sweetshirt if they knew Adam Harrison. I realized that I knew him too, before Donny could say he indeed knew him. “Yes we know him, his sister Keola is the one who set us up!” It sure is a small world.

June 9: Not All Play

2010-06-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

Not a very eventful day, but we stopped in a new bay and scrubbed everything down in the whole boat which took the whole afternoon.

We saw two dolphins and they stayed with the boat for quite some time. We got out to the edges of the boat and egg them on and they will play for us if we shout and sing at them.

We stayed in Santa Lena for the night.

June 8: Shrimp & Dolphins

2010-06-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

Tiff caught 17 shrimp and cooked them up. I watched her as she dissected them and I especially examined their eyes and optic nerves.

We saw Dolpins as we entered Walker Cove and they saw us again as we came out of the cove. They looked like miniature Killer Whales. They were quite a bit heavier than other dolphins—maybe because it’s colder water up here. Donny excited to see the doll porpoise--

We also saw seals on an island and two bald eagles in the middle of Behm Canal here in Misty Fiords National Monument.
Two eagles sitting in the trees:

We again saw more dolphins before Behm Canal narrows. Tiff saw 7 jumping at the same time. I caught this picture of four jumping.

Tonight we are archored in Helm Bay for the night.

June 7: Crab & a Hit in the Head

2010-06-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Tiff & the girls & Grandpa took off to see if they got any crab.

Tiff caught 7 Dungeness crab !!!!!! and cooked them up.

We saw a 3000 foot sheer wall that the captain exclaimed, “That’s taller than Half Dome!” and of course Donny was picking out rock climbing routes he hopes to come back and do. Oh Donny!

We archored in Rudyerd Bay and took the skiff out into the bay and around the corner to a place not even on the map. It was the most surreal thing ever—arches, waterfalls everywhere, mist coming through everything and the water was like glass.

Our captain:

Donny & I were in heaven! It was something better than a movie.

We stayed up late talking and Tiff made me laugh so hard I was rolling and I hit my head on the arm of the chair, but Tiff’s joke was so funny I couldn’t cry but just laughed through the whole thing! I had a big knock on my head the rest of the night that stayed til the next day! I had a killer headache the last 3 days and hitting my head actually made my head feel better.

June 6: Sunset Dinner & Amish Convert

2010-06-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

*I will post pictures soon. (Check the 4 new blogs I posted).

In the morning, we walked the docks to go to church and I was with little Kate and Jess and a man Tiff and I talked to the night before exclaimed, “You are beautiful!” and we drove to the ward building in Ketchikan. It was unlike any other church building I’ve been in. The outside was made of wood and the inside walls and ceiling were made of stained wood. The sacrament meeting room was also made of stained wood walls and wood beams. We got a ride with a church member and she is a recent convert that came to Ketchikan as a missionary for another church. After that church was going to transfer them, they decided to leave that church. You see they had a son with a mental disability and they tried to attend other churches, but those churches said they were full and had no room for new comers. The lady had made a mormon friend at her job and decided to try it out. She knew something was missing in her other churches she was a member of, but couldn’t put her finger on it. But with the Mormons she knew that is was what she was looking for all along. In January, she will come to Utah to be sealed to her family in the temple and she is going to have dinner with us. As we left she said, “I am going to go to New York in a couple of weeks with the girl who introduced me to the Mormons and I’m going to take her to Pennsylvania where I grew up in an Amish Community—you see I’ve been a rebel my whole life [looking for the truth].” Can’t wait to have her over for dinner.

The weather was really nice here, which the locals told us is really rare. So we BBQed on the dock and ate under the sun. A friend of the captain gave us some king salmon on the dock in Ketchikan so we grilled that up with some steak, potatoes, salad, and cheeries. It was delicious! Now that’s dining in style! : )

That night Tiff and her dad made up the shrimp and crab pots and took the skiff down to the water to place them at certain waterlevels. We’ll see if we have any in the morning!

June 4: Arrived in Ketchikan

2010-06-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Ketchikan!! The weather is finally sunny. We went to the library and used their internet for a coveted 15 minutes. While we were wandering around town we found this:
You always have to be on the lookout for kayaking possibilities. This one is right in downtown Ketchikan. Too bad a sea kayak wouldn’t work. And we almost brought the inflatable.
We passed by this man with a snake. Little Kate was asked if she wanted to hold it and she said with a resounding “NOOOOOO!!!!” so quick.
Donny was scrubbing the deck all afternoon so we went on a walk in the evening. A lot of Ketchikan is built on minimal land/docks, it’s so steep. Cute little town.

June 3: Bald Eagles

2010-06-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

Shadowfax passed us. The girls waved at them and they came out of their boat and waved back. We later met the son in Ketchikan who told us that it was his dad’s boat and that he got the name from the horse of the wizard from “Lord of the Rings” book. We also passed the coast guard when I was captain for awhile. It was quite a nerve wracking moment for me because their were underground cables to our starbird side and our portside was the Coast Guard who was passing us at the exact same time. I sighed a huge sigh of relief when it was over. We saw a swarm of bald eagles picking stuff up out of the water. There were tons of them. Just wish my camera could get a better view.
Every night Tiff reads the Book of Mormon with her girls and afterwards they sing, “Scripture Power keeps me safe from sin. Scripture power is the power to win. Scripture power every day I need. The power that I get each time I read.”

June 2: Whale Sighting!!!!!

2010-06-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today Tiff spotted a whale. He peaked his head out of the water and watched us.

We slowed down the boat and he went right by us, peaking up the top of his fin to get some air. You could hear his blowing.

It was surreal. It was really stormy today and we are still doding logs brought down by the loggers. We saw this log full of birds traveling down the channel.
We were also greeted by this beautiful rainbow and that the girls loved.

June 1: Dolphins

2010-06-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, June 1st, we were visited by dolphins in the morning. At first it was one showing off for us. Then a little while later it was joined by another. They were so excited to show off for us. Tiff was sitting downstairs and one jumped right by her window.

We also saw a dark fin to the distance, but wasn't sure what it was.

There were also Holland America Cruise ships that passed us--the company I almost worked for in 2005.

Later in the day, I got a little sea sick as we entered the ocean water and had to lay down. The sky has been overcast everyday, but today we got a small shimmer of sun shine.

May 31: Leaving Straight of Georgia

2010-06-01T14:43:00.001-07:00

On Monday, May 31st, we saw this logging barge being pulled by a tug boat.

and we've seen so many lighthouses you can't even begin to count them.

Talk about a view:

We finished going through the Straight of Georgia and traveled 107 miles total.

We also went through Seymour narrows and there were tons of large whirlpools and eddy lines. We actually went backwards about 3-4 times and couldn't get over this one spot. There were long logs of wood floating in the water that we would have to dodge. Donny had to stay out on the Bow to warn us of logs. However, one came up from a large whirlpool and we could hear it hitting the bottom of the boat and we were scared because we were afraid it would break the propellor and do some major damage and/or sink us. We looked behind us and the propellors had chopped the propellor in half. We were all tense, because we were trying to get out of this section for at least an hour or more and we were making little or no progress. We eventually got out of the narrowest part and continued on to port at Sonora, Binnington bay in Cameleon Harbor for the night. It was beautiful because it was so narrow. The other sections we had been doing, we couldn't really see land at all. So it was fun to see land on both sides.

Tiff

Isn't it beautiful?

May 30: Seattle to Canadian Customs

2010-05-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

The first day to our travels to Alaska.

We drove through the night and got to Seattle at about 7 am and drove across the Ferry to Kingston with our car.
We got to Port Angeles to see our ship for the first time. Tiff's dad told us that the ship "Thunder" used to be owned by the owner of Apple Computers and that Warren Buffet sat in the chair I am now blogging from.

We motored for 100 miles and went through customs at Bedwell Harbour, Canada.
The beach there was unlike any beach I had ever seen. The beach was not made of sand, but of sea shells. It was the wildest thing I had ever seen.

Our Traveling Companions:

We ported in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, Canada for the night.

Here's the blog of the ship you might also want to follow as we make our way to Alaska for a month.

http://mvthunder.blogspot.com/

Brush Creek

2010-05-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Donny & 2 of his brothers took off to go kayaking on Brush Creek which drops 400 ft/mile.

I waited from the road with my father-in-law and waited for a long time. We watched another group of kayakers pass them.
Next thing we know, Donny is climbing out of the canyon.
My father in law and I are watching from the road, but at this point we're not sure why Donny is climbing up so far from the river. However, he wasn't waving. I would use the zoom on my camera to see Donny's facial features. They just went off a huge waterfall just upriver from this picture. However, the kayak group just passed them without waving us down, so we figured everything was ok.

Donny makes it downriver, he's pointing upriver. Still no idea what he's signaling.

His brothers make it down the series of waterfalls and slides.

You can see Donny at the bottom. Right before this picture, Donny is pointing upriver but through my lens, I can see him a little disgruntled. Then his dad shouts out, he must have dislocated his shoulder! and then I figure he wasn't pointing upriver, he was pointing to his shoulder. My father-in-law takes off down the steep mountain down to his sons. I couldn't go down because I hurt my leg a few days go.
In this picture Troy passed up his brother Colby (who went first), he hurriedly passes him, hitting all the waterfalls in one swoop. Colby waited in an eddy in the middle of this series of waterfalls and slides. Troy's skirt was ripped off early on this waterfall and has to hit all the waterfalls without it. By the time Troy got to the very bottom his kayak is really full of water.

Colby and Troy went down the slides, while my father-in-law was doing safety & while Donny was climbing the steep embankment to me.
Meanwhile, I went out and talked to 3 kayakers watching from England. We had watched them do this stretch of river and they were waiting afterwards. They had just flown into LA the day before and are going to be kayaking in California for 3 weeks. One of them went into a store and the man said, "You sound like a Beatle!" They said there's no rivers in England to kayak unless it rains. We talked for a long time which was fun.

I drove an hour back to town with Donny yelping all the way. It was like he was about to give birth and I was driving him to the hospital. We got back to their house and those at home looked up videos on youtube how to put in a popped shoulder. It was really easy and would have cost us $1000 if we would have went to the hospital. Anyways, we taught everyone how to pop it back in incase it ever happens to Donny again. The last time he did this was in the summer of 2008 in Provo, but that time he couldn't hike out, he had to continue down a bunch of waterfalls.

Just another adventure to the Hazards.

Countdown

2010-04-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

2 hours until Donny's family gets here.
1 day until I see my cousin.
5 days until Donny's brother's graduation.
5 days til my friends Dan & Angela fly in.
6 days until my favorite show is on "So Who Do You Think You Are?"
6 days until I'm in Pocatello.
7 days until I'm in California.
9 days until I'm rafting the Kern in California for a week!

Yeee Haw!!!!! I can't wait.

I miss my friends

2010-04-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

So people say that married people fall off the face of the planet. But I say, when your friend gets married, your friends are the ones who fall off the face, not the newly married person.

I love being with Donny, but I miss my friends.

Do I want to hang out with married people? YES!!!!
Do I want to hang out with single people with or without Donny? YES!!!!

I miss you. Can we please be friends again?

Provo River

2010-04-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

For my graduation in 2008, I took my family down the Provo River for a day of rafting. It was so much fun and that canyon is so beautiful.

MUST SEE!!!!

2010-04-11T13:20:00.001-07:00

I don't watch T.V., but I recently came upon this show and I am utterly fascinated by it. I would encourage you to watch all 5 episodes so far.

Watch Here

It is incredible!

Oh Kayak in a Tree

2010-04-09T22:15:00.001-07:00

Here's a better to explain the post two times ago. This is where Donny's brother found Donny's kayak in December. No it wasn't in a pool of water or in the river, it was found 15 feet above the lip of the waterfall.

Oh Donny.

A Perfect Mother's Day Gift

2010-04-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

I found this book when I was a little girl and I gave it to my mom. This book is perfect for your mom to fill out with the most important events and feelings from her life and is compact in one book.

It is the perfect gift to yourself, whether you are a mom or not.

There is also a dad's version called, "Reflections from a Father's Heart."

Flooding

2010-04-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

So the beginning of last school year, Donny shipped a kayak over to Hawaii. The Airport wouldn't let him take his paddle. Donny's mission: make first descents of waterfalls on the island of Oahu. The problem: the waterfalls wouldn't have enough water until a terrential downpour. So Donny hid the kayak at the top of this waterfall. When it started raining Donny would hike up to the top to see if he could run it.Well one day, it rained so much school was cancelled and there was two feet of rain covering campus. After the rain, Donny went to look at his kayak and it was gone. So when Donny's family flew to Hawaii for his graduation in June, they went looking for it. They took a snorkel and looked at all the pools of water at the end of several waterfalls. No sign of it. They left Hawaii disappointed. However, in December, Donny's brother Tyson (whos pictured here) went looking for it with a scuba light and a wet suit. He searched every pool, but couldn't find it. He got to the last pool of water and it was also not there. Tyson looked up and saw this kayak lodged in between branches of a tree 15 feet above the lip of the waterfall. It was torn to shreads. Lets just say, it was a good thing Donny didn't have his paddle. That's more than a waterfall. Let's just say this $700 kayak bit in shreads was the least of their loss. : )

Donny's Outdoor Resume

2010-03-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

To let you know a little bit more about my husband, I want to share his outdoor resume with you. (He would kill me if he knew I was doing this!) In the last few years, I always felt like I would marry someone that had done less in the outdoors than me, but I was glad when I found Donny because he surpasses me by a ton!

"I have a likeable personality and a great love for the outdoors. I have rafted and/or kayaked more than 200 different styles and lengths of rivers and creeks throughout the Americas. I am fluent in Spanish and have extensive climbing and trekking experience in the Sierra Nevada, Andes, and Rocky Mountain Ranges. I believe that life is about the people, the places, and the experiences that will inspire and teach us to build better families and communities. I love my life."

Partial list of Rivers/Creeks Run
Creek Boating

Futaleufu (Chile) V
Clearwater (B.C.) V
Rogers Creek (B.C.) V
Callagahan Creek (B.C.) V
Dry Meadow Creek (CA) V
Brush Creek (CA) V
Middle Tule (CA) V
North Fork Kaweah (CA) V
Middle Feather (CA) V
Upper Kings (CA) V
Gauley River (WV) V
Rio de Los Esclavos (Guatemala) IV+
Alseseca (Mexico) V
Little Cottonwood Creek (UT) V
Forks of Kern (CA) V
North American (CA) V
Animas River (CO) V
Kootenai Falls (MT) V
Upper Pack (ID) V
Slate Creek (ID) V
Lyon Creek (ID) V
Teton River (ID) V
Lower Mesa Falls (ID) V
Dinkey Creek (CA) V
White Salmon (WA) V
Upper Provo Falls (UT) V
Big Cottonwood Creek (UT) V
Sixth Water Creek (UT) V
North Fork Yuba (CA) V
Upper South American (CA) V
South Silver (CA) V
Christopher Creek (AZ) V
Fossil Creek (AZ) IV+
American Fork River (UT) V
New River (WV) IV
Forks of The Kern (CA) V
Blanco River (Ecuador) IV
Micos River (Mexico) IV+

Multiday Expeditions

Urique River (Copper Canyon Mexico) V+
Grand Canyon - 17 days IV+
Entire Salmon River - 6 weeks 450 miles
Kennicot, Chitna, Copper - 100 miles (Alaska)
Chilco, Chilcotin, Frasier Rivers - 100 miles (B.C.) IV
Jarbidge and Bruneau Rivers (5 days) IV-V
Rogue River (5 days) OR
Deschutes River (5 days) OR
Middle Fork Salmon (5 days) ID

High Mountain Adventure Treks and Climbs

Aconcagua 22,900 feet (Argentina, winter ascent) Highest Peak outside Himalayas
Sacred Falls Canyon: 2nd known complete descent (Oahu, HI) 300 & 500 foot waterfalls.
Chimborazo 20,702 feet (Ecuador)
El Pico de Orizaba 18,500 (Mexico)
Mount Rainier
Mount Assiniboine (British Columbia) - 21 hour single day ascent. 5.5 Mixed route.
Mount Edith Cavell (Alberta)
Bugaboos (Pigeon Spire, B.C.)
Mount Sir Donald (B.C.)
12 14,000 foot peaks in 6 days - Colorado
Mount Hood
Mount Adams
Trail run in La Cordillera Blanca (Peru) - 25 miles - World’s second highest range
Volcano Villarica Traverse (Chile) - 50 miles
Mount Whitney (climbed 11 times, including one winter ascent)
Kings Peak (Winter Ascent) 13,400
Mount Borah in the Winter (Idaho)
The Grand Teton (Wyoming) - Exum Ridge
Lone Peak - Alpine style big wall (Utah)
Several Trans Sierra back pack trips.
John Muir Trail 212 miles (California)
Half Dome – South Face
Boundary Peak (Winter Ascent)
Royal Arches – Yosemite trad -
Black Magic - Needles on Magician Needle
Several routes in Joshua Tree
Mount Langley
Canyoneering: Multitude of Canyons in Zion and Southern Utah.
Na Pali Coast (HI)
Dome Rock - Tree Route - three pitches
Rock Canyon - Utah - Green Monster
Can lead 5.10

Yummy Chicken!!! EASY TOO!!!

2010-03-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

put parmesan cheese in ranch dressing on a plate and stir with a fork.

dip raw chicken in the mixture until covered.

crush up cornflakes and dip ranch covered chicken in cornflakes.

cook on 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes

THIS IS AMAZING AND EASY!!! from my friend Jenny who went to culinary school

You will thank me! Promise!

I Will Go on a Hike With You . . .

2010-03-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

So on my mission one of my companions and I talked about love languages. Bryndi replied, "How does someone show they love you?" and I responded, "They will go hiking with me." So ever since then Bryndi closes her emails and letters to me with not an "I love you!" but a "I want to go on a hike with you!" (even if she doesn't mean it).

To me people who hike (or will go on a rafting trip) think like me in so many ways. Even if they don't like hiking or rafting, but are willing to try it, because they know I love it means that they really love me and are seeking to understand me. Plus the people I go hiking or rafting with I really get to know because you get to spend so much time with them and you have a very memorable experience with them that you can remember forever.

So today when I was reading this companions blog (who I was companions with for 6 months mind you), I was thinking, "WHAT? SHE WON'T GO ON A HIKE WITH ME, YET SHE IS WITH THIS GUY???" I was about to comment,

"You must really LOVE HIM if you went on a hike with him!"

BUT sure enough, she covered her bases, before I could even give her a bad time:

Here

By the way, I am "GARB"

I love you Cloward and am so happy for you! even if he did get the first hike out of you! :)

Donny & me on our favorite place to be . . .

2010-03-20T14:22:00.000-07:00

on a river!

Donny Family Pictures

2010-03-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

I always wanted to marry someone who had a large Mormon family and was one of the oldest in their family. It was always in the back of my mind.

I always wanted to marry a river guide since 2003. Donny guiding an oar boat when he was ten.

I knew they were the perfect family for me when they took a family picture with paddles. : )

I always said my future husband would be my permanent hiking partner. Even Donny's grandparents are climbing the highest mountain in the lower 48 states (Mt. Whitney) at age 65. Talk about a hard core family! Donny has climbed Mt. Whitney 11 times. His first time he was 6 years old!

I also knew they were perfect for me when I found out they took backpacking trips as a family. My Husband's family backpacking in the Sierra Nevadas around 1998.

I always wanted to marry someone older than me and Donny is! My Husband's Senior Picture May 2000 Kern Valley High Lake Isabella California

I always wanted to marry a river guide and I married into a family that loves that too! Donny's dad is a river running pioneer and has been running rivers since the 60s. Here's a trip they did in high water of the Lower Salmon River.
Hammers Creek Put-in
June 29 1991
Back Row-Don, Leslie, Kim Lee, Greg, Chase Lee, Jami Lee, Rodger, Brad, Barbara Don Hazard
Front Row-Tyson, Sage Lee, Griffin, Logan, Sage H, and Donny

Missionaries in Chile Warned of Earthquake 2 Weeks Before

2010-03-08T22:18:00.001-08:00

Lehi was warned through a dream to leave Jerusalem 14 years before it was destroyed.
See who had a dream 2 weeks before the earthquake in Chile.

Hi everyone-

http://www.ldsmag.com/churchupdate/100303chile.html

This article includes a letter from the wife of the mission president in the area of Chili hit by the earthquake. It tells how they were warned two weeks before of the possibility of an earthquake and began immediately to prepare their missionaries. The whole article is inspiring.

Keep a Journal

2010-03-03T14:21:00.001-08:00

ok people, here's why keeping a journal is so good...if u have a situation you don't know how to process, you can write out all your thoughts about it and put it on hold til u have all the pieces to the puzzle, THEN you can deal with whatever was going on. it's like voicemail for your mind. leave a message, and get back to yourself when you can! lol...

~Jenny King

My Mom & Sacred Falls

2010-02-28T21:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a better picture of the two waterfalls that Donny rapelled down. These two are the 300 foot and 500 foot waterfalls. He made the second known descent of the entire length. Donny stayed the night at the bottom of the first waterfall you see (the 300), so he got to dream about the 500 footer all night long. There was a 20 foot diameter pool in between waterfalls.

I showed my mom the video of this waterfall and my mom saw one look at this waterfall and said, "Donny did that??????" I said "Yes mom!" I knew she would be frightened at what he did.
Then I said, "Yeah he rapelled" it.

A HUGE rush of relief crossed my mom's face, "Oh that's what he did." and she was fine.
I asked, "What did you think he did mom?"
She said, "I thought he kayaked it!"

I almost peed my pants.

Anyone want to join us? March 3th & 4th in Provo

2010-02-27T10:47:00.000-08:00

The BYU Hebrew Club is selling delicious Jewish challah bread in order to raise money for our humanitarian causes this semester: the Jerusalem YMCA youth inter-cultural outreach program, and Iraqi refugees in Utah.

According to Jewish tradition, Sabbath and holiday meals begin with two fresh loaves of challah bread. This "double loaf" commemorates the manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years after the Exodus from Egypt. The manna did not fall on the Sabbath or holidays; instead, a double portion would fall the day before the holiday or sabbath.

Hebrew students will be making bread on Wednesday and selling it to friends and neighbors. We will sell the remaining bread on campus outside the WSC near the Twilight Zone on Thursday 4 March.

Each loaf comes with two free tickets to a movie in the basement of the JFSB room B002 from 7-9pm. We will be showing the Academy Award nominated documentary "Promises" on Wednesday and 2009 Sundance Film Festival selection "Amreeka" on Thursday.

This challah is for two great causes, and is straight delicious! So, ask a Hebrew student how to pronounce "challah," buy some, come watch two acclaimed films, and help bring peace and hope to the Middle East.

Sacred Falls

2010-02-26T09:55:00.000-08:00

In June of 2009, my husband made the second known descent of Sacred Falls on the island of Oahu. (I got this picture from the web). Sacred Falls is a series of waterfalls, including a 500 foot waterfall, a 300 foot waterfall, and several other long sections of waterfall.
The first known descent of Sacred Falls was done by some of our friends, however, their rope frayed on some rocks and Marlin fell 200 feet into the pool below him. He miraculously landed perfectly and he survived.
However, the rest of the group including our friends David & Jenne Paddock had to jump huge cliffs into the pools in the dark, not knowing how far the water was or how far the cliff was from them. All of them survived.
However, when Donny did it this past June, his trip went much more smoothly. Kind of. Donny took along one of his friends from Mongolia to make the descent. As they began the hike, they realized that they forgot a rope and went back to Donny's car and found out it was broken into while they were gone. They filed a police report and headed back up the trail. With it being so late, after they descended/rapelled down the first waterfall, they bivywacked that night (slept without sleeping bags of any sort). You can see where they slept if you follow the first drop into a blacked area. This is where they slept. All they had for food: a can of peaches. In the morning, they rappelled down the 500 and 300 foot waterfalls without a problem. However, on the 500 foot waterfall, they had to connect two ropes together by a knot. When you rappelled down to the knot, you had to lift your entire body weight with one hand while you fastened your anchor below the knot. All while, your hand and rope are wet.
When I was a student at BYU-Hawaii in 2007, I wanted to hike to the base of Sacred Falls. However, the school highly discouraged and/or forbid any student from hiking to the base because it is extremely dangerous and rocks fall from the top at extreme speeds and tourists have been killed by falling rocks within the last few years.
Oh, Donny . . . .

My Trip to Vancouver, BC

2010-02-19T10:40:00.000-08:00

August 29, 2009: Colby and I took down an inflatable kayak down the Capilano River near Vancouver, BC. It was like another world down there in that canyon. It was moss covered and huge cliff walls. Surreal.

My Favorite Memory of this Summer

2010-02-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

Climbing this mountain. This is our view in the morning. We climbed to the summit all day. Rock climbing the ridge all the way up once we hiked to the base.

Ah yeah!

Calling All Twlight Fans!

2010-02-07T18:25:00.000-08:00

I thought this was pretty funny:

Click here

BACK UP YOUR HARDDRIVE NOW!!!!‏

2010-02-02T12:03:00.000-08:00

As you may have realized by now, my harddrive was stolen on my honeymoon. I lost everything. This has been one of the hardest things I have ever experienced.

Then one of my companions (she was at the wedding) just texted me yesterday saying, "Uggghhh, i think my harddrive just crashed."

Then she wrote this on facebook today:

Singleton:
remember that one time when my hard drive crashed... with no back up... because I ignored the thought that kept coming to my head saying BACK THAT MOTHER UP... so now I feel ill and nausious... how does one go on after a trial like this??? HOW!!!

So I am telling you RIGHT NOW, BACK UP your information. BACK UP your BACK UP. BUY 2 or 3 EXTERNAL HARDDRIVES AND HAVE THEM ALL COPIED ONTO EACH OTHER. Don't wait til the end of this month. Don't wait until the weekend. Do it right now. Do it tonight. I wish I would have.

Amen!

2010-02-01T22:03:00.002-08:00

This blog by my friend Jade reminded me of something from my past.

Saving the Planet One Floor at a Time

Many of my friends would ask, "What'd you do this weekend?" and I'd answer, with a random spontaneous trip I didn't know about the day before it. I was always running to this or that. There was always something to be documented.

Then I'd hear my roommates tell others what they did that weekend and they would answer, "I cleaned the bathroom".

I had one roommate get frustrated that I never cleaned the bathroom, when there wasn't anything dirty about it at all. I mean it was the cleanest bathroom I had ever seen or ever had.

I would rather live than sweat over a tiny speck of dirt or a pile of papers.

But don't get me wrong, I'm the queen of organization. I still think I surprise Donny that I know exactly where everything is. Even his things. (My favorite thing this week was building a bookcase and organizing all my books, scrapbooks, and binders. I mean I get giddy about it).

But I'm not going to stress over a crumb or thin layer of dust you can't even see yet. Because I like to live and in Jane's eyes "Save the Planet"--and instead I'm going to see the planet. :) one weekend at a time.

Do you have any of these?

2010-01-30T12:16:00.000-08:00

I've been going through my stuff at parent's house and I found a bunch of cases of my old CDs. My CDs were stolen out of my car when I was visiting a friend in the hospital in downtown SLC in 2002 and I was wondering if you have any of these CDs I could get a copy of from you. I can give you blank CDs to replace the ones you use if you want. Here they are:

Star Wars Episode 1
Anastasia
A Night at the Roxbury Soundtrack
Titanic Soundtrack
Grease
Now and Then
City of Angels Soundtrack
Kenny Rogers She Rides Wild Horses
Forgotten Carols
Nutcracker Suite
Book of Mormon Video Soundtrack
Old Testament Video Soundtrack
New Testament Video Soundtrack
Doctrine and Covenants Video Soundtrack
Kurt Bestor Seasons
Beethoven (Romance No. 1 & No. 2--Moonlight-Waldstein-Pathetique)
Beethoven Ninth Symphony
Best of Bach
A Handel Festival (CDs 1-4)
Matchbox 20 Yourself or someone like you
Sheryl Crow The Globe Sessions
Sheryl Crow Everyday is a Winding Road
Sheryl Crow ??? no title has (A Change would do you good)
Mariah Carey #1s
The Wallflowers Bringing Down the Horse
Now 2
Sugar Ray 14:59
Bryan Adams So Far So Good
Hootie & the Blowfish: Musical Chairs
The goo goo dolls Dizzy Up the Girl
Shania Twain Come on Over
98 degrees 98degrees and rising
Madonna Ray of Light
Paint the Sky with Stars--The Best of Enya
Sarah McLachlan Surfacing
The Beach Boys 20 Good Vibrations-The Greatest Hits
Beatles Past Masters-Volume 1
Beatles for Sale
The Monkees Original Classics

Molly is Awesome!

2010-01-29T15:37:00.000-08:00

I was talking to Molly today on facebook chat and this is what she said:

School is good. i love institute
and liberal arts
i want to teach
but honestly i spend like eighty percent of my time with my YSA [Young Single Adult]friends
i am so in love with this church
this is how life was meant to be experienced

Look at a Picture I Found

2010-01-27T00:51:00.000-08:00

I just found this picture of me, my sister Jess, and Donny on the Salmon this summer. I had never seen it before. It's crazy to think that 6 months ago, we weren't even anything but friends and now we're married. Crazy!

How long did it take you before it really sunk in that you were married?

Molly's Baptism

2010-01-27T00:43:00.000-08:00

After we rafted the Salmon River this summer, Colby, Jenny, and I wrote in a Book of Mormon and gave it to this family. Well one of the girls, Molly, started reading it and wanted to be baptized. So while we were in California, we were able to attend her baptism which was a really neat experience.

I asked the missionaries how Molly got her answer and she said that when she prayed about the Book of Mormon, she felt she was getting hugged from the inside out.
Molly looked so happy and ever since she found the gospel I have never seen her glow more.

Donny's brother, Colby baptized her.

Pack Saddle Cave

2010-01-27T00:37:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas, Donny's family and I met up with some people we floated the Lower Salmon with this summer to hike to a cave.

It was a two mile hike to one of the biggest caves I've ever been in. Donny and I crawled into this small crawl hole. We had to get on our tummies and scoot around.

We even found a bat.

and ate our lunch at the openning.

San Francisco

2010-01-27T00:14:00.000-08:00

So my mom flew out to our reception in southern California in December (she gets free flights since my sister Jess is a pilot). She had never been to San Francisco, so Donny, my mom, & I drove up together.

We stayed at Donny's great uncle's house in San Jose, who's a dentist.
We hit the town, saw the Golden Gate Bridge,

went to the Oakland Temple,

went to the Pier and looked at the galleries (one of the artists-went to BYU),

ate at this really nice restaurant right on the shore (the entre could barely feed a fly), went to a concert at night at the Oakland temple and looked at the lights,

and by chance we found the curviest road.
We stayed with my one of my companions, which was fun.

After dropping my mom off at the airport, Donny & I took a look around Stanford. Donny's grandfather graduated from there.

I was bound and determined to see the skull of famous psychology case Phineas Gage, but alas, they were closed for Christmas. We tried two days in a row.

Then we headed home. But we noticed a giant screw in one of my tires and had to stay longer than we expected. It was a fun trip.

So I have alot of catching up to do.

2010-01-27T00:08:00.000-08:00

So ever since I met Donny in July, I haven't had much time to blog. (if you haven't noticed).
Which is seriously sad since we've done some very memorable things.
For example, I found some pictures today of going to San Fran with Donny & my mom in December and I totally

FORGOT about it.

So I'm going to catch up, I promise.

I can't sleep . . .

2010-01-27T00:04:00.000-08:00

so I can't sleep, what to do, what to do . . .

BLOG, I guess.

So I recently found a list of things I wanted to do in my life and I realized that I did alot of them without even knowing it in 2009.

Climb Half Dome
Go to San Francisco
Raft Hells Canyon
Raft Middle Fork of the Salmon

Funny how writing your goals down is the biggest step in getting something done.

Read This (If you read anything I have written)

2010-01-18T18:31:00.000-08:00

I am soooooo thankful for Picasa!!!!!!!!!!!!! and this blog.

As you may have figured out by now, my external harddrive was stolen on our honeymoon and with it went all my pictures neatly organized from my life. With it went tons of journal entries, my life story, videos of Israel, videos of my grandma talking about her life in her home (now she's in an assisted living place), videos of my aunts and uncles talking about my grandma, all my jerusalem pictures, hawaii pictures, pictures with friends, everything.

My harddrive was my most priceless possession and it was stolen.

Awhile ago, I took hours upon hours to post all my jerusalem photos on one Picasa account. Every picture was posted and even though it took hours, I am today sooooooo sooooooo grateful I did or they would be lost forever.

I am so grateful, I have been so diligent to post pictures on this blog, so that I have them now. At least they were my favorites from my experiences the last year or so.

What I have learned from this experience:
1. use the safe in your hotel rooms, it's there for a reason
2. your external harddrive is fine if you leave it in your car in the extreme cold
3. backup, backup, backup!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4. download your pictures on your computer and then on a CD
5. label your external harddrive in large permanant marker on the outside of it (the only way someone could recognize my harddrive is if they look up my resume on my external harddrive)
6. share your pictures with your friends, that is another way your information is safe
7. save your pictures on picasa, your blog, myfamily website, facebook.
8. PLEASE SHARE YOUR PICTURES WITH ME! If you have any pictures of me of our experiences together, I would love you Xmillion if you would share them with me.

Don't let what happened me to happen to you. (I have cried a thousand tears!)