I finally got to hike TIMP!

I've lived in the beautiful Heber Valley for 12 years.  It truly is a gorgeous place to live and there are so many outdoor recreation activity options.

One of those options is hiking Mount Timpanogos.  I've wanted to do it for a long time, and it finally happened on July 19th. 

 Some of the fantastic people at the gym I go to, Crossfit Vapor, met at the gym on Saturday morning at 5 am and drove to the Aspen Grove Trailhead.  By 5:50 am, we were on the trail.

 

 There were 11 of us that wanted to hike Timp, and we had a great morning.  I am grateful we started as early as we did though!

 

 Jaren and McCall Scott are the gym owners and coaches.  They are wonderful and such great people to sweat with, laugh with, lift with, and learn from.

 

 We made it to Emerald Lake in a little over 2 hours.  It was gorgeous.  There is a glacier that runs into the lake and it is COLD!

 

 I was a little disgusted with my soaking wet shirt when we stopped at the lake.  It was so sweaty under my backpack, I could ring it out!  We took a 50 minute break here and enjoyed the views.  I kept saying the entire way up the mountain "Its just so pretty" and "Oh my goodness, look how beautiful it is here" and all kinds of annoying comments on the gorgeous alpine forest.  I had to hold my tongue so I didn't make everyone CRAZY!

 The mountain goats were very fun to watch and quite friendly.  I suppose they would have to be because there were hundreds of hikers up in their mountains on that Saturday, and I'm sure many other days in July and August when the mountain is gorgeous.

 

 After the lake, we had to hike to the summit, which is at the very tip of this picture.  There is a little shack up there that is right out of the picture.  The summit of Timp is 11,752 feet.  We started around 6,900 feet, so we climbed a mile in elevation in about 7 miles on the trail.  Its a 14 mile round trip.

 

After Emerald Lake, we hiked across this snowbed near what is called 'the saddle.'  Of course there were snowball fights!

 This was one of my favorite parts of the hike for some reason.  Maybe because it looks so cool!  That's my friends right on top giving me a big wave.  It looks wicked, but it wasn't that bad.

 

 We made it to the top at 10:11 am.  So, four hours and 22 minutes.  That of course included a bunch of rests and breathing spots.

We enjoyed ourselves some yummy morsels from our packs and some water, and enjoyed the incredible view.

 There is a shack at the top with a registry.  I was surprised that when I wrote my name in it at 10:30, there were already 5 pages of entries for the day.  It was a busy busy day for hiking Timp.

 It was sort of surreal to be able to see so far from the top, in all directions.  This is looking East towards Heber City.  You can see Emerald Lake in the corner of the picture.  It took us about an hour from Emerald Lake to the top.

 

 I'm glad I had such good company to hike with.  I think some of them learned a little too much about me in one day, but I had a great time with them.

 

 This picture shows the shack at the top as we hike our way back down. 

 

 Back down at Emerald Lake, we all regrouped and headed off the mountain.  My knees were tired and sore and going downhill wasn't super comfortable, but it was all good.  When we were at the top, Denver went around the ridge and slid down the glacier on his rear end while the rest of us hiked down the way we went up.  He totally beat us to the lake! 

 

 I am so glad I was finally able to climb Timp and with such fun fun people.  We had a great day.  I passed so many gorgeous waterfalls on the way up, I had to catch a picture of at least one on the way down with Terra.

When I got home, I took a cold water soak for my old knees and then I got in the shower to clean off all the trail dirt.  What a good day.

In the past people have said "Yeah, I hiked Timp over the weekend" or some sort of similar claim.  Now that I KNOW what hiking Timp really entails, there will be a little more respect when I hear that again!

 

Fashion idiot

I'm such a fashion idiot!

There is a store going out of business here in town, and the other day I was in the area and I was alone so I decided to stop in and see if there was anything I needed for a killer price. 

I have been wanting some white Christmas lights to put up outside to replace the half-lit ones on our canopy.  I wondered where I was going to find Christmas lights in July, but lo and behold, I did.  And pretty cheap as well.

I also saw a few things in the home décor area that I thought Kelsey would like.  She recently redecorated her room (she does a major overhaul every two months or so) and I thought she might like the looks of this.  There were three of them, so I bought them for a buck and a half a piece.

 

When I saw them, I thought that she would just use the frame and the canvas and make her own original design with scrapbook paper, photos, and mod podge.  She is great at creating projects like that.  Because, who wants a 9 inch by 9 inch picture of a fat triangle cat with a scarf on, right?

 

Yep.  That is what I thought it was.  A cat.  A fat one.  With flowery fur and a long long scarf.  And words that said LOVE IS FASHION. 

I'm a complete fashion idiot.  When I told Kelsey what I thought it was after she hung a few of them up in her newly redecorated room, she laughed so hard she cried.

So did I. 

Does anyone else see the fat blob of a cat with a winter scarf and skinny ears, or am I the only fashion idiot that didn't realize it was a dress?

I think Kelsey wants to trade me in for a new mom sometimes.  This was one of those times.

Yesterday Emmitt asked me to lift him up to look out the laundry room window.  Our neighbors across the street fly an American flag everyday and he told me he wanted to see it.  So I obliged.  He disappeared and I didn't think anything about it. 
He had helped me decorate our little seasonal decoration area for the 4th of July a few weeks ago and seemed to enjoy it very much since it didn't involved flowers like our spring, Easter, and other recent decorations.  
So last night I saw this on our front porch.  It made me smile then it brought tears to my eyes.  I love that in his 5 years of life experiences, he has a love for something that I love as well. 

Kelsey and Shrek

On July 3rd 2004, Kelsey became a pet owner.  She was two years old.  My aunt Noreen gave her this little kitten that she had named OREO.  Kelsey was in her 'princess phase' at the ripe old age of 2, so she renamed her new kitten FIONA, after Shrek's princess.



Having a veterinarian in the family, we soon learned that FIONA was a male, and the new kitten became SHREK.  SHREK has been an incredible cat for the past ten years.  We love him.  He is a year-round outdoor cat and is the most patient fella with all our kids, but he loves Kelsey the most.

 

 Kelsey had a great idea a few weeks ago that SHREK needed a bath.  First one ever.  So she got some Head and Shoulders shampoo, conditioner, water at the perfect temperature, multiple towels, and got busy.  Even though he is a good cat, I was sure we were going to have a rodeo.  But Kelsey's sweet-talking and cooing the entire time she had him in the water proved effective.

 

 I love this photo.  SHREK'S look of incredulousness at the situation is fantastic.  

 

The bath was truly a success and I was very surprised.  It just shows how much that cat loves that girl.

When Kelsey told her dad what she had done, he once again stated what a great cat she has.  Then he asked what kind of shampoo she used.  She told him and he laughed and laughed.  Apparently, one should use baby shampoo for a homemade cat bath and no conditioner.  Kelsey replied smiling "But his dandruff is gone and he is just SO SOFT now."

 

 

the summer quilting homefront

On the quilting homefront:
I have a hard time sewing in the summer.  There is just so much going on with the kids, the yard, and the wonderful weather.  So I make myself sign up for my local quilt guild's round robin exchange, just to get some stitching time in.

 

I added this border for the month of June to this round robin quilt of Deonn's.  The rules for the round robin exchange stated that the second border had to be applique.  I am awful with applique, but that's what I came up with.

 

I did get this one sent off to my mom.  When I was there for the 4th of July weekend, it was hanging up in the cabin and looking so spiffy!

 

For July's round robin exchange, I added this red and black checkerboard to the cute little farm scene that Sue started.  I am not good at being creative and I couldn't figure out how to extend the scene, so I just framed it.  The rules for the third border stated that you had to add cornerstone blocks in the corners and it couldn't be over 6 inches wide.  I can't wait to see how my round robin turned out.  I get mine back next month.

During the 4th of July Torrey Apple Days Celebration, I went to their fun little quilt show.  These two were my favorites.  I love traditional scrappy stuff.  Love it.

And last but not least, last month I finished this one.

It was a block of the month quilt we did at church more than five years ago.

I put the last two borders on and I gave it to my friend, DiAnn.

She is going to hand quilt it at the DUP (Daughters of the Utah Pioneers) Museum here in town this winter.  Then I will bind it for her.

It turned out lovely if I do say so!

 

So, that is my summer quilting thus far.  Kinda lame, but my garden is looking a bit better!

2014 birthdays

My four kids have birthdays in February, March, May, and June.  I wish I had an April baby in there, but oh well.  So much for my planning!

So, just a snippet from the 2014 birthdays.

Kenna turned two in June.  Right before she opened her gifts, we sang Happy Birthday to her.  She covered her face and cried! 





She loved the ribbon more than opening her gifts, of course!



 Kendal turned 9 in May.  I love this picture of my little crew. 

When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she said, some some chocolate with some candles.  My kind of girl!

 I love Kendal's face in this picture.  She is making a wish.

I can tell it was a good one and heartfelt.

 Emmitt turned 5 in March.

We were in Salina for his birthday, so he was fortunate to have a few cousins celebrate with him.



 We worked at the farm on Emmitt's birthday.  I suppose that is fitting for this little dude.  He found this cow skull while we were moving gated pipe and considered it a birthday miracle!

 

 Kelsey turned 12 in February.

My kids only have friend parties on big birthdays, so this was one for her.  All the girls in her class came over for a fun pajama and pizza party late night.

They had a noisy great time, and I am grateful that those birthdays only come every four years!

She has a really great group of great girls for friends.  She is a lucky gal to have such good friends.