Mountain Flying!

Last weekend we went on our first mountain fight!  The ceiling of our plane is about 14,000 feet so we only went up to about 13,000 feet through the passes.  Needless to say, we were not flying over the snow-capped mountains you can see in the background.  It's so much fun looking at our mountains from a different angle.  They look so much smaller!

The view as we were heading out of Denver towards the mountains.

Wellington Lake (in the background), where my XTERRA Triathlon will be in June, and where our Young Women's Camp is going to be in July which I'm the assistant director of our ward for.

This was extremely exciting!  This is 11 Mile Reservoir, where Chris proposed on July 21, 2004.   It's hard to believe it's been almost four years!  The story:  We wanted to go on a little trip for our one year anniversary of our first kiss, which is when Chris thinks we started dating however, I thought we were just "hanging out as friends" until about September.  But we still celebrate on this date.  (Okay, I know we're a little lame about dates and mesaversaries and stuff.  But we love it!)  I was so excited to be going canoeing for the first time- something I had always wanted to do.  Chris kept saying that he had a surprise for me, but I had no idea what was coming!  We paddled into a beautiful little cove and he read an incredibly sweet note.  After hearing it I almost expected a proposal.  But there wasn't one.  He handed me a gift.  I unwrapped it to find a buoyant whistle.  I looked at him puzzled and he was smiling from ear to ear.   I looked back at the whistle and saw a beautiful ring attached.  And that's when he popped the question.

The Happily Engaged Couple!

The Ring's History:  I think a proposal was one of the last things I had expected for many reasons.  Chris never mentioned anything about.  We never went ring shopping, he never dropped any hints or tried to determine what I would like.  I also knew that he didn't have the money to buy an engagement ring.  So I was almost in shock when I saw it.  But this ring was super special.  It was the ring Chris' father had given his mother.  AND Chris' grandmother, whom I absolutely adore, helped Chris' dad pick it out.  The ring couldn't be more perfect for me.  It fits perfectly, and with the wedding band and additional two diamonds, it is my dream ring come true!  It's simple and elegant and totally different from the rings now-a-days.  We were able to have the band made to match perfectly with a diamond on either side of the center stone.  I love my ring!  You know how a lot of women want upgrades?  I'm not saying I wouldn't turn it down, but I would always wear this one too.

I'm not the only one who was super excited about our engagement!  (Please excuse the hat.)  :-)

My very studly, handsome, and muscular husband paddling.  The previous picture of 11 Mile from the air doesn't do it justice.  It was beautiful!

A beautiful sunset to end our glorious engagement day!

And now back to our flight... We flew to Alamosa, CO and it was a great flight despite some turbulence over the passes and the windy landings.  Won't the wind here ever stop?!  Not to mention, April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, not May showers bring June flowers.  That's the way it's looking though.  We're still waiting for Green Mountain to turn green for a few weeks before it turns into brown mountain.  During our flight back to Denver we fueled up in Salida which is a great town for white water rafting!  What an fun day and what awesome memories it brought back!  :o)

Mountain Biking in Moab

With snow still on the trails in Colorado, it was time to take a trip to Moab, Utah where mountain biking season is already underway.  Debbie had to work so it was Jay and I meeting up with about 20 other people.  Annie and Mike were going early to reserve a campsite.

Jay came to pick me up and we were on the road at about 3:00 pm.  Before we got to Moab, Jay talked to Annie and found that they were two hours behind us.  We arrived in Moab at about dark and went to the pre-planned campsite, which was full.  After looking at several different campsites in the dark we finally found a spot to camp for the night that had room for everybody.  The next day we found our permanent camping site for the weekend.  And then it was off to Amasa Back for some biking.

This is the beginning of Amasa Back.  It's very rocky and loose.

These are the La Sal Mountains in the background. This is my 70's stud chest hair style shirt!

Jay and I near the end of Amasa Back. Awesome views down to the river.

This is right before he fell and bounced down to the river. We picked him up later floating to California.

This is on the Sovereign Trail the next day. Our group was way too big. We lost Mike and it took us way longer than it should have by trying to keep the group kind of together.

Jay on Gunny Loop near Grand Junction on the way home.

It was a fun trip with plenty of riding. I wish Debbie could have been there with me.

If you're interested in seeing the workout part of the rides, you can see it at mtngoat14k.motionbased.com

Church Stuff

It's amazing, I'm going to post about something other than myself!  So this post is about my church.  I LOVE IT!  Today I watched this slideshow and it is so amazingly wonderful.  I've watched it so many times and wanted to share it with you.  It's also to one of my very favorite songs!

There was a 'Reflections of Christ' photography exhibit recently on display at the Mesa Temple Visitor's Center in conjunction with the Easter Pageant produced by the Church.  The photographer was given permission to photograph Pageant cast members for the exhibit.  The photographer worked with a few other individuals to put together a 5 minute slideshow which includes every image from the exhibit set to the hymn 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.' 
 
http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html
 
I also want to share a couple of Daily Gems that really touched my heart.

This is from Bonnie D. Parkin, "Gratitude: A Path to Happiness," Ensign, May 2007, 35
"Gratitude is a Spirit-filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God's love. This grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine influence."

And this is David A. Bednar, "And Nothing Shall Offend Them," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 91.  (Part of it)
"One of the greatest indicators of our own spiritual maturity is revealed in how we respond to the weaknesses, the inexperience, and the potentially offensive actions of others. A thing, an event, or an expression may be offensive, but you and I can choose not to be offended--and to say with Pahoran, 'it mattereth not.'"

First Mountain Biking of the Year!

Today was a very special day, especially for Chris!  It was our first mountain bike ride of the year!  Chris' last ride was exactly six months ago.  And since then the only exercise he's really gotten is one road ride.  And you guessed it, he still kicked my butt!  :-(

We went with our friends Jay and Cyndi.  It was a beautiful day though a bit windy.  We did Bear Creek Lake Park only about three miles from our house and it was really fun!  Just my kind of riding- not technical, not much uphill, pure fun!  The perfect first ride!

I'm a little jealous.  Chris is leaving me for four days this weekend to go to Moab, UT with Jay and about 10 other people.  But I guess somebody's got to pay the bills.

Mariana and Todd

I'm so excited!  Mariana is one of my best friends from high school.  She's from Brazil and has been living in Kansas for the past eight years, where she met her awesome husband Todd.  Mariana is hoping to get into med school next year so they're going to move here this summer to establish in-state residency.  This past weekend they were here house hunting.  I had to work most of the time but on Sunday we got to hang out and went to a delicious Indian restaurant in Boulder.  First time eating Indian, yum!

FLORIDA!!!

It was time to get away from the cold weather and catch some rays at the beach.  We had free plane tickets and decided to hit the east coast for a change.  Our destination:  Florida!  And WOW, I was soooo impressed!!!  No offense to you Californians, but I thought California was THE place to live, until I went to Florida!

Top 10 reasons we LOVE Florida!

1.  Everything is amazingly GREEN

2.  There are palm trees everywhere, even along the beach to provide a nice shady spot for my hubby, and they can grow naturally in Florida 

   

3.  The weather was FANTASTIC!  It was sunny eight out of nine days and often rained a little in the evening but even the rain was warm.

4.  The humidity:  I didn't have to wear nearly as much chapstick, didn't even need lotion, I was always having a good hair day, and it was curly

5.  The beaches are clean and you can walk a long ways down them

6.  The Atlantic ocean is warmer than the Pacific and it's more clear and some places are sea green.  (I had always wondered how they came up with that name)

7.  I didn't get out of breath during my four mile run (probably partially because there are no hills which is Florida's only disadvantage, okay maybe the hurricanes also)

8.  There is soooooo much to do!

9.  You can cross the entire state in about two hours and see a whole new ocean, the Gulf of Mexico

10.  The drivers were mostly polite and drove fast

Day 1:  Ft. Lauderdale to Florida City-  We flew into Ft. Lauderdale and stayed at a Travelodge in Florida City. We had dinner at Denny's- I had apple crisp with ice cream!

The first sip of lemonade is sour and makes me scrunch up my face like a chipmunk which Chris finds endlessly amusing.  

Day 2:  Key West- We drove along the beautiful highway to Key West!  We went to the beach and walked around, went to the southern most part of the contiguous U.S., went to the Navy base, tried to watch the sunset, and went on a wonderful shopping trip including Ron Jon Surf Shop (where they gave me free perfume) and to Jake (Life is Good store).  AWESOME day!  I love Florida!

Day 3:  Key West to Ft. Lauderdale- I went for wonderful but SUPER windy run on the path along the ocean.  What beautiful scenery!  Then we went to the beach for a while before heading to Key Largo for lunch at the Pilot's House.  YUMMY!!!  I had a Mahi Mahi sandwich and Chris had a tuna wrap.  We arrived at Mizner Place to find our amazing hotel room!  I LOVE my hair here!  It's so curly and always looks great!  :o)

The living room of our hotel suite.  We had our own bedroom with a jacuzzi, a huge bathroom, and a kitchen.

Day 4:  John U. Lloyde Beach State Park- Today we went for a lovely walk along the beach!  I was quite impressed, Chris took his shirt off.  I'm hoping he won't have such an obvious biker's tan this year.  We stopped for lunch along our way to Miami at a delicious deli along a canal in Hollywood, FL.  I had a salmon wrap and it was delicious!  

Never trust a guy to apply sunscreen.

Day 5:  The Jungle Queen- Chris made a delicious BACON and egg breakfast!  We then went on the Jungle Queen which was about a two and a half hour trip through the canals of Ft. Lauderdale.  We saw the amazing mansions and then went to their "island" and watched the aligator show and saw other animals.

Day 6:  Holiday Park Everglades Safari- We took a fun airboat ride through the Everglades and saw two alligators!  The lily pads were so cool!  We then drove along Alligator Alley to the lovely town of Naples on the Gulf of Mexico coast!  It was an awesome beach!  The sand was perfect for a run on the sand if I would've had my stuff.  The beaches weren't very busy at all!  We walked for about two and a half hours.  It was wonderful!  Have I mentioned how I LOVE Florida!!!  On the way back to the hotel we ate at an Irish place that was pretty good.  I tried the Shepard's Pie but it gave me bad indigestion.  The bread was fantastic though!

Day 7:  Lion Country Safari-  I must admit, Lion Country Safari was not the highlight of our trip.  The lamest part was that the lions were locked up in fences and everything else was free.  The monkeys, rhinoceroses, and giraffes were cool though.  Afterwards we went to Deerfield Beach which was where we were supposed to stay.  It was beautiful!  We laid on the beach for about 45 minutes.  Today was the only cloudy day but it was still warm and perfect!  :o)

We had no idea how incredibly ugly storks are!  We certainly hope one of these doesn't delivery our baby!

Day 8:  Birch State Park- We spent a while just laying out by the beach.  Then we went canoeing down a canal.  It was a bit shorter than we had expected but it was fun and a great upper body workout!  We then drove through Ft. Lauderdale and did some geocaching in the evening.

Day 9:  How sad that it was our last day.  I went for a lovely four mile run along the sidewalk by the beach in Ft. Lauderdale which was wonderful!  It was super crowded though.  Chris was taking a nap during that time.  I laid on the beach absorbing the sun's rays, wonderful sound of the waves crashing, and the smell of the fresh, clean Atlantic Ocean.  We came home to freezing cold and snow.  :-(  Bummer!  I LOVE FLORIDA!!!!

Chris was so incredibly sweet during the whole trip.  Really, the whole thing was for me.  He knew how much I love the ocean and we went there everyday except one.  It was so nice to just get away from everything and step away from work and reality for a bit.  And now I'm nice and refreshed and ready for a fun filled spring and summer (if it ever stops snowing)!  Sorry this was so long, I was just so excited about our trip, and I'm hoping that at least our mothers will be interested in every little detail of our trip.  ;-)