July - Living Large

July is gone in a flash. 

A lot of big things happened this month - things not to be forgotten.

Mike turned 40. 

He said all he wanted to do for his birthday was take the kids and hike Timp. It's been many years since we were up there. So we put out the call to our trusty friends, the Wheeler's. (How many friends can you ask to hike 15 miles with you knowing they will jump at the chance? Thanks Wheeler's!)

Per Tillman's brilliant plan, Mike enjoying a surprise birthday DP at the summit...(in commemoration of this commercial-worthy moment last year atop Angel's Landing...) 

photo cred Tim Melton

Tillman REALLY wanted to come. I admit that I had my doubts, but this kid was on the mountain for about 12 hours - hiked 17 miles (we did an extra 2 miles because of  an unintended detour at the beginning of the day) - without any problem. Tillman, you're the man!   p.s. the wildflowers were UNBELIEVABLE!

One of the highlights of the day was when we reached the meadow below the switchbacks up to the saddle - we came across two big horn sheep. The one just stood there while we sat and ate our lunch. He was definitely on his guard with River and a few other dogs around. WOW.  Something I've never seen before. It was so cool.

On the saddle, ready to start out for the summit. River was pretty wiped out by this time. But those dog booties Mike bought for him this past winter helped a lot on the loose, sharp rock toward the top. We ran into my sister-in-law's mother at this point. She'd already summited for the day, and made the rest of us feel like wusses. 

At the peak. A new perspective. And all of us with the beginnings of altitude headaches at this point.

The hike back was uneventful (except the fact that I managed a second degree sunburn on my neck...still paying for that) - but I have to say that toward the end I was wishing I had those two miles back from the beginning of the day when we took that wrong turn. 17 miles is a lot of walking in one day - especially with so much altitude change. Extended periods of downhill are hard. My hips and legs were aching a lot on the way back. River felt the same way I think. Every time we slowed down on the trail for any reason River would make a desperate attempt to lay down under a bush or tree. Mike had to work to keep him going. He loved the intermittent streams to drink out of and cool off in.

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Noble was slated to join us for the Timp expedition but the week before developed a case of pneumonia... which not only put the kibosh on Timp for him but also kept him out of cross country work outs for almost two weeks.

Noble's incriminating x-ray. Note the faint white patches on the right side of the x-ray (left lung).

The day after Timp (Mike's actual birthday) we had his parents and some of my siblings over to share memories and eat cake and ice cream with us. Mike's brothers and sister's in law had sent their memories to me via email and we read them together. It was a great evening.

Mike's dad reading Mike's 8th grade autobiographical life sketch. It was so fun to hear what he had written about his life!

 Noble's birthday follows Mike's birthday (the very next day). For the big day he scored the professional grade downhill longboard he's had his eye on for a long time. It was kind of a funny how that all came together. He told us about the class of board he wanted and between Mike and Noble and I we probably went to 3 or 4 shops looking for it. Noble was totally disgusted with the lady at Zoomies who tried to tell him that she had a great downhill board with double kingpins (apparently exactly what you DON'T want for downhill). Since she'd lost all credibility with him, he just wanted to ignore her and get out. They didn't have what he wanted anyway. I told Noble we would have to just order it. But he had invited his bff for an afternoon of  epic downhill longboarding in Provo Canyon and he was really hoping to do it on a new Sector Nine Downhill Division deck. As a last-ditch effort Mike took Noble and his friend to a board shop he found online up in Sugarhouse. As soon as they walked through the door they knew that had found their paradise. It was bare bones, poser-free, with a couple of hard-core skater guys working on some bikes, and his dream board there on the wall. They talked shop with those guys for a while (Mike later put a damper on Noble's idolization of them, explaining that kicking around in a skate shop well into your twenties shouldn't be his highest aspiration). When, as they left the shop the skater-guys handed them a few skate magazines, they were officially fans for life. Because of the unplanned visit to Sugarhouse, there was no longer time to drive to Provo Canyon, and the skater-guys told them about some good skate hills around the University of Utah which they were only too happy to try out. Mike accompanied them on his own board.

Father son ride at the U

After that adventure they returned home and several other members of Project Thane (the moniker that Noble and his skater friends have given to their skateboarding brotherhood / board repair shop) came over for a bbq and, of course, more riding.

(A sampling from Project Thane's most recent photo shoot...Noble pulling some crazy slide maneuver.)

With summer birthdays behind us we turned our attention to a Trek family reunion at our house on Tuesday (a day after Noble's birthday), 4H the same night, and girls camp the morning after that. A lot of stuff to manage. Our Trek reunion went really well; we enjoyed having our kids over to reconnect, share a few inside jokes and take a photo. Jessie got herself to 4H and we planned to bring the trailer toward the end of practice. But during our Trek reunion she called us and said her horse was acting funny and that our friend Kyle (of Goblin Valley Arabian headdress fame) was helping her get him ready to take to the vet. Mike and quickly wrapped things up with our Trek kids and drove over to meet them. The vet checked her out and confirmed that she was in the early stages of colic. Jessie was really worried; she's seen enough horses die of colic. We got a hold of my dad in Nauvoo and he gave us some advise. The vet kept her over night to watch her. Jessie was pretty much decided not to go to girls camp till she knew what would happen with Dolly. I told her I'd leave it up to her. But my dad encouraged her to go anyway. Thanks, Dad. That gave her the courage to go...with the condition that Mike text or call me with updates for her. It all worked out, and Dolly improved over night and into the next day. Mike picked her up the next evening and brought her home.

Jessie with her Dolly

The next day Jessie, Grace and I headed for the Uinta's for 4 days of girls camp. With all of the distractions in the days leading up to camp I managed to forget a few critical things when we left, including my bag with all my clothes and toothbrush, etc. Thankfully, we had some people coming up that night and they brought it to me.

Of all the girls camps that I have been to, and I've been to a lot of them, this was without a doubt my favorite. And not just because we did some really fun things. The spiritual preparation ahead of time was evident in the spirit that filled our camp for those days. It was amazing. I really didn't want it to end.
Of course, there were a few other things that made this camp special. The fact that we stayed in a cabin was pretty nice: a bed to sleep in at night, indoor plumbing (though we didn't get  to take showers), and electricity. Also, we had the BEST food I have ever eaten at camp. Some of you will recognize Arlen and Jodi Jarrett in the photo below (they were in my ward growing up). They were our camp chefs, and the menu was incredible! As good as the food was on its own, Jodi stepped things up a notch with her presentation - sign boards, checked table cloths, no detail was overlooked (I should have taken a picture of the buffet).

I love these two.

Our camp directors were bold this year - which I SO appreciated - and went forward in planning a legitimate 4-5 mile hike (Lofty Lakes Loop above Steiner). We definitely had to do some encouraging with the some of the girls when they got tired - but most of them had doneTrek earlier in the summer (30 miles) - so we reminded them that they could certainly handle a measly 5 miles (the camp director told me after that it was only 4.1 but that she just called it 5 because of all the climbing). It was spectacular. I told Mike that I want to take the kids there. I thought it was the most "bang-for-your-buck" hike I had ever been on. I think we saw about 6 lakes and 2-3 breath-taking vistas.

with the girls at Kamas Lake- the first of many lakes we saw

The overlook above Steiner

Later that day...with Jessie and C-Mac (J's good friend) before skits. They did "Shoulder Angel" (see Studio C)

That night I went with one of the camp directors and the 4th years to do a night hike / star gazing. It turned out to be my all-time favorite thing that I've ever done at any girls camp. It was simple and it was life-changing. With the near full Blue Moon in the sky we walked (only about half a mile) without flashlights to where we laid out blankets or towels, had a song and prayer and then laid back to watch the sky while the camp director played 2 hymns (All Creatures of Our God and King, O My Father). After that we talked about our thoughts and feelings while she fired up some hot chocolate and cider on a couple of rocket stoves. The girls sat around sipping and sharing, and everyone wanted to just stay longer.

This is my super inadequate attempt at capturing the moment as we walked to our site. A glowing sunset in the west with a beautiful moon rising in the trees to the east...and mostly black in between. It really was an amazingly beautiful night.

 The next morning we headed out for Sulfur Creek Reservoir a few miles down the road to do some boating, wake boarding, tubing, etc. The girls (and leaders) got in all the high octane water sport they wanted (I myself ended the day with a big wipe out on the tube with J. and her friend), and also with a handful of kayaks and duckies that one of the camp directors brought. It was so much fun!

Gathering for testimony meeting later that evening.

What an amazing week. I missed Mike and the boys, but I wouldn't have minded if camp had gone a little longer. I really love these girls and the women I get to serve with.