There is beauty all around

For our Labor Day break I dragged the family to hike Deseret Peak (4th highest in Utah) with me. Most of them were hesitant becuase I told them it was a 3-4 hour hike, 6 miles up 6 miles down.
I was able to convince them to come and most of us made it to the top, but not without complaining a little.
Deseret Peak is where Paul proposed to me but the morning we went we were not able to make it to the top due to pouring rain and freezing winds. He did, however, pop the question half way up where we could see over the trees and had a romantic view of the valley. This time, I was determined to make it to the top.
The hike wasn't too difficult until the last mile. We were tired by that point and it was a steady climb to the top. All I heard from Tanner and Shanlee was, "I can't do it" "I'm going to stop when I get to that rock" "This high is good enough for me"...Sheesh!
But so worth it! The view was beautiful and the accomplishment was awesome!
The family was split up most of the way because my mom is as slow as molasses walking up hills. My dad and Shara stayed with her while Tanner, Shanlee and I hiked faster up the mountain.





One day I want to do this hike with Paul and Caleb. This time Caleb spent a fun day with the Clarks.

Growing Strong

This post is mainly for Paul...little Caleb is growing fast and here are some videos and pictures of him playing.
I love just watching him play and figure things out. His most recent obsession is playing in the car. He enjoys his little car, but what he really likes is playing in grandma's BIG car. He ran her battery out the other day by leaving the door open and turning on the lights/brights but when he's in the car he's in heaven.
He also has learned what keys are for. Immediately after we walk in the door he points to the keys hanging on the wall and wants to play with them. At the moment we can't find either set of keys for grandma's car, uh oh, I need to drive that car to work in the morning! He'll take the keys (any) and get on his tip toes reaching to unlock the doors. He's so proud if he can just get the key up there, forget actually getting it in the key hole.
He's such a sweatheart too. He shares his most prized possession, his binky and "softie" with other baby's. He's always willing to share his toys and food, and he loves to watch other kids play.
Caleb has learned how to be "soft" now and will even say it. If I tell him to be soft, he'll start petting my cheek, it's the sweetest thing. And if I tell him to squeeze me he runs to me, wraps his little arms around my neck and squeezes as hard as his little mucsles can squeeze.
Other words Caleb has learned in the past few weeks are; meow, hot (he always say "hot" before he eats any food), soft, balloon, cookie, moo...and I can't think of the others right now. He seems to learn a new word everyday. And he understands SO much!


This is his 2nd breakfast today. He's dipping his waffle in whip cream.


Notice the sigh his gives after he drinks. He does that every time.

We had the Clark family reunion last week and got the city pool rented out. Caleb loved swimming!! He also loved a little chair that his cousin Landon had. He'd climb in the chair, sit there for a few seconds, climb out, and climb right back in. He kept him occupied for a good 15 minutes. I didn't take many pictures of the reunion but here are a few.




Caleb and Landon just stared at each other. It was funny, neither of them attempted to play with the other. (Landon is Caleb's cousin and just 3 days older than him.)


Hilary and Landon with Caleb and I. It's fun to see these boys react to each other.

Survival

I have survived a hurricane and my first week of PT school! I have been pretty busy since I left Utah two weeks ago. The 2600 mile trip was as long as you could imagine. I did it in 3 days, driving 12-14 hours every day, luckily I have friends from Nebraska and Ohio that let me stop and sleep at their house, thank you meg and laura. I stayed at a local members house until I was able to get an apartment, and I didnt move in until after the first day of school.
School has been really good thus far, except for a 100 question medical terminology test that we had today, which they taught us nothing about, we had to pretty much know it all already ugh. Other than that test I am really loving it. It is going to be really hard but it is stuff I love learning about so its all good. I usually have 3 hours of lecture and 3 hours of lab every day, and then I have to find time to study after that. So far it hasnt been to bad because I am all alone. When Amelia and Caleb come I know that will change because I will just want to be with them all the time when I'm not at school. It has been really hard for me to be away from them for so long, buts its what we have to do for now. Every night I do skype with Caleb and he is always excited to see me on the computer. He always gets real close to the screen to talk and keeps giving my picture kisses. It makes me happy to know he misses me and is excited to see me, hopefully soon they will make it out here with me.
Things are a lot different out here. I dont think there is a girl in this state that has shorts that cover here thigh and everyone has a funny accent. The ward is pretty small from what I have heard, about 150 come every week. Only 70 people were there last, I guess they were scared of the hurricane. I just wanted to give everyone a little update on whats going on out here. I miss you all and send my love!