Sundance Ski Day

Spring Skiing

I'd been back in Utah only a few weekends and my family insisted on going skiing. My little sister worked for Sundance as an instructor over the winter so we got some killer discounts for the resort. So my dad and I got our ski stuff, packed the car (I taught them the joys of tailgate grilling) and went for the day. We ended up being tired after a great half day so we headed home leaving Mariah to teach.

 Once we got home, rested an hour or so, we went for bike ride! I think we probably only rode 15 miles, but it took it out of me. But, that is what is so great about the spring. You can ski and cycle all on the same day and not even feel bad about it. Can't wait to do some snowboarding next winter!

Top of the resort at Sundance

After some awesome Nachos at the top of the Resort; Me, Mariah and my Dad

Dad's Visit to Texas

Playing Host

My Dad came to visit the weekend before Thanksgiving. I was excited to have a visitor and see some family. He got in late Friday night and Josh and I picked him up from the airport. Josh played a game called "is that Brian Hill". It was funny and passed the time.

The next morning my Dad got a taste of dining hall/southern food with biscuits and gravy. We made our way to Oklahoma. I had decided to try to go to Lake Texoma on the border of SUPRISE, Texas and Oklahoma. We walked around the lake for an hour or so talking and catching up. We had lunch, went and saw Skyfall then went grocery shopping. He took Josh and I out for an amazing steak dinner. It was the best food I'd had since I got here.

On Sunday we went to church and then I took him on a Polaris ride around camp along with curriculum lecture and all. I think he enjoyed seeing what I do. We even shot arrows (I kicked his butt ;). He stayed in the infirmary. It was really funny because the first night he was here he kept saying that 'this is the way every horror movie starts. You come to a camp, late at night and stay in a place with a lot of doors and few lights." Josh and I had a good laugh about it, he told me every morning that he'd made it out and that the werewolves didn't get him. On Sunday night we had lasagna dinner, watched 'Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter', ate Blue Bell Ice Cream and played dominoes and most importantly, we introduced him to 'adult Trouble'.

I got a note from his saying how much he enjoyed the visit, and so did I!

Camp - leaves were still changing while he was here

Archery. I am Katniss.

On the bridge by the lake

At Saltgrass Steakhouse for dinner

Lake Texoma

Snake River 2012

As I've probably mentioned before, my dad has the best job. This time Mariah and I got to drive up to Alpine, WY to spend a week on the Snake River, rafting with a handful of groups.

First we rafted with my dad's River Rafting students. We launched 4 times in two days. It's exhausting but so much fun. My dad insisted that I guide one of the times. I paid really close attention and thought I was ready for the Snake - I mean I've been up there a lot and feel pretty familiar with the river. Apparently not. I guided my boat through some rapids (no name) and wasn't close enough to the wall on River Right to make a quick turn in order to avoid an eddy. My boat got sucked into a rock called Haircut Rock and it knocked everyone out. Luckily nobody got hurt, we didn't lose any equipment and the only casualties were a couple hats, mine included (I'm actually still sad about it). Needless to say, I let my dad finish and held my place as a strong paddler for the rest of the week.

We stuffed 25 students into one 12 passenger van for our shuttle. Don't tell! 

Hanging around camp.

After the students were done my dad drove them back and left Mariah and I to watch the equipment and hangout in Alpine. We ended up riding our bikes and had originally planned on shuttling a ducky with our bikes and making a day of it with a ride and river run. It didn't happen because my parents were weird about it. We totally should have done it - next time. Mariah and I ended up in the Duckies later that week and had a blast!

We also treated ourselves to some Ice Cream at Yankee Doodle in Alpine. Great ice cream and great American atmosphere, as you can see. 

Teton National Park

My Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, some of their friends and the United Way group that bought the auctioned river trip showed up on Friday. We did a couple runs with them and then we had the campsite, the rafts and equipment to ourselves. As a family (and friends) we took a drive to Teton National Park and did a hike up to some beautiful waterfalls. It was nice to get out of Alpine for a little while. I love the Tetons. 

Tetons. We saw a random coyote in the parking lot at the visitor center. Pretty cool!

Mariah and I in the Ducky on the Snake. Killing it! 

Look at that intense face. That's real life.

We spent 6 days on the river and I couldn't have been more thrilled. I helped with food and helped my dad develop a 'camp cooking' class, so although I wasn't technically working I was building my skill set and totally enjoying my summer. I hope to see the Snake again next year!

7/25-31

Uinta Highline Trail

Two days after I got back from Washington, Mariah, Jose, my dad and I were leaving for a 60 mile trek through the Uinta Mountains. We filled our packs with the essentials: sleeping bag, mat, tent, stove, rain jackets, toilet paper and water purifiers. I was in charge of the food for the trip. We ate like kings and it ended up being pretty lightweight - about 6 lbs. per person!

We drove to our trailhead on Sunday, tried to wait out the rain, ended up hiking in the rain anyway and made it about 7 miles before we called it a day. I'll admit, at this point I was not a happy camper. I wasn't really expected what I had gotten myself into, but I'm not usually one to quit something I know I can accomplish so I kept on.

The beginning of the trail - rain gear on!

Food for four people for 5 days.

On top of Dead Horse Pass.

Dead Horse Pass was the first and I'd say the worst pass. It was nearly 3 miles of climbing and down climbing through a boulder graveyard, heavy rain and entirely sore feet. The lake we camped next to was beautiful and made it kind of worth the drag.

Lunch on day 3

Entering the Wilderness Area

After the hail and rain, playing dice games in the tent

On the top of Anderson Pass - Kings Peak (tallest peak in Utah) is in the background.

On top of Anderson Pass. We thought it was our last, but we had one more small one to conquer.

We hiked as far as you can see here.

On top of Dead Horse Pass. I'm not pleased with the situation.

On top of Rocky Sea Pass (day 2)

At the end of the trail - we made it!

What our trip pretty much looked like the whole time.

Dead Horse Pass. So Epic.

We hiked 60 some miles, camped 5 nights, hiked 6 days, went through a bajillion bandaids and tylenol, ate like kings, almost ran out of toilet paper, got rained on a lot and had an EPIC ADVENTURE! I doubt I'll be able to top this trip any time soon. 

Birthday Celebrations!

Birthday!

Birthday celebrations lasted all week this year.  On Tuesday I met up with a whole hoard of friends at the Owl for burger and a big dog. It was so different than last year - we took up at least two tables and were loud and looked like we were having so much fun, and we were. We went over to Jake's house to continue the get together and it lasted well into the night.  My mom, Mariah and Kalli drove up that night and we met up at their hotel to hot tub and hang out until it was bed time.  The next morning we had (continental) breakfast then got ready for our pedicures! (pictured below)

The pedicures were relaxing and I had been looking forward to mine for weeks - they definitely delivered. After that we headed to the fabric store to outfit me to finish my quilt.  Then the obvious next choice was some girl-time shopping! TJMaxx it was and as per usual we spent hours there (maybe too many for my taste).  Then onto my favorite Love to Cook at Kitchen Kneads! I could spend hours in there looking at kitchen stuff. They have everything from knives to cooking chocolate to pressure cookers, cheese knives and classes - more on that later. After that we headed down the canyon to eat at the family favorite, Maddox! It was delicious, just like every other time. If you go there make sure you get the Turkey Steak. It is so good. The family headed home after lunch and I made my way back to Logan.

The next day was the real birthday. I treated myself to my favorite fruit dip for breakfast and then off to work for a few hours.  I had lunch at Cafe Rio with Blair and her brother.  Then I took him on a tour of campus and then a nap. I headed to my cooking class that evening. Blair and Vic came with me and we got to try a lot of new spices. I think my favorites were the French spices and the Adobo. I ended up buying a new herb called Savory and an all purpose seasoning called Spuds. I also got a tiny liquid measuring cup, silicone tongs and a cheese knife. Happy Birthday to me! I've tried them all, and just like every other cooking utensil, I love them.  After that Jake made me a salmon dinner with risotto and green beans (some of my favorites) and we headed to get Fro Yo at twizzleberry which is one of my favorites. Try fro yo today if you haven't yet.  Anyway, we arrived at Twizzleberry just in the nick of time before closing. The best treat however, was watching 12 Logan, North Park and Sheriff cars swarm the Wal-Mart parking lot and man handle/body slam an offender to the ground.  Looked it up the next day, apparently the guy was wanted for credit card fraud, forgery or some kind, shoplifting and a whole slew of other misdemeanors.  It was amazing. I've never seen anything like it in Cache Valley and it was the best way to top off my birthday.

On Saturday Jake and I headed south (after some very successful yard sale-ing) and spent some time fixing and riding bikes, sitting in the sun and then got well needed massages.  We had a fabulous joint birthday dinner that night with steak, asparagus, shrimp and scallops, salad and asiago cheese bread. The next day we went to church for Mother's day and then celebrated with another feast and all the family.

All in all it was a great birthday and I think it'll be hard to beat next year. Thank you to everyone who made it so fantastic!

Chalay's Wedding

Congrats to my cute Cousin and her new Husband! Wishing them all the best!

April 26, 2012

Mom and Mariah Graduation

Graduation I

My Mom, with a Master's and Mariah, with a Bachelor's, graduated from BYU on April 20. It was a two day celebration of marching, pictures and parties. We watched as they marched in, clapped as they were recognized and cheered as they graduated! They had a bar-be-que to celebrate and it was nice to spend time with the family.

I love graduation. It reminds me to keep learning, and excel to be the best I can be. This one was no exception, with so many important people finishing something so hard (degrees) it was nice to know that education isn't obsolete.

The Marriott Center - Commencement

Mariah, Dr. Hill and my mom before the first ceremony! I'm so proud

Dad's office (for some fun thrown in)

Skiing at Sundance

Sundance Ski Day

We headed to Utah Valley for a quick ski day weekend. Fortunately, Jake's knee was feeling better but it was still a good day to take it easy. We strolled up for a half day and got on the slopes pretty quick. The sun was shining and we headed to the backside for some steep runs and some challenging terrain.  I hadn't been to Sundance since I had learned to snowboard and it was nice to see the mountain as a much more confident rider. We spent some nice time in the hot tub that night and it was nice to spend time with the family!

Making some sick turns

My dad and I in the lift line- ski day compliments of him

Jose, Mariah, Jake and I in line.

Hawaii 2011-2012

Grandma Hill took the family to Kauai for New Year's Eve.  We flew in on the 27th and came home on the 3rd of January.  Seven days of paradise was lovely, and coming back to the frozen arctic that we call Utah wasn't the top choice on my list of things to do. While we were there we went on a cool hike along the Na' Pali coast, scuba dived, ate, swam in the pool, laid out in the sun, shopped at the farmers market, read, ate, went on drives around the island, snorkeled, rode bikes along the coast, had the best snow cones and sailed on a catamaran. Oh, and ate some more.  It was lovely. Here is a photo safari of the grand adventures!

The first morning on the Island

Our resort

farmers market

Hiking on the Na Pali Coast

The coast line

Hike...

After my first dive in Kauai

Mariah and I after the first dive

The family just off the dive boat

World's best snowcone

Another beautiful morning in Kauai

Aboard the Catamaran

Na Pali Coastline boat tour

Flight to Hawaii

Ladies on the Beach

Grandma and the resort in the background

Banging pots and pans at midnight on New Years Eve. It was my idea...

Snorkeling!