These Summer Days

Isn't it kind of sad that so many times life seems to evolve around the weekends?

It's Monday. Such a loooong time until the weekend.

Wednesday! Hump Day!

It's finally Friday!! All is right in the world!!!

I love me my weekends, don't get me wrong. However, I also love me my weekdays. That might partially have to do with the fact that I try to treat my weekdays a lot like I treat my weekends. Work hard, play hard.

Every day I'm always asking BWell, "What do you want to do after work today?"

I'm sure there are plenty of times where he just wishes I'd stop being a psycho and sit still on the couch for a minute, but he's a good sport and always finds adventures to go on with me.

The adventures feel like they've doubled this week, and I think it's because of the official arrival of summer this past Saturday.

I'm thoroughly convinced that small towns do summers right. Everything is so beautiful in our little valley right now. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

In the past five days, we've really tried living it up when we are not at the office. I might not get a summer vacation anymore, but I make do with what I have. There have been hikes, countless motorcycle rides (one of those landed us in Bear Lake with friends), trail runs, and long reads in the hammock until the sun sets and I can no longer see the pages of my book.

I've been going to bed exhausted every night and waking up grateful to live another exciting day. I hope and pray I can always live like that.

Sometimes life can be really hard, but sometimes it's really good. Right now is one of those really good moments. I'm trying not to question it or worry about when the hard times will hit next, I'm just trying to be grateful for it. I'm basking in it like sun rays. It feels so sweet right now.

Unplugged

Last weekend, we hiked to what is believed to be the oldest tree in the state of Utah (Jardine Juniper hike). It's basically in our backyard! It was a long 12 mile hike, so we decided to camp near the trail head so we could get an early start.

When Brian and I first got married, we were super paranoid about becoming that couple. You know, the kind that drops off the face of the planet and never does anything with anyone else but each other? We were constantly doing fun things, but never wanting to do them without a group of people to join us. We wanted to do everything with friends. It's nice to have friends and I feel like we've been blessed to have such an amazing support group. But I'm beginning to learn that it is more than okay to have fun alone together, just as a couple.

Brian and I are also pretty attached to technology at times. I hate to admit that, but we are. Our jobs often times force us to be. I'm constantly checking twitter, news websites and Facebook to see if there is any local news I need to get on top of, and Brian often is replying to customers via email. The world can get so loud and distracting at times.

We needed this weekend to truly have "us" time. No other people. No cell phone service. No internet. It was amazing to completely unplug and pay attention to what was happening around us, in the moment. On Friday night, we huddled around the fire and just talked about our relationship and our future. Then we went to bed in our little tent, the sound of churning water in the riverbed nearby put us to sleep.

Then there was the hike. I'm telling you, being in the mountains is the cure for just about any problem. We walked, talked, laughed, slipped a few times on loose rocks, ate Scooby Doo fruit snacks, and often times we just stopped in awe of the landscape that surrounded us. This world is a beautiful place. Even that twisted and gnarly old tree is beautiful. Actually, it's especially beautiful.
 

Reaching the Top

I am an Activity Days Leader for my church. Twice a month, we do activities with the girls ages 8-11 in our community. It's one of my favorite callings I've ever had because I feel like I get the opportunity to remind these little girls how important and capable they are. 

Last week, we took them on a hike to the Wind Caves. It can be a pretty tough hike for little legs to climb and not only that, but we left at 4:30 in the afternoon. It was smoldering hot. The girls begged for a break every 30 seconds and for a while, I wasn't sure we would make it to the top.

However, those little fireballs proved me wrong. 

We made it to the cave and enjoyed the wonderful view around us. They were all so proud of themselves. They had climbed a mountain! One of the girls even outstretched her arms and said, "This is proof that God loves us." I think it made my heart melt.  

On the way back down, we passed a group of high school boys and one said, "Look, those little girls did it so we can too."

The girls all replied proudly, "Yeah! We did it! Girl power!" 

It put a smile on my face the whole way down as I overheard the little ladies saying things like,

"I can't wait to tell my parents." 

"Look how high we climbed." 

"That was hard but it was soooo worth it." 

Also, it was encouraging to know that all the girls drank enough water since every single one of them had to pee on the way down. 

That night as I took a bubble bath and scrubbed all the mountain dirt off my feet, I just couldn't stop thinking about what those girls taught me that night. 

I've been thinking a lot about trials lately. Sometimes good people have to go through bad things and there is no logical reason as to why. When I was 17 years old and went to Ethiopia, I had my eyes first opened to this. We paid a visit to a hospital (it was more like a giant barn). I saw things I'd never witnessed in little old Idaho. I met with deformed children, blind people, malnourished people, and after we visited the wing of females infected with AIDS, I lost it. I walked out into the hallway and broke down crying. How could God do this to these innocent people? Why did I have it so good? I wasn't any more deserving. 

There aren't answers to everything, at least not answers I always understand, but I do know that trials can make us better people. Trials are a part of our story and how we respond to those trials will make us or break us. Sometimes when trudging through the dirt and heat, we just want to sit down on a rock and say, "I quit." Or maybe we want to turn around altogether and go back where we came from. 

But sometimes, we push through it even though it's hard and it hurts. We press forward until we've overcome the challenge and reached the top. And the top is a beautiful place that not everyone always gets to see. 

I hope these girls always want to reach the top.

  

That time I almost met Robert Redford

One of the many pretty views at Sundance Resort

Okay, not really. But a girl can dream. A couple weekends ago, Brian won a weekend getaway to Sundance Resort since his Allstate agency is doing such a grand job. I was proud of him, and way stoked to get away for a couple of days to stay in the mountains. We drove through Park City on Friday night where we stopped for dinner. By the time we got to the resort, it was pretty late so we went up to our cozy cabin and decided to watch a movie. Luckily, in the lobby there was a library of Robert Redford movies (he owns Sundance Resort) so we checked out Butch Kassidy and the Sundance Kid. 

The next morning, we went to a big breakfast, courtesy of Allstate. All the other agents who won the trip were also there. We enjoyed fruit, waffles, and biscuits with gravy out on the deck of the lodge where we enjoyed this view:

Everything was so peaceful until a lady who works with Brian often approached us and said, "Did you see Robert Redford last night? He's staying at the resort this weekend. I saw him."

At that point, my heart started racing and I had to stop myself from freaking out. I love Robert Redford. Even though he's now old enough to be my grandfather, I think he's one of the loveliest men in Hollywood to ever live. Just sayin'. I immediately started interrogating her, asking where he was, what he acted like, how long he was staying, what he was wearing . . . you know, just your typical stalker questions.

Needless to say, I kept my eyes peeled for the remainder of our stay, but saw no Mr. Redford. The best I could do was the collection of DVDs from the front lobby.

But we did go on an epic hike to see a waterfall instead. That lightened my spirits quite a bit. A popular hike for the area is the hike to Stewart Falls. Except the majority of people pay to ride the ski lift most of the way up, so I'm not sure if you can really call it a hike. BWell and I are cheap wads, so we searched the forest for the unmarked trail. We wandered for quite some time, but eventually got on track and made it to the falls. It was scorching hot that afternoon too. So after being covered in dust and marching our way through the high 90 degree weather, we gladly hiked up to the higher fall and took a little dip in the pool. Talk about an instant cool down. Ice ice baby. That's how cold the water was.

I'm still thoroughly convinced I live in an area with some of the best hiking in the country (and the best part is that no one else has caught on, so I get most of the trails to myself), but I'll admit that this hike was pretty darn cool. Provo Canyon, you got me. And BYU peeps, you really ought to start bragging up this Stewart Falls hike over that whole climb to the Y. I would much rather see a waterfall at the end of my hike over getting to look at Provo City. But that's just me and I'm weird. But seriously, Stewart Falls was breathtaking..

Lost with Friends

A couple Saturdays ago, I met up with some of my longtime friends. We were kind of attached at the hip in high school and have still stayed close. Granted, Shayla was my roommate after high school and we still hang out often, but I'm still proud of the fact that I've stayed so close with my high school chums. They were even bridesmaids at my wedding (tender). 

I love that we can go for months at a time without seeing each other or talking much but as soon as we meet up, it feels like we've never been apart. It's also great that so many different personalities can come together to form this thing called friendship. Shayla is the sweet one. Catherine is the funny one. Abbie is the happy-go-lucky one. I'm the quirky one. Friendship is wonderful. 

We set out on a hike which we expected to be only a couple miles long. Needless to say, we got very lost and ended up covering much more ground than we planned to. There were lots of comments like: Are we going the right way? and Which direction is the car? and That bee is huge! But it was a hoot and we all made it back to the car eventually, so that was good.

Four girls lost in the wilderness is a scary thought, but we didn't mind. We wandered around aimlessly and laughed about how ridiculous our situation was, all while reminiscing, eating Twizzler Pull 'N' Peels, playing Truth or Dare, and deciding how we would ration out our PB&J sandwiches if things went real sour and we ended up lost for days.  

Love you long time, girls. Let's get lost somewhere together again soon. Maybe next time at the lake or movie theater since Abbie aint a hiking fan. 

A Birthday Getaway

Know what's not cool? Having a birthday during Finals Week. And that's been my husband's birthday for the last several years. Hallelujah that this time next year we won't be pulling all-nighters, writing papers, studying until our eyeballs fall out, and barely having time for dinner (well, hopefully). Today is BWell's birthday and we were able to fit in a birthday lunch and some cupcakes. Now we won't see each other again until probably 10 or 11 (or until morning if I am a good girl and go to bed when I'm supposed to. . . early work makes me have an early bedtime). 

I knew we wouldn't have much time to celebrate today. So about a month ago I had this rebel moment where I was like, "Screw studying. Curse finals." And I planned a weekend getaway to St. George. It was such a joy on Friday afternoon when Brian opening his box full of travel snacks, JT's new cd (gotta have road trip tunes), and a poster that read, "Good for a weekend stay in St. George". And just like that, we packed a suitcase and skipped town. So I can't say we got much studying in over the weekend. However, we did fit in plenty of hiking, pool time, and I even got my first sunburn of the year. 

We hiked Angels Landing in Zion National Park. It was seriously a delight. It was especially a delight scaling along the steep slab of rock at the top, hanging onto chains for dear life, and thinking about the several people who have slipped to their death on that same stretch of the journey. 

In all seriousness though, the hike wasn't nearly as frightening as I had imagined. There were only a few spots where Brian and I found ourselves using the chains. Plus, the entire trail besides the sketchy chain part has a PAVED path. Talk about fancy pants hiking. I had no idea how touristy this hike was though. I think we heard more foreign languages than we heard English. 

Oh, and you know how city people get real annoyed with tourists? Like let's get real, I'm sure they've wanted to kill me all the times I've paid visits and gotten lost, jaywalked, taken pictures of the "huge skyscrapers", and all that jazz. They probably roll their eyes and think, "What a tourist." Well, I discovered over the weekend that country people have that exact same feeling for city people. For instance, when we got held up on the trail because a group of people spotted a lizard. You would have thought it was a unicorn. And then there was the time one couple made us wait FOREVER coming back on the chains because the dude had to take fifty pictures of his girlfriend posing. I get it. You want a cool picture so you can show all your friends how you roughed the wild terrain with its paved pathways and all, but maybe do it at a time when there isn't a line of people behind you. Okay, end rant. I promise I don't hate city people. We actually hiked up with a guy from New York and he was totally cool. Also, while we ate our lunch at the top of the summit, a couple sitting next to us got engaged. That was exciting.

It was a quick trip, but it was a good one. Maybe we will score lower on our finals now, but hey, I got to celebrate the birthday boy. Totally worth it. 

I love you, BWell. Let's make your 25th year of life the best one yet! 

Love is an Action

These are some pictures I kind of forgot about. They are from a quick little camping trip/hike that BWell and I took a few months back. We heard rumors about this hiking trail that led to a waterfall and that it was only about two miles one way. The rumors were partly true. We made it to the beautiful waterfall. But it wasn't just a two mile jaunt. It ended up being more like five miles up. All the same, the hike was worth it. I'm glad we kept pressing forward and didn't turn around. We thought about it a few times, but we stayed strong. . .

Since listening to the prophet and apostles of my church speak in conference last weekend, I've gone back and re-watched and re-listened to the oh so popular talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. It was a wonderful and amazing talk. . .one that left a lump in my throat and a sick feeling in my stomach. Because I am guilty. I am guilty of saying over and over again that I love my Savior, Jesus Christ but not fully showing that love by example. Love is not just a word. Love is an action. And as of late, I have been slow to act.

I grew up in a small Idaho town. There are many unique characters that reside there. Heck, I should write a book about it. But one character in particular stands out.

He was a mysterious man who lived on the main street of town. No one knew quite where he came from or why he ended up in Weston. He rode a lawn mower around and mostly kept to himself. One of the most intriguing things about him, was that he had a whole building next to his modest trailer home that was filled with junk. As a child, I always wondered what kinds of treasures were hidden in that building. There were items piled up to the tops of the windows, but I never dared get close enough to peer in. Painted across the windows were the words, "NO NO LOOKING". I don't know what would have happened if I had gone looking, but I never had the desire to find out. As I got older and entered my teenage years, I started to hear more rumors about this man.
"He's a millionaire, and he hides all his money somewhere."
"I think the government gave him a new identity and sent him to Weston."
I couldn't help but wonder if the rumors were true or not. One thing I did know to be true though, was that this man did not have a whole lot of friends in town. I always told myself that one day, maybe I would knock on his door and introduce myself.

I never did work up the courage to knock on his door. And now I never will. About a month ago, the mysterious man of my hometown was found in his modest home, alone and dead. My family went to his small burial. My dad was a pallbearer. I think the news shook up my little hometown a bit. And I think perhaps I'm not the only one that regrets not knocking on his door.

I am a person who is full of good intentions. Goodness, am I chalk full of good intentions. My list of people to visit, friends to call, kind acts to offer is a list that seems to grow overwhelmingly longer and longer each day, yet I struggle to actually do anything on that list. My own selfish interests seem to always get in the way.


"Oh, I should deliver that birthday present. It's already late."
"But I have so much homework I need to get done. . .the birthday present can wait. After all, it's already late. What will another day hurt?" 

"Oh, I need to visit my friend and see her cute, new baby."
"But I have laundry to do. Besides, my present for the baby isn't just perfect yet." 

"I should call my grandma."
"I'll call her right after I finish editing some of my latest footage. It might take me a couple hours to edit, and then it will be too late to call her, but I'll get around to it." 


I am such a slacker. A selfish slacker. And Elder Jeffrey R. Holland called me out on it. So I would like to apologize to all you people out there whom I love dearly who may feel like I've forgotten you. I promise I haven't. I think about you often. But thinking is not as meaningful as acting. It is time for me to start acting and to start fully loving. It is time to show my Savior, family, and friends that I love them. . .instead of just telling them so.

Goodbye, Summer

To welcome in the first official day of fall, Brian and I went on a Saturday hike. We drove up our beloved Logan Canyon and wandered along the Crimson Trail. The mountains were all lit up with fiery oranges, reds, and glowing yellows. It was one of those moments when I was in complete awe of the beauty surrounding me. I kept climbing up the trail and gasping out of amazement at all the incredible views (and perhaps gasping for air too).

This was our first time taking on the Crimson Trail. I have to admit, it was actually more difficult than I would have guessed. Still very doable. But I guess I thought it would be a walk in the park. It wasn't. There were some steep parts. On the way down, I actually slipped and fell on my butt twice. It was quite graceful, if I do say so myself. There were plenty of sharp drop offs too. Brian and I made a game out of it by looking over all the drop offs and deciding if a person would die from the fall or just become a vegetable. We play pretty morbid games apparently. We stopped and ate lunch on the perfect ledge of rock, one we both agreed would be a fall that would kill a person. No worries, we sat far off from the edge to eat our sandwiches and the view was killer (no pun intended).

It was a beautiful hike. The perfect first day of fall, if I do say so myself. Then we went ahead and made the perfect night out of it by going to the new movie House at the End of the Street. We are big scary movie fans. Especially in the fall and especially with Halloween approaching. I'd highly recommend this one. It has quite the perfect twist. The first half, I was sort of feeling disappointed. The last half just took me by complete surprise. I already want to go see it again, which is a big deal since I have a hard time rewatching movies.

And since I do have a hard time rewatching movies, I would love any Halloween/scary movie suggestions from you. I need to start making my movie list for October, since September is just running away from us. So, scary movie fans, what's your favorite spooky flick?

Instagrams & Milk: Cedar City Edition

This past Saturday consisted of one fun thing after another. On Friday afternoon, Brian came home a bit early from work, we packed a bag and jumped in the truck to take off for Southern Utah.

 Months ago, we purchased tickets to Les Miserables which is showing in Cedar City as a part of the Shakespearean Festival. We figured it could be a little gift for our anniversary. The show was Saturday afternoon, so we drove up Friday to stay with my great uncle and aunt.

Saturday morning, we went on a fantastic hike nearby. It consisted of splashing through water, walking through slot canyons, and scaling up waterfalls (and maybe some lizard chasing too).

Then we cleaned up and watched Les Miserables. And that consisted of beautiful music and me bawling (I won't mention if Brian bawled or not). This was my first time seeing the musical and it was just lovely. Now I just want to read the book again.

Then we ate dinner at Applebees and used gift cards from our wedding to pay for it. That consisted of a yummy burger and fries, all complete with chocolaty cake for dessert. Oh, and we ended up having 14 dollars left from our gift cards, so we decided to act like high rollers and give it all to our waitress as a tip.

Then on the way home, we stopped by a beautiful wedding reception. Which consisted of hugging our friends, Jade and Bailey and then taking a bag of colorful candy for the road. Oh, and we may or may not have given them a cactus for their gift. Who gets awarded most original gift-givers? I think it's the Wellers!

Well, there, I just summed up our busy (yet fantastic) Saturday. I'll shut up now and just leave you with all the pictures I instagrammed on the four hour ride home.

This is my face that says, "I'd rather have diarrhea than drive through Utah County." 

Oh hi, crazy cool sunset 

Oh hi, crazy cool hike 

Kanarraville Falls 

Brian talked me into doing this pose. 

Exploring ze wilderness

That water was chilly! Yet refreshing. 

Standing by a gushing waterfall. And yes, sometimes I wear belly shirts. 

Lover boy 

Perfectly content

Aaahhh, it was so good! 

Bailey Rae, doing her thing, being a beautiful bride. 

You can follow me on Instagram @mrskellwell. It'll be a parrrrr-tay!