June through August

I have a very good reason for not blogging lately...life got in the way. Here are some pics from our recent adventures.

In June, Husband and I took a long trip to Hawaii (baby-free).

Sunset on the first night on the Big Island

Husband found his look.

Black sand beach
Volcano

I'd hate to be standing behind him...

Secluded beach

Akaka Falls

Lookout just before sunset

I loved how the clouds were so low

Wet side of the Big Island

Turtle (we also saw a few on Oahu when we were paddle boarding)

Another black sand beach right after a storm passed through

Black sand beach

Just hanging out

Water with the storm moving out

Our view from the hotel in Honolulu

First night on Oahu

I know it's blurry but I love the colors in the sky

Husband and I on a catamaran to watch the fireworks (it was July 4)

Hole in an island

Chinaman's Hat

The water was so blue here

There was a cave below this rock

Making a very important decision

Lighthouse from Diamond Head

Honolulu

In July, my little man turned 1! We celebrated with a Luau (fitting since we just got back from Hawaii). These pics are out of order but you get the gist.

Mmmmm....icing

He liked the icing-covered cone from his sandcastle cake better than the cake itself!

Plotting which part to eat first

Little man thinks "Whoa...a football!" while Little T looks on.

Is this how you make it vibrate?

In late July/August, we went to see Husband's family in Utah. Again, pics are out of order but whatever. On the last night we were camping, there was a big storm so I managed to get some really cool pics of the sky and the double rainbow (for those of you who haven't seen the double-rainbow bit on youtube.com, you need to check it out).

Need big prayers for a small person

I know this isn't customary to have such a serious blog but forgive me...I need your big prayers for a small person. A friend of mine's niece who is 6 years old started having migraines in April so they made an appointment for a neurologist but they couldn't get her in until July 8th. They did an MRI that day and found a tumor growing on her brain stem. Long story short, they were able to remove the entire tumor but the biopsy came back as cancerous cells. This is a parent's worse nightmare so please keep Mia Thinnes and her family in your prayers as they embark on the long journey ahead.

On a lighter note, please also keep my friends J&A in your prayers too! They successfully transferred 3 embryos through IVF on Sunday and will make excellent parents.

I've been a very bad blogger lately but I promise that I will update everyone with our Hawaii trip, my little man starting to walk and his first birthday which is this Wednesday!!!

Sneak Peeks

It's that time again...Julie is once again a photography genius! Check out my baby boy!!
We heart you, Julie!
http://photojewelsphotography.blogspot.com/

They don't call it the Little Canyon

Soooooo....we made it! Here's a little recap of our hike.

Husband flew in to Phoenix on Wednesday to check in with work (his company headquarters is in Scottsdale, AZ) and test ride a mountain bike he's had his eye on for a few months. Little man had to have tubes in his ears on Thursday morning (BTW, this was the fastest procedure EVER) so we spent Thursday recovering. Tiny and I slept at my parent's house on Thursday night so I wouldn't have to get up any earlier than I already was to drop him off and I got to the airport early Friday morning and into Phoenix around 10. Husband picked me up and we got a few other necessities for the trip, met up with the rest of the party and off we went to the Grand Canyon. Tish (Bill the trainer's wife) made everyone eat a ton on Friday (this was very strange for someone who has always had to watch what she eats) which subsequently made my shorts fit a little snug the next day. The whole group decided to be touristy and watch the IMAX movie...I DO NOT RECOMMEND. We should have known it was terrible when all the IMAX movies were dusty and didn't look like one had been purchased...EVER. After the horrible movie, we had a big dinner of pasta and water and headed off to bed.

On Saturday, we all woke up around 6:00 and got dressed for the day. The original plan was to hike from the North Rim to the South Rim but there is about 10 feet of snow still on the North Rim and cars weren't allowed yet so we had to modify the hike slightly. We started on the South Kaibab trail and went all the way down to the Colorado River to Phantom Ranch where we stopped for about 30 minutes to refill our bladders (ie. water pouch in a CamelBak) and eat. Then we started back up South Kaibab (about 4 miles) to the point where the Tovar Trail intersected. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this...at one point, I was seriously considering calling for a donkey to haul my ass out of there. After telling myself to quit being such a puss, we finally made it to the Tovar Trail (which was a much more flat trail and very scenic) and I got my second wind. This was almost a surreal atmosphere. You could look up and know that you were still very far down inside the canyon and look back and realize that you were very far up from the river but the actual trail and surrounding area was almost flat. It definitely makes you realize just how large the Grand Canyon truly is! We made it to Indian Garden which was also very cool. Hidden between all the orange and red rocks were these massive trees which had vibrant green leaves and purple flowers...not what I expected to find in the middle of a desert but we definitely went at the right time. We stopped and rested here for about 30 minutes and were off again on the last leg of the hike up Bright Angel trail. This trail is the most commonly hiked trail and isn't as steep so it's a longer trail than South Kaibab. About half way up this trail, my body realized that it needed to expel some of the crap I had been shoving in all day long (Gu gels are not exactly a normal lunch for me) so I damn near ran uphill to the 3 mile stop. For anyone who knows me well, you know that I absolutely hate using public bathrooms and will always put down a lot of paper to prevent any part of my ass from hitting the seat...I had to go so badly, I did a check for tarantulas (we saw in the IMAX movie that they live here so I was a little paranoid) and plopped down. I emerged a few minutes later feeling like a new woman (and my shorts fit a little better as well). It's funny, when we were hiking up the entire trail, I wasn't at all focused on the end or how much further we had to go so knowing that we only had 3 more miles was almost a bad thing. Around the 1.5 mile marker, my body started telling me I was TIRED (mostly my feet and butt) but then I started seeing people hiking down past me in cowboy boots and jeans. This made me realize that we really were almost to the top (and that these people who were happily hiking down past me had NO idea what they were in for when they started the trek back up). One rather large lady informed me that we only had 20 more minutes until the top...I would have paid to have seen her get back up there in 20 minutes. When we finally made it to the top of the trail, I celebrated with a Rocky moment and we headed straight for the bar. The hike was a total of 22 miles which we did in 9 hours and 17 minutes. If I remember correctly, we went from an elevation around 7000 to 2400 and back up. There were several signs along the way cautioning hikers NOT to hike from the rim to the river and back up...Husband and I have a picture by one of these signs.

We were all walking like penguins for a few days after but it was completely worth it...next trip will be from the North Rim to the South Rim :)

Holy Crap...Where Have I Been

Sorry for the MIA posting in the last few weeks....what have I been up to? Well, mostly chasing after the little guy since HE STARTED CRAWLING a week or two ago which means we need to do some serious baby-proofing in the casa. He first started doing the army crawl which I was fine with because that meant he wasn't moving too far or fast but today I put a "barrier" of a chair on it's side to keep him in "his" area which he just crawled through. Wonderful. I promise to post videos in the very near future. In the mean time...I have a few shout outs that I need to make:
My niece Katelyn whose birthday was March 22nd
My dad whose birthday was March 27th
My Papa who is turning 93 on Easter Sunday
My friend Allison who just had another healthy baby boy
My friend Paige who finally posted pics of her cute baby bump
My friend Julia who is currently going to IVF and has to deal with bullshit on a daily basis but will prevail in the end
Husband and I who will hike the Grand Canyon next weekend

Good Luck to all....Love Me

Big News....

Ok...I think I am finally ready to tell everyone the big news. Husband and I are......



drumroll.......




.....hiking the Grand Canyon in April. Bet I fooled some of you into thinking I was preggo, didn't I??? :) Love my little chunk but I need some time before thinking about another one.
Where did this idea come from, you ask? Well...Husband originally started working out with a personal trainer (friscofitnessguy.com) to build his endurance for adventure races and Bill (trainer) mentioned that he and his wife were going to hike the GC this year. They have done this several times in the past but have 1.5 and 5 month old kids so they haven't been able to do it the past few years. Husband kept talking about this hike but Bill wouldn't let him go without me so I started working out with Bill and now I'm hooked. The hike will go from rim to rim in one day (probably around 8 hours and around 25ish miles) and is a little less than a month away. My parent's are watching our little man while we head out for this crazy short trip. :) I've been told it's an experience you'll never forget so pictures will definitely be posted after we get back. Wish me luck!

Pics!!

I don't know what life would have been like if Ebes hadn't posted pics of her little P-man and I hadn't called Julie to sign up for the baby package. I cannot talk enough about how much we absolutely love her and the pictures that she is able to capture! Here is a link to some sneak peeks of Little man's 6 month photoshoot.

http://photojewelsphotography.blogspot.com/