m.i.a.

it's been over a month since my last post...perhaps i should update my blog...

then again, maybe not.  see you when summer is over.

peace+love

over-alliteration

i know i'm a bad blogger.  here's to renewed resolves.

words cannot express how grateful i am today for...

pic stolen here

i am yet to find a physical activity more rejuvenating, relaxing, refreshing, reassuring, ravishing, reintarnating (Reintarnation - Coming back to life as a hillbilly) as swimming.  it's funny, my body and mind fight the same battle three mornings a week.  and most of the time, luckily, my body wins.

6:08 a.m. alarm goes off.  i turn it off.

6:10 a.m. 2nd alarm goes off.  turn it off and lay there as my head argues with my body as to whether or not it's really worth it to get out of bed and make the 4-block trek in the freezing, morning air to the pool.

6:15 a.m. body refuses to fall back asleep, roll out of bed, put on swimsuit, eat a granola bar, and out the door.

6:30 a.m. sit on edge of pool anticipating that initial plunge into what seems to be freezing cold water. 

...then, that magic moment (cue Ben E. King).  i take the plunge, and in an instant all the pent up anxiety, worries, even physical illness just floats away.  

it may sound like an exaggeration to you.  you must not be a swimmer.  try it.  it will change your life forever.

today i am also very thankful for this ever-so-soothing voice.

and look!  it was uploaded to youtube on my birthday...it's a sign.

peace+love

long days of summer...

i cannot believe it's already july 22nd...before i know it i'll be cooped up in the hbll reading one of the bajiliion books i'll have to read between my 3 english classes and spanish writing and reading class.  boo. so, i'm just filling my days with all the outdoor fun stuff i possibly can....kind of like how chipmunks gather as much food as they possibly can.
-night swimming
-lots and lots of bike rides.  long ones, short ones, uphill, downhill, fast, slow.
-floating down the provo river
-more bike rides
-red rocks brandi carlile concert...i die of happiness...and pot
-roasting mallows
-hiking
-more biking
-more swimming
-lots of working...but have i told you how much i LOVE both of my jobs?

have a happy summer

p.s.  my cute auntie stephanie is due for chemo tomorrow...if you could remember her in your prayers tonight and tomorrow morning we'd all really appreciate it.

peace+love

remember that one time we rode 65 miles everyday for a week to train for ride idaho...?

...oh wait, that never actually happened.

but, if i am ever wealthy, i will have a cabin in priest lake, idaho.

RIDE IDAHO

day 0--got carsick and barfed at the gas station in cascade, idaho...a few miles later, the car broke down. lucky for us, PAM! drove by and drove us the rest of the way to hayden, idaho.

day 1--a painful, but stunning, 67 miles to priest lake. got to camp and asked my dad why we couldn't have just gone on a cruise for our family vacation...then went for a refreshing swim in the most beautiful lake i've ever seen. think alaska without the cold.

day 2--a less painful, just as beautiful 56 miles to sandpoint. met our camp neighbors for the next week, john and kip. they loved us. then went for a refreshing swim in the lake.

day 3--a very painful, scenic 76 mile ride to troy, montana...started a mud fight with trevie in the frigid cold river and watched the one-armed man play a mean guitar.

(parent kid teams aka pretty much the only people under 50 on the trip--mom+trevor, trevie+mom, kelli+kerri+dad)

day 4--80 miles to thompson falls, montana. saw mennonites on bicycles on the way and almost died in the rain. but there was a river there too with a rope swing. and the best food on the whole trip aka banana cupcake for dessert.

day 5--fat camp. 65 miles and two summits. the second one was 2.8 miles of 8-11% grade. that

basically means it was really steep. the whole time i just kept telling myself, "i'm burning fat, i'm burning fat, gotta keep going". got to kellog in the rain. woke up in the middle of the night with

water levels rising around us in our tent. (so much for sleeping in that day). got up at 6 to dry all our stuff at the hotel and sleep in the lobby.

(after dominating fat camp hill)

day 6--a flat, relaxing 46 mile recovery to my future hometown (if things don't work out in the pacific northwest), harrison, idaho. swam in the lake (shocker) and finally got my mint chocolate chip ice cream (and a phone number) from a very cute red headed boy working at the creamery. in case you didn't know, that night was also the peak of the perseids meteor shower, so we laid out on the dock and watched mother nature's show.

day 7--56 mile finish to hayden. head winds kept me from moving basically at all downhill. but we all made it alive and ready to sleep. lucky for us our self-proclaimed aunt amy and her husband mike offered us a ride in their rv. which meant lots of sleep on the 8 hour drive to boise.

deb...the only person to finally get my dad to get up and dance...oh how embarrassing.

7 days of 448 miles of cycling+camping in the rain+eating whatever they feed you+doing your duty in port-a-potties+some of the most beautiful terrain in the united states+awesome people=i'd do it again in a heartbeat.

peace+love

arachnophobia

there was this one time that i melted from the heat.

oh wait, that was today.

yesterday i woke up with a spider bite on my cheek. which means there was a spider crawling on my face that night. in my bed. with me.

then last night i was sitting at my computer and put my foot down in the corner underneath my desk. i landed right in a spider trap with 8 dead spiders.

the chaos that ensued went something like this:

me screaming looking up at the ceiling so as to avoid witnessing what i had actually done "KERRI! GETITOFF! GETITOFF! GETITOFF!"

"I AM NOT TOUCHING THAT THING!"

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GETITOFF! GET A PAPER TOWEL"

i felt like i was going to throw up for the next half hour.

on friday i got some new freckles at the lake. that night i watched fireworks on the roof of the rec center.

saturday i went for a nice long bike ride all inclusive with a nice little steep uphill right at the end. i rewarded myself with neilsen's frozen custard that night. except actually kerri paid.

and today i watched sound of music.

a good weekend on all accounts.

what did you do?

peace+love

melancholy

not to put a downer on life {let's face it, it's a joy!}, but sometimes i'm melancholy. and right now i'm somewhat melancholy. you see, i'm leaving my beloved cedar city for a while to embark on another adventure elsewhere ('twill be further explained at a later date...plus i have no idea where yet)...when i moved here 10 short months ago i did not expect to love this place as deeply as i do. if you are ever considering a move and need all the reasons to move to cedar city i will convince you this is a fantastic place to call your home.

i have this giant tree with faces carved into the trunk that i climb to go ponder and write.

and just up the canyon from my tree is a small cove carved into the sandstone where i go to ponder some more (or have good conversations with friends).

the colors are vivid. black soil against green foliage against red sandstone.

the weather is always perfect as there is a small but constant northward breeze (why always that direction? i have no idea).

i fall asleep at night to a symphony of crickets and wake up only to hear birds chirping outside my window. there are so many birds in cedar. big, beautiful birds. and in the summertime-bats everywhere at night.

cedar canyon is easily one of the most beautiful and surprisingly diverse places i have ever seen. crystal blue lakes surrounded by aspen groves next to lava fields.

and lets not forget cedar city's proximity to my home away from home, zion national park. a majestic sight everyone should see in this life.

then there's the lifestyle. the benefits of being in a city (with the exception of the severe lack of a music scene) with the perks of living in a small town. the pastry pub, the shakespearean festival (which comes with the most delicious raspberry tarts you'll ever taste), utah summer games, and last night we even had a senate candidates' debate. if you like hiking, camping, climbing, cycling, swimming, walking, reading, pretty much anything-ing, there's plenty of it to go around. especially hiking {but maybe that's just cause i'm biased}.

and the people. that means you, my bosom cedar friends. the people i've met and the memories i've made in the last 10 months have influenced my life in some small {or large} way that has made me a better person--or at least made me want to be a better person. genuine, high quality people. plus in the summer there are tons of tourists and i love tourists.

it's true, folks, cedar city {almost} has it all. {all we're missing is the ocean} my heart will break as i say goodbye, but not to worry....i'll be back before too long.

peace+love

on the road again...

1. My dream vacation would be hawaii. or china to see all the amazing natural arches. did you know 4 of the worlds biggest arches are in china? {6 are in utah. i love this state} .

2. The best trip I've ever taken was baaaa, that's a toss up. carribbean cruise was pretty darn amazing because i'm addicted to the water. but europe. oh europe...i had some pretty darn incredible experiences. .

3. The most important items to take on a road trip are music and gummy watermelons .

4. The next trip I'm looking forward to is Phoenix, AZ on thursday with my bestie, alicia! .

5. If I had to pick one CD to listen to for a long road trip it would be josh ritter. or cat stevens. best roadtrip music for the west, definitely. .

6. The biggest disaster I've ever encountered while traveling was my mom would say when i was 3 driving from illinois to utah. apparently i was puking and diarreah-ing the entire way. but i'd say when some friends and i were driving up to logan for a football game we saw a pick-up truck that had rolled into the ditch in the middle of the freeway and caught on fire. we watched a guy pull the driver out. .

7. My favorite traveling memory is driving to southern utah a million times when i was little to visit my grandparents. i used to have a hard time sleeping anywhere but my bed. so everyone else would be asleep as my mom was driving through the desert or zion and she'd listen to van morrisson or gladys knight. i'd just lean my head out the window and stare at the stars that you just can't see in the city.

.peace+love

confession #1

i don't own a digital camera...

my little sister lets me borrow her old one, but with my luck i'd lose it, break it, or get it stolen, so i never take it anywhere. that's the real reason i never put pictures in my posts. cause by the time i get my disposable camera developed it's completely irrelevant. but i stole these from my roommates camera and my friends facebook. so here you go. picture of the three hikes i've been on in the last 5 days.

hike numero uno {pictures courtesy of kristi schmidt}

"climbing a stairway to heaven"

or

the closest to heaven i'll ever get {i think i'm so witty}

or

guys, i think i can see the ocean {oh, but i am!}

or

"angel's landing"

{sorry, no actual pictures of the top, but if you really want to see the view, google it. or just do it for yourself. it's worth it.}

hi, i'm sam taylor

team extreme aka tommy, kristi, sam, me, scott, laura, jer-bear, darcy, josevy, jose

hike numero dos

lee pass to kolob arch aka 13 miles with a 1,000 foot climb to get out when your done...SURPRISE!

kelli jean+water=true love

also pictured: cam, joey, and camille

this is what we looked like after that 1,000 foot uphill to the parking lot...after the 13 miles.

hike numero tres

red cliffs recreation area

roomie tandem jump

natures water slide and my playground

yes, life is a vacation when you live in southern utah

peace+love

it's the american way...

hmm...i have no explanation. but i have a feeling this picture was my idea.

4th of july 2 years ago, bear lake aka lake+fireworks+rasberry shakes+danger on the waverunner=perfect 4th of july--that's my cousin dougy on the left. he's on a mission in south africa and he gets home october 2nd. i'm so stoked! (p.s. ladies he is single) on the right is my old bff shawn. and the butt belongs to douglas' brother topher. what a weasel.

1. The very best thing about the summer is the 4th of July. parades, fireworks, baseball, bbq. it just doesn't get better than that .

2. My first crush ever was 1st grade = Travis Christensen. one day we stayed in from recess and my friend frankie kissed him, so i decided to as well. didn't want to be left out. .

3. This may sound really silly but i'm like a little kid answering the phone when it comes to checking the snail mail. once i figure out what time the mailman comes to my complex, i'm the first one out the door with the mail key. sad thing is, most of the time there's nothing for me .

4. I squeeze my toothpaste from the end of the tube of course .

5. My absolute favorite "comfort food" is i don't have a comfort food. i have comfort music. sometimes i get the coconut chocolate brownies at pastry pub though. mmmm. i think i'll go get one now .

6. A random fact about me is that my absolute favorite flower is sunflowers and i'm allergic to them. it's so sad. .

7. The one piece of technology that truly makes my life better and I couldn't live without is my iPod. is that really surprising to anyone?

peace+love

spring fever

beautiful escondido/san diego
-gummy watermelons and wedding magazines for the drive. also, lots of Dr. Pepper
-katie's first attempt at wedding dress shopping
-remember hearing about all the rain in cali? ya, we didn't experience that
-peterson's donut corner...open 24 hours aka the reason America is fat...so good
-growing friendships and building new ones
-in 'n out burger
-driving a unimog-offroading in a unimog-almost dying on a unimog-the old guy on his roller blades carrying speakers and interpretive dancing
-trespassing for the sake of a picnic at the rock foundation of a house that burned down on top of a hill overlooking a lake
-kicked out of two apartment complex's hot tubs

-going out with a bang: late night swim at fletcher's cove and moonlight beach, almost a full moon, then warming up in some housing developments hot tub.(i broke more laws this weekend than i have in a long time)(wow, i look terrified)full moon. beach. bonfire. layers of waves grabbing my toes.

i thought, being here, experiencing this, how could you not believe in God?

what did you do this weekend?

p.s. LOST: the final season...starts tomorrow

peace+love

murphy's law (paranoia)

i had this strange thought today when i noticed a lump on my shin--what if i lost all use of my left leg? i got choked up just thinking about it...
i couldn't HIKE!
or ski
or rock climb
or skip
or drive a clutch
or run
or dance
or cliff jump
or ride my beloved bicycle
or walk
heck, standing would even be a little difficult!

my dreams of becoming a hermit with my husband and abandoning all modern conveniences would be shattered...

but then again, maybe I'd get my leg amputated and get a prosthetic then compete in the special olympics--table tennis, or bowling...
except that my average bowling score is 44.
or i could climb mt. Everest with my prosthetic leg and get really famous...
except i don't even have a desire to do that with two human legs.
or i could fulfill my ambition of becoming a whale trainer at sea world...I'd be the first whale trainer with a prosthetic leg
yes, that's it! they can't say no to someone with a prosthetic leg.

did you know elephants can have prosthetic legs?
i'm going to bed
-what great thing would you do if you had a prosthetic leg?

BYU Splash n' Dash

on tuesday, march 25th i was walking around campus and saw advertisements for the Splash n' Dash, a triathalon sponsored by BYU...scott and i had been talking about the triathons and races we were going to do all summer, so i thought, hey i'm in pretty good shape and this could be a good way to practice so why not? i signed up for the standard level: 1/2 mile (16 1/2 laps) swim and 5k (3.1 mile) run...saturday rolled around, i woke up about 9:45 a.m., made a big bowl of oatmeal ate the rest of my wheat french bread...i sort of lazed around all morning, read my scriptures, and got ready to go...i got to the RB for my heat at 12:30 p.m. i swam a warm up lap and talked to the girl i shared a lane with..i was a little nervous just because i hadn't ever done anything like that before, but i knew i could finish...we started and i did not pace myself well at first...by the second lap i was breathing hard and knew my adrenaline had gotten ahead of me and i needed to slow down if i wanted to last 14 more laps...i paced myself and felt like the swim went really well (except that alicia, who was kind enough to count laps for me, had to pull me out of the pool cause my arms were so sore), anyway my final time for the swim was 16:34.30...pretty decent for an untrained swimmer....i threw on clothes over my suit and started running...the clock does not stop so there is no break between events...the first mile was sheer hell...i didn't give myself enough time to breathe, and was panting all the way down canyon road...i came to the uphill and thought i might die...probably .7 miles uphill and the whole time my brain was thinking "what have i been doing wrong in my life that would make God take me off the earth right now? what do i need to fix?" yet somehow my legs kept moving...i got to the top of the hill and thought i could recover on the short down slope...instead i got a crazy bad side ache on the left...i tried thinking about other things, i tried running with my arm above my head, but nothing worked...i think that the pain of a side ache is magnified at least twelve times when you're running after swimming 1/2 mile at least 2 minutes faster than you normally do...i couldn't take it anymore so i started walking...i had walked about 30 or 40 yards when this guy came running up behind me, passed me, then turned his head and motioned for me to start running again...he was yelling something but i had my head phones in so i just kept thinking "no, go ahead, just leave me here to die"...he kept waving and slowed down his pace so i reluctantly started jogging and caught up to him...to give you an idea of what kind of guy he was, we were right in front of the creamery on 9th and a woman had dropped her grocery bags, so he stopped, picked them up, and started running again...anyway, he started asking me questions and talking to me to keep me distracted and keep me from walking...i found out he had never done a biathalon, his name is bryan, and he hadn't really swam since he was 12 which is why he had such a hard time with the swimming...we ran together for about a minute and he asked if i could push a little harder, i responded "if i push any harder you'll be carrying me across the finish line" (okay i wasn't that witty, but give me a break, i was in pain)...he said "okay, i'm going to pick up my pace a bit, but you just gotta keep running" i said okay, thanked him and he took off...i was waiting for him to get out of sight so i could start walking again...then i saw him go out to the road, pick up a sign directing the runners where to go and put it back in place then continue running...after i saw that i thought, "this guy just slowed his pace and sacrificed his time to get me running again. the least i could do for him is finish this race running"...so i kept running....it was even more hellish than the first mile...i could feel my breakfast coming up and even threw up a bit in my mouth...every exhale was forced but i kept my mind distracted..i thought about all of these people that have been helping me lately and seeing how this particular experience could relate to life...i came to the road between the brick oven and the tennis courts and thought "i am so done with this race" and sprinted to the finish line...there was bryan, cheering me across...
from this experience i learned 3 things, but i'll let you figure out how it applies to life...
peace+love