Promises I've Made

Kurt and I hiked up to (the actual) Squaw Peak on Saturday. We loaded up our packs once more and attempted again to reach our destination from last week. The caterpillars were cooperating this week and so our trip was successful and very satisfying. It took us about 3.5 hours (we didn't run down since Kurt still had some weight left in his pack; I only took water weight and emptied it out at the top). My asthma has really improved (at least, in the hiking part of my life; trying to fall asleep is another matter) and we didn't have to stop much to let ol' wheezy catch her breath! An exciting day. There were quite a few hikers on Saturday morning, including one family reunion. We encountered the patriarch of the family on the way up, who chatted with us and shared his gummy treats with us. He told us they did it every year as a family. He has 10 daughters and didn't say how many grand kids, but there were at least 20 kids ranging in age from 5 to 15 in the group (who we met at the top and gave our extra water to). I thought that was pretty cool and it made me think to the future when Kurt and I have grand-rugrats running around... until then, we'll enjoy just being ourselves for the time being! But still, marriage is pretty cool.

The hike was really pretty and I stopped to take a picture of some quaking aspens when ... the battery died. So all of these pictures were taken with Kurt's camera phone, hence not very great quality. And I should work on not being a goofy dork in pictures. It's my new goal.

Meadows! Yes!

A meadow full of flowers! We encountered a few of these--it was very cool!

The top. I always take pictures on Kurt's left side and I really shouldn't do that when the sun's to the right of him...

The way down, another flower-filled meadow. The mountains in the distance look cool, and the lake was blue-green and gorgeous that day (makes you forget that it's basically a dead sea, doesn't it??). After that backpack-training adventure I'm feeling optimistic and excited for our Timp adventure this Friday!

(The title of this post comes from a funny story our friend Greg Winder told us. One of the trail heads to Squaw Peak (the easier, shorter one) has a parking lot that's high up on the mountain. During the winter the road up there is closed, but in the warm months it's a heavily-trafficked local make out spot. If you tell people you're going up to Squaw Peak around Provo they assume you're going to get hot and heavy in a car with some hottie. Well, Greg told us one night he drove up with some friends and blasted an EFY song called "Promises I've Made" (or something like that, I never went to EFY and certainly don't know any songs) out his open windows. The song is apparently about keeping your virtue, if you know what I mean.)

100th Post!

It's my 100th post! 9 months after I started blogging I have reached this milestone post. Woohoo! So, in commemoration of such a historic event, a random, goofy fun post!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Swebus PT Cruiser

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Oatmeal Cookie Batter Chocolate Chip

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
K-Atk

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Pink Falcon

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Lynn Orem

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Atkkri

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Green Coke

8. NASCAR NAME: (the last names of your grandfathers)
Cooper Hatch

9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Japanese Cherry Blossom Peanut M&Ms

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names),
Ann Lewis

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a city that begins with the same letter)
Matthews Minneapolis

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Spring Lily

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y)

Nectarine Tanky

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Oatmeal Magnolia

15. YOUR ROCK TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
The Blogging Thunderstorm Tour

If you didn't know me better, I'll bet you'd think I was a Granola, what with all the hiking we've been doing...

Kurt and I did three hikes in 24 hours this last weekend! On Friday we hiked with our friends, the Winders, to the hot springs in Spanish Fork canyon! We did it as a celebration of the Summer Solstice/Longest Day of the Year. It's an easy 45 minute hike with a soak at the end! Aaaand, I got to wear my new bathing suit! Unfortunately, of our 3 hikes, this is the only one we remembered to bring our camera on and on top of that, we didn't take many pictures. Most of these pictures are compliments of Tiffany!


I was having trouble being photogenic that day.


There was another group of people there when we got to the springs and they had this cool pitt bull that kept swimming 'round and 'round in the cold river. He didn't like the smell of the warm, sulfur water so much. His name was Capone. I decided that Kurt and I need to get a big dog to go hiking with us, because frankly, Chou chou's a bit of a wimp.

I'm not sure why we didn't take any pictures in the hot springs. Every now and then we'd get too hot and jump in the frigid river. Everyone else loved it but me .... I don't do cold water very well. I really was having fun, despite my expression in this pic. I was just caught off guard.

Getting ready to leave. Sad :(

Tiffany and Greg are so cute! And more tolerable of cold water than I am. And more photogenic.

Saturday morning Kurt and I drove up to Sundance to hike to Stewart Falls. Unfortunately, we parked so close that the trip took us 20 minutes, total. That includes stopping at the falls and admiring them. So, naturally, we decided to go on another hike in the 95 degree weather. We're going to do an over-night back-packing trip up Timp on July 4th and so to train, we decided to load up some backpacks with full water bottles and hike Squaw Peak. The hike was going really well until dun-dun-dun, attack of the caterpillars! Thousands of caterpillars were literally falling from the trees, making the way impassable. However, we were able to go halfway, so it ended up being a 2 hour hike and with the high temperature and the weight on our backs, a pretty good workout! We're gonna try it again this Saturday and this time I'll take the camera!!

It's a meadow! It's a beauty! It's a beauty meadow!

So I learned on Sunday that my dad had always had the same dream as I had--to go to the meadows on the saddles in front of Timp. So here's a few more pictures, and a video, from our hike up there. Enjoy, Dad!

This is a small meadow on the way up. There were lots of meadow-y clearings like this.

Congrats Kurt!

Kurt just got back his score on the Regs (aka taxes) section of the CPA exam he took four weeks ago.
Drum roll please...
...
...
He got a 92! My husband's so smart! And he thought he failed.

Denver

Well, everyone, it's official. Kurt and I are moving to Denver in just a few months. Kurt's start date is September 16th and we're so excited to move onto the next stage of our life! We headed down to Denver last weekend to scout out houses and neighborhoods. Our friend James is down there for training right now so we brought his wife along so that could see each other. We left on Friday afternoon and since I don't know anything about the I-70 route decided to take that one. It was a full hour longer but there were some really cool things to see!

Early Saturday morning we met our future real estate agent. She wasn't able to show us around because she was helping out with a wedding, but she did type up a guided tour of the neighborhoods we could afford in the areas we were interested in. We set off for the nearest area, checking out the 'hood and grabbing flyers for houses for sale. After about an hour, disaster struck ... our car over-heated and we quickly pulled over to the side of the road. We called James and Camille and I read Harry Potter 7 (so good... had to reread it!) while Kurt tried to fix the car. When the Winfield's arrived we took our car to the shop and continued our neighborhood-hunting adventure! As a note... don't stop at Good Times for food in Denver. The times there aren't so good. The two cities we checked out were Littleton and Lakewood.

In the late afternoon we headed over to the downtown area to walk the 16th Street Mall. What a cool area! We then went back to the shop to pick up our car. They tried to tell us that our radiator needed to be replaced, that it would cost $1000, they wouldn't be able to do it till Monday, and there were $1000 worth of other repairs needed. We called their bluff and took the car home, stopping at a cool street fair in downtown Littleton and finding the coolest Safeway ever on the way, and at home we ate Freschetta pizza and watched Runaway Jury. The next morning for church we discovered that Kurt forgot his church clothes, so we attended sacrament meeting with Kurt in a sweater, button-up short-sleeve underneath, jeans and sneakers. Better to go under-dressed than not go at all, I say! After church we went to our real estate agent's house, where her husband grilled delicious steaks for lunch. Afterwards she took us around Parker and Aurora. Then we grabbed Camille, said goodbye to James, and took the I-80 route home to Provo. The areas we liked best were Littleton and the non-ghetto areas of Lakewood. We really liked Parker but then Kurt would be commuting for 1 hour each way and I'd like to see my husband sometimes. It was a fun, adventurous and productive trip!

Wheezy

Image via.

"Asthma is a chronic condition involving the respiratory system in which the airways occasionally constrict, become inflamed, and are lined with excessive amounts of mucus, often in response to one or more triggers.^[1] These episodes may be triggered by such things as exposure to an environmental stimulant such as an allergen, environmental tobacco smoke, cold or warm air, perfume, pet dander, moist air, exercise or exertion, or emotional stress. In children, the most common triggers are viral illnesses such as those that cause the common cold.^[2] This airway narrowing causes symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. The airway constriction responds to bronchodilators. Between episodes, most patients feel well but can have mild symptoms and they may remain short of breath after exercise for longer periods of time than the unaffected individual. The symptoms of asthma, which can range from mild to life threatening, can usually be controlled with a combination of drugs and environmental changes."
-Wikiepedia.org

This morning I woke up bright and early to walk/run the Y. My plan was to walk up, then run down. Kurt was originally planning on coming with me, but due to a hard fall he took yesterday, he decided it was best not to.
I really like being up early in the morning. I just don't like waking up. However, this morning I was successful in getting up early. (Most nights before I go to bed I insist that I'm going to get up early, then in the morning I snooze until the last possible minute. Then, as I get ready for work, I insist that I'm going to get to bed early. Then, I don't get to bed until my normal time--which isn't early, but it's not late. It's a vicious cycle.) I was so proud of myself! I dressed in my work out clothes, excited at the idea of doing cardio outside ... see, I hate cardio. HATE IT, thanks to my asthma. But running outside isn't as torturous for me. Plus, however far you go, you have to come back (as opposed to the gym where you can step off at any time). I was surprisingly awake, but apparently not alert as I took 3 wrong turns on my way to the Y trailhead. I got out of the car. Took a few swigs of Powerade, took 3 hits off the ol' inhaler, and took off at a brisk walk.
Now, my asthma is not consistent. Some days I have no symptoms whatsoever, just some shortness of breath while doing squats at the gym. Other days, however, I start to hyperventilate just standing at the filing cabinet in my office. When I woke, I thought it would be a good day. As I climbed the first switchback, however, I saw that I was wrong. There's a bench at the first turn in the trail ... I sat down, gasping for breath, trying to keep my racing heartbeat and breathing slow. Okay, I thought to myself, maybe not all the way to the top. I'll just walk up for 30 minutes, with the fewest amount of stops, and then turn around and run down. I started walking again and after 5 minutes again I needed a break. I squatted on my heels in the middle of the trail and slowed my breathing back down. Wind felt sharp as it squeezed through my constricted trachea and bronchial tubes. Maybe 20 minutes up would be better. Long story short, I didn't make it twenty minutes up, but I did do 15. And the annoying thing is, the run down was fine! I could probably run down hill all day without worrying about my asthma. If only you could run down a hill without having to come back up...

So I've got a goal now. I plan on doing the Y three mornings a week. I'm gonna work up to being able to go all the way up without stopping too much. Wow, that sounds sad.

Nature! Goulet!

Kurt and I have recently really gotten into hiking. Well, Kurt's always been into it, having had the benefit of growing up near mountains, and I've always enjoyed it (except that one year at girls' camp, when we hiked all day in jeans), but now we've decided to do a hike a week. There's several reasons for this:
1) It's a good work-out alternative to running on a treadmill (we hike up and jog down usually);
2) There's way too many hikes I haven't done here in Utah and my time in Provo is coming swiftly to an end;
3) Hiking's just pretty! You see so many cool things!

We missed last week, what with moving and going to Denver, but the week before we got 1.5 hikes in, so that kinda makes up for it.

The first 1/2 hike was on Friday (6/6/08) up in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Kurt's mom was having a 5 hour surgery, so while she got cut open, we tried to go rock climbing and hiking. However, the weather wasn't working for us and neither were the directions Kurt found on the internet, so by the time the rain came we hadn't found our climbing spot. But we did do a few short, pretty hikes.

Here's a pretty creek/waterfall.


Kurt contemplating life and all of its complexities.


I cannot believe how green Utah has been! If I didn't know any better, I'd say this picture was taken in North Carolina!

The next day we decided to hike up the hills on the front side of Timp. I've always looked at the saddle in front of Timp, between the mountain and the hills, and wanted to go up there. It's always looked like it was a meadow to me and I've always wanted to see a real-live meadow! Kurt had gone on a 5 hour bike ride up there earlier that week with Alex Wilcox and told me how pretty it was. So then, naturally, I insisted he take me up there.

We took the Battle Creek Canyon trail, then when it hit the Timpanooke trail, took a left along the meadows. This is a cool waterfall we found towards the beginning of the hike.


This is where the Battle Creek Canyon trail meets the Timpanooke trail. Look how close Timp is!


Here it is: a meadow! Man, I'm such a nerd, but it was so beautiful! Green grass, green bushes, green tree leaves... I really, really love the color green.


Mount Nebo in the distance. This picture gives some perspective to how high up we were.


We found some scat and Kurt tried to figure out what it came from. He finally decided cougar.


This is where we turned around and began our jog down. It took 1 hour 50 minutes to hike up (with frequent stops thanks to asthma) and 45 minutes to run down. It was quite chilly up top, hence why I'm suddenly wearing black sleeves (when earlier I was wearing an orange tank top). It was literally the perfect day for hiking.


Timpanooke trail sign. Check out that blue sky!

I think this week we're going to do 2 hikes (which I haven't told Kurt yet, lol). 1) Hike to the Hot Springs with our friends, the Winder's, to commemorate the first day of summer/longest day of the year (Friday, 6/20) and 2) Stewart Falls before the quaking aspens' leaves lose their vibrance (Saturday, probably). I'm so excited!

That's 'ella good!

Warm weather means it's take to visit our favorite lady, Ella Good!

Kurt and I were very excited to see that Ella Good was open again (there were rumors it wasn't going to be open this summer). On Saturday, the 7th, we headed over to south campus to get us some yummy treats! It is officially spring/summer time!

Our favorite flavor: tiger's blood with a double shot of half 'n half. So flippin good!

Too Important to Ignore

If you're conservative, liberal, or somewhere in the middle, you can't ignore the rising gas prices.
I'm normally not very political, but the impending election, sky-rocketing gas prices, and this ridiculous global warming hoax have made me realize what's at stake.
Sign this petition! Then send it to your friends and family and have them sign it!

Goodbye Wilcox's!

Our wonderful friends, the Wilcox's, left us a couple of weeks ago. The bright side is we sold our contract and are living in their house while they're gone for the summer (and therefore have much more space and saving hundreds of dollars!) but the dark side is that our friends are gone. Here's a few pictures from our last Ticket to Ride party for the next couple of months.

Ticket to Ride is the best game!


Allison is such a great friend. I miss her!


Kurt likes Bentley, can't you tell?


Bentley snooping around.


It was the most amazing night so we had the door open. However, Bentley wanted to go outside to we had to create a barrier out of suitcases and stools. He's in the stools in this picture, trying to figure out how to get out.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to an amazingly awesome/wonderful/best in the world dad, Chris!! It was sad not to be there with him. I love you Dad!

(As a testament to how awesome my dad is, every picture of our dance together from the wedding is basically my favorite. They're all so good.)

No one worries about you in Vegas if you're already married

Our trip to Vegas (courtesy of our wonderful friends, the Wilcox's) was an absolute blast!! Here is a list of our trip to the City of Sin:

1. First things first, I insisted on going to In 'n' Out burger for lunch on Saturday! I have been hearing nothing but praises of this West Coast fast food joint and with my love of burgers, you know there was no way I was missing out on that! It did, I dare say, meet my expectations. Very, very good!




2. Drove down the strip and took a trip to the Stratosphere. The men were brave enough to ride the Big Shot (free fall ride on top of the Stratosphere) and the Xscream, while we women chatted and took pictures.





3. Sushi Friday night and again on Saturday night (after 11 for the half-off special) at Osaka. Great sushi or the greatest sushi of all time? I'd say the latter.

4. Walking the strip until 4 am with Alex and Allison. We walked through the Bellagio (amazing) and a few other casinos as well. It made us feel young and single again to be up that late. And to be honest, it was pretty fun!





5. Kurt found some eye candy. I'm not jealous, I swear.


6. Kurt forgot his church clothes (on our bed) and so had to borrow Alex's... they were a bit small. With his rolled-up shirt sleeves, he looked like a priest or a teacher! And he played the part pretty well (which isn't surprising).


This picture illustrates one of the many, many reasons that I love him. ("Would you say that I have a plethora of reasons?")

7. Trip out to Red Rock for some hiking and picture taking.




8. General goofing off with Allison.



9. Breakfast up at Mt. Charleston lodge ... they have the world's largest traffic cone (or what might as well be).


10. A quick trip to Red Mango and finding a very sweet store.



The Traditional 1st Anniversary Frozen Yogurt

11. On our way out of Vegas, we stopped on the strip one more time ... to see the Bellagio fountains ("Your Song" by Elton John, and "Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea Boccelli) and to ride the Manhattan Express roller coaster at the NY, NY casino. Both were closed on our late night expedition on Saturday night.




12. Free Red Bull sodas on the strip.


13. Completely losing our minds on the car trip home, playing Monopoly on Kurt's phone, and having impromptu dance parties in gas station parking lots in St. George.


14. And of course, Bentley.