The Fourth II

Rested up, Kurt and I packed up and met our friends the Winder's and the Bergam's to set off on our new adventure:

backpacking Y mountain! Here we see the hopeful and somewhat naive travelers as they begin this epic journey.

About halfway up the Y trail I discovered that my inhaler was completely empty and Tiffany, my friend-in-asthma, didn't have hers. This was a daunting beginning, but it was overcast (which helps with keeping the heat down, which in turn helps with the asthma) and we decided to press on without.

My asthma, though very bad lately, was nice and not-so-bad for this hike and so I made it to the top of the Y (first time, I've always stopped at the bottom of the Y). I felt triumphant.

Photo op!

We continued on past the Y into unknown territory

...and continued on so more...

And found a nice lookout spot ripe for picture taking! Plus, we were all suckin' wind and feelin' the 20+ pound (girls)

and 40+ pound (boys) packs on our backs.

We were not the only ones enjoying the scenery and taking advantage of it.

Finally, a beautiful sight came into view... We decided it was a meadow worthy to be our sleeping quarters for the night.

Tiffany and Greg set up camp.

So did Jen and Evan.

Kurt was really thirsty and very glad to have this water.

Home sweet tent.

Then, settled in Greg started the fire.

And Kurt cooked delicious chili with rice, hamburger, and cheese. After it got dark, we set off once more for the main event:

Watching Fire of Stadium fireworks at the top of Y Mount! It took about 30 minutes to get up there and at first as we trekked through stinging nettles and over rocks and roots, we each wondered (to ourselves) if we really wanted to hike all the way to the top. We wondered if it would be worth the extra effort that night and soreness the next day. Two words: it was. There were two beautifully weathered logs on the very top of the mountain that made perfect seating to watch the best fireworks display in Utah. They were big, beautiful, and loud. We could see all the way from Santaquin to Draper. It was pretty amazing.

Look at the amazement on our faces!

With sadness we left the beautiful view and started our trek back down, until we remembered what awaited us back at the meadow: s'mores (courtesy of Tiff and Greg)!! What a way to end an amazing July 4th!

Waiting for my mallow to be flamin', then I'll put it on the graham.

Somewhere along the way, Kurt turned into a thug.

But a sweet thug. The next morning, I woke up to these. :)

There's my sweet thuggin' husband. Up bright and early.

We ate oatmeal and poptarts for breakfast (courtesy of Evan and Jen).

And then it was time to leave. July 5th was much sunnier than July 4th and so I was able to see just how beautiful and green our meadow was.

Tiff and Greg packin' up.

Evan and Jen already packed up. That was fast!

One last picture... because my jacket matched the meadow.

And then Kurt turned into a Boy Scout.

As we left, we turned and looked back the way we'd come...

We felt like macho persons (politically correct) as we got back to our cars! 'Twas a successful trip!!

29 Years!

Then:

Now:

Today is the 29th anniversary of my wonderful parents! Can you believe that?
I'm so grateful that they got married, had all of us kids, stuck it out through all the years, and are still some of the most fun people I know.
I couldn't ask for better!
Happy Anniversary, Chris and Leslie!!!

The Fourth

5:30 pm July 3rd, 2008: the madness begins...

First of all, it was not my intention to create such strong feelings of suspense in my readers, and for that I apologize... sort of. Our July 4th began with a pancake breakfast/viewing party of the famous Provo parade. People here are absolutely crazy about this. They camped out all day and all night before and I've never seen University Avenue so crazy at 12 am. The next morning Kurt and I woke up bright and early to find out that the parade-fanatics had woken up even brighter and earlier. And we discovered, while starting our breakfast prep, that there was a pre-parade parade! This mostly consisted of all the karate/comic book nerds that can't play in a marching band, make pretty floats, or win beauty contests. But, as I said earlier, the Provo parade is famous ... even intergalactically famous.

And it repairs broken bonds! Obi Wan Keno be and Darth Vader came out from their far, far away galaxy to watch this humble parade and were able to walk side-by-side like old friends. Aww.

Making pancakes. Yes, pumpkins are a symbol of Independence Day as well as Halloween and Thanksgiving...

Kurt's friend Nick Sibert, his wife Deb, and her sister Vanessa (I'm pretty sure), who is holding Nick and Deb's son Toby.

Tiff and Greg Winder, always the life of the party.

I'm cooking, Kurt is eating... I fear that this will become a pattern of our life in the future

Then the parade started in earnest. Here are my highlights:

Another celebrity: Glenn Beck! See, he's waving at me.

Things you only see in Utah parades: an Institute float with the theme of temple marriage

Go Cougs!!!

Babaar!

Things you only see in Utah parades: dozens of missionaries

Things you only see in Utah parades: people on segways

After the parade Kurt and I decided to take a nap (and a picture) to rest up for our afternoon/nighttime activities... stay tuned to find out what they were!

Happy Independence Day!

Typically, growing up my 4th of July began with

or

and then we watched some


After I started working, it was typically spent doing

and

but still followed up by some

Last year, our Independence Day consisted offollowed by a deliciousatThis year my July 4th was in no way coastal, but something altogether different. And it was one of my favorite ones ever.

As Kurt enjoyed saying all day in a non-specific foreign accent: "Hooray for America!"
Stay tuned to find out what made it so great!

(Pictures from various places on the web, except for the fireworks pics. They're from Jarvie. He takes good pictures. The top pic really is Folly Beach. The pic of me in the hat really is me from my lifeguard supervising days. The girl in the bathing suit is not me.)

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Today is the second birthday of my favorite nephew, Chris! I talked to Mandi today and she said that they are having an elephant birthday party for him since his favorite animal is the elephant. He knows it's his birthday enough to know that he gets cake. I tried to tell him Happy Birthday but he was more interested in locking his mom in his room than talking on the phone. We'll do a webcam call later. I sure do love that kid!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of him from Mandi's blog.

Strawberry picking. I told Mandi this picture needs to be framed.

Chris has the coolest mom because she'll draw on his face with markers.

Chris took his friend Grover to the zoo with them one day and since Grover was wearing socks Chris thought he needed to walk. So this is Chris helping Grover walk.

Wowza

So, since I have started blogging I have mostly relied on one website for my templates: pYzam. These are fun, but they all seem to have a similar feel. Lately I've been able to find more website with free layouts, and while some of these are very similar (think scrapbook-y) it's fun to take layouts from a different website each time and spice it up! (Let's face it, I probably change my layout more often than the average blogger. I have a short attention span.) So here are my favorite websites for free blogs:

Leelou Blogs
pYzam.com
Simply Chic Blogs
Suckmylolly.com
The Cutest Blogs on the Block (they have links to even more, who in turn have links, and so on)
SJH Blog Design (more tips on doing your own blog than free templates, but they have links to sites with good backgrounds)
*Matie Kay* Creations

J Dawgs Virgin

So, I am a BYU graduate and yet I have been missing out on one essential BYU experience: J Dawgs. I even lived next door to this locally-famous hot dog stand for 8 months and I still never went. Reason: I'm not a big hot dog fan. I have, however, recently realized that I really love bratwurst and since then I've heard that J Dawgs' polish dog is very similar to a bratwurst. As I have limited time left in Happy Valley, I decided that to be a true Cougar I need to eat at J Dawgs at least once. So last night for date night, Kurt and I went to J Dawgs.

About to bite into a Cougar tradition. (The polish dog was very good and I enjoyed it, but I have no desire to go back before we leave. I just don't like hot dogs that much.)

Kurt enjoying his polish dog with the works.

Afterwards we went to Ella Good (it's literally down the street) and enjoyed our Ella large tiger's blood with a double shot of cream in the shade as we watched the south campus traffic. I really do like Provo (most days).

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my husband?

1. What is his name? Kurtstan David Atkins.

2. Who eats more? Hmm... that honestly depends on the day.

3. Who said I love you first? Kurt did. He tried to be all nonchalant about it. I was upset about something that I'd done and its potentially negative consequences and he said, "Well, it's ok because I'll still love you."

4. Who is taller? He is by 3 inches.

5. Who is smarter? I honestly don't know. I'm better at liberal arts stuff and he's more scientific/accounting/etc.

6. Who is more sensitive? Definitely me. To everything. I'm a big emotional dweeb.

7.Who does the laundry? Typically I do, but he'll wash his own stuff sometimes (he's afraid to do my laundry because I'm really picky about my clothes). Right now, while we're going to the laundromat, we both do it.

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Ummm... him. Sometimes we switch. I like to be on the side closest to the wall.

9. Who pays the bills? He does. I hate money stuff.

10. Who cooks more? It's pretty equal right now, since I work until 6, but in the fall it'll be me, baby, me.

11. What meals do you cook together? Dinner. We just grab breakfast in the mornings and I'm at work for lunch.

12. Who is more stubborn? I'd say probably me.

13. Who is the first to admit they're wrong? Probably me, again. I have a tendency to beat myself up.

14. Who has more siblings? Me. (Wow, who is this about, anyways?) I have 4, he has uno.

15. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Well, we both mostly wear shorts right now ... jk, I'd say it's pretty much equal.

16. What do you like to do together? Hike, rock climb, snowboard, listen to music, watch Arrested Development, watch movies (Redbox and the dollar theater!), cook, eat (at home and out), travel, snorkel, chill on the beach, play video games, play games, dance goofy in the kitchen, just about anything is better with Kurt

17. Who eats more sweets? Definitely me. He'd rather have beef jerky

18. Guilty pleasures? Video games, beef jerkey, Kookaburra licorice, golf, buying stuff for his many hobbies

19. How did you meet? We were in the same ward at Windsor Park and we both had crushes on each other as soon as we met (or saw each other, in my case). It took him a few tries, but I finally could say yes when he asked me out for a motorcycle ride and from there I was hooked.

20. Who asked who out first? He did. The first time he invited me to something was my apartment to his apartment for dinner. Our first date was a motorcycle ride and hot chocolate.

21. Who kissed who first? Kurt did, but after I told him he could.

22. Who proposed? Kurt. On the beach, in Charleston, at night. There couldn't have been a better place.

23. His best features? His eyes, his hair, his butt (sorry... but it can't be denied), and his amazing laugh. It's infectious.

24. What is his greatest quality? Just one? Hmmm... err.... (I'm having trouble choosing.) ... He's one of those people that's so great that everyone just knows it. Everyone loves Kurt and I think one of the big reasons is he's a server. He'll drop whatever he's doing to help anyone who needs it. When we were dating he had all these thank you cards on his fridge from people that he'd helped move, give a blessing to, etc. Every time I meet someone from Kurt's world they always say, "You're so lucky; Kurt's an amazing guy." It's just so true.

My husband, the mountain goat

Overwhelmed and under-specialized

I've been thinking lately I'd like to be an editor. I thought it would be a good career path for me, especially considering my love of writing (and my plans to write books one day). I also thought it might be possible for me to do it with kids ... I'm beginning to think not so much. Here's what I read today: (from BYU's vault online career library)

"The long road

The pay is low to start, the hours are long, the competition is stiff, and there is no guarantee you will make it all the way to executive editor. Why try to make it as an editor? Those entering the magazine, book or newspaper publishing industries know the pitfalls of the job but recognize them as necessary evils of a labor of love.

Working from the bottom up

The bottom rung of the publishing ladder is the editorial assistant, a glorified secretary to an editor. An assistant takes care of all of the editor's clerical tasks, setting appointments, writing letters, reading and assessing manuscripts, and most of all soaking up the mechanics of the editor's job. Assuming they don't burn out, assistants spend about two years at this level before becoming promoted to assistant editor. Many editors are former writers who have demonstrated an ability to "be the boss" and encourage and motivate people.

Why stick it out? Editors at major book publishing houses get to make stars out of new writers. At the highest level, editors command six-figure salaries and rub elbows with the most famous people in the literary world.

Magazine editors enjoy similar benefits. They dictate the creative direction of a magazine and work with art directors, photographers and writers to execute their vision. The editor-in-chief of a magazine is a full-fledged member of the jet set, with a salary to match.

Newspaper editors, especially those at large dailies like The New York Times, enjoy much of the same prestige as famous magazine editors. Section and managing editors are also treated well, as they are in charge of large amounts of content and employees.

Editors are bibliophiles and workaholics and though they find little time to rest their eyes, they claim to be among the happiest professionals in the world.

Uppers
� Proximity to interesting people
� Abundance of career options
� Free books

Downers
� Low starting salary
� Long hours
� High stress level
� High level of dissatisfaction

Personality Match
� Creative
� Detail-oriented
� Assertive
� Honest
� Bibliophile

Personality Miss
� Disorganized
� Rigid
� Outdoorsy"

I'm getting very depressed that I'll never be able to find a career path that will fit me and my goals. The low salary doesn't bother me, but the long hours does. I want to get my Masters and I want to be a stay at home Mom, but I want to have something that I can do when my kids are grown. I'm getting frustrated ... any suggestions (other than pray about it; I'm already doing that)?