Pioneer children sang as they walked, and walked, and walked

And so did we. Sometimes. On Pioneer Day Kurt and I hiked Timp! It was Kurt's third time and my first. It was a long (15 miles, 8 hours) hike, but very worth it! It took us longer than the normal person because we took all of the side trails to see where they went.

We woke up at 5:30 and left at about 6:15. When we got to the trail head at 7, there were already a ton of people there! As we hiked we watched the landscape change from protected meadows, surrounded by woods (and hiking in the woods as well)...

to wide open meadows surrounded only by hill-tops to ...

shale. This is the very last push up to the top, as you walk along the ridge. I'd only had to take my inhaler once the whole time, but I was definitely feeling the 10,000+ feet elevation! The air was so thin, but it was also so clear--we picked a good day air-quality-wise to hike!

The view from the top is amazing. There really is nothing to compare. I should've taken a picture of it, lol. There's a shack at the top and a log that you sign... there were already 2 pages of signatures for that day alone! We ate lunch and I reveled in having to wear my jacket--it was quite chilly up there! I also educated this one guy on ticks. I heard him say, "This is a weird looking spider. It looks like a tick but with 8 legs." I turned around and told him, "Then it probably is a tick. Tick's are arachnids--they have 8 legs." I felt strong and smart!

Wow, that's some bad posture. I apologize for that, but I also don't apologize--I was tired!!!

I am so strong! Don't you like how I included my inhaler in my strong-woman pose? I have to show that I had obstacles to overcome, lol. I seriously wanted to tell everyone up there that I had asthma so they'd be impressed. However, the 60-something old man up there probably had me beat.

Norah Jones: "Come away with me and we'll kiss on a mountain top." I finally got my mountain-top kiss! Yesss!!!

8 Inches!

Yesterday, I went from this:

to this:

I cut 8 inches off my hair! I thought to get to that length it would be 4 inches... boy was I wrong. My hair was a lot longer than I thought!
I really, really like it. It's much cooler (I never did my hair because it was too hot). The hair girl styled it flatter than I usually do, but she did an outstanding job with the cut!

Teton is french for...

Umm... well .... you'll just have to look it up for yourself. (I know what it is, just don't feel it's appropriate to say, lol).

Anyhow, the weekend of the 21st we headed up to Sugar City, Idaho, to hang out with my aunt Michelle and family and with the purpose of hiking Table Rock in the Tetons. We had a really fun time on Sunday night playing improv games and eating caramel-covered bugles with the Parkinson's and the Stein's (my aunt Jodie and her kids). On Monday we had planned to hike Table Rock, but found out there was still too much snow. So we altered our plans and instead hiked Devil's Stairs just south and west of Table Rock and the three Teton peaks.

Here's the group (from left): JJ (Jodie's), Michelle, my mom, Jackie (Jodie's), Jodie (behind her), Emmie (Michelle's), Mallory (behind her, Michelle's), Carly (Michelle's), me, and Kurt. Also, Brad, Michelle's husband, came along and took all of the awesome pictures on this post! He's a really, really good amateur photographer.

We headed off!

Here's a pretty stream we found.

This is the only picture on here from our camera.

Kodak moment!

The reason we did this hike is because my mom wanted to do Table Rock for her 50th birthday. This hike wasn't as long, but it was pretty steep on the second half and it was still 8 miles. She did awesome!!

It was a gorgeous day. Cloudy enough to keep us cool, yet there were patches of bright blue sky. And the air there was so clean! My asthma was loving it.

Kurt found some snow to throw at us. During this trip, Kurt impressed all of my family and they all agreed: he's a stud. That's for dang certain!

After a lunch break at the top of the Devil's Stairs, we headed back. Here are some pictures that Brad took of the scenery on our hike:

Columbine. This flower is probably one of my favorite wild flowers. It's so pretty!


A waterfall towards the beginning of the hike.

The pond at the top of the hike where we ate lunch.

A pretty river we hiked next to. The beginning of the hike was in the forest and then it opened up into a meadow and then we started going up the side of the mountain.

Here's some of the meadow. Look at all those flowers!

We saw 2 pairs of moose cows and calves. It was very cool. I love this pic with the calf in the middle of all those flowers.


Beautiful, big, blue sky!

We had a great time up in Idaho! To be honest, I'd rather settle down in Idaho one day rather than Utah. It's so pretty up there. I can't wait to go visit the Parkinson's again!

Maddox Joseph

Maddox Joseph Cooper was born yesterday morning, July 27th at 3 am! We're all so excited to have another little baby to dote on!

Angel, Mother!

My mom came in town for 3 weeks! She just left today and we had a great time hanging out. I didn't cry last night when I told her bye, but I did on the way home. What can I say? I love my mom!

She mostly stayed at my grandma's house but for a few days she came down to Provo to stay with Kurt and me! It was really fun having here there and we had a great time getting her addicted to The Office, introducing her to Ella Good, and going on hikes to prepare her for Table Rock (which we ended up not doing, but more on that later)!

On Sunday night we hung around and watched the Office (and I cleaned because the place was a wreck). Then on Monday we went on 2 hikes! The first was the Stewart Falls!

Oooo, aaaaah.



Next, we drove around ol' Timp to the Timpanogos cave! Normally the hike takes people 1.5 hours to hike up to the caves, but we did it in 45 minutes! Way to go, Mom!


It was pretty cool inside. I got a little nervous (claustrophobia) but managed not to panic. We saw some really cool stuff! I highly recommend you do this if you live in Utah--very, very cool!






It was so fun having my mom here! I already miss her so much, and every time I see my family it just makes me realize more and more how much I one day need to live close to my family. :D

Happy B-day, Daddio!

(This is my dad being silly.)

Today is my wonderful father's birthday. Chris Cooper is 53! Whoa!
Basically, I think my dad is awesome. He's funny, he's easy to talk to, he's generous, he's smart, he's fun, he's crazy about my mom, he's just... awesome.

Happy Birthday Dad! I'm so thankful for you and everything you do!

Adventures in Heber

A couple of weeks ago Kurt and I were invited back to our friends', Evan and Jen, cabin. Since there was no snow, this time we did some 4-wheelin! We had an awesome time and are really really glad Evan and Jen are moving to Denver shortly after we are!









For some reason my pics are acting funny... so I'm in the first pic, then Evan, then Jen, and lastly but not leastly, my husband (Kurt). We had a blast!