Jared and I flew down to Arizona the weekend before Thanksgiving to spend time with his family. The entire family was able to come, including his grandparents from South Carolina. It was great hanging out, some of the girls and I went to see the midnight showing of Twilight. We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving meal, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, that included his grandmother's famous banana pudding. It's seriously amazing. I ate to my heart's content.
My sister, Louisa, also lives in Arizona so we spent some time exploring Phoenix. We went to the Phoenix Art Museum, wandered through some shops downtown, and then checked out the ASU campus. I had to work the day of Thanksgiving (the joys of being a nurse) but we still went to my parents' afterwards for more delicious food. I love the holidays.
We were thrilled to get an invitation from our friends to spend the weekend down in St. George with them. After we finished the Halloween festivities on Friday, we drove down to St. George where we spent a couple days thoroughly enjoying ourselves. We stayed in a condo that had a pool, hot tub, tennis court...it was quite the setup. We had such a great time hanging out; the weather was beautiful - it was just the perfect weekend getaway!
We went to our church's Trunk or Treat as pirates. I couldn't think of anything more creative, and I didn't want to spend any money on costumes. We managed to find everything we needed from stuff we already had, with the exception of Jared's hat and eye patch, those set us back a dollar.
Last Friday Jared and I went to the exhibition, Monet to Picasso, at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts which features original works from Picasso, Monet, van Gogh, Renoir, Dalí, and several other legendary artists. We loved it, it's well worth the $15 and U of U students get a discount. I highly recommend seeing it - it ends September 21st! A couple of our favorites:
Last week Jared and I went to California to climb Mt. Whitney. For a long time Mt. Whitney held the title of being the highest mountain in the United States. However, when Alaska joined the Union, Mt. McKinley became the highest peak. Mt. Whitney is about 14,496 feet above sea level and the round trip hike is about 22 miles - with an elevation gain of over 6,100 feet! Jared and I left early Wednesday and drove about eight hours until we arrived in Bishop, California. Bishop was a quaint little town so we decided to stay there for the night. I convinced Jared that the only way I was going to be successful in climbing was if I was well-rested the night before. And by 'well-rested’ I needed to sleep in a bed, located indoors, preferably with air conditioning. Jared gladly agreed to stay in a hotel - I think he wanted to all along. We perused the little shops, ate dinner, checked into the hotel, and then relaxed by the pool. The next morning we drove another hour to Lone Pine where we got our permit to climb. We hiked until we reached trail camp, about six miles, and then set up camp. Jared made my camping experience more than tolerable...I actually really enjoyed it. He insisted on setting up the tent, making dinner (he has a snazzy little stove), and filtering our water with his handy water filter contraption. I think he was just excited to use his camping toys. I sat back, snapped some pictures, and enjoyed the scenery. After a surprisingly restful night, we started hiking the infamous "99 switchbacks" in which you climb from 12,000 to 13,000 feet in 2 miles. We definitely noticed the thinner air, but kept a good pace. We arrived at the trail crest where we met five of our friends who had just hiked the 220-mile John Muir Trail. They all looked amazing considering they had just spent the last two weeks hiking over 20 miles a day! The seven of us then hiked until we reached the top of Mt. Whitney, sometime around noon. The view was amazing! The mountain ranges were breathtaking...definitely worth the hike! We took several pictures and then made our way down. The descent was much more painful, I was sure my knees were going to buckle at any moment. However, we all made it down safely. We spent that night in a hotel in Mammoth, California where we all got some much-needed R&R, and then drove home the next day. My body has FINALLY recovered, I have never been so sore in my entire life! I think I’m through hiking...at least for a little while.
This past weekend I went with my sister and my mom to Louisville, Kentucky to visit my great-grandmother, Me-Maw, who is 101 years old! The trip was short, but I thoroughly enjoyed the visit. I hate to admit it, but it was really the first time I'd ever sat down and visited with her. I can only remember one other trip out there as a child. In talking to her, I was shocked by her incredibly sharp mind. She'll vividly describe her memories while rattling off the exact names, dates, colors, tastes, smells - you name it. It's amazing to imagine what someone has experienced over the course of 100 years, and more incredible for them to have a clear memory of it all. Me-Maw grew up memorizing poetry for fun...that has to have been part of her secret. She really is an incredible woman and I am so glad I was able to see her. I've decided I need to rethink some of my leisurely activities, anyone know of some good poetry books...
Last Friday we soaked up some sun at my sister, Mary Leigh's, house. I wish I was enjoying the sun on a beach, but lounging by the pool is the next best thing. Afterward we enjoyed a delicious lunch – compliments of Mary Leigh. We had bacon, vegetable, and feta cheese quiche, spinach salad with candied pecans, blueberry muffins, and strawberries with Nutella. It was such a treat! I think he's overwhelmed by the size of the strawberries...
About two weeks ago my family went to Martha’s Vineyard for a memorial service for my grandmother, Boma, who passed away in December. She and Pop, my grandfather, lived on Martha’s Vineyard for several years and we grew up spending time there during the summer. The memorial service was very sweet. The family planted a pink dogwood tree in memory of her, some of the other relatives performed musical numbers, and then we shared favorite memories of her over dinner. It was so nice to spend time with the family and a wonderful way to remember Boma.
