Milestone

Happy Birthday Dad! I daresay the last 50 years have been better for having you in them. Thanks for all of the homework help you've given me. Thanks for waking me up before you went to bed to tell me if the Jazz won their game. Thanks for always encouraging me in whatever I do. Thanks for getting BYU football tickets every year so you can come visit me. Thanks for giving me blessings when I've needed them. Thanks for taking our family on trips - especially for taking me to California for my 16th birthday. Thanks for coaching my basketball teams. Thanks for working hard to provide for us. Thanks for teaching me how to be happy. Thanks for showing me what values and traits are important to look for in a husband. Thanks for being one of my best friends!

There's a line in The Happiest Millionaire that always reminds me of you. It goes something like, "When I was a little girl, I used to think you were the most wonderful father in the whole world. Now that I'm older and much wiser...I know you are."

Happy Birthday Dad! I know I'll always be your little girl, and I'm glad. I love you!

Getaway

Sometimes...you just need a break. Like after 12 weeks of law school...or Senior Capstone...

Yeah, whatever. We don't really need an excuse to go to St. George to visit the grandparents. So we did! And while we are lame and didn't get any pictures of actually visiting with them, we did spend a lot of the time with them. We also went to a 1st birthday party for my cousin's Tad & Candice's little boy, Wesley. He is adorable! We loved watching him walking all over the place and devouring his birthday cupcake. :) And we went to dinner at Olive Garden with Becky and Anna Lisa. Mmm mmm. Delicious.

Saturday we decided to take an excursion over to Zion's National Park to go hiking. After sitting in the car for 45 minutes while a marathon finished, we headed up to the park. By the way, Zions charges $25/car to get into the park. What the?!? And then we couldn't find a parking spot. My only complaint: If you're going to charge me $25 to get in, you better well have a parking spot for me. Anyway...

Jonathan wanted to hike ANGEL'S LANDING...Bwa bwa bwa!!!....

That was the most menacing picture of it I could find....it's just really big, okay?

We started hiking and decided to make a video...here it is...

The hike was actually a lot of fun. The weather was perfect - not too hot, not too cold, sun was shining, blue skies. But if you've ever hiked Angel's Landing, you know that at couple of points look like this:

Yes. Chains. You know what that means? That means that people have fallen off of this crazy mountain. And died. DIED! Scary. Let's just say I mustered my courage, held on for dear life, tried not to look down, and slowly etched my way across. Oh man...can't believe I did that. But I did! And I lived to tell the tale. Here are some more pictures:

We forgot to take a video at the top. We were too distracted by the heights (me) and the view, which was quite spectacular, especially with the leaves all golden. Definitely worth the climb (and that is in NO WAY a reference to a certain Miley Cyrus song...which I hate). Ahem. At the top, Jonathan and I ran into our old nemesis...SHNIBLEY!!!

Here is the tale of Shnibley as told by Jonathan...

"Once when the worlds were being created and the elements of this world fused together, Titans were storming the Earth. Zeus bound them and locked them up, making this world habitable. But there was one who got away... The fact of the matter is that "Shnibley," as he was so designated, was sooooo fast and small that Zeus missed him as he fled the lightning bolts. He still wonders the Earth looking for unwary mortals who fall into his trap. Shnibley waits for you to climb a steep slope and, when you hold onto a plant to steady yourself, he nibbles the plant until it breaks and you fall. Other times you will be walking down the street - suddenly your foot snags on apparently nothing. In truth, it was Shnibley who grabbed your foot. Even now, he is out there, sabotaging the innocent. Some have theorized that he performs these acts out of karma for all the squirrel-like creatures who have been run over in the world. Others claim he is simply evil incarnate. Whatever his motivation, he is dangerous - and can strike at any moment."

Can you believe Shnibley was hiding out at the top of Angel's Landing?...

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...Me too. Little devil. Luckily we were able to avoid his misdeeds this time around. Doesn't mean it wasn't a close call.

Hiking up there reminded me a lot of hiking up to the top of Rocamadour in France.

You can't really tell from the picture, but that is one huge cliff - with stone steps all the way to the top. Oh oh! And the stone switchbacks look a lot like the mountain passes that Speed Racer races in the movie. Just sayin'.

Here is the video we made on the way down. Short and sweet.

And just in case you were dying for a cute, more close-up photo of us, you're in luck! This one is for you. If you're wondering if we are "the cuteness"...we are.

Now it is back to the grind. But good news! Only 2 weeks until Thanksgiving break. Hallelujah and pass the turkey. :)

October Recap

Hello Dear Readers,

Well, October has come to a close. How about a quick recap?

Jonathan turned 26 on October 12. He opened presents in the morning - he got mostly tools (what he wanted). That night we had some family and friends over for strawberry/raspberry ice cream pie. He got a huge Spiderman Happy Birthday sign from his dad, a blanket that his Grandma (who passed away last fall) started for him and his sister Angela and his Mom finished for him. Landon even gave him one of his Pokemon cards! How nice. And then at midnight we went to IHOP with Matt Palfreyman and some friends. Matt's birthday is the day after Jonathan's, and since they were little kids they always went out to breakfast at midnight between their birthdays to celebrate. This year was no different. :) Here are some photos of his birthday and a video of us singing to him (sorry if it's sideways).

We are well into football season, so quite a few of our Saturdays are spent at LaVell Edwards Stadium cheering on our Cougars. The season has been a bit disappointing with two home game losses...but that's okay. We love them anyway. :) Here's a picture of us wearing our classic Cougar hats. People love them, especially the little kids who just stare at us...

Yesterday was quite a nice fall day so we decided to go to a park and hang out for a bit and take some pictures. See? We still love each other. :)

We went to three Halloween parties over the weekend - Ward Trunk-or-Treat, the Czirr family Halloween party, and then a dinner party at The Phillips on Halloween. We had a blast dressing up and hanging out with friends and family. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures with our own camera, so you'll have to wait until we can get copies of those. We found Jonathan a pretty sweet Army officer suit from Savers. He looks quite handsome in uniform, if I do say so myself. :) And I decided to be a Supreme Court judge - Justice Tyler. Haha. We hope you all had a fantastic Halloween! Now, we are looking forward to November...a quick vacation to St. George with Jonathan's mom and brother and sister, my parents coming up for the BYU-Air Force football game, flying to Boise for Thanksgiving, spending time with family and friends, eating good food, and the beginning of the Christmas season. :)