On a more serious note...

I was just sent an email about Obama's Freedom of Choice Act, which he has stated will be the first thing he does when he is in office. This act will allow live abortions, and all other types throughout the nation. Furthermore, it will require those who work in the medical industry to perform such abortions or risk losing their liscense. Here is some of what was sent to me, by a relative who is a nurse:

"Many of you know that I took a beautiful young boy's body to the fridge in Pocatello. I came on and was asked to take him to the lab. He was in a red garbage bag in a large basin. When I got to the lab, noone was there. I unwrapped the bag to reveal a beautiful 20-24 week infant. He had everything that necessitates life, yet, his chart said he was incompatible with life. I sobbed as I realized the gravity of this one tiny body that was not allowed a chance at life and the many others lives who are cut short each day as if we are talking nonchalantly about bailing out the auto industry and the economy. These are lives that I am sure our Father in Heaven would say are worth saving. "

"...I fear [this act] will change Healthcare in America more than any of us can begin to imagine. Especially myself and my sister-in law ----, who have both found our niches in Women's and Children's services. We (RN's in healthcare) are split much as the American people are on Row v Wade. There are still at least half and possibly more of the RNs that I work with who will quit their jobs caring for the wonderful Mothers who are bringing babies into this world, as our Creators plan necesitates. The nurses that I know that are pro-life are as a whole- much more compassionate, caring, and loving towards their patients than others who are there to support their families and worldly needs. It would be tragic if we all go to home health or medical surgical or areas of nursing that are sure not to face assisting with abortions under any and all circumstances. "



And here was the forwarded letter of the email (author is unknown to me):

Dear Family and Friends,

As most of you know, last night Obama made a public announcement
that he is going to sign the Freedom Of Choice Act, which will allow
all types of abortions including partial birth abortions, also
allowing babies who are born alive due to botched up late term
abortions, to be set aside without any medical care or nourishment and
left to die (most of these babies have no medical problems and most
of the ones that do, have things like cleft palates, club feet, things
that are correctable, still they are murdered in the most cruel and
inhuman way. They feel everything that is happening to them. There is
more mercy for dogs that are put to sleep) This Bill also will make it
mandatory for doctors and nurses to perform this murderous act even if
they do not want to do so. This act also allows under age teens to
have an abortion, even partial birth abortions, without parental
consent.

Catholic Bishops have pleaded with Obama not to go ahead with this
horrible murder of innocent babies. They have also told Obama that if
he persists in signing this Bill which would require even Catholic
Hospitals to perform these acts of murder, they will have no choice
but to close all Catholic Hospitals. Please let us join with these
courageous Bishops who will go to any length to change Obama's mind.
Please take a minute to sign this statement and let our voices be
heard.

This is a great, informative website. You can click on the video
of Obama's speech to the Planned Parenthood group where he promised
that the first thing he would do if elected President would be to sign
the Freedom Of Choice Act. He isn't even in the White House yet and
he made a statement last night that he will go forward with his plans
to sign this outrageous bill. He still can change his mind because
the Bill cannot be signed until he is actually the President.

Please let your family and friends know about this Bill and ask
them to also sign this petition. Even those who voted for Obama would
not want him to sign this Bill. Most important, please pray for
Obama's true conversion to Christianity. If he doesn't change his
atheistic ways, may God have mercy on our country for the sake of the
millions who would never agree with this Bill if they fully understood
all that it encompasses. Please click on the web site below. It will
take less than a minute of your time, doesn't cost anything and God
will bless you for standing up of Him and His commandment, "thou shalt
not kill".

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people
do nothing"


http://www.fightfoca.com/


I know it's the holiday season, and I really do wish you all a Merry Christmas, and I also do beg you to take the few seconds it takes to sign the petition on the link above. Perhaps even take a minute to post or email this link to friends and family. To me, this issue is even more important gay marriage, because this act will allow healthy human babies to die, and will force those who do not want to lose their jobs to assist in the death of these beautiful, tiny babies. Our friends recently had a baby who was 24 weeks old when she was born, and she is an adorable, sweet girl that is full of life. I hope that all such children will have a chance to live.

Super Duper teething crackers

I have been experimenting with cracker recipes, in my dream to someday soon go "boxless." (Have nothing in my home that is in a pre-packaged box like cereals, crackers, etc.) I've tried graham crackers, wheat thins, and teething biscuits with varied success. No big moment until recently-

I have finally found a choke-free, easy, normal-ingredient (not all those crazy baby-nutrition spaz ingredients) recipe! These bicsuits literally just MELT, pieces don't break off.

...and Fisher loves them! He just got his 2nd tooth yesterday too, 2 days after his first!

Here's the recipe I found at http://my-teething-baby.com/teething-biscuit-recipies.php:

TEETHING BISCUITS (classic from the Buffalo News)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup undiluted, frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

Directions:
Combine flour, milk powder, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together.
In another bowl, combine sugar and oil. Beat in the egg and orange juice and gradually add flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
Place greased cookie sheet on damp towel to keep from sliding. Place dough on cookie sheet and flatten, rolling out to within 1 inch of the edge.
Cut into 2 by 3/4-inch bars; separating the cookies isn't necessary. Bake 15 minutes in preheated 375-degree oven until light brown.
Remove from oven; recut on the same lines. Return to oven. Turn off heat and let set until oven is cool. Makes about 6 dozen cookies that can be frozen and thawed as needed.

*Note: I used wheat flour, bran instead of wheat germ, and 3 tbsp of mayo instead of eggs. They turned out awesome!

SOLD

It's SOLD!!!

Our house has sold, and we are moving out tomorrow. And since I keep getting raised eyebrows about selling the house, here are the reasons we feel we are not stupid for selling the house:

1. We want to relocate. Badly. Neither of us desires to stay in Rexburg any longer. We aren't Rexburg-haters, but Ben feels like he needs to be challenged by living in a different area and working in a different industry, and I can't stand the cold or lack of culture.

2. We are applying for jobs like crazy. Since we haven't had much luck, we've stopped publicizing the jobs Ben's applying for, but you can count him applying for at least 1-2 jobs a week. We sold the house so that once one of the million applications takes, we can move on command.

3. The housing crisis is just beginning to hit Rexburg, and we didn't want to be selling the house when it did. Although we could have waited to sell until we got a job, we felt like we should sell while we had the chance. From the sounds of it, we're one of very few who have sold a house in Rexburg within the last few months, so we are glad that the Lord answered our prayers by allowing us sell the house with ease.

4. Heating this place is ridiuclous in the winter. We'll save a few hundred in heating per month, and we're making quite a bit from the sale of the home.

Selling also gives us hope that we are closer to following Ben's dream. Our 5 year plan includes being butt poor working in the outdoor gear industry, having Ben work hard to climb the corporate ladder, and settling in Salt Lake City, the location of several headquarters for outdoor gear companies. We're working on our 5 year plan. And heck, we're in our early 20s, so let us live and learn on our own!

LOL can you tell I've been getting a lot of comments about how it isn't smart of us to sell? We really did think this through... Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive about our decisions! (Especially you Mychelle, LOL I didn't expect you to be so supportive but you have been, probably because you guys are working so Joe can follow his dream one day too.) So thanks!

A few thoughts...

I have always been struggling with forgiveness. It is easy to say, "Yeah sure, I forgive you" in the quiet way that I do, and keep a little secret speck of hurt and loathing inside of me. This quote is great, emphasizing the need to forgive in order to progress:

As we consider the unity required for Zion to flourish, we should ask ourselves if we have overcome jarrings, contentions, envyings, and strifes (see D&C 101:6). Are we individually and as a people free from strife and contention and united “according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom”? (D&C 105:4). Forgiveness of one another is essential to this unity. Jesus said, “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men” (D&C 64:10).

We will become of one heart and one mind as we individually place the Savior at the center of our lives and follow those He has commissioned to lead us. We can unite with President Thomas S. Monson in love and concern for one another. In general conference last April, President Monson spoke to those estranged from the Church and to all of us when he said: “In the private sanctuary of one’s own conscience lies that spirit, that determination to cast off the old person and to measure up to the stature of true potential. In this spirit, we again issue that heartfelt invitation: Come back. We reach out to you in the pure love of Christ and express our desire to assist you and to welcome you into full fellowship. To those who are wounded in spirit or who are struggling and fearful, we say, Let us lift you and cheer you and calm your fears” (“Looking Back and Moving Forward,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2008, 90).
D. Todd Christofferson, “Come to Zion”

I struggle with knowing that the people closest to my heart are the ones who can most easily hurt it. It makes letting people in, and forgiving them, scary.

Ben recently asked me why I get nervous when people read my writing, and why I get even more nervous when they like it. Writing, to me at least, is like standing on a big stage with your soul naked, and it's so scary to have people stop, stare, and contemplate at you while they walk by. It's not necessarily undesirable, just uncomfortable and nerve-wrecking. Particularly when those close to you read it- those who know you best can poke at your heart more easily than an unknown face.

I've noticed too that I'm such a "white" personality (ever read the Color Code book? lol I'm a nerd- white is the color of the peacemaker) that I sometimes get too caught up in the fact that there's tension and unease that I fail to notice that I am contributing to it.

There's been a recent drama surrounding my life, and while trying to be loving and forgiving, I often had the wrong attitude. I sought out anger at those who weren't in the same mind frame as I, which is wrong and only added to the drama and tension. And for those who know what I am referring to, I am sorry for those gossiping words and actions. I want to forgive and be forgiven.

Just a few thoughts.

On another note, I just got this:

Like the junky image I found?

Anyways, I was awarded honarable mention for the Scribbit's Write Away contest (see prior post). Which, of course, made me nervous. (Hah you all didn't know I was such a quiet anxious little wreck, did you?)

I did a quick entry for the contest, spending less than 30 mins on it and then deciding not to publish it. Then Ben made me, because he's a good husband and wants me to achieve the dream of becoming a writer one day.

So with not a very developed piece, if I would have won, I would have thought that it was too easy and that would give me an excuse to continue not writing. If I would have lost, I would have confirmed the doubt in my mind that I stink at writing and that would also give me an excuse to continue not writing. But an honorable mention awakens that little voice inside of me that says "if you actually tried, you could one day achieve your dream." I don't like that little voice, it's scary. I say back, "Liar! Meanny pants! When do I have time? I have two kids, a house to pack, jobs to apply Ben for, and crafts to make. Stop torturing me!"

But really, I do want to write. Anyway, you should check out the winners of the contest at http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2008/11/novembers-fantastic-write-away-contest_21.html. They did a way good job! Also check out my sister-in-law's blog and her post for the contest at http://icecreamdiary.blogspot.com/2008/11/forgive-in-time-for-turkey.html. She's my inspiration to start writing again, since she's always entering these contests and she has more than twice as many kids as I do. So thanks!

Full

I stepped outside to take a breath, lean on the chipped blue railing, and stare across the beach. The waves danced slowly, but all I could hear were kids squealing, that random high-pitched noise, and the thud of a basketball. I looked near my shoe, and small-potted cacti smiled back.

I loved being with family, but I loved being alone as well.

In my younger years after eating, I’d sneak out the back door, not to run and squeal, but to wander.

“Carly, you coming?” I crouched under the pines trees, crawling from my grandma’s backyard to the neighbors, following the tree line up behind their houses. Carly followed, wondering why we were again wondering off. “Because,” was my reply.

I felt like an adventurer, staying the trees, almost in a forest, if a few scattered trees on the coast of southern California could be considered a forest. My parents were cleaning the remains of thanksgiving off plates, my sisters each talking to someone else, and that meant I was free to listen to my body move, think.

I’d return when I finally hit the yellow stucco house that had a fenced back yard, where I was forced to follow the sidewalk to the stairs of my Grandma’s condo. When I’d return, the adults were sneaking their pie before the kids came in to demolish it. I’d then help myself to some apple pie, sit on the couch, and joke with my cousins, and watch the news.

Thanksgiving wasn’t always about giving thanks, although we often conferred about what we were thankful for, my Grandma and my Dad getting teary-eyed as they talked, and me sitting there wondering where I missed the teary gene. Thanksgiving was about being full.

It’d start with my Grandma’s broccoli soup, which we’d slurp down in Styrofoam cups. Then we’d eat pyrogies, the Ukrainian food my Canadian family coveted, homemade tamales from my aunts, and my mom’s special “real” apple pie. And of course, turkey. We’d eat until we were full, and then some.

But thanksgiving stands out not because of the bellyache full, but the heartache full. Our diverse and ethnic family gathering, each with distinct backgrounds and beliefs, united. The noise, the wandering times of silence, the beach, the basketball, the freedom and the cousins wrestling: it was “full.” Full of memories, and full of love.

This was written for Scribbit's Write Away Contest, which had to be about Thanksgiving and had to have a theme that started with the letter "F." It's scary to post something I whipped up so quick, but it's worth a try for sweet beauty product from Suave! Thanks for the chance to enter!

a plane full of apples

This packing box inspired me to write a little poem. Since I haven't shared any writing since I finished school, I decided to post it. Poetry isn't my forte, but heck posting it might make me desire to get back on track with my writing.

a plane full of apples must be heavy—
flying above the radios blaring
gossip and inclement weather
but constantly feeling the pull down, down.

a plane full of apples must continue flight
over fields of knobby ribs,
extended arms and sunken bellies
baking in the sun.

a plane full of apples must be satisfied
with tinted windows and music, sweet music,
because the passengers, sipping water and loosening their seatbelts
don’t know it’s a plane full of apples at all.

Yoga from the Skinny Devil

My climbing skills haven't exactly been skyrocketing, and my last few baby pounds aren't exactly running away from me either.

Or at least they weren't.

Things have been changing since I started this workout video:



There are four parts to it. This is NOT a beginner's yoga. This is death to the beginner yogi, like me. And I like it. A lot.If you try it, and can't finish it, don't be sad. Ben still can't finish this little 30 min. workout. He used to think yoga was for wannys, until he tried it.

This workout is called VINYASA yoga. What is vinyasa yoga? I hadn't tried it until this video. I think Vinyasa is like ripping apart your ligaments, one by one, and watching some skinny, insanely strong and flexible chick kick your trash while you do it.

Best of all, you get all that embarassment free on youtube in your own living room.

Now I TOTALLY want her 60 min workout, available here, but I need to master this one first...

it's MY blog

After hearing Ben continually saying "you should blog about this" and witnessing him create his own blogger account to comment on blogs, I have decided that this is now MY blog instead of our blog. I took his name off the account and added my own picture. My blog, MINE MINE MINE.

I feel better now.

Prop 8 protesters at the LA temple

After I saw this on my sister-in-law's blog, I had to post it. I can honestly say it made my eyes water. Not because of anger, just sadness that people could feel that way, and shout things at the Lord's temple and "home" on this earth.

Adventures from October

I could make this long... but really, I think we all have better things to do (can you tell Ben is making me post this right now?) Anyway... Here goes:

We went bouldering at the 26th St. boulders in Ogden, UT. Pretty sweet bouldering, but some high stuff! We only had one crash pad and each other, so the top-out options were really limited.

We also went for a little hike in Kelly Canyon. Our climbing plans ending up getting cut short that night, but we had a blast hiking and watching the sun set. Plus, Fisher is an adorable poof-ball in his monkey snowsuit.

I also did the Cube cyclocross. I got conned into it, and ended up taking the race easy and hanging out with my sister, who did really awesome! It was my first time "mountain biking" on a road bike, but I found my road bike does awesome on grass, and the gravel was okay if I had a little speed. Here's a pic of Steph and I crossing one of the "barriers":

I was so happy to see Ben race too! I was going to con him into, and talked to his boss, who blew my little bubble by saying someone else already got him to do it. So Ben had a blast, and did really well for being in hiking boots and a couple pairs of pants, riding a girls bike (which had a pretty pink seat!) and wearing Steph's bright purple helmet. He ended up getting 4th out of 11 for his category!
Lastly, winter bouldering has once again begun. We've been cranking out the climbs and hanging at the Cocoa Bean after to revamp all those burnt calories.

Death of the "Bean"

Well, after much pestering from my mother-in-law, I am finally posting the death of the bean.
Indy and his "Bean" prior to death of Bean

I decided to be socially acceptable, and get Indy attatched to a teddy bear. I got tired of the exasperated looks and "tsk-tsks" from people when they saw Indy with his beloved "bean" in his mouth as he waddled around. And Bean was always getting lost, or peed on, or dug in the sandbox, and then I couldn't separate it from Indy's mouth to wash the nasties off. So, a few weeks ago, I sewed it to a bear. A very cute bear, I might add.
For hours Indy screamed, thrashing the bear around by the Bean, trying to rip his precious Bean off. He came crying to me because his Bean was stuck. The he did his usual scream, thrash, throw himself backwards off a chair onto the tile/roll/tantrum, which literally lasted for well over 3 hours. I think I started Blues Clues to calm him down. He did not take a nap that day.
By night time he was so tired he went down with the bear-bean. He now loves his affectionate pair, "Teddy and Bean," and doesn't sleep with the nasty rag in his mouth anymore. He also carries around a cute bear rather than a nasty rag. And Bean? I haven't even needed to wash it lately. No mud, oatmeal, or pee on it yet.

We can fly!!

We attended a "fish fry" Halloween costume party on Friday night with our friends who just got back from fishing in Alaska. And for those of you who are curious, I actually tried the fish and enjoyed it! The one I liked was the Wasabi flavored halibut. Too bad if you don't go fishing in Alaska halibut costs like $13 a pound.

I was excited to "actually" dress up for something. Sure, Ben and I have dressed up before, but we've always been lame things like hippies or farmers. Our Ninja turtle costumes were a flop and Ben hates dressing up as Hogwarts people (although I love being Luna Lovegood).So this year we dressed up as the peter pan clan. Indy was peter pan and Ben was John and I was Wendy and Fisher was Michael. Although you can't tell what we were dressed up as (other than Indy) at least Ben looks funny! Each costume cost $3 or less, and with a little sewing and sewing reconstruction, we had costumes! Now if only we had candy...Here is the next generation of pro climbers

Indy or Indie?

So here is something I've been wondering of late... Indy or Indie? When Ben and I decided on this name, we talked about it. I voted for Indie and Ben voted for Indy. I thought Indy was girly and Ben thought Indie was too emo. And since I was big and pregnant and didn't really care anyways, Indy it was. But lately I've been wondering, should we switch to Indie? It seems so much more... hard-core/naturesque and hippie that it makes me happy. Indy/ie will be learning to write his own name soon, so now the debate goes on. What do you think? Indy or Indie?

I stink at blogging

I think I suck at this blogging thing. It involves too much "remembering" and "laptop time" for me to reasonably do it. I always forget I even have a blog until I see my blog link listed on someone else's blog, with the date of my last update being months ago. Oops. Maybe pictures of my kids just aren't as exciting to me as they used to be...

Well, other than running a "sure I'll watch your kid" babysitting co-op, here are our recent adventures:

POTTY TRAINING:
went well and Indy WAS fully potty trained- no accidents for about a week. Until his cousin came over for a week. Then he got busy playing and un-potty-trained himself. Sort-of.

And yes, Indy is eating peanut-butter bread while sitting on the pot. At least it's whole-wheat bread, right?


POCATELLO PUMP:
I think rather than have "local" and "non-local" categories, they should have a "Rexburg" and "everyone else" categories, cuz the Rexburg climbers keep smashing everyone else. Great job to Heather H. and Justin, who slaughtered both categories. Ben did excellent as well, beat his goal score, and took 3rd for the 3rd year in a row.


Boys:

Well, boys will be boys I guess!

Fisher smiling

Indy devouring an ice-cream at Maple Canyon

The Wall:
Ben took this one on himself. It was a little hole, which could have been patched. But Ben was curious about all the sand behind our wall. So he ripped the hole thing off. Thankfully, the new wall is much more stable, thanks to Ben's work and Tom and Justin's expertise.


Mammut Pro Bouldering Comp:
We got to help judge the pre-qualifiers and talk to the pro climbers up-close and personal. It was a BLAST. Dean did a great job of throwing a climbing party (although we never saw him...)

Ben and I at the comp
Ben always asks me why all of us girl climbers go ga-ga for Chris Sharma. Look at him climb. Need I say more?


Another Race:
I competed in the Rush triathlon, just 2 1/2 months after I got the "ok" to start exercising after my c-section. I knew I wouldn't be fast, or competition to anyone really, but I wanted to prove to myself again that having a child doesn't need to disable all of my hopes and dreams and my body. I went slow, did okay, and ended up being 3rd in my age category (out of like 7) which I though was pretty funny. Here's a pic of the award ceremony:
Why am I so short? I always forget that I am.
Thanks to Steph, Joe and Mychelle, and Ben for coming out to support. My friends Beth, Jennifer, and Sherry also did great!



Climbing with Aysha:
I got to meet up with my best friend from high school and go climbing with her in Maple Canyon. We had a blast, and it brought back memories from the good old days at Hangar 18.


What Ben does with sleeping babies:
I don't need to say anything more.

Well, one day I will update this blog again, but that's enough for now!

For sale by owner

Yep, that's right, we finally nailed the for sale sign up.It's a pretty cute house in the winter, eh? (see and winter brings out my Canadian side)
So if you know anyone who might be interested, have them check out our house blog:
www.138RexburgIdaho.blogspot.com. Thanks!!


Yep, that's

Our Anniversary... not a disaster.

See how happy I am? This was a great anniversary. Ben decided to surprise me, and he sure did! First we went to Toucano's, I Brazilian restaurant with all-you-can-eat meat and chicken hearts and other great things. I had to excuse myself while Ben ate the chicken hearts. If you know me, I am NOT a big meat person, and big hunks of meat make me feel queasy. So you can tell how thrilled I was by the big meat...

Then Ben said we had to be somewhere by a certain time. So we raced there. We stopped at some ampitheater, and I figured it had to be a concert. I REALLY REALLY hoped it was a Jack Johnson concert, but I had guessed that a week before and Ben had gotten mad at me since he said if I thought it was that I'd be disappointed by what it really was. So I tried not to guess that, and as we're walking up to the concert arena I kept guessing names of bands we like.

It wasn't until I saw the merchandise booths that I found it was a Jack Johnson concert! I was so excited! Ben and I got his newest cd, Jack Johnson tee-shirts, and relaxed on the grass with cheese and crackers.

The concert was a blast! We stood and danced and sang along the whole time. Jack didn't do any commentary really, but he did stop in the middle of a song because some had said something disturbing. A man had yelled "I want my wife to have your baby!" and Jack hit a wrong chord, and he said it kept running through his mind. He (jokingly) asked to see the guys wife, and told her she was a "lovely lady" before restarting the song.

All in all, it was a great anniversary!

Ben has been DYING for me to blog and brag about this anniversary. Why would a husband desire that so much? Maybe that's because of the stories I tell about the previous anniversaries. Curious? Well, if so, we'll start with the first anniversary...

Our 1st anniversary my parents came and stayed out our house for the weekend. It fell on a Saturday, the Saturday of the Rush triathlon, so Ben was gone all weekend. At least my parents were there to celebrate.

We decided to something a few days later. Ben surprised me with a trip to the "Bar J Wranglers." The show and dinner were awesome. We were then going to camp at Jenny's Lake and hike the 8 miles around it in the morning. It wasn't until about 10pm (still at the show) that we realized we had forgotten our bags that had the tent, sleeping bag, water, camera, food, etc. You know, just the basics. We decided, hey we're hard core, let's tough it out anyway. Keep in mind that Indy is just 6 weeks old, and on this trip with us.

So we ran to K-MArt and bought a sleeping bag. We parked on a side street in Jackson, in front of someone's house, and slept in the back of the car. If they were curious who it was, they could have looked out the window, the light in the car was on every two hours while I nursed.

A view of Jenny's Lake

We hiked around the lake with a diaper bag, filled with water. We took turns between carrying Indy in the one-shoulder snuggli and carrying the one-shoulder diaper bag. Needless to say, after about 6 miles we had rigged the diaper bag around our waist and were carrying Indy outside of the snuggli. Anniversary #1.

Hmmm... On to Anniversary #2:

We concluded the whole "bring your kid with you" on your anniversary was just a plain bad idea. So this time we left Indy, and went on a 3-day backpacking trip (again, a few days after the RUSH triathlon, which fell on our anniversary). We were going to hike from Jenny's Lake (why do we keep picking that spot?!) through Cascade canyon, Hurricane pass, and start through fox creek, take a trail to summit Fossil Peak, and come down the other side and out through Darby Canyon. That's what we were supposed to do.

By the way, we had just found out that I was pregnant a week before. We hadn't told anyone, but we mentioned it on our filming Which is how my mother-in-law knew months before anyone else.

The first day was great. We made it all the way to Alaska Basin, covering over 10 of our 20 miles total. We figured, hey, the next two days will be a piece of cake! While I was cooking our dinner at Alaska Basin, our camping neighbors yelled "Bear!" I was good safe distance from the tent (I am a bear-ophobe.) I look, and coming up the grassy hill towards me, is a black bear! I back slowly away from my stove (stupidly carrying my food with me,) and call to Ben for support.

Ben whips out our video camera, filming how close to the tent the bear comes. He has the bear mace, and his helpless pregnant wife is alone with the food. Catching this on film takes top priority. I love dramatizing this part.

Anyway, the bear actually went to our neighbors tent and then left. We saw him again in the morning, but only at a distance.

Day two it rained. Poured. All day. And we covered about 8 miles. And got lost.

Really it was the 3rd day that we got lost. The trail to summit Fossil Peak didn't exist. I wasn't feeling well (morning sickness) and didn't really feel like bushwhacking. So we kept going through fox creek. Except the trail disappeared. And Ben found some bear mace, and thought, Free bear mace! and picked it up. Little did we know it had been used, and got on Ben's hands, face, and in his eyes. He cried for a few hours, and for some reason seemed bitter when I whipped out the camera to catch it on film.

Then we decided (using our GPS and topo maps) that we could bushwhack to an unknown road, and take that in. (We had already gone like an extra 6 miles more than what we expected). So we did. Excpet the unknown road was really the parking lot of some explosive company, and as we were hiking there was all this rubble and warning signs about explosives. Once we got onto some real roads, we called family to let them know why they hadn't heard from us earlier like planned. We came across an old man on a four-wheeler, and were trying to convince him to give us a ride to our car, when our 3rd black bear came up onto the road, not 20ft from us. The man's dog hopped out of the 4-wheeler, and chased it off of the road, which was neat. So we ended up getting a ride back to the car, and all was well.

All 3 have been great, just the first 2 were a little more "eventful" than most! Thank you Ben for great anniversaries!

A new blog for me

Updates are coming... the pictures are on the computer, so I am one step closer. Summer is just too crazy for things like this!!

Anyway, I started up a simple blog to help sell a few of the things I like to sew. Check it out if you get the chance. Thanks!

http://sweetbabysomethings.blogspot.com/

Indy's 2nd Birthday Party

Indy had a "Bob the Builder" birthday party. It was pretty fun, the kids colored a Bob the Builder coloring page, stuck popsicle sticks into floral foam to "build" something, and then went outside with water guns for free play.

Here's the kids "building:"
Indy's birthday "cake" (really it was vanillay pudding with crushed oreos and gummy worms in a new dumptruck to make dumptruck dirt). I'm not big on pudding, but the kids scarfed it down!
The birthday boy licking the goodies after the party: