. . . HIKING THE MOUNTAIN

Deseret Peak is the nearest peak to our home that still has year-round glaciers. There are two lakes under the glaciers. South Willow Lake and North Willow Lake both freeze in the winter so they have no fish really, but they are both beautiful places to visit on a hike.

Hyrum and Meghan went with me on a hike to South Willow Lake this last week. We were going to bring Ethan along so I hadn't anticipated hiking all the way to the lake. These two kiddos were great hiking partners. When they complained at the beginning of the hike, I encouraged them and kept them moving. When I was sucking wind at the end of the hike, they encouraged me and made sure we all got to the lake. We all got in the water and had a refreshing swim at the top.

We are all now extremely sore, but we can say we did it! That is what matters. On our hike we passed several groups of teen-agers who turned around before reaching the lake. After seeing others quit what seemed to be a difficult hike, we were discouraged. We talked about how once you decide you are going to do something, you just do it. Your spirit can overcome your body and your mind when they want to quit.

This was a great trip!

Getting the Family Together (Sabrina's Wedding)

The first adventure for these pictures was getting all of my kids to not only stay in their sunday clothes for the one hour ride to Highland but to get there with nothing slopped on clothing. Then there is the task of getting Ethan and Matthew to sit or stand still long enough to get a picture. We did it! Yea!

It is always an adventure getting family together when you are all adults with your own families. 

Recently, at my niece Sabrina's wedding reception, I was able to see all of my brothers and sisters together in one place. Mom was there too. The only one we were missing was our dear Dad. I think it is so challenging to get family together like this because it can be so rewarding. Even for the short time we were all together, I felt a powerful love and spirit of fellowship among us that stayed with me for days and even until now when I am finally getting the chance to write about it.

I was especially thankful for the chance to get these pictures of each of my children with Grandma. They love her so much.

Okay, so what is so adventurous about that? Well, Grandma had taken my car to Highland, there was a huge blizzard approaching and Natalie and I would have to drive back in separate cars. We didn't even get out of Lehi before Natalie had to pull over to nurse Matthew because he was screaming his head off. The blizzard was so bad, I couldn't see that she stopped, in fact, I couldn't see the car in front of or behind me. The tires on the car I was in were completely bald and I am sitting there just trying not to slide of the road. I could see that a Suburban was following me so I was not worrying about Natalie. Something told me to turn around. I did. When I turned around I noticed that the Suburban was not ours. I waited to see if she would drive by. 2 minutes, 4, 5. Okay, something is up. I backtracked and found Natalie stopped, still nursing Matthew and very distraught. I took Hyrum in the car and we continued to Tooele slowly. I nearly slid off the Freeway 4 or 5 times. Very scary trip. So, there you have the adventure part of the post. Never a dull moment.