Participating in America's Game

As a child, I remember singing a song with the line, "What's more American than baseball?" Though I had never really participated much in baseball or softball there were many 'greats' in baseball whom I admired at the time for their courage and character.  Jackie Robinson, for example; Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth - how could you not love these men and admire their gumption?!?   

Admiring there stories was one thing . . . actually loving the game, (or playing it for that matter) in my opinion, was a whole different ball of wax.  You see, when Dan and I were dating, he learned how terribly petrified I was of small, hard objects flying at lightning speed towards my head. Some may laugh at that, but seriously - I want to die young because of getting hit by one of those.


Wanting to help me overcome this fear, about a year ago, Dan bought us gloves and a softball so we could play catch in the park.  And, you know, I actually find myself enjoying it now.  We'll often go to a nearby park on Dan's lunch break and play catch for about 10-15 minutes and I keep being surprised at how enjoyable a time we have.

Prior to dating Dan, I think I had only played catch once in my life. . . . and much like Oregon, the game is growing on me.  Watching it on TV - still not my thing.  However, playing it and going to a game causes me to pause and be grateful Dan is helping me overcome that fear and more fully appreciate 'The American Game'.

Zoo extravaganza

Let's be honest, going to zoo's is not typically my thing.  If you've seen a bear, zebra or camel - you've pretty much seen one, right?!?   Well, in the last year I have been to TWO new zoo's.  Yes, you read that right - two new zoo's; Garden City, Kansas and Portland, Oregon. 

Garden City's zoo is pretty amazing, especially considering it's free.  Not only that, but they had a really fun park on one end my sister's and I got carried away playing with one of the contraptions. . . .let's just say, my youngest sister ended up laughing so hard, she lost her balance and fell.  Oh, how I wish I would have had a camera.  It was classic!

The Portland zoo is incredible as well (which is saying something since I don't really love zoo's).  They recently added an entire 'wing' to the zoo.  If a person were to go through the entire Portland zoo, it would take well over a day.  The place is gi-normous!  Here are a few pictures of our excursion to the zoo. 

 Checking out the brown bears in their new habitat below.

Hmmm. . . can't remember what we were reading here; I think it was listening to different bird calls.

The Portland zoo actually has not 1, but 2 bald eagles.  Pretty cool, huh!

Waterfalls, in Oregon - craziness, right?!? 

Where there are waterfalls, lots of rain and children - puddle jumping is bound to be part of the day's activities.

'Everyone was kung-fu fighting' :)

Can I just say, Erin is a rockstar?  She got us all tickets on the train, which we enjoyed while nibbling on the tasty snacks she brought for everyone too.  Thanks, Erin!

This was a nifty exhibit where you could go up inside one of the animal exhibits. 

Have you ever had an elephant ear?  I hadn't either . . . until the Portland zoo.  Scone+cinnamon+sugar = lots 'o fatty goodness!

Double check -temple #13 and state #38

My last blog talks about my '50 things to do before I die' list.  On that list is to visit each temple in Utah.  Originally I had hoped to do work inside of each of the 13 temples in Utah.  However, I may just settle for having been on the grounds - which I accomplished on the trip to Moab in March.  The Monticello temple was the only temple in Utah I lacked for achieving my goal.  So, while driving to 4 Corners (working towards another tally mark on my '50 things' list) we stopped at the temple, walked around and took a picture.  Check #1. 

Monticello, Utah Temple

Another goal I have been working towards is being in all 50 states in the United States.  After returning from our first day of hiking in Moab incredibly burned I decided to forego another day on the trail.  My dad, having been the instigator of the initial 'visiting all 50 states' fever in our family, discovered 4 Corners was only about 2 to 2 1/2 hours away (we thought).  So, we decided to take a bit of a trip.  It turned out to be more of a 3 hour drive each way due to horrible and the amount of construction in that area.  Although it probably would have been more enjoyable for him to stay at the condo, I am grateful my dad came with me.  Here she is: State #38 and check #2.

My dad - He is a fun person to travel with and we had a nice time. Too cute!

Check it out . . .

 . . . four places at one time.  That is AWESOME!

Birthday delight!

Dan spoiled me rotten for my birthday this year.  It truly was a 'birthday delight'.  The morning began with going to breakfast (see pictures below).  Knowing how much I missed seeing the sun, he then took me to get a tan, followed by a massage.  After grabbing a bite to eat, we came home, cleaned up and he whisked me off to another appointment to get a manicure/pedicure.  Then he took me out to the restaurant of my choice for dinner.  We finished the day off with ice cream and games.  Who knew a birthday could be such a delight?!?

Breakfast - the best meal of the day, in my opinion.

I think this is supposed to be a smile?

 The after shot of my pedicure.

50 things to do before I die. . . .

Yes, I do in fact, have such a list.  When I was a teenager, my dad read an article in the Reader's Digest about making such a list.  Because such a list can seem a bit daunting in working towards accomplishing, he also make a list of 'Things I have done/accomplished'.  Liking the idea, I decided to follow suit.

One such item is to visit all the National Parks in Utah.  With only one left (Escalante), the last two spring breaks have made a nice dent in accomplishing that goal.  My sister and her husband are both teachers.  Last year it worked out for all my sisters to go to Moab and visit Arches National Park.  We had a blast!   This year, it turned out to be my older sister/family, my parents and I.  We decided to do Canyonlands and are hoping next year to visit Zions (neither Dan or my brother-in-law have been there yet).

Here are a few pictures of the breathe-taking backdrops we saw.

The shortest and by far all of our favorite hike - Mesa Arch was a .5 mile jaunt with a breathtaking view . . .

. . . and a formidable drop-off. 

My cute nephews and brother-in-law; part mountain-goat, part human.

The view from Mesa Arch.

Aztec Butte Trail was a bit of a climb up some slickrock that led to some ancestral Puebloan granaries.  

Jen and 'the boys'.  She's a great mom and sister!  I often wish they lived closer. Jen planned the trip and basically made it happen.  Definitely someone nice to travel with :)

Hmmm. . . I think this is a view of 'The Island'. 

We also did the Grand View Point Trail and Upheaval Dome Overlook Trail. 

The boys decided they needed a break and took a quick nap on the rock. . . not the most comfortable, but they didn't seem to mind.

And Whale Rock.  When all was said and done, I think we ended up hiking around 6 miles the first day with good times had by all.

Silver Falls State Park

For President's Day we went on an amazing hike with our great friends, the Hedgecock's and their family.  Silver Falls is a waterfall paradise as it boasts ten waterfalls, year-round.  In only 4.8 miles we saw nine waterfalls. There are a ton of pictures on this post, so consider yourself warned; it was all so incredibly beautiful and fun, I had a hard time only choosing a few.

Here we go!

The hike began at this beautiful lodge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1941.

In the lodge you could warm up by the fire or purchase some hot chocolate at the cafe while relaxing on the gorgeous myrtlewood tables and you can also learn more about the park and its various activities.  

 

This picture gives you an idea of what our surroundings looked like during the hike - dense and lush.  

Peter, our faithful tour guide, with his trusty side-kick at our first waterfall. Peter was quite knowledgeable about the falls and told us all kinds of fun trivial facts about the falls.

#1 South Falls:  This is the most well-known fall in the park and is only about 150 feet from the lodge itself.  'Back in the day', aka 1920's a local man would send a car off the falls every 4th of July.  This fall also has a path so visitors can even go behind the falls, which is probably rather refreshing in the summer.

Dan, caught on camera.

Another shot of South Falls. . . needless to say, we spent a lot of time at this fall.

The Hedgecock family.  We're glad they like to have us along on excursions!  We have a great time together and seem to rarely experience a dull moment.  Lots 'o good times!

This was too great a Kodak spot to pass by.  Most of these waterfall shots were taken by Peter.  Both cameras were short on battery juice and so, I actually pilfered them from the Hedgecock's blog.  Thanks!

#2 Lower South Falls:  This was by far everyone's favorite.  What what even more amazing . . .

was the up-close, behind the falls.

Silver Falls is also a State Park; apparently there was a lot of logging in the area about 100 years ago which resulted in a number of stumps left behind = lots of fun photo opportunities :)

Did I mention moss grows everywhere here? 

#3 Lower North Falls: This was one of the smaller falls with quite a few fallen logs in the surrounding area.

#4 Double Falls: This fall was the tallest at 178 feet. 

#5 Drake Falls: Falls 3-5 were all within a 1/2 mile of each other.

It's a monkey, or Tarzan . . . no wait - it's Dan!  Hangin' around havin' a good time.

#6 Middle North Falls

#7 Twin Falls: A great place for a lunch break.

This was an added bonus on our way to finding a spot to sit down and eat. 

Carter having a good time during lunch.

#8 Winter Falls (definitely more original than the others.  Not quite sure why the change in protocol here, but it's a good change!): This was our last planned fall to see, however on the way out of the park we saw one more.  Before getting back in the car though we passed through some densely wooded areas where . . . .

Dan waxed philosophical on us all just before coming upon . . . .

. . . some gigantor trees.  

They were literally, 'this-big'!!!

Here she is, #9 North Falls on out way out of the park.

This hike was amazing.  Nine waterfalls, an hour drive to get there, gorgeous scenery and only $5.  The best part about this too is that the hike can be any length you want it to be; a few hundred feet up to 9 miles long.  Considering how beautiful it was in February when we went, this will probably be one we'll do again, and again, and again.