Annual Summer Cabin Trip

Hi everybody!

Time for my once-in-a-blue-moon blog post. 

I thought I would share a few pictures from our recent family trip to the cabin (my mom's side of the family). It is absolutely beautiful up the Weber Canyon. It feels like stepping out of reality and into a dream.

Clint and I took a walk one evening to the "Big Spring" where you can drink fresh mountain water almost exactly where the water comes out of the mountain. BEST. WATER. IN. THE. WORLD. We took a picture on the bridge over the Weber River on our way to the spring:

We went on a hike up the ridge behind the cabin one day. Clint's a hiking fool and he sort of initiated the whole thing. Once you get up high enough, above the firebreaker roads, you run into this massive grove of aspen trees. It was amazing.

Clint with our "minions" (a bunch of my cute cousins who took to following us on the trail. My youngest sister included.)

This one is on the road next to the cabin. This was just another beautiful evening up in the canyon and Clint and I took a little walk down the road to scope out some of the other cabin dwellings.

It sounds like we did a lot of walking, which I guess we did, but the main event up at the cabin is...BADMINTON!!! I played all night, every night with my cousins, sisters, uncles, parents, and the entire clan. Badminton is like the most underrated sport ever. So fun.

At last a snow day!

...and finally the pictures.

Wow, it has really been that long since I've posted pics on the good old bloggy blog! Time's been sort of speeding by in a blaze of driving to and from Provo.

I wanted to post some pictures of our snowshoeing/sledding adventure (a couple weeks ago now) just because it's such a novel occasion for this (until now) snowless year!

Shelly was recently in town (Hi Shell!) so Clint and I and Tyler went with her up to Dog Lake to play in the pretty, sparkly snowflakes. Mm-hm, it was GORGEOUS.

(Shelly - I think I still need to email or facebook the pictures to you!)

snow and other catastrophes

Okay, so it was actually just the one catastrophe. But what a!

We drove to my extended family's cabin over the weekend - just us 2. We thought the dirt road leading right up to the cabin looked packed down enough for us to drive down. Right.

Error in judgment=a couple of hours spent pushing, digging, revving, and spinning out.

We did finally, however, get the car to move out of its icy groove. After the ordeal, we decided to park at the designated, plowed area. Insertion: the designated parking area is just a short distance down this road that Clint is standing in. We hiked in to the cabin and still had a cozy overnight stay.

The next day, we also had fun sledding, flopping, and making snow angels.

I usually don't have much praise for the snow, but after a couple of months of scary-dry winter, it was actually pretty fun to be able to play in fluffy white stuff.

Lately

I don't know that I have that much to post about, but I feel like it's been a while so here is some gibberish that's been on my mind lately.

• First of all, has anybody seen the reality TV atrocity called "Toddlers and Tiaras"? Oh. my. freaky. I clicked on it out of curiosity one day and I couldn't believe the lengths that some (mostly hickish) moms will go to to steer their literally toddler aged daughters into being airheaded beauty/drama queens some day.
• Anyway. I'm also getting over my fourth cold of the season. I feel better, but of course I still have a persistent cough that makes the usual activities somewhat uncomfortable.
• Do we need to start praying for snow? After several mid-Winter weeks of feeling like it's really March or April, I'm starting to feel a little concerned about what this will mean for my beloved summer season.
• Job searching. Again. It's like a yearly ritual or something. You'd think I can't get enough of it. Except this time, my freelance writing has given me a foot in the door with marketing companies and things are looking... sunny.
• My car coughs disturbingly when I turn on the ignition. It's due for an oil check, and I'm hoping that is the only reason why my car is making sickly noises.
• I'm reading City Of Bones for my online book club and loving it. Clare is a good storyteller. It's a magical and totally engrossing plot, plus the characters are fascinating.  Seriously. It's giving me ideas. And hinderig my productivity.
• On that note, my own story writing efforts are coming along. I caved in and did some outlining, eventually realizing that I could write myself in circles without a plot chain to help steer me.
• I am proud to report that Clint is enjoying his new Christmas shoes. I was hesitant about giving him not just 1, but 3 pairs of new shoes for Christmas. But he needed them. I'm always happy to see him wearing a new pair of stylin' shoes picked out by his wife!
• I also caved and finally took down my Christmas decorations. I just felt too weird with it looking like April outside.

Finally, Happy Martin Luther King, Jr day!

catching colds during a warmish cold season

I'm pretty sure this is the fourth time during the past 3-ish months of this season that I have gotten a cold.

 The kicker is, it hasn't even snowed since November, and the snowfall was pretty weak even then. Obviously something is wrong with my immunity.

I've been keeping the cold symptoms at bay each time with vitamin C drops and ColdEez; however, I'm starting to wonder if I should let one of these colds run its course so that it can finally leave my system for good.

The positive news is:

• At least Clint hasn't seemed to catch it from me
• working from home means jammies and relaxing while still getting work done

The bad news is:

• my running legs (and lungs) feel like Frodo trying to climb up the last mile of Mount Doom

So is there a secret to boosting immunity that I am just not getting?

Anway, sorry to take up an entire post complaining about illness. I just never realized colds could be quite so chronic. If you have any tips in this area, do share. Because according to WebMD.com I am simply not meditating or sleeping enough or something. Whatev.

downtown days of christmas

Clint and I traveled downtown 3 days in a row last week.

And we feel like we don't need to do it again for a very, very long time.

Each time it took us at least twice as long as it normally would because of extra Christmas traffic, including accidents on the freeway each night. We were travelling in the evenings on days that I can only assume the rest of the valley was heading downtown for the same events that we were. I also decided that some people who were heading toward these Christmas-related activities are people who do not normally drive on the freeway, and during busy conditions.

How else can I possibly account for all of the accidents on the freeway between the south end of the valley and downtown? It wasn't as busy as rush hour, nor have we had any snow to serve as people's excuse for driving poorly.

Anyway. Once we made it downtown, we had a great time going to one performance of Pioneer Theater's "Annie", the Utah Symphony's surprising spectacular of "Cirque de la Symphonie", and Clint's office party.

Just in case you've been wondering what we're up to.

Here, have some Christmas spirit!

This could be the most magical 5 minutes you spend today. Promise. :)

the home alone shivers

Okay, so nothing could really ever make me buy one of these.  First of all, who came up with that name?  Snuggie? Really? 

No kid who was ever treated to a bully-induced snuggie in elementary school would think of naming a product that and any geek who grew up to be a business savvy marketing genius would never have let this one slip. 

I can do better.  Pajankie, for one example.  Or how about, Blankajama?

Hahaha.  Man, I am such a comic.

Anyway.

Since working from home, I have noticed a few things:

1. Pandora (internet radio) is an insecure girl like me.  It likes you to click that you like it every once and a while or it will ask you if you're still listening.

2. Cable TV with promotional free movie channels is the devil.  (I'll actually be happy when the promotional period ends and I'm not so tempted to always check and see what's on.)

3. Pajamas in the afternoon are totally acceptable, even encouraged.

4. It is deliriously wonderful to only get phone calls and emails from people that I care about.

5. The house is colder without a husband in it.  I am determined to not make Clint pay for letting me work at home in the form of increasing our heating bill by a gazillion percent.  So while the indoor temperature lingers around 66 degrees, I wear slippers, sweats, and hoodies all day while occasionally drinking hot chocolate at my computer.

In case there is any question in your mind at this point, the slippers-and-hot-chocolate scenario is NOT a bad thing.

At least I will never stoop to Snuggies.

First Day of Fall!!!

I adore Autumn.

Simply...

Adore.



The first day of Fall was last Saturday, September 24th.  And I was loving it. 

scenes from summer campfires

 I feel like posting about some of our recent summer events, but I get a little bored of listing one event per post.  So this one I decided to give a theme: summer campfires!!!

What would summer be without campfires?

Me: a drought summer season in Utah but I've still got swimming pools!
Clint: a depressing shame, and something that will never happen in his lifetime experience.

We both love having a crackly, warm fire in the mountains.  I love it even more when the campfire is accompanied by grand scenery and an artistic sunset.

Clint in his element.

We went up to my family's cabin in August, with my extended family on my mom's side.  It is well-known and even happily acknowledged that Clint is the family's designated Fire Master.  He gets the fire started, he keeps it hot and high while everyone roasts s'mores, and he is the last one to leave the fireside. 

A beautiful sky

not supposed to like it

I woke up this morning to the beautiful sound of rain pattering out in the yard.  Soft, silvery light streamed through the blinds.  The occasional car that drove down Redwood Road about a block away made a low rushing sound, muffled and whispery, like the rain was hushing it back to sleep. The water would splash and settle in the car's wake, then return to the steady murmur of raindrops. A few blissful minutes like this passed before I realized that I was awake, and that I was not supposed to be content about the rainy weather continuing for another day. My alarm clock showed it was almost time to leave for work; in fact, I was late.  But these days, I'm late almost every morning, lingering in my bed until the last possible second when I can't justify laying there any longer.  Now it's afternoon, rain is still falling, and I'm rather in awe of it.  I suppose you could say I'm disgruntled about this endless stream of storms occurring so close to June.  But what I really want is to watch the rain from the cozy side of a window, with a blanket around my shoulders and perhaps a book in my lap.

My costume will hopefully look something like this...

Sorry the pictures didn't work before... I've been experimenting with some recently discovered google capabilities...  anyway, here's this year's costume -- I can't wait to wear it!

round, round, get around

Yes.  It is time.  Time... for an update.

This is the next round of Sam and Clint's Summer; part 2 if you will. I have prepared the 2nd round of our summer flash cards for you.  (The term "flash cards" being used here to illustrate my dilemma over selecting a few of the best pictures out of literally hundreds.)


Our first stop features a hike that Clint has been trying to orchestrate for a couple of years now.  Beginning at the Crystal Lake trailhead and ending at the Smith & Moorehouse trailhead, this hike was about 11 miles one way.  We got dropped off on one end and had a car waiting for us at the other end.  Beautiful scenery.  And conveniently, we did this hike the same weekend we were up at my family's cabin which is a mere 15-minute drive from Smith & Moorehouse, where we ended up.

There are many more pictures from the cabin.

But here is a personal favorite that demonstrates my hardcoreness: me and my mountain biking battle wound...

Sitting around the fire pit.

A back-packing trip to Duck Lake.

Lake Blanche hike

Hike up Mt. Raymond (a beast of a hike.  I am not posting pictures of me on this hike because I was cranky.  The last mile of this hike was bushwhacking up an incline of about a 40% grade.  I kid not.)

And here are the Karren outdoor enthusiasts triumphantly atop Mt. Timpanogos.  About 7 miles to the wind-swept summit and taking a little over 5 hours total.  My calves were very sore the day after.

And I should mention this honorary banquet hosted by my employer where I was honored as one of the Specialists of the Year in my department.  Pretty cool.  But the best part was a paid overnight stay at the Canyons resort which Clint joined me for.

Me and some co-workers.  Ya can't miss me.  Only of us is wearing a color other than black and white.

Part of my anniversary gift from Clint: 4 hours of shopping at the Outlets.  And he didn't even complain!  In fact, he bought me a new dress.  Awwww!

Part of Clint's gift: a new addition to the wardrobe.

A joint anniversary celebration:  Italian cuisine at Johnny Carrino's. Mmm.

Yep, that's 3 years for us!  And loving every second.

we get around

Wow!!! Summer flies.

Our time is filled with trips, barbecues, office parties, 4th of July parties, and visits from relatives who live out of town… and they are some of the best memories of our lives!

Sometimes I feel like summer -- and similarly, our lives -- whizzes by in a blur of activities and picture-taking. Every now and then, it’s good to set the camera down for a minute and bask in the party mood. I'm a basker. I love to bask. Instead of taking pictures like mad to remember the moment for later, I want to enjoy the moment now, while I'm in it. (Of course, this could also be viewed as my excuse for being a lackadaisical picture-taker and blogger.)

However, I do value my memories. I love having something to go back to, to look at and read and document. Plus, I also love getting comments and keeping tabs on who out there still reads about us!!! :)

Clint and I love to play. We've kept up with our summer goal of hiking once a week, we've played some tennis (though not nearly as much as we'd like), and we've had some awesome road trips. Here's our Part I of our summer...

Frary Peak on Memorial Day

Grandeur

 Peekaboo-Queens Garden Loop

(Bryce Canyon full trip here)

Grand Canyon Hikes

North Kaibab Trail...

Cape Final Trail...

...and Cliff Springs

Mt Olympus

Red Pine on July 5th

(pic MIA but here is a substitute)

Road Trip to Midway

...We Get Around Part 2

coming to Blogger Summer 2010...