gotta do watcha gotta do

four weeks from today will be my final day of work for Salomon. i'm looking forward to peacing out of here. peace out bitties. in the meantime, i'm spending most of my time trying to squeeze in ALL of the things that i want to do before i move AND attempting to pack up and clean my apartment. i'm busy.

last weekend i managed to hike the notch in the uintas. i'd been wanting to do it again for nearly two years. and this time it was best because i got to do it with my best friend and our dogs, who are also best friends. it was beautiful and we hiked far. but it didn't seem that far. the beauty masks everything. the dogs did great. they must have been in heaven too. the final half of the hike was the part we lovingly refer to as WNV (West Nile Virus). i'm not a terribly religious person these days but i'm telling you it's a miracle that jaymee and i both got out of there without the wretched disease. there were more mosquitos on us than...well, there were a LOT. we reached our highest elevation while at the top of the notch. 10,020...that's high.

my bff wrote a better story about the trip here.

i'm happy. i've been doing stuff i've wanted to do. and i've been lucky enough that my best friend can join me on most of my adventures. we have a dry erase board in her kitchen with my bucket list on it. there's some really good stuff on there. basically the next three weeks are going to kick ass...there's no other option. time is winding down quick. for some reasons i don't like that but for other reasons i do.

if you want something in life, reach out and grab it

i'm not exactly certain where to start on this one...i'm really not certain where this one started. did it start over a year ago when megan moved to germany? did it start memorial day weekend when i took a trip to iowa? or was it somewhere in between? maybe there was no specific moment when it started. maybe all of these tiny little moments culminated and now here i am. regardless of when or how the one thing i do know for certain is that this is where the universe wants me. wanna know how i know? because everything down to the teeniest, tiniest detail was orchestrated perfectly for my life to take this path. and it feels natural and right. it feels good.

this part goes out to the people like the ones who told me that i couldn't raise an australian shepherd puppy: don't tell me that i'm making the wrong decision here. if perhaps there was one point in time when you did know me that doesn't mean you know me now. if perhaps there was one point in time when i valued your opinion that doesn't mean i value it now.

so. here i stand on the precipice of a grand and new and lovely adventure. a new direction. i stand at the threshold of change. i needed change. big change. i have for a while. life was getting a little stale here. not the beauty though. the beauty of this place could never get stale or old or even boring. you've seen pictures. i can still visit. and i will.

soon i will bid farewell to this desert that i have called home for the last nine years. i will pack up my soob and hit the road. i'll drive with my favorite co-pilot to iowa. where i spent the formative years of my life. i'll leave my job at salomon. there are a few people that i will truly and genuinely miss working with. i will then begin a new chapter of my career with scheel's in iowa city. i am more than excited about this oppotunity and the change it is providing me.

rocky mountain high...idaho

this weekend myself, my pup, and a few of my most favorite friends spent the weekend in the woods. it was great. truly great. the beauty of no cell phone service is underrated.


we left ogden at 1pm on friday en route to nowhere else but idaho. we stopped in blackfoot to say hello to orin and peggy and then, of course, stopped for dinner at the famed Rupe's. after dinner we were heading off of the grid. into the land of beauty, no cell phone service, and lovely outside smells. when we got to the cabin we all repeatedly commented on how nice the quiet and peace was. i think we all need more of that. we watched billy madison and i fell asleep. i think everyone else made deviled eggs and lit sparklers...i missed that part of the fun.


saturday we made a nice big breakfast of bacon, hashbrowns, and eggs. yum. that bacon was soooo good. thanks peggy. after breakfast we all enjoyed a bit of sun. then myself, JP, Sarrena, and Tyler took the 4 wheelers for a spin. we rode to girls camp but there were lots of campers so we left. then we rode up a big hill...turning around when we got to the top was a bit of a challenge but luckily the boys were both behind the wheel. then we stopped by a small stream and found a really pretty hawk. there's a chance he was an eagle but we didn't get close enough to really be able to tell. for the rest of saturday we enjoyed the quiet and peace of nature, soaked up the sun, watched tommy boy, made food on the fire, and loved being outside.


sunday was JP's birthday. we woke up to the water leaking out of the pvc pipe that had come out of it's fitting. we flushed the toilet fast and figured out how to live without water for the rest of the day. after breakfast we rode the 4 wheelers for a while. we went to tthe top of the hill to see the new windmills. there are a bunch of them now. i think they are pretty...weird, i know. after our 4 wheeler ride we cleaned up the cabin and packed up. from there we drove to a cave outside of idaho falls. it was really scary...but it got less scary when i realized that i was still wearing my sunglasses in the cave. i could really see better once i took them off...duh.


the weekend was great fun. i want to go back. i didn't even want to leave. and kenai was in heaven the entire time we were there. he explored in the woods. he got really dirty. and he carried around dead rodents. i let him. because we were on vacation and he was so happy.

justice and liberty for all...

the fourth of july simply put, was full of beauty, fun and goodness. period. it began with huntsville's patriotic parade. this pup watched the parade in style. with a bone, fresh water, and a bag full of treats. after the parade kenai got to meet LOTS of kiddos. he loved them. he loved the attention. and he loved to lick their faces. after the parade we ran into one of our favorite kiddos, grady. i'm convinced he may be the world's cutest kid on the planet. after huntsville we were off to salt lake city for kenai to meet his auntie natalie allen. you see, she's been in chile since i brought him home to utah. this was a big moment...and he was clearly excited out of his mind. after we picked natalie up, exchanged a few hugs, and said hello the the allen family we were off to the one and only place that we would want to be on the day of our country's independence, kranky franks. taffy loves us. we love her. i'm glad natalie allen is home. so glad. oh and this little guy did kranky franks too. it wasn't his first time but it was the first time i documented it in photos.

in short, independence day was GREAT for us.

sunday funday

today we slept in late. i like that my puppy sleeps through the night now. i like it even more that he sleeps in on the weekends and doesn't have any accidents. i love it that when he's ready to get up before me he'll quietly chew his bone or jump on the bed to cuddle with me until i am ready to get up. i love my dog.

by the time we got our lazy selves out of bed it was already well into the 90's. hot. way too hot. the only appropriate activity for weather like this (if not swimming or boating) is washing the car. first thing was first. i soaked my furry dog in cold water from the hose. he was hot. way too hot. he didn't much like being sprayed but he loved being cooled off. even more than that he loved rolling in the dirt/mud once wet. did i mention that i love my dog? i do.

once kenai was cooled off i went to work on the soob. each time between scrubbing and rinsing i left the hose flowing freely into the yard. with the high temps and intense sun our grass is dying and it could really use the extra water. kenai was highly entertained by this. he would run around the hose and play in the water. with this there was even more mud, dirt, and water. but he was happy.

so by the time my car was clean...my dog needed cleaning.

after the car was cleaned our neighbors came outside to enjoy the sunshine. so kenai played with charlie, the mini lab. and i played with jaelynn, the baby.

when kenai was finally dry we came inside. he napped. i watched a movie and got the best text message in the world. natalie allen is back from chile. not only is she on u.s. soil but she is at home in SALT LAKE CITY!!! i hope i get to see her soon. i. can't. wait.

later in the afternoon we ran errands. fed sweets. watered courtney's plants. went to home depot to buy screws. topped off the air in my car tires. put some new stickers on the soob. and while kenai ate dinner i went to the grocery store. he found no mischief while alone. i was proud. all in all it was a good, productive, relaxing day.

dont forget

there we were. 9:15am on the first day of a three-day weekend. driving to the graves residence. to pick up aimee and stella. for a hike in the mountains. little did i know that the coolest hike of my life was ahead of me that day.

we started out on indian trail at rainbow gardens. from there we hiked east over the mountain and climbed up what seemed like a million switchbacks until we were just below the ridge. the view was beautiful. magnificent. awe-inspiring. in reality, there aren't words to explain it to you.

kenai and stella had a great time. they loved every minute. it was kenai's longest hike by far. rallied like a champ but was ready for a nap when we made it back to the trailhead.

a little self-timer miracle right there. aimee graves and myself living the high life. i believe it was shortly before we stopped for this picture that we saw an airplane flying...BELOW US!!! that's when you know you're high.

to sum up the greatness of this hike is hard. it was awesome. long. hard. steep. beautiful. fun. hot. sunny. shady. worth it. peaceful. inspiring.

i'm glad i didn't miss out on this. thanks aimee.