September Randoms

Thought I'd share, in no particular order, some of the lovely random things I saw and did during September! I went hiking a few times, and towards the end of the month, the leaves started changing color! So pretty!

A few flowers were still blooming too. I like flowers. They make me happy :)

Also did a couple different lunch dates with some girlies from work. This one was a kids included venture that took place at a nearby park. Gotta enjoy the sun before it goes away!

We had a sandwich potluck. Easy clean up! Cute Adri and Aliya in this pic :)

Rachel and Mr Ethan (charolette was being passed around between Caitlin and her daughter)

Caitlin, Leila, Jude, and Charolette :) I think Caitlin would keep that little one for herself if she could.

I did a quick hike to Stewart Falls before work one day. Just had to get out of the house, and with this just 30 minutes down the road it was easy :) Definitely less water than earlier in the summer, but a beautiful hike with the leaves changing colors there too.

Another random lunch/dessert date. I told Tiff I'd take her out for a pre-baby feasting. We ended up at The Chocolate for dessert. Heavenly :)
We had a lovely little Cazookie of awesomeness. I think I shall experiment with making one!

Four beautiful women, one tasty day! Thanks for being my friends guys! And to everyone who didn't make it into the pictures this time be warned, your turn is coming soon :)

Alaska Trip!!

Alaskan cruise!! I will just start by saying that everyone should see Alaska because it is gorgeous!! That said, here's a look at my cruise experience to Alaska in pictures :) We left from Seattle which, sleep deprived though I was that day, seemed very cool. Definitely need to spend some time there!

Dawsha and I on the ship and ready for some fun times! It was so fun to be on this trip with Dawsha- party!!

Our lovely living quarters for the week. It actually was pretty spacious compared to the 6'x3'x2' bunk I had on my last "cruise" :)

Dawsha and I ready for our first formal night in the dining room. The food was to die for! And there was so much- I definitely had to watch myself, but I did try lots of new things. So good!!

Everyone at work said this picture made me look hot. I appreciated that and will take them at their word :)

Our first port of call was Juneau, Alaska! We got to Juneau on a Sunday and Dawsha had arranged for a nice couple from the local ward to pick us up and take us to church. They were so sweet to do that.

And after church they took us on our own private tour of Juneau. Better than anything we could have planned! Above is the Mendenhall glacier. It looked huge from where I was standing, and I was 2 miles away! Massive! And the ice that broke off from it was so blue!

Our cute couple drove us over to Douglas Island, across from Juneau. It was rainy like crazy, but I still hopped out occassionally and got some nice shots of the cruise ship :)

Our next port of call was Skagway. I failed to take a picture of the village itself, but I promise it was small :) Dawsha and I did some shopping in the morning, and then in the afternoon we caught a ferry to Haines. Haines is just 14 miles from Skagway by water, but over 300 by land because of the road system! Crazy. Dawsha and I did an excursion there- we rafted through an eagle preserve and got to see some bald eagles in the wild. Awesome!

It was amazing to see them up close and personal.

This guy didn't seem to mind us at all :) Beautiful, quiet, pristine scenery and eagles all over the place- I did not want to leave!!

Isn't it gorgeous?! If only they had work for a labor nurse in Haines...

The next day we were at sea again and early in the morning we started up the Tracy Arm Fjord. By early, I mean 5 am. I did not set an alarm but, no joke, actually woke up that early to see it. I don't know what happened. I never wake up early! But it was beautiful- if a little cold. If you look closely, you can see the glacier at the end of the fjord in the picture.

There was so much ice in the fjord, and so blue!!, I wondered for awhile if we might have a Titanic moment. But fortunately, we didn't hit any of the huge icebergs :)

The next day we found ourselves in Ketchikan. Another cute, small Alaskan town. This one gave Dawsha and I the chance to go on a zip line/ropes course tour. It was raining, of course, but really if you just accepted that you were going to be wet it was great!! I forgot to bring my camera, but rest assured that Dawsha and I tried our darnedest to knock eachother off the ropes course obstacles. It was great fun :)

Our last day was spent at sea cruising from Ketchikan to Vancouver. It was incredibly foggy almost all day long. We were going through a narrow passage with land on either side, and there were 2 other ships there with us (we discovered late in the afternoon when the fog started to life). Cool to see them just emerging from the cloud :)

Dawsha and I spent the last day listening to the live musicians, eating, enjoying the view, and rock climbing! They had a small climbing wall and finally openned it for a few hours our last day. I even took second place in a speed climbing competition. Some guy beat me by 4 seconds. Next time :)

Our last day was the first day we got to see the sun a little, and had some beautiful colors at sunset. Pictures don't do it justice. So pretty!

This is the towel hippo/pig (I couldn't really decide what it was) that our room attendant made for us. She was such a cute lady :)

Dawsha and I enjoying our last dinner aboard :)

We disembarked in Vancouver, Canada. It was the first time I'd been to Canada :) Since our flight didn't leave until the afternoon, Dawsha and I rented a car and drove around Vancouver- all over Vancouver :) Our first stop was Stanley Park.
For a size reference, I stood in. These totem poles are huge! And so cool :)
A picture from the car of driving into downtown Vancouver. I might have feared for my life with Dawsha driving. Just kidding Dawsh :)
Dawsha and I in Stanley Park with Vancouver in the background.

Along with Stanely Park, we also saw Chinatown, downtown, and a little bohemian village area in Vancouver. It was a great vacation with amazing scenery, good company, and lots of excellent food!! So glad that Dawsha and I were able to go and see exciting Alaska!

Summer hiking adventures!

It's been a rather short and busy summer this year, but I still managed to get out and take a few hikes along the Wasatch front. Unfortunately, my camera was broken for a few of them, but now that it's fixed I've started taking pictures again!! This is the start of our hike up to Big Spring Hollow.

April and I at...Big Springs? There were so many trails in so many directions and not all were very clearly marked. But this seemed like a nice "springy" spot :)

We even got to enjoy some wildlife along our way. Squint and you can make out the wild turkey in the bushes!

The view from the bridge crossing our Big Springs Hollow. I love water!!

My friend, April, and I also hiked to Fifth Water (I think that's what it's called) yesterday and this is us in front of the waterfall!

It was a beautiful hike with lots of wild flowers, running rivers, and green trees. There's a hot springs too at the waterfall, which was quite warm and smelled quite terrible :P But if you could get past the smell, it was all kinds of gorgeous!

April's one hot momma!!

I love the sounds of water! Sometimes I forget how beautiful Utah really can be until I go out hiking. Then I remember why it can be pretty great living here in Provo :)