THREE

ONE. I have been at my current place of employment for 1 year, a whole years worth of new knowledge about the medical world. Things I never knew I didn't want to know. Seriously, I'll keep the stories to myself. I won't scare you. It also means I have spent at least 520 hours driving to and from home or approximately 22 days. That is A LOT of NPR. I can’t believe I’m not a raving liberal yet.

TWO. Today is the first day of Fall. Having lived through all of them now, this is by far my favorite season in the midwest.

THREE. And since we can now officially say “last summer” in reference to Summer 2009 it’s about time I finished recapping our Utah trip (you think?). To expedite matters here is a pictorial summary:


We visited with Brooke and Dave's family and met one the newest members of the Carns, plus we enjoyed Brooke's famous cooking. Mmmmm.

We went to dinner with our Timp Gateway group, the "Adventure Club." Although that name is misleading because actual adventures are rare. We are far more likely to eat food and play cards when we get together.

We also made some time to go to BYU, this is Brad's "18 year-olds are old enough to go here?" look.

Of course we needed chocolate covered cinnamon bears.

I also spent time with K and J. What did we do? Eat food, watched So Can Dance, and had a Veronica Mars marathon. True friendship doesn't require fancy fun, just regular fun.

Utah, you were good to us this year. Hopefully we'll see you soon.

AM I CRAZY,

or does the soundtrack to New Moon look half decent?

1. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE – Meet Me On The Equinox

2. BAND OF SKULLS – Friends

3. THOM YORKE – Hearing Damage

4. LYKKE LI – Possibility

5. THE KILLERS – A White Demon Love Song

6. ANYA MARINA – Satellite Heart

7. MUSE – I Belong To You (New Moon)

8. BON IVER & ST. VINCENT – Roslyn

9. BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB – Done All Wrong

10. HURRICANE BELLS – Monsters

11. SEA WOLF – The Violet Hour

12. OK GO – Shooting The Moon

13. GRIZZLY BEAR – Slow Life

14. EDITORS – No Sound But The Wind

15. ALEXANDRE DESPLAT – New Moon (The Meadow)

***Calm down Jenny it's been months since I mentioned anything Twilight related.

UTAH: PART TROIS

We were so sore and sunburned from hiking Timp that our original plans to drive down to Zions and hike The Narrows was nixed. We still wanted to take advantage of the mountains so we headed to Big Cottonwood Canyon and hiked a super easy trail at the Brighton Ski Resort. Seriously, it was SO easy and SO short. We definitely needed the relaxation. We had a little trouble finding the trail head so we went towards this large cabin where it appeared a Girl’s Camp was in progress. We came across an elderly gentleman who happily volunteered to drive us to our destination. He went on to tell us the history of the Girl's Camp cabin and his own home. How they have to drive snow mobiles half the year and how the housing boom and crash affected their quiet neighborhood. He pointed out several vacant multimillion dollar homes in various states of completion and shook his head at the scars they’ve left on his landscape. You could tell he was trying to feel out our religious affiliation (OHHH Utah) so we volunteered information about our WARD and our BYU DEGREES. He was such a sweet man, I just wanted to knit him some slippers and ask him to be my grandpa. Don’t you love those random people you come across in life that are just so… pleasant?

So we found the trail and made it to Lake Mary where we took more pictures (SHOCKER, I KNOW) and kicked back with some water and granola bars. There were some incredibly dark clouds that ended up looking great in the photos. All in all, unlike Timp, I would suggest this 1 mile hike for anyone and everyone, plus you get to drive up the canyon which is always worth the trip.

UTAH: PART DEUX

Our big goal of our trip was to climb Mt Timpanogos. I did it once my freshman year and Brad has never done it. While we’ve always heard that it’s the quintessential Utah Valley Hike we’ve also heard it was on the tougher side. Brad and I consider ourselves experienced hikers, but we haven’t done much of that in Illinois (remember the all consuming flatness we’re currently blessed with?). We got to the trail head at 6:30 AM and reached the summit around eleven. We spent some time at the tip-top and signed our names in the guest book. Luckily we were there on a Tuesday so it wasn’t too busy; according to said guest book at least 100 people had been there the Saturday before. The hike really isn’t that difficult, it’s just looooong. The last mile to the summit is a bit precarious; I wouldn’t suggest it to the faint of heart. But reaching the saddle just below the peak is still worth it, you still get to see the incredible view of the valley. Once we finally made it back to the car we visited JDawgs before heading back to my mom’s house. We took about a million pictures so I’m sorry to post so many - it’s just easier to add a bunch then to decide which ones I like.

The More You Know Moment: Brad and I didn’t pack sunscreen. We were foolish. Between the back of Brad’s arms and my face, once we started peeling we were one aloe bottle away from joining a leprosy colony. Choosing to hike mid-summer in high altitude = not our smartest move.

JUST A FRIENDLY REMINDER

... So Can Dance starts tomorrow. I know. Didn't we just finish season 5 last week? I wouldn't even care if we did, get excited! Season 6 in the hizzzouse.

For now here is Ellen dancing with the top 10. Hilarious.

DUUUUUDE

*this is spoiler free


Who has finished? I need friends to discuss this with. Because remember when the thing happens at the beginning and then that other thing happens and then there's that thing with the thing and then there's THE THING?! Okay, clearly I need someone to be nodding along to my train of thought. PLEASE. Has anyone else finished yet?