the sunday morning post, 34th ed.

good morning. today is the Sabbath. Sunday is my favorite day of the week.

we'll start off this Sunday Morning Post, 34th ed.

[can you believe it's been nearly a year? and i have missed a few too...]

with a quote from our beloved Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson

"I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us. My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith."

-from this talk

And now for my week in pictures [and words. please, like i would just put it in pictures! i have too much to say.]

{one}

it's been really really hot here.

skirts every day.

but that's not really anything new for me in the summertime.

{two}

i've been stressed beyond belief this week.

{three}

the Provo Temple has been closed for almost a month.

no fear, it will reopen on July 26th.

i'm counting down: 8 days.

this means that i have to go to other temples in the valley.

so wednesday i went to Mt. Timpanogos Temple.

beautiful.

so thankful for temples.

[watch this: why mormons build temples]

[from my phone, a little crooked. whoops.]

{four}

thursday and friday i attended

BYU's Symposium on Books for Young Readers

aka: Children's literature conference.

LOVE.

David Shannon, Patricia MacLachlan (author of Sarah, Plain and Tall--a Newberry winner),

Elizabeth Partridge, and Kadir Nelson [i fell in love with his illustrations. oh, and him.] were all speakers there.

i left with tons of ideas to do with my second graders!

and also, i want about 235 books now.

donations accepted. i'll send you a list.

i used my credit card rewards to get an amazon.com gift card and once that arrives in the mail i will be ordering many many books for cheap!

but you can still send donations.

fun fact: david shannon wrote a book called "No, David!" when he was like 5 years old. his mom found it and showed it to him. so he wrote one, for reals. published. and now there's a whole "No, David!" series. super cute.

{five}

INCEPTION

go see it!

it will blow your mind.

it is so trippy and just so mind blowing!

leo, you were amazing.

[remember when you were in titanic?]

{six}

katie loves me.

she also loves doing projects.

she is so crafty!!

she made this for my classroom door!!!

is that not the cutest thing ever?

i want to keep it and put it on our door here.

{seven}

speaking of my classroom, it's coming together.

little by little.

and i mean little.

the room is a mess.

there's cut outs and letters and posters and things everywhere.

it caused me much stress this past week.

still is, but the weekend has allowed me to calm a bit.

also, a few of my friends have helped me.

especially katie.

she works til 6. then friday and saturday we went to my classroom at 7pm after she had been at work allll day.

i gave her a project.

well, i told her i needed her help with my reading corner.

those pictures are the inspiration. but i want mine better. fabric. tulle. bunched up. wave-like. little creatures. shells. it's going to be amazing.

katie wanted to take it upon herself. she kept saying, "can this please be my project? can i do it?"

"Um, yes please. it's me doing it as fast and neat as i can, or you taking your time and using your amazing skills and making it fabulous."

pictures to come--it will be done tuesday! before we go to the....

{eight}

River!

i am so so so so so so so excited.

a few of us will be road tripping down to katie's river house at the colorado river on the az - ca border wednesday night/thursday morning.

i am so excited!

my family is meeting us there!!

i am so excited!

wakeboarding. jet skis. boooooooat. movies. removal of the shoe and tank tans. family. fun. friends. fun. sisters!!!! fun. fun. fun.

i am so excited!

unfortunately i have work to bring--posters to make for my classroom. but mom is going to help me. and katie's sweet mother is bringing her cricut machine to help, too {um, those things are amazing. want.}. more help will be good! i want my mom here so badly to help. i shed a few tears over that this week. it's okay, life is good now.

i am just so excited.

3 days!

[hey, did i mention i am so excited?]

pictures from last year's river trip.

and now i am going to shower. because i didn't last night after our little 4-man, super fun, ghost story, fire dancing, marshamallow roasting bon fire up the canyon. [before you get too disgusted, just know that i did wash my filthy feet afterward and my face. just my hair smells so smokey!] it was my first bonfire not at the beach or a campsite. love.

current state of life {in pictures}

1. i need help. {thank you katie. and whoever else who would love to help me set up my classroom.}

2. i'm thinking of getting that stress reduction kit. wait, i don't even need one. i have plenty of hard surfaces here, and i don't need a circle to tell me where to bang my head.

3. don't worry, i've only made that face once a day. oh the tears.

4. we can do it. i can do it. i will do it.

[5. river in a few days. family. friends. {and statistics still....boooooo.}]

marathon mania (2)

it's official.

well, almost.

i need to register still.

but i'm back in training.

marathon #2: september 25.

[which means the enlarged leg muscles will remain. as well as the horrible tan lines, shoe tan in particular. and the nasty toes. oh well!]

i was having serious withdrawals.

analogous to the baby postpartum blues.

i hope i never get those.

and my marathon withdrawals probably weren't that bad.

millions of thanks to my sponsor. m.santiago.

also. utah bucket list has been updated: bridal veil falls-check, [i added] the subway at zion's-check, and hot springs-check.

hogel zoo in slc--added. real salt lake game--added and checked.

looking for more things to add and more things to check. make it happ'n.

the sunday morning post, 33rd ed.

they're here! pictures from our camping / hiking experience!

here's the story.

katie, rudy, and i left as soon as katie got home from work, around 7pm wednesday.

we hit the road.

i made a totally random, fun playlist for us

with lots of "sing-a-long" songs.

so katie and i sang a lot for rudy.

i was driving.

get off at exit 27.

ummm, it's closed--construction.

"katie, call ian!" i shouted, half panicked.

"he didn't pick up. i'll call..."

"call brad!"

brad says, "exit 27's closed? okay, get off on the previous one."

"uh, brad. we already passed it."

and we laughed.

and we laughed some more after she got off the phone.

so we got off, we got back on and back tracked.

closed on both sides.

pulled over and talked to the construction workers.

got off, got back on.

got on a road.

got on the right road.

we got there around 11.30pm.

set up our little tent.

washed up.

katie and i had some tent time:

chatted for a few minutes,

read scriptures,

and hit the sack.

it was super windy.

and i was excited.

and uncomfortable.

really uncomfortable.

and i laid there.

and i laid there.

and i checked the clock: 2.33am.

and i laid there.

and i checked the clock again: 4.40am.

really?

finally sometime after 4.40am i fell asleep.

then at 7.03am my alarm went off.

greaaaat, 2 hours of sleep before a 6-7 hour hike!!

so we woke up.

got ready.

ate some granola bars.

cleaned up the camp site.

and hit the road for the subway.

and then it began.

the first part was just a nice little nature walk.

then we were walking down giant slabs of granite {as pictured above}.

and then we were making a steep decline and

plop!

there we were at the subway part in the canyon.

SO neat! pictures just don't do it any justice. it was absolutely gorgeous!

we climbed,

we bouldered {climbed up and over huge rocks, aka boulders}.

we waded through water.

we climbed down logs leaning against waterfalls.

we repelled.

we had to jump in and swim.

sometimes dive down and swim under a little tunnel.

{actually, that was optional, but it was fun. and i almost lost a contact.}

{i'm sad my eyes are closed here because i love this picture!}

we stood under waterfalls.

then both cameras died. and so we couldn't take anymore pictures.

but.

the remainder of the hike

[after the waterfalls, swimming, repelling, bouldering]

went as follows:

walk through rocky river, it was shallow.

no more than 3 feet deep in some parts.

then the last 30 minutes went straight up!

it was a climb!

and i loved it.

the whole thing was SO fun.

can't wait for our next camping/hiking adventure!

which is another reason why i need to have a super productive week!

Happy Sabbath! My favorite day of the week.

i'm teaching today, too. about this. or here. so grateful for the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Alma 7:11-13

"11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me."

happy bday em!

[yes, i did pretty much steal these from facebook. most of my pictures are on my external hd. plus, we live too far away from each other and i don't even have any of your pictures!]

happy bday to my little [big] sister

EMILY!

you're 20 now, you know?

em's favorite spot to go is the hill by the newport beach temple.

[hmm, i still have never been on that hill. make it happen, cap'n. i'll be home in the fall.]

she's a total HAM when the camera's around.

especially when dana's the photographer.

but she does take some pretty good pictures!

a.n.t.m.

{america's next top model. mormon style. hmm, please don't.}

heeeeeey. remember how the lakers one the past two nba campionships?

yeaaaah. she's a fan!

cafe rio is a total utah place.

and em hated it the first time.

then she got something different and loved it.

and then they put one fairly close to home in ca.

and she's OBSESSED.

i feel like every time i talk to her she is going or just went.

once a week?

hence the cafe rio gift card for the bday.

but she also loves her marinara pasta. from anywhere.

especially from stonefire.

yum!

and she came for my marathon!

and then my mom, em, and i bought matching shirts at gap.

{i think i'll wear that today.}

i love her.

i miss her.

she's moving here in like 6 months.

i'm excited.

because.

i miss her.

and i love her.

happy bday!

hope it's a good one!

lazy and unproductive.

i've got to get more sleep.

lack of sleep = no running! i didn't run monday, tuesday, or today! and i never run sundays. so, it's been awhile.

and i am far less productive when i don't go running. so i should've just taken the time to go running instead of stressing out thinking that i wouldn't have enough time.

good thing is, i took my stats exam and i got all of my sea creature decorations laminated and cut out! one thing done--2,864 to go!

sounds like a good time for a vacation, right?

ok, maybe not. that's in 2 weeks!

mini-vacation.

katie and i are meeting a few friends at zion national park to camp tonight and hike the subway tomorrow.

pretty neat looking, yeah?

it's about a 6 hour hike that requires some swimming and repelling. i am so pumped! [so, i can just say i haven't been running just to save my energy for that, right? hmm, yeah right. not necessary. won't fly with me.]

written and photographical documentation to come this weekend.

p.s.

if you would like to sponsor me for another marathon, please do so. it's like $60. i would really appreciate it.

the sunday late night post, 32nd ed.

like, really late. like 2 am late. but i'm wide awake. and listening to enya. love her. so i thought i'd give a quick update of my life [since i've been neglectful lately].

claire and i in dc on 4 july 2007. fuuuuun year!!

matching dresses { / for claire it was like a shirt. she's tall.}

let's go back, claire.

1. i've been really busy.

classes.

homework.

classroom set up: trace, chalk, cut. repeat. {but they're turning out super cute. pictures will come once they're up.}

salt lake tuesday and thursday for stats. boo.

a little social life.

2. i took the weekend off. crazy, i know.

friday after classes i just relaxed. then my friend and i hit the pool and met some morons. yes, morons. there's a story for ya! but it's kelly's story. and it is hilarious. {we have found the epitome of what many call a "tool."}

friday night i went to the real salt lake game. robbie findley was back [he was on the world cup team, in case you didn't know]. it was so fun. and i love watching soccer. why haven't i gone to one of these before? probably for the same reason i haven't done a lot of fun things in utah. stresssssss. and school. which causes the stresssss. oh and i wasn't aware that the real were the mls cup champions last year until my friend pointed it out.

and then, to top off a great win, there were fireworks after the game. i loooove fireworks! and we got to go on the field to watch them. it was so fun laying on the nice field, looking up at the sky.

saturday morning i went for a nice loooong run. 14. maintenance. it was beautiful.

saturday afternoon i gave mock tours of ellis island at the freedom festival with a friend. we made a great tour guide team.

this is me at ellis island. 2007. same trip with claire.

this is claire and i at the statue of liberty.

saturday evening i relaxed and waited for katie to get home from work. ok, i cleaned while i waited--kitchen, living room, bedroom. didn't quite make it through the whole bathroom, but that's ok because i do maintenance cleaning on that like every other day.

saturday night we got some frozen yogurt. now, we tried going to golden spoon [looove, but there aren't any around here! closest is like 3.5 hours away in cedar city!]. i saw a golden spoon in orem on my run. but it isn't open yet--pretty soon though! and so we went somewhere else. i hadn't had frozen yogurt in awhile. remember when i used to get it once or twice a week!? ice cream / frozen yogurt is my weakness. which is why you will never see a carton of ice cream in my freezer!

and then we went to the Y. we were going to hike it. but we got there too late because traffic was craaaazy in provo! carrie underwood sang at the stadium of fire [wish i bought tickets!]. provo loves the 4th, which was celebrated on saturday the 3rd. anyway, we were going to hike past the Y since we knew that 2342 other people had the same idea, but since we got there too late and parked in a secret spot in a neighborhood, we ended up hiking through some bushes/brush to this secluded spot below the Y and watched the fireworks go off from the stadium. we could see the whole valley and a bunch of fireworks all over. it was so fun. then traffic was horrendous in every direction and it took us quite awhile to get to the freeway to drop off a friend. oh well!

so it was super fun.

and tomorrow morning is the parade. as much as i'd love to go, i will be waking up at approximately 8.30am and then going running at 9am, parade time. soooo i'll miss it. and then i have loads of coloring to do and a stats exam to prep for so i can take it tuesday and homework to do.

i love my life. you know, that may have sounded sarcastic but i really do. i am so incredibly blessed. i live in a beautiful place. i have love and support and encouragement from my family at home. my mom and i talk everyday. i have things--a nice apartment, a nice car, food, clothes, a bed, blankets, a laptop, a phone, and so much more. so many things that most of the world doesn't have. i am going to an amazing university. i have this amazing opportunity to do this internship and have my own 2nd grade class soon. i have friends that support me and care for me and help me. and we all know how much help i need right now. [and if you want to help me, please, please, please. cut, color, glue, staple fabric to a bulletin board, anything.]

and most importantly, i am a member of a Church that i know to be true. and i have a Father in Heaven that knows me and loves me and blesses me. and i am so grateful. and so blessed.

and i live in a free country. God Bless America. HAPPY 4th!