The Anchor

When I get ready in the morning, I often listen to the last general conference on my computer. And yesterday, I chose to listen to a talk by Elder Holland. When I first heard it, it was immediately one of my favorites from this session of conference. And as I listened to it yesterday, I was again reminded of how much our Heavenly Father and Savior love us. They are with us at all times that we want/ask them to be. I was feeling a little lonely and down before I listened to the message. But after, I could not help but feel my Heavenly Father's love for me and peace in knowing that they are always there. They love me despite the fact that I am hopelessly flawed. They love me when/despite the fact that I'm pretty, ugly, skinny or chubby, sometimes mean or unthoughtful, bad at doing laundry, silly, lazy, kind, etc...They just love me. All of me. And even though I often feel alone in my life, I know that I never really am. They are close by-watching and protecting. I am so grateful for that knowledge. It has quite literally saved my life by penetrating through the darkness of despair.

"Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said, “I will not leave you comfortless. [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].”" Jeffrey R. Holland 2009

Happy in Newport...

Morgan invited me to go to Newport Beach with his family and him this weekend. They had extra tickets to a Dodgers game on Saturday and a free place to stay with them in Newport Beach-so how could I refuse? I got to hang out with his brother Brian and his wife and his sister Hannah, her husband and their three cute boys.

We visited my favorite restaurant in Laguna Beach-had to eat on the roof, of course!

We visited some local art galleries, and Morgan found a friend.

Found an old fashioned telephone booth and had to snap a few pics...

For some reason, this archway fascinated Morgan, and he insisted we take some more pics

We rode bikes on the boardwalk (I am imitating Morgan's mean face that he often gives the camera)

Visited Coronado Island

Take 1

Take 2

Final Take

I had a blast in Cali this weekend, so thanks to Morgan and his family!

The Subway...

My friend Morgan took me on the coolest, most difficult, scary, amazing hike I have ever been on this weekend. It's called the Subway, in Zion National Park. It is roughly a 10 mile hike through a river at the bottom of a narrow canyon. The hike required us to repel short distances, jump into/swim through freezing pools of water and carefully navigate very "slippy" situations. I felt very Bear Grylls after doing this hike-if you don't know who/what Bear Grylls is, please follow this link and be prepared to be amazed...http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/manvswild/manvswild.html.

I'm sweating like crazy here

This is the spot that inspired the name-the Subway

Me, near the end and quite exhausted...

Ode to Sunday Drives...

I have ALWAYS loved to drive. I love driving by myself, with the windows rolled down, wind blowing through my hair, music cranked up, screaming at the top of my lungs, crying, laughing, thinking, pondering and zoning out. I've just always found that it's really good 'me' time. So, in order to create some more 'me' time, I've started a new tradition of going on a Sunday drive. It usually takes place on Sunday evening starting around 9pm and ending anywhere from 9:30 to 11pm. I drive anywhere I want, completely aimlessly. And I've found that I really crave the freedom/release that I feel when I go on these drives. If I dont' get to go on my drive, I don't feel as balanced throughout the week. And to remind me of those 'me' times the rest of the week, I created a playlist on my iTunes (which is my most frequestly played list I might add) that is called 'easy driving'.

These pics were taken on my road trip to Bear Lake. It was very much like my Sunday drives...lots of good meditation time. Do you guys like to go on drives too?

Adventure Girl-Update!

So, there I was...looking on Craigslist for a kayak like I've been doing for the last two months-when I saw it. A one person sit-on-top kayak w/ a paddle at a decent price. A few hours later, I was the proud owner of my very own water vehicle.

Then Gracie and I went horseback riding at Red Rock for her 13th B-day. It was so much fun! I think I too often get into ruts of talking about doing things and then not following through. I suddenly had the realization this weekend that I am actually reaching some of my goals. I am really excited to take the kayak out this weekend for my maiden voyage and can't wait to take other friends and family out w/ me too.

Isn't Gracie beautiful?! I think she is turning into quite a spunky, fun gorgeous young woman. Love you, Grace!

My Favorite Holiday

Vegas heat so hot it feels like a rocket is going off in your face, multi-flavored sno-cones, swimming pools, hiking, parades, American flags, hot dogs and hamburgers...and not least of all-FIREWORKS. These are just some of the things that make the Fourth of July my favorite holiday. As my recolection goes, my love for this holiday was born when I was about 12-I had a day that included all of these things, and I just remember thinking that it was a perfect day.

Since then, I have had varying degrees of mediocre to great Fourths. But, this year, I was determined to make it a perfect day. With the help of a couple good friends, I was able to do all the things I wanted to...

1. Attend a Parade

2. Eat a Sno-Cone (7-11 slurpee will do)

3. Go Swimming (video of hand-stand contest coming)

4. Go to a BBQ (sorry no pic of the actual bbq attended-but it was fantastic)

5. Watch fireworks (we did at Lake Las Vegas)

5. Do fireworks (sparklers will suffice-our "sparklers" turned out to be sparkling birthday candles...)

6. Go on a hike (done friday afternoon)

It was the perfect day. Next year, I'm thinking of taking a 4th of July roadtrip-to see what other cities do.

A New Fav...

One of my new favorite singers is Joshua Radin. (I know I already mentioned him in our recent emails about music) But, I wanted to post the lyrics to one of my new favorite songs of his-'Brand New Day'-it's off his newest album that came out last year.

Some kind of magic Happens late at night When the moon smiles down at me And bathes me in its light I fell asleep beneath you In the tall blades of grass When I woke the world was new I never had to ask It’s a brand new day The sun is shining It’s a brand new day For the first time in such a long long time I know I’ll be ok Most kind of stories Save the best part for last And most stories have a hero who finds You make your past your past Yeah you make your past your past It’s a brand new day The sun is shining It’s a brand new day For the first time in such a long long time I know I’ll be ok This cycle never ends You gotta fall in order to mend It’s a brand new day It’s a brand new day For the first time in such a long long time I know I’ll be ok

I just love these words-and actually, I think he always has clever lyrics. There is just such a soothing quality to his voice...check him out. (You can listen to several of his newer songs on his website)

http://www.joshuaradin.com/