#8: Go Rock Climbing

Bruce and I went to Idaho a few weekends ago to visit my cute sister-in-law and her new husband. She found super cheap tickets on Allegiant for us, so we went!

We had a great trip! We arrived on Friday and departed on Monday (barely... we had an 8 hour delay).

On Saturday we visited Bruce's maternal grandparents in Pocatello, went by the old family homestead in Shelley, and went to Ririe reservoir to do a little outdoor rock climbing!

I was very excited as this has been on my bucket list, but also nervous as it was my first time indoor or outdoor. It took some coaching but I did it!

Our trip to San Diego & #63: Go Kayaking

On Independence Day this year Bruce and I drove down to San Diego for his old roommate Brian's wedding. Since Bruce had never been to San Diego before (outside of the airport) we decided to make it a mini-vacation.

We stayed in Ladera Ranch on Wednesday night with our friends Jeff and Meredith. We saw some of the best fireworks I've seen in recent years at the show their HOA put on. We reclined on blankets and watched fireworks overhead - just like the shows I went to as a kid at my grandpa Jack's house. I felt nostalgic and happy and Jeff's and Meredith's little boy Jude is so charming and curly-headed. Bruce and I both love him.

Thursday morning we finished the drive to San Diego and went for a barefoot hike at Torrey Pines. We played on the beach all morning: finding crabs, collecting cool shells for my nephews, and playing in the surf.

We crashed in our hotel in the afternoon. It wasn't until I went to Trader Joe's that I saw that we were directly across the freeway from the LDS temple!

My cousin Liz and her husband Dave hosted us for dinner at their home. We saw them about a year ago when we went to Mesa, but they have a new baby Fritz (Frederick Russell), so it was fun to meet him and admire how big their oldest, William, is getting. William and I played chase in the back yard and also played in his sand box (shaped like a giant red crab). We shared our addiction to chocolate covered sunflower seeds with them. It's my favorite host/hostess gift these days.

Friday we woke up early to go to breakfast (forgettable place, but right on the water, which is cool), and then went sea kayaking at La Jolla coves and shores. It was my first time and I love, love, loved it! I can't wait to kayak again! We were gone for a few hours, did a little snorkeling (except for Bruce - the mask couldn't suction to his face because of his beard. oops...). Tropical snorkeling is way cooler, so he didn't miss out on much, but I loved swimming in the caves and seeing bright orange fish. I also spotted a jellyfish just before a group of people swam into it, so pretty much I saved the day!

We then went to Con Pane at Liberty Station which was fantastic! We bought tons of bread and ate delicious sandwiches and got a cinnamon roll to go. I think our favorite loaf was the rosemary bread.

That evening was the reception for our friend Brian and his new wife Silvia. We reunited with old friends - many unexpectedly - and ate great food.

That night we went to see my other cousin who lives in San Diego (Del Mar). Bruce hadn't met this cousin and his family (I have 100+ first cousins, so that's not too surprising...) and we loved visiting with them.

Saturday we drove home after going to the San Diego temple to perform some sealings. We stopped in north LA (canyon country) to meet our friend / adopted cousin Benj's son Soren (also adorable) and to give Benj and his wife Meg hugs.

A great trip! I'm only sorry we didn't eat more Mexican food :)

#10: Donate to Locks of Love

On Wednesday I went to get my annual haircut and Sheri, who has cut my hair for 15 years, said my hair was long enough to donate to locks of love. Soooo we chopped it and I surprised Bruce :)

Things to accomplish in 2012

From my 100 things, I'm planning to do the following this year:

• go on a cruise (#16) - I go tomorrow!
• learn to play the organ using pedals (#45) - I only sort of fake it right now
• start writing my personal history (#58) - I haven't journaled consistently since high school, so I should start improving my habits here. Bruce has been a great journaler - up until he met married me, of course... oops!
• start memorizing some poems & scriptures :) (#70 & #55)

I probably will only finish the first one, since the last two are more ongoing efforts and I have a feeling the second one will be, too.

#53: Visit all 50 states

Remember this? Since going to Yellowstone, I've added 2 states to the mix - doesn't the Western US look much better now? I just need 3 more states to be half way to this goal and luckily I am giving myself longer than my 30th birthday to finish it :) Which states should I do next? I think Alaska should be on the list, for sure..

visited 22 states (44%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

#50 Visit Crater Lake, Oregon

View from the hike at Cleetwood Cove (National Park photo)

I was hoping to include some of the awesome pictures Bruce took when we went to Crater Lake the weekend after Labor Day, but I don't have them available yet. I'll update the post later to share them with posterity.

This was a glorious trip!

Bruce and I took Thursday and Friday off of work and drove the 8-9 hour trip up to Crater Lake National Park (near Medford, Oregon). It was a beautiful drive and we got to our campsite quite late. We car camped for 3 nights, and had 2 full days at the park.

The first day we drove around the rim (33 miles) and stopped at all of the overlooks (okay most of them). We took a picnic lunch and met a delightful retired couple. Since it was after Labor day, most of the tourists we saw were international visitors or older couples -- fewer families now that school is in.

Plaikni Falls (stock photo from Portland hiking site)

We went to the pinnacles and did a short (new) hike to a waterfall called Plaikni Falls. Then we returned to our campsite and played Rummikub, made s'mores and banana boats. It was the only night we had a fire, so we had to have all of our campfire treats that night :)

Day 2, we woke up early to go to our scheduled boat tour at Cleetwood Cove. It's one of the only trails that takes you down inside the rim along the lake. It's a very steep trail, but it was a beautiful morning and the trail is mostly in shade, so we enjoyed the hike down.

View from the western rim looking down on Wizard Island
(stock photo from a sacred destinations site. heh)

This was one of the highlights of the trip. I highly recommend that anyone who goes to Crater Lake do the boat tour -- specifically the one that drops you off at Wizard Island for 3 hours! It was so awesome! It is spectacular to be down inside the rim. After 30 minutes on a not very impressive boat, they drop you off on Wizard Island -- some folks fished, but most hiked to the summit. We did and picnicked at the top. It was fantastic! Also, I convinced Bruce to jump into the lake with me (twice!) It was cold, but it did not take the breath out of you, so I think that was actually pretty warm considering what we were prepared for :) Then the rangers picked us up and we still had about an hour on the boat touring the rim - we saw waterfalls, caves, and the Phantom Ship.

We ended the trip with a hike up to Watchman Peak at sunset. Then Sunday morning we drove home and stopped for church in Klamath Falls. It was a wonderful trip and our first of many family camping trips!

#30 Witness Stuart's temple marriage

The happy couple!

Last weekend Bruce and I flew to St. Louis, Missouri to attend Stuart's wedding to Barbara Wittwer. It was extremely hot and humid, but St. Louis is so beautiful and green. We loved meeting the Wittwers, who are an incredibly sweet family, and we are so excited that Barb is now in our family!

Classic: beautiful Barbara and silly Stu :)

 We were so happy to have so many of my cousins come to St. Louis for the occasion! My Thomas cousins Glenn (with his wife Cindy & their beautiful boys + girl) and Melanie came as well as Jacob (with his wife Veronica and their sweet girls). On my mom's side (the Bradshaws), Hyrum and his wife Rae came. Jacob and my cousin Hyrum are two of Stuart's closest cousins, so it was so wonderful that they could both be there! Also, my adopted brother Dave Hodgman was there, so it really was complete.

The darling daughters of my cousin Jacob & his wife Veronica

It may seem silly to have my siblings' weddings on my list, but they really are some of the most important events I have had and hope to have in life. My brothers and sisters are some of my best friends and I love and admire all of them. It is wonderful to know that Stuart will have a best friend in Barb.

#40: Ride in a Hot Air Balloon

Happy Birthday, Bruce!

Bruce and I drove to Petaluma (up north in wine country, southwest of Napa) on Friday night. We had a really nice dinner at Le Bistro and then we planned on a sunrise hike on Saturday morning (Bruce's birthday). What better way to greet a birthday than with the sun?

What Bruce didn't know was that we were actually going to go on a hot air balloon ride. I couldn't figure out how to wake him up at 4:15AM, but luckily he has talked about a sunrise hike for awhile, so I lucked out!

While it was quite thrilling to drive up and see the huge balloons, the ride itself was very serene -- you really do just drift and float. That day we just explored the area and then settled down to watch "UP!" :)

Here is the slideshow of the ride:

#49: Buy a Bicycle

I just crossed #49 off of my list - Bruce and I found a bike on Craig's List on Memorial day and now I am just riding all over the place!

So far I've completed 20 or 21 out of the 50 I've defined so far! My goal is to complete 25 by my 30th birthday and to add the next dozen or so (I purposely haven't defined all 100 as I want to give room to develop new goals).

Here is what I'm working on now:

• #8 - Go Rock Climbing
• #16 - Go on a Cruise
• #30 - Witness Stuart's Temple Marriage :)
• #45 - Learn to Play the Organ Using Pedals
• #50 - Visit Crater Lake, Oregon

Since the proposed cruise is technically after my birthday (even though it's in the same month!), I need to come up with one more that I could accomplish in the next 7 months or so - I want to plan on beating my goal of 25 by a few, so that there is NO risk I'll miss it! I'm thinking #33...

Remember that bread I made?

Well I finally have some pictures to show you that it really was as beautiful as it tasted. :)

This was all white bread. We made an all wheat version a few weeks ago and it was even more delicious.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I've baked my first loaves of bread!

In honor of my dear friend Kate, who encouraged me to achieve this goal and I know would have liked to be a part of it, I have finally baked my first loaves of bread! They are beautiful, I will be posting pictures soon, and we will see if they taste as good as they look. :)

Thank you. Thank you. I'm so happy!

Guess what

I'm getting married on Saturday

(!!)

After approximate 7 weeks of stress my week of giddiness has arrived!

pics to follow later....

#23. Run a 5k Race

Last night I ran the Palo Alto Moonlight Run 5k and it was lovely!

Firstly, the weather was perfect and we ran on the baylands. I felt pre-race giddiness.

Secondly, so many friends were there! Lots of children, an assortment of neighbors and members of the community. It was delightful to jog in place, smiling, laughing. My newly released Bishop D W came by after finishing the 5k walk with his two beaming red-headed daughters. They were pink-cheeked and smiled so sweetly.

And then! We were off! I felt the imminent danger of a human stampede, but as I moved with the crowd we suddenly reached the open air of the trail. I forgot my iPod, so I simply ran alone looking at the night, focusing on my breathing, finding my pace. The giddiness melted away and I heard snippets of conversations from my neighbors as they passed me, I passed them. It was beautiful to think of all the many hearts beating in their respective chests. Most runners had some kind of light source - a blinking red button, a headlamp, a glowing necklace or bracelet.

And when I reached the last mile, I picked up my pace praying that I wouldn't burn out. And when I reached the final 100 yards, I sprinted. I beat my previous time, I was greeted by and continued to greet arriving friends. I ate orange slices, quarters of bagel, and reveled in the satisfaction that I had officially completed #23 of my 100 Things (see right hand sidebar). I ran a 5k race (and enjoyed it)!

100 Things (1-27)

Rumor has it that if you write down goals you achieve them, and I've noted in a few places instances where people have written down life checklists. I am going to attempt to do the same here, but I'm only going to put 1-27 in honor my forthcoming birthday anniversary. I'm going to include major milestones that I accomplished in recent years in that age-old tradition of writing down tasks just so you can cross them off...

1. Graduate from college
2. Visit New York
3. Hear Joshua Bell perform
4. Visit Muir Woods
5. Receive my endowment
6. Work at the Temple
7. Visit Yosemite
8. Golf nine holes
9. Buy a condo / house
10. Learn how to cook an entire Thanksgiving meal
11. Get married in the Temple
12. Buy a car
13. Teach an Institute of Religion course
14. Read the entire Standard Works
15. Read Les Miserables
16. Visit Spain
17. Attend a live session at the Salt Lake Temple
18. Work in Spanish at the Temple
19. Give away a Book of Mormon
20. Hear Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2
21. Visit Paris
22. Earn an advanced degree
23. Run a 5k race
24. Visit Washington, D.C.
25. Paint a painting (watercolors or oils)
26. Serve a full-time mission
27. Visit Nauvoo

Press Release: Ring out the Maxima, Ring in the Camry

Since the Maxima died in the car Accident on 20 December (1pm ish), I had to get a new car. My dad and I went to the Stevens Creek Toyota and I watched as my dad negotiated my very first car purchase.

I bought a 2007 Toyota Camry (white, of course). This is a generic photo, I will try to get pics soon (my camera is borked).