Big Sandy

Last week we spent 3.5 days backpacking in the Wind Rivers of Wyoming with some friends, the Canens. It was unbelievably gorgeous. We hiked in to Big Sandy lake and set up a base camp in the rain. The next day we hiked to Clear and Deep Lakes and spent the entire day fishing. The weather was cool, sunny and perfect. Deep Lake was a glacier lake that was the bluest water I have ever seen. Justin got way into fishing and caught his first fish! That night we took a dip in the freezing cold waters of a nearby creek and felt totally refreshed. The last day we hiked to Jackass Pass and looked over into Cirque of the Towers. It was definitely on my list of the top 5 prettiest places I have ever been. Then we hiked out, a total of 12 miles for the day.

Many faces of Russell McAvoy

Last week I spent a considerable amount of time with my Granddad at Silverado. I took a bunch of pictures of him, trying hard to get him to smile but he was in a strange mood. Here's some of the best shots:

Finally a smile!

Moving and Park City

With the generous help of my mother, mother-in-law and sister-in-law (Brandi) we finally moved from the Avenues to Millcreek. Although it's a chore to unpack and reorganize our lives, we are finding the extra room to be AMAZING and the location to be fabulous. This apartment is nicer, newer, bigger and the location is so close to our families. We love it!

The day after the move we went up to Park City with the Hendersons for a weekend getaway. Staying at the Marriott Mountainside was a blast with direct access to Park City mountain, Alpine Slide/Coaster/Zipline, etc. That weekend we played at the resort, ate at fantastic restaurants, swam in the many pools and went to a concert at Deer Valley with the Utah Symphony performing Led Zepplin songs. It was an awesome weekend and Chris (my mother-in-law) did a great job planning and executing everything!

Blackberry Jam

A year ago I was given a jar of smashed blackberries from the garden of Justin's best friend's mother, Debbie Einfeldt. I have been afraid of canning since then but yesterday during some free time I finally tried it!
My blackberry jam actually worked out and all my bottles were properly sealed! I was pretty stoked. I just bought a few things from the grocery store like tongs, a canning magnetic lid wand and a funnel. It was so quick too!
One of my personal goals is to be more self-reliant and learn some of the skills my mother and grandmother know so that I can be thrifty and save us money while living more healthy. Justin also has this goal. So far we have been doing pretty good! Justin is a whiz at fixing bikes, changing the oil and basic maintenance. I now know canning, how to cook almost anything and am re-learning how to sew. When we move into our new place I'm buying some vegetable plants and herbs to put on our back porch since the new apartment will actually get some morning sunlight.

It feels good to be learning self-reliance!

Packing

Packing sucks BIG TIME.

My apartment seriously looks like a bomb exploded and we are trying to salvage the pieces. I might go crazy if I have to step over crap one more time.

Breathe... moving day is Thursday... breathe...

Well... gotta go. Justin just swore after hitting yet another box with his poor foot.

California...

I always hesitate to write about political issues. My family, who I adore is pretty split as far as politics go. I never want to offend or upset anyone and I certainly don't want to get into debates which usually end in someone stomping off or crying. (Yes, this has really happened... multiple times...) I'm talking about my Dad's family. While on the other side, my Mom's family is and will probably always be hard-core republican right-wing tea party nuts. I like to straddle the middle and advocate communication and deliberation of specific issues rather than loyalty to bipartisan opinion.

But I do have to say this overturning Prop. 8 thing in California is pretty nuts. What's the point of the majority vote if someone in the judicial system can veto it? And why is this all of a sudden a "human civil right"? I thought marriage was an institution that was the bedrock of our culture and most basic societal unit. Our physiology speaks pretty loudly for itself when looking at how a naturally occurring family develops. I'm sorry, but I think civil rights have little to do with institutions as old as humanity and more to do with equal rights in voting, financial capabilities, housing, etc. I think Prop. 8 was perfectly constitutional in sanctioning an institution like marriage between individuals with the capabilities to procreate and move society forward as has been done for tens of thousands of years.

Someone at my old job asked me to share my beliefs with her regarding this issue last week. I gave my opinions honestly and was cut off after 30 seconds and told I was "judgmental" and following my Christian beliefs "blindly" and that I had no respect for gay individuals and had no idea what I was talking about. Honestly, I stay away from reading too many press releases by my church and the newspapers so I can remain objective. I have had gay friends and known many great people in that community. I have worked with lots of gays in the spa industry. However, I remain firm in my belief. If the gay community can speak loudly about how they feel they're treated unfairly, I can speak loudly and say that I think traditional marriage is under attack and those who support it are often accused of being bigots, haters and even niave idiots. That's a pretty big double standard.

There, I've spoken my peace.

Brady and Katy

We love this couple. Background: Brady (aka "Elder Thompson") was a missionary Justin trained in Brasilia. He was Justin's favorite companion. A reformed stoner-hippie, Brady was perfect for Justin. And he's finally getting married! To a cutie... I might add. Though he looks almost identical to Harry Potter, Brady is awesome and we look forward to their hipster wedding.

Goodbye Spyglass, Hello Moringstar

It is finally happening. After living in our precious Spyglass #12 for the past year and 10 months, we are moving. Justin and I have loved living in the avenues. The cute historic homes, the walkable neighborhoods with small private businesses, the proximity to the University and the temple, the lovely trees that grow here so abundantly has made a nice little home for us. Today we were talking about how there have been no downsides to living here. But the time has come for us to move. We have been motivated mostly by the desire to be closer to family that needs us. Justin's parents will only be three blocks away, my grandparents within a 5 minute drive, my aunt within a 5 minute drive and being closer to my family in Highland will be the major perks for moving to Millcreek. This new place fell into our lap. Our landlord and maintenance man who have been such great blessings will remain the same. The only difference will be more space, a newer building and a little bit higher rent.

Here are the quirky characteristics of our apartment here in the avenues.

First we have the window sill tribute to Justin's mother's holiday ceramic gifts. I have never been big on trinkets, so we have been proudly displaying them in our window sill as a somewhat sick joke. Next is our summertime bedroom. Yes, it's in our front living room. The only a/c in the entire apartment is that little white box you see. Rather than suffer in a hot bedroom underneath the ceiling fan with the window open next to the house with the yappy dog, we have created a bedroom out of my Shiatsu mat in the front room that we sleep on from June-September.

And of course there are the bikes. Kimberly, Cammie and Gabrielle. Justin won't allow them to be chained up outside so we have been keeping them inside on the bike rack.
Something I won't miss is the size of the kitchen. I love love love to cook and this tiny thing makes it difficult.

Finally is all the places we have had to store our endless supply of gear. Under the bed, in the linen closet, in an entire bedroom closet and on the bedroom floor. Thank goodness the new place has ginormous closets!!