San Rafael Swells…

We knew before we left it was going to be a short adventure, but decided to go for it anyways. Mike was itching to get out and I had never been to San Rafael. Mike used to go down there on a regular basis with his uncle Marcel and wanted to show me what it was all about. So after work on Friday, and a little while of deliberation, we hoped in the car to head down south. We arrived at about 10 o’clock and needed to release some energy. Little Wild Horse canyon was calling out to us. It was my first slot canyon, nice and simple. We had good conversation under the moonlight and our headlamps.

After our hike, we set up camp in the dark. We got a tent for our wedding and Mike was super pumped to try it out. It is a great tent! We got up the next morning and were going to do the famous Ding and Dang slot canyon. To our dismay, rain clouds were up above and we couldn’t chance getting stuck in the mud roads with our little car. So we went to explore other avenues. We met a lady who was traveling around all by herself in a little van. We talked to her for a little while, she gave us a book of hikes in Utah, and told us of a hike where you could find hieroglyphics. Well we never found the hieroglyphics, but did discover some rocks which would explode when you threw them at the wall. We thought we were pretty strong.

With only a few hours left, we decided to try one final hike. Mike had done a hike in the past that he recommended could be a fun one to try, the Wild Horse Window. It is a cool sight to see. It’s a cave, with a big arch, and a hole in the top. Yes, it has all three! We went into the cave and went up to this little ledge. We were talking and then we kissed and this older traveling group from Moab thought Mike was proposing to me. It was pretty funny; we let them know we had been married for about 6 months. They were a unique group. They had on hiking gear and were ready for anything!

We got talking to one lady who is a drummer at a park in Moab. She was originally from back East but after a trip to Moab, she loved it so much she had to move there. We learned of her hatred for Wal-Mart, yet even she had to succumb and go there at times for the right goods. After a little while, we parted ways and made our way back to the car. On the way back, we took close-up pictures of various desert flowers. Five of them are now proudly displayed in our apartment. Upon getting back to the car we realized we had a little extra time. On our way out, we stopped by the ruins giving us a little taste of history. Although initial deliberations were made, it was worth the trip, as always!

Mike’s Birthday plus Kayaking...

One year previously, we were sitting in the LAUB studying for Chudoba’s test. I was clueless it was his birthday. Fortunately for me, I had brought Sour Patch Kids and flavor changing gum to share. It definitely made a good impression. But this year I was prepared. I carried on the tradition by providing him with similar treats. They would have been the exact same, except for the fact that flavor changing gum no longer exists. It was kind of a flop. I also gave him gift certificates for some paddles for his raft. To our surprise, his friend Arnie just gave him a few paddles. So, yes, I still owe him a birthday gift. Nevertheless, I had a fun filled day planned out in advance. The morning started out right with waffles, whip cream, and syrup. It was a discovery we made on our cruise and has withstood the test of time. After a lovely breakfast, I sent him off to work with a lunch filled with some of his favorite foods. After work we were going to brave the storm and go kayaking. It was going to be my first real kayaking adventure. I had tried once in a river before, however, it was on smooth water with no rapids. Therefore, it doesn’t count. This was the true test. I passed! I made it through the entire section without rolling over, rapids and all. I was pretty proud of myself. The next time it was not quite as successful but we will get to that later.

After a successful and exciting river adventure, we tried a local Chinese restaurant on Main Street in Logan. I had gotten a gift certificate there, so it worked out nicely. It was really good food. Mike discovered Walnut Shrimp and has been hooked ever since. He literally will lick the plate clean, because he says it is that good! After dinner, I surprised him with an ice cream party with his pals. It is very difficult to surprise Mike because I am a terrible liar. As I was preparing for his surprise party, I had to sneak away for a while to text his friends and get their numbers out of his phone. Well he noticed I was gone for awhile while we were at his parent’s house. He asked where I was and I came up with some poor excuse. He wanted details and I couldn’t provide them because it didn’t really happen. Needless to say, he was a little irritated. It was ok though because he would be thanking me later. Several of his friends showed up and we had a great time. Chance’s entrance may have been the most eventful. As he came in the door, he kicked off his shoe and hit Mike where it counts. We all had a good laugh at Mike’s expense, poor guy. But to our defense he was laughing as well. It was a great birthday.

A couple weeks later we set out to reattempt our kayaking success of the past. We went back to the same spot to put in. For some reason I was much more nervous this time. I would later find out why. Let me tell you my crazy adventure. The CFS level was much higher this time around, meaning the river was much quicker. I was already much more nervous which didn’t make it any easier. I finally got going down the river but it was short lived. I ran right into a tree. I was hanging on for dear life. Mike was trying to tell me how to get out of the situation, but I was just not experienced enough. As I tried to follow his advice, I flipped. Luckily Mike was there to help me out. I pulled the emergency strap and came up panicking. I grabbed onto his boat while holding on to mine as well. He told me to let go of the boat. I did not know which one he was talking about. I didn’t want mine to go flying down the river and I didn’t want to let go of his. He told me to let go of mine and then he led me to safety. Now he had the task of getting out of the river and finding my boat as well. Fortunately, for him an old lady saw him struggling to get out of his boat while still holding on to mine. She helped him out, while I was trying to catch up with him on foot. To add to the stress, my finger had been sliced earlier in the week and was bleeding everywhere. By the time I caught up to Mike he was safely out of the river. The nice lady drove us to our final destination where we concluded our not-so-successful, but exciting, kayaking adventure.

Tennis season comes to a close….

Before ending my college tennis career, Mike and I took a short getaway to St. George for the weekend. He was about to introduce me to one of his sports, kayaking. So we threw the Kayak in Lil’ Red and headed down south. It was warm enough in St. George that we could play in the pool again. It was a perfect opportunity to learn how to roll. Well, kind of. In kayaking, rolling is your ticket out of a sticky situation. When you roll over, you are laying face down in the water strapped into a boat. If you can’t roll it makes kayaking interesting. You have one of two options, either you drown or you pull the emergency strap, drag the kayak to shore, empty it out, and then start over again. You can see why it is one of the first things you would want to learn. Unfortunately, I found rolling is a little tricky to learn and I didn’t master the technique. No need to worry however for more kayaking opportunities would shortly present themselves. But until then we stuck to more traditional activities like climbing Angel’s landing in Zion’s Park with the family. Yes, we broke some rules. Mike didn’t use the chain, we fed squirrels, and Mike went after a water bottle that fell about 20 feet down. You can always count on our family bending the rules.

The next week, I would slowly be experiencing my last with college tennis. On the 25^th of April, we had our last home match. Coach must have wanted us to end on a good note because we played Idaho State University, again. Well, it worked we won 6-1. I was able to win my last home match and celebrate with the ladies. Taylor and I were the lone seniors which explains the pretty flowers and the basket of candy. The following day, I attended my fourth and final Whiteside’s ceremony. It is a ceremony to award student athletes and teams for good grades. I was privileged to be named the “Whiteside’s Scholar Athlete of the Year”. It was quite an honor. I had to give a speech and everything. I was really nervous but it was kind of fun. I was in the newspapers and the radio even interviewed me. I felt like a celebrity!!

On the 27^th we were in Boise for my last WAC tournament. We went in as the 9^th seed, the worst our team had ever been seeded since I was there. Unfortunately, we lived up to the seed. We lost first round to San Jose, 3-4. We won the doubles point giving us the first point of the match. I rushed through my match hoping to beat my teammates of the court; I won my match 6-0, 6-0 in about an hour. To my disappointment, I raced off the court to find that three of my teammates were down in their matches. I couldn't believe my eyes, we ALWAYS beat San Jose. Though, I still thought my team was going to come through. Unfortunately, it came down to the final singles match and we lost 4-3. We went out first round.

At the WAC banquet, I was going to receive an honor which I had been working towards ever since I found out it existed. I was put on the Second-Team for All-WAC Singles honors. Although, I must admit I was hoping to get on the First-Team. I still was extremely pumped. I had written for my goals every year to be a part of the All-WAC singles team and it had finally come true. I believe my win over Boise State earlier in the season had a lot to do with it. It was my best match of the year. I came back from being down 1-7 in a 10 point tiebreaker to win 11-9. I had a pretty lucky stab volley to stop her from match point. To top it off, Boise was a ranked team and they blew me off when I was looking for a college. It was a tennis moment worth celebrating. It was a big year for awards and recognition. I was a finalist at the Robins Awards for “Female Athlete of the Year” for my third year in a row. I was voted MVP all four years. I was also voted hardest worker for the second time. I was named to be on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VIII first team. I was also nominated as Utah State’s “NCAA Woman of the Year”. Then to top it off, I learned with 25 single wins that I had set a single-season school record. It wasn’t a bad way to end my tennis college career.

After finishing up the WAC tournament in Boise, Mike and I decided to go on a little adventure on a little adventure of our own. We decided it would be fun to try a random place on the way back from Boise. We had never been to Twin Falls and we were about to make it happen. Mike saw a sign for Shoshone Falls on his drive up to Boise which had sparked his interest. We began first stopped at the Snake River Canyon. We snapped a few pictures and enjoyed the scenery. We thought about the first people that encountered the gorge. What a shock that would be, eh? After, we observed the magnificence we ventured onward to Shoshone Falls. It is definitely a sight worth seeing. It is huge! It's funny though because when you are driving there it is through random fields. Then you go down a driveway into this little place and BAM there it is. It is really pretty. They also have a little park and swimming hole by the falls. We had fun checking out random people. Some people are so interesting to say the least. We tried to sneak pictures of some of them but we were unable to catch them in time and then the camera died. Don’t worry we ate away our grief at Jack in the Box. Not really, but seriously.

Antsy for Spring...

The heavy snow season, consequently led to a flooded spring season. Houses, roads, fields, and rivers were overflowing with excess water. Mike especially liked checking on the water levels of the river. On several different occasions, Mike took me on road trips up the Canyon and down into the island to see the changes. It was crazy to see so much water in a little river. Families near the river were sweating it because there houses were in danger. Sand bagging was not uncommon that spring. Nevertheless, the weather was warming up and we thought it was time to enjoy spring activities. We learned our lessons through experience.

One day on the news, they were reporting on the flooded rivers in Logan and Ogden. They reported on the dangers of getting in the water. Mike’s parents had seen the news. If you know anything about Mike, you would know his parents were concerned. They called Mike later that night and told him they hoped there son wasn't stupid enough to be playing in the rivers. Well, to his parents dismay Mike had already been kayaking in the rivers on a couple different occasions. Yup, strike one.

However, this first strike did not deter us from our next soon to be strike. On April 7^th, we were determined to go outside and enjoy the warmer weather. This too may not have been the wisest choice, but it was something we will never forget. During conference there was a talk about the Crimson Trail. I told Mike we should go climb it. He was game. It started out pretty good. However, the further we got up the worse the conditions became. Ice, snow, and mud were all factors. In some places the trail was also very thin adding to the scary factor. To top it off, we were not the best dressed. Mike was in shorts and sandals, no surprise. Mike later said it was the closest he has ever been to hypothermia and frost bite. After about an hour or an hour and a half we were ready to tap out. But it just kept going and going. Fortunately, we found a way to get down pretty quick. We found a wide open, downhill patch. You better believe we slid down on our butts! We hurried as fast as we could through the final stretch and were relieved once we made it to the car. Don’t worry, we learned you have to wait till it's actually spring to do spring activities.

March Madness!!

March was a crazy month for us. It started with the birth of my first official nephew on March 2^nd. Although I already had 12 nieces and nephews, he was the first one born when I was a part of the Hill crew. It was fun to go see the little guy. At the time we went to go see him, he still was unnamed. I remember telling Mike I wish he had a name so I could talk to him. For some reason, I thought it strange to talk to an unnamed baby. To my relief, a few days later he was named Matthew.

Shortly thereafter, Mike and I were going to be separated for 10 days. I had been on some weekend tennis trips, but nothing this long since we were married. It was sad to be leaving, but it was a great opportunity. I was able to go to China with some fellow MBA students. It was a requirement for our graduation to go on an international trip. We could either go to Japan, China, Italy, or England. My family has talked about going to Italy for a while and I was lucky enough to go to England when I was younger. Thus, it came down to China or Japan. I chose China because I thought it was an opportunity that would not present itself to me again. It was a really neat trip and I was glad I was able to go. The best part is that it was covered by my tennis scholarship. What a blessing, eh? The only downfall is Mike was unable to go with me.

In China, we were able to do a lot of sightseeing. Fortunately, our group leaders and chaperons were more interested in sightseeing than the business aspects. Good for me, bad for the “school aspect”. We first flew into Hong Kong which is much more city like than I expected. It was very crowded, people trying to sell you items, weird smells, big buildings, and a nice subway system. In Hong Kong we went to the temple grounds, Disneyland, the markets, and saw the big sights. Disneyland was fun and really tiny compared to Disneyland in America. The rides were smaller and there were not as many attractions but the lines were way shorter which meant more rides! Even though I couldn’t shoot the space aliens, like Buzz Lightyear, it was a lot of fun.

Our next stop was in Guangzhou in mainland China. Here we did more business stops than usual. We went to Hino Motors and the Toyota factory. Toyota is very efficient and it was cool to see the cars come together so quickly. However, we spent most of our time in the city of Beijing. Here we had a few business stops as well. However, the highlights of Beijing were the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, The Silk Market, Olympic Bird’s nest, and my surprise at the Beijing Institute of Technology.

I was just sitting in the classroom and a boy I didn’t even know brought me a bouquet of flowers because he said I was pretty. It probably helps that I was the only girl in the group, but I felt like a superstar! My favorite was the silk market though. It was so fun to bargain with the Chinese and get some really good deals. I got Mike some fun things. His favorite was a Gortex jacket. I got ripped off, yet I still got it for hundreds of dollars cheaper there than in America. Yes, it does work just as well. The last city we visited was Xian. We took a sleeper train on our journey to the ancient capital. It is here they have the Terracotta Warriors. They were a sight to see. Many of them are still being discovered and put together. There are thousands of them. Much work is still to be done.

Mike and I were able to talk through emails and occasionally through Skype when our schedules and internet connection would line up. Mike was able to join his friends on a trip to St. George over Spring Break. They had a good time doing outdoor activities, like slot canyons and biking. So as you could probably guess we didn’t get to talk too often. However, my favorite email was when Mike told me of his own Mickey Mouse adventure. Here is the story in his words. “As I opened the passenger side door the floor lights came on as usually and I thought I saw a mouse run up under the dashboard. I was pretty surprised but not certain I had seen one. I looked around and checked a small bag of trail mix I had left in the car but there was no chewing on the bag. So I figured I was just seeing shadows. I told Danny and Haley at DQ and they came and searched the car with me. Danny left two peanuts on the floor just to check. After DQs I drove home to our wonderful place and left those peanuts on the floor. And, as sure as I am writing you today, the peanuts were gone the next morning.”

Getting back from China did not slow things done one bit. Tennis season was in full swing and I left shortly thereafter to San Jose and San Francisco. Too bad we didn’t even play any matches due to heavy rain. The team also traveled to Moscow, Idaho. Nevertheless, Mike and I made good use of our time we did have together. We were able to go to the Willow Park Zoo and Backcountry sledding! We saw lots of fun animals at the Zoo including eagles, birds, an albino porcupine, game animals, and even pet rocks. It was fun to go exploring around and see the different animals. At a later date, we were also able to go backcountry sledding. It was my first time. Mike truly does make my life more adventurous. We went up Logan Canyon and found a good spot with lots of snow. We put on our snowshoes and hiked up the mountain. Once you got to the top, you got to cruise down huge hills of untouched snow. You said it, we are pretty adventurous.

February 21st….Mike’s famous! Plus, Vegas trip.

Mike was asked by ICON if he would show the world how to fix treadmills on YouTube. He got a new outfit and rocked it. My husband was made world famous! So it was only suiting that we would return to Las Vegas. Before leaving for the weekend, I was able to meet Jon the unknown brother. You see the whole time Mike and I were getting to know each other, Jon was on his mission. It is a little strange that he was my same age, but I guess that’s what happens in a big family. In fact, Danny, Joe, and Jon are all closer to my age than Mike. Too bad! Anyways, it was fun to meet him even though he was a little out of it and in awe. We would return after Vegas to hear his homecoming speech, which was on the Living Christ. He did a great job.

My whole family came down to Vegas again and like last time it was a lot of fun. We went paintballing, attended the temple, ate at an all day buffet at the Excalibur, and we went to a comedian Magic show by Nathan Burton. Paintballing was really fun and really scary. The guy running the place didn’t like us too much because we weren’t very good at following the safety rules, especially at keeping our masks on while we were in the arena.

I could see why he was concerned though, because it hurt whenever you got hit. It would not be pretty if you were shot in the face without a mask. My mom was the funniest when she got hit, she would yell for everyone to hear, “I’m hit and injured!” We all got some good shots off; my best shot was when I got my dad good in the butt. Everybody had a few good welts by the end except for Mike. So Mike let Levi shoot him to see how it felt. He got a little mark on his shoulder. Mike is just too dang good at everything!

Nathan Burton was also very entertaining as well. My only complaint was he focused way too much on the showgirls. Nevertheless, his magic was fun and very fast paced. I have no idea how he was able to complete some of his tricks. He would transport huge items into the room and do all sorts of mind blowing stunts. What the heck? I wish I could do that. His co-star was good as well. He did a comedy thing with four guys in masks. The Asian man (with a woman mask) was hilarious. He had to wave and blow kisses. His moves were so big and exaggerated making it all the better. It was hilarious. Then the four guys in masks had a contest to blow up balloons and try to pop them by sitting on them. We all got a good laugh out of that. It was another fun family trip.

Valentine’s Day!!

Mike and I went to dinner at Hamilton’s tonight. Why? Because we won a gift card there! How you may ask? Well we won the couples contest at the Sports Academy Saturday night. We were paired up with another couple for the night to compete with them in a series of challenges. The totals were added and the winner was awarded a $50 gift card to Hamilton’s restaurant. The challenges were ping pong, tennis, racquetball, soccer, basketball, and a compatibility quiz. Early in the night, Mike was trying to make friendly conversation with our competitors by saying, “It would be fun to mix it up with other couples, not that we don’t like you guys but it would just suck if you got stuck with someone that just kept kicking your trash all night.” Mike didn’t know it at the time but that was exactly what we were going to do. We made a real good time. Mike surprised me with his skills. He blocked some hard soccer shots and he pulled through on the basketball making all five of his shots. I only made two. He wasn’t bad at tennis either, I was quite impressed.

We had a great Valentine’s Day meal and then they even gave us a $20 gift card as part of our meal package. Bonus! That morning I gave him three shirts from his favorite store, the DI. It’s nice because they are already washed so he doesn’t have to worry about them fitting weird later on. We also started a Valentine’s Day tradition of writing a little love letter each year. I’m quite happy about that tradition. My gift came later upon my return from Texas. He picked me up from the airport and surprised me with roses. When I got home, he had written me a letter and got me a Nike shirt that was just my style. He nailed it. It was a great Valentine’s Day!