A Hike almost to 9990!

A long, long time ago, while vacationing in Park City,

 we hiked Holly's trail (which is listed on the trail map as "a more difficult" hike)

 then caught the Mid Mountain trail (also "a more difficult" hike), 

followed it to the top of the gondola and arrived at Red Pine Lodge.

 After successfully accomplishing this "more difficult" feat and feeling pretty good about myself, 

I made a flipant comment about how someday we should climb all the way to 9990, 

which is the highest peak at Canyons. 

 Dad perked up immediately and said, "Let's do it when you turn 50!"

 At the time that seemed SO far away. I mean I thought I'd never be that old!  

I agreed because I figured that by the time I turned that old,

 Dad would be losing his memory and forget about our conversation about hiking to 9990. 

 But no!  Dad has been talked of nothing else when my BIG birthday came along!  

So I tried to talked all the kids into joining us.  But alas, everyone had a good excuse. 

 Ashley was in CA babysitting the cousins. Brooke had to run 9 miles that day so I didn't blame her.

  Allie and Justin were both going to join us, but then Allie got called into work that morning. 

 So it was Dad and Justin and me that headed up the mountain that day. 

Justin and Dad on the trail at the beginning of our hike.

I made it to the top of Red Pine Road ski run.

The view from on top of a ridge with Dreamcatcher and Daybreak runs in the background.

We made it to the top of Tombstone chairlift.

From here on up the hike is described on Canyons trail map as their most difficult hike.

It says that "when you get to the top of the ridge, some technical climbing is required over talus rock."

We aren't really technical climbers.  We aren't even climbers at all.  Nor are we hikers.  

We probably fall into the category of beginner recreational hikers at best.

So we knew that we probably wouldn't make it to the top of 9990 but we weren't going to get discouraged.

We decided to just hike as far as we could, until it got too technical for this amateur hiking crew.

Now the incline gets more steep as we continue the hike up Fantasy Ridge.

Like I said, it got much steeper.

Then we passed this warning but it didn't intimidate us and we pressed forward.

We passed this gorgeous meadow which was filled with wildflowers.

These two were determined even though there were a few fallen trees on the trail.

At last, we made it to the ridge and 9990 peak is in sight.

The view of Lookout Cabin from the top of the ridge.

Dad standing on the edge of the ridge.  The view on one side...

and the view on the other side of the ridge.

My view of Fantasy Ridge.  All the sudden, it didn't look like any fantasy at all!

The talus rock that we hiked up was gorgeous

 but proved to challenging since the rock wasn't super stable.

But it did make for some fabulous pictures.

Another fantastic shot with the talus rocks.

And yes, it is that steep!

More views of the ridge we were hiking on.

The map describes it as "knife edge" and after hiking it,

I think that is a pretty good description.

I took this picture to show how steep it is.

Then Mark was like, "Hey, get down there and I'll get a great shot of you sitting on the edge of the ridge."

  I don't know what I was thinking because I sat right down, 

held on to a rock to stablize myself, while Mark took the picture. 

 Remember, I'm afraid of heights!

Apparently, my desire to get a good picture overrides my fear of heights.

Anything for a great photo!

We hiked until we finally got to the technical part of the hike, which basically meant that you would need a rope to hoist yourself over the narrowest and steepest part of the ridge.  

It was at that point, that we turned back.

I was relieved that the boys knew their limits and didn't push it,

because I was trying to stay calm but inside, I was a little freaked out by the "knife edge ridge" that we were on.

Standing on the edge of one of the many cliffs.

Dad stopped and picked a couple wildflowers for Brooke.

Brooke joined us for lunch back at the outdoor grill at Red Pine lodge.

They brought her a free pizza and sundae for her birthday.

Brooke turns 18!!

The Birthday girl!

 Birthday dinner at Cisero's on Main Street, always a family favorite,

with none other than Elder and Sister Wilkes.

Don't worry!  It was all legal!  They had spent the day up in SLC for training

 at the LDS Church Public Affairs Office and stopped by for dinner on their way back to Provo.

You know that Brad, he doesn't ever want to miss out on a party!!

 Nice to know that our 18 year old still takes advantage of the crayons and butcher paper table cloths 

like all the rest of the children do to entertain themselves until their dinner arrives.

And you can see what is still on her mind, pigs and BYU!  That's a funny combination but two of Brooke's loves!

She is all smiles when her chicken parmesan, her favorite dish at Cisero's, arrives at her table.

 Brooke heard that the Wilkes were coming so she dressed appropriately in her African outfit!  
The necklace she is wearing is the one that Karen brought back to her from Africa 2 years ago.  Cute!

 Brooke, looking so classy and chic, blows out her candles on her birthday pizookie!

 Elder and Sister Wilkes are thumbs up and ready to head to Africa.

 I'm just not ready to say goodbye... not quite yet!

 Back at our place, we celebrated with cupcakes, princess candles that Brooke picked out,
 (and a few magic candles, just for fun) and colorful sodas.

 Allie and Justin enjoying the party.

 Karen is such a clever and cute gift giver!

She overheard Brooke and Ashley talking about decorating the apartment with owls,

 so she gave Brooke these darling owl napkin holders.

 and this fun wallet, which is perfect for Brooke.

My girls are seriously going to miss Karen (and Brad too!)

They are some of their sweetest friends, who always showered so much love and attention on my kids!

 Mom and Dad ready to tear into the cupcakes that Brooke and I made.

 Brad was particularly impressed with the soda selection.

 Dad is impressed with the rainbow cupcake.

 Time for our final goodbye.

Really!  This time it is for good... or should I say for 18 months (that still seems like a long time.)

Well, I'm going to say 8 months because this time, Mark and I have promised to come over and visit them.  More on that later.

 Dear friends.  Seriously the best kind of folk you will ever meet! (That's the way you say it in Wyoming!)
 They just don't come any better than these two.

That's all I have to say about that.

I'd write more but the tears in my eyes are making it difficult for me to see the letters on my keyboard:)!

And finally, back to the birthday girl.  Here she is in her birthday apron.

Everyone needs a Happy Birthday apron, right?! (Dad was just a little confused!)

Brooke, we love you!  And hope your 18th birthday was the best!

And even though I told you many, many times that I didn't want you to ever grow up

and you would always say, "I don't ever want to grow up.  I'll always be your little girl!"

 and yet, you did grow up and you are an adult!  How did that happen so fast?!

It's a little bit ironic, but yet maybe it's symbolic that I gave you an apron... 

I must be trying to tell myself that I am finally (I think?) ready to cut the apron strings 

and let you grow up and be an adult!

That's right! (Deep breathes.) I can do this.

But in my heart, you will always be my baby, my blond, curly haired,

 busy, energetic, happy and adorable little bear girl!

Happy 18th! 

Dropping off Elder and Sister Wilkes at the MTC!

Today was one of those days that I have been waiting for ever since I became a mother,

 the day a son or daughter leaves on their mission 

and you get to drop them off at the Mission Training Center or MTC in Provo.

 Only today I got to drop off two of my favorite "kids," Brad and Karen Wilkes!

For awhile, I thought this day may never come.

 You see, when Tyler left on his mission, he flew straight to the MTC in Brazil.

 I felt like I kind of got ripped off because I didn't get to experience the whole Provo MTC thing. 

 Since Tyler is my only son, that meant perhaps I would never get to do the missionary drop off thing.

 What a disappointing thought! 

 But the day that I had been waiting for finally came. 

 I had the honor and sweet privilege of picking Elder and Sister Wilkes up at the airport 

and driving them to the MTC for "the drop off." 

 It was awesome! Far exceeded my expectations and was all that I ever dreamed of. Truly! 

 Elder and Sister Wilkes will be serving for the next 18 months in Rwanda on a church humanitarian mission.  

They are an amazing couple and I am so proud of them!

Remember how Brooke's friends had decorated the windows on "FireBolt"?

Well, we went to town with the window crayola markers, changed things up a bit,

 made the window decor a little bit more missionary appropriate and "Walla!"

What do you think?  Elder & Sister Wilkes approved.

So we picked them up at the SLC airport and off we went in "FireBolt," heading for the MTC.

We stopped for breakfast at Kneaders and took a picture or two.

A proud mom and her "kids."

Clay, who teaches at the MTC, met us at the door.

And of course, we had to take a group photo before we said "goodbye."

My favorite photo of the day.

Isn't this too cute?  

Clay with his darling parents!

He must be so proud of them!

Elder and Sister Wilkes walking away, entering the MTC and beginning a new chapter of their life.

I couldn't have been more proud of them at that moment.

I thought my heart was going to burst with pride.

I may or may not have shed a few tears.

This is an "action shot" of Karen and I on our last day of walking together for 18 months.

She has been my loyal walking partner for 16+ years.

I will miss her like crazy. 

 But I am so proud of her and think that she (and Brad) are amazing!

This is Brad and Karen's second church mission to Africa.

I am in awe of their courage and faith.  

I stand amazed at the love that they have for their fellow mankind.

But most of all, so touched by the incredible service that they will give to the people of Africa.

I know that they will bless the lives of all those that they come in contact with,

because they have already blessed my life and my family's in so many ways.

Brad and Karen, the Holt family loves you.  God speed!
Check out the article about Elder and Sister Wilkes in our local paper, 
the Roseville Press Tribune.

Brooke and her Bear go to college

 The time has come for Brooke to head off to BYU.

I know, it's hard to believe that she is old enough to go to college.

It just isn't possible, is it?  It's hard to even think of letting her go. 

But she is so excited to enter the next stage of life 

that I'm trying to be supportive and be excited too.  Really, I am.

So we packed up her car, full to the brim and made the trek to Park City.

Brooke and I will be hanging out here for the next 10 days.

She will be running, training and trying to acclimate to the altitude

 before the BYU XC camp starts the week before school.

We can't wait to hang out with Allie and Justin, 

and look forward to next week when Dad will join us for some fun.

We love Park City in the summer!

  Ready to start the trip at exactly 9:29 am!

 Dad didn't think that we could be ready to leave by 9:30 am 

so we had to prove him wrong! 

OK, I have to confess... it might have been 9:37 am, 

but hey, that was pretty darn close, right?!

 

Brooke had to do her morning run, say goodbye to her teammate, Natalie,

hurry and take a quick shower so hence, the wet hair in all the pictures.

 Brooke's day started with Ashley waking her up with a plate full of Bill's Donuts

 and singing "Happy College Day to you"!  What a sweet sister!  

She has been great, helping Brooke pack up all her stuff!

They are the cutest little girls ever!

 Brooke's friends, Devon and Taylor, surprised her by decorating her car.

We had to laugh because they used red paint.  

How were they supposed to know that red is Utah's school color?!  

It made us laugh and Brooke thought it was awesome!

 Brooke had to take her bear.  Some of you may remember that Brooke loves her bear.  

Katie's mom, made each of the XC runners a bear
 and presented them with their own personalized bear the day they won Sections.

Brooke loves her bear... I mean LOVES her bear... like, she sleeps with her bear every night kind of love!

So when I came out to the car to get in,

 I wasn't at all surprised to find Bear sitting in the front seat, all buckled up, ready to go.

Did I say, I can't believe she is old enough to go college?! 

On Monday night, some of Brooke's closest friends surprised her at BJ's.

They had fun catching up, talking all about their college plans and said their "goodbyes."  

It was a fun evening with a cute group of girls 

and there were only a few tears that were shed!

You better Belize it!

We are here in Belize for the week and it's pretty "unbelizable!"

Almost 8 years ago, Mark and I spent a day here in Belize as one of our stops on a cruise. 

 We took a boat out to Caye Caulker and enjoyed an amazing day of snorkling

 and a delicious lunch on the beach. 

 On the boat trip back to Belize City, we passed a beautiful island. 

Our guide told us it was the quaint little island of San Pedro, 

which had nice resorts and great restaurants. 

We fell in love with the charming but rustic feel of Belize 

and decided that someday we would bring the kids back here. 

 I bought a t-shirt that said, "You better Belize it!" to remember our adventurous day.

 My kids got such a kick out of that t-shirt and every time I wore it, 

it would make them giggle and laugh. 

 Not in a "that's cute and adorable way" but rather the "I'm mocking you kind of way."

 I would tell them, "You can laugh all you want but trust me, 

if you saw this place, you would wish you had a t-shirt like mine too! 

 Maybe, if you are really good, I'll take you there someday!"

 Well, the kids have been really good (and everyones schedules worked out perfectly) 

so we took them to Belize so they could see it for themselves. 

 And they all agreed that it is pretty "unbelizable!"

Brooke and Dad right off the boat, arriving at our resort,

Belizean Cove Estates on San Pedro Island.