For the Love

bow wow ruff woof Carrie (no dogs allowed near Carrie)

Sorry future kids, I discovered something monumental today. The plain truth is that I don't like dogs; never have and probably never will, so don't ask for one (unless you're blind). They may be cute when they are puppies, but for me, that doesn't cut it. I've just never had a reason to like them. Why? Glad you asked...

I don't know about you, but I never liked having a dog leave a poop on the lawn. Mowing the lawn was never one of my favorite things to do and having to clean up after a dog that I didn't own only made it worse.

Maybe I was just a weird kid, but I didn't like having to watch where I was running in my friends backyard to make sure I didn't step in poo, and even though I would try my best, it happened many times. Who likes scraping that mess off the bottom of a shoe? NOT me.

The only thing I hate about running is the dogs I encounter on the way! Mom, Dad, and Andy (and maybe others) know about those killer Italian dogs that hide in the fences, waiting for you to walk by just so they can bark and scare the bejeepers (sp?) out of you. While running in Hawaii, gaurd dogs came out from under the fence and chased us down the highway. Today, while I was running, a big, mean looking dog came and chased me up the hill. Running up-hill is hard enough WITHOUT a dog chasing you!

They don't smell very good and don't make houses smell very good either.

They bite people.

They pee and poo all over the sidwalks in London and Italy.

They bark during the night and keep me awake. (especially in Hawaii!)

They take up money that could be used more wisely.

Trick-or-Treating was never the same after I came home one Halloween to find poop on my shoe. Let's just say the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, my favorite Halloween treat when I was a kid, didn't seem so appatizing that night.

The list goes on and on. But one last thing that I can't understand is why people can't leave home without their dogs. Just ask my friend Cam, I've been venting to her about this a lot lately, only because I've seen A LOT of dogs in cars lately. They take their dogs on trips, they take their dogs to the store, they take their dogs on the highways. Here a dog, there a dog, everywhere a dog dog. Maybe I should give everyone the benefit of the doubt and just say that they've got an appointment with the vet. No, I don't think so. Not this time. As my friend John Stossel from 20/20 sometimes says...GIVE ME A BREAK!!

A Grand Day Out

I'm so grateful to my friends and most especially to my family for making my 21st birthday one I will always remember! It was filled with all of my favorite things; running, eating, games, friends, and most especially, family. I'm grateful to Ell for being my escort as I went through the temple for the first time. I'm so glad she was there by my side and don't know what I would have done without her! Thanks Paul and Cash for letting me take her away from you for the afternoon!
I'm also thankful for Rod and Jo, and Steve and Shirley for making the extra effort to get their boys a babysitter so that they could be there with me. It made the experience ten times better!

(After posing for dozens of photos we had to get one that showed some "pizzaz" as Rod called it! ow ow!)

I'm thankful for the support of those who couldn't be there as well; Dad, Mom, Marg, Tom, and Andy. Know that I was thinking about you as I was sitting in the temple! I'm looking forward to the day when I can go through with you all!

Dinner was great at Mi Ranchito's and games and cake at Rod and Jo's was a blast.

Who would've thought I'd get to this point in my life?! Time truly flies when you're having fun!

Simply Satisfied

Pathetic. I was going to get up at 7:00am this morning and go running but the bed wouldn't let go of me. The sheets pulled me in and the pillow almost swallowed my head whole. After an hour and a half of wondering whether I would make it out alive or if the bed would hold me hostage for the rest of the day , I finally broke free from it's grasp at 8:30am. I went on with my morning routine which consists of some studying, eating breakfast, and checking the blogs (yeah, I admit I'm addicted.) I also managed to get my laundry done, and yes, I even folded it while it was still hot.
The whole morning I felt guilty for sleeping in and missing prime running time. Everyone who runs knows what a good feeling it is to wake up early and get it done first thing in the morning! In Hawaii my friends and I were very good at getting up early (at least by 5:30am every morning!) and either going running or swimming. I'm a firm believer in the "strength in numbers" theory. Although it was tough to escape that same bed monster that held me captive today, there was always at least one other person to fish the others out. There were many tactics used to get each other up throughout the summer. My favorite was Aubree saying, "Feet on the floor! Feet on the floor!" and me responding with "I'm freakin' awake!" Oh, the things people say when they are coming out of a deep sleep!
Whenever I see people running in mid-day I think they're crazy. It's way too hot to be running at that time! Today, for the first time in my life, I was that person...and boy was it hot! I told myself that that's what I deserved for sleeping in. I ran for an hour as the sun beat down on me, the whole time my eyes stinging from the sweat that dripped from my forehead. Mother nature really wanted to rub it in because about 5 minutes after I got back, a huge thunderstorm rolled in. Rain poured down and thunder clapped continously. Of course the rain came AFTER I got back. Why couldn't it have come during my run? I would rather run in the rain then in the sun any day!
The rain is what made the rest of the day so good. The smell after a good rain is one of my favorites. I opened my window and let it rush into the room. The thunder continued to clap for awhile and my best friend for the past couple weeks, Milo, would bury his head into me whenever he heard it. Then we would go back to playing our tunes.
What better way to end the day then with a couple rounds of Liars dice and a yummy rhubarb and strawberry pie fresh out of the oven. I'm glad I went running, even if it was during the hottest part of the day, just so I could feel justified in eating that piece of the pie. I'm glad I have this time to "do nothing." Sometimes a simple life is the best life and it most certainly pays off in unexpected ways.

Tetons and Jackson

Ah, the mountains! I don't think I could live without them! Friday afternoon my good pal Camie Stucki and I took off for Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We decided to follow the directions that she had printed off on MapQuest.com. The directions said to follow I-15, crossing into Idaho, and then to take exit #118. The music was playing, we were talking, and soon we were at exit #120. Only a few more exits to go! NOT! The next exit after exit #120 was exit #114! Where the heck was exit #118 anyways? We got off the freeway and went to the nearest gas station. As we walked in, I noticed a map of Idaho on the wall. We were in a place called Glenn's Ferry. I pointed at Glenn's Ferry on the map to show Cam where we were. We looked at each other in disbelief but all we could do was laugh! Instead of taking I-15 east towards Pocatello, we had been traveling west towards Boise. We cracked jokes the whole way back about how we just wanted to take a trip to Glenn's Ferry and how we had the extra gas money to blow anyways! To make an already long story shorter, we finally ended up at a campsite at Colter Bay at 10:30pm, a mere 10 hours after we had started!
Saturday morning came and we were just glad to be there among the beautiful Tetons. I told Cam about the Hidden Falls hike by Jenny Lake so after our oatmeal breakfast we packed up camp, paid our $15 to the camp host, and drove to the trailhead. The hike was nice. Not too long and not too short, not too hot and not too cold. A couple hours later we got back and went to Jackson Lake Lodge where we ate our sandwiches and apples out back on the patio with the Teton range in front of us. The rest of the afternoon was spent napping on the shore of Jackson Lake. It was so peaceful; we loved it.
Our stomachs told us it was time for dinner so we ate at a picnic table close to the lake. We had vegetable beef soup with fresh tomatoes, melted swiss cheese, and bread. When you're camping, as you all know, pretty much anything tastes great! Then it came time to clean up and with it, accident number two! I gathered up the dishes and headed to the water spicket while Cam gathered the trash and headed to the gigantic bear proof dumpster. After having washed one dish, I heard Cam yell, "Care, come here." I said "What?" and she said again, "Just come here." I set the dish I was washing down and walked over to the dumpster. She told me that she had accidentally thrown out the car keys along with the rest of the trash. Oh man! How in the world were we going to get them out! I guess doing 20 push-ups every morning after I run is worth it. I lifted up the freakin' huge/heavy bear-proof lid and Cam slid a small boulder on the two corners of the dumpster so that the lid was open at least half a foot. We needed one more person to help us lift up the lid high enough so that Cam could get in the dumpster and fish the keys out. We walked down the road and a car drove by with a young, strong guy in the driver seat (one of the only young guys we had seen our entire trip, most of the tourist were old people). Even though we felt ultra-embarrassed, we explained to him our situation and asked him to help us lift the lid. He pulled around to the dumpster and he and I lifted the lid while Cam did a little dumpster diving and fished out the keys. We were lucky to the max and laughed about it the rest of the trip. I'm sure we'll be laughing about it for a long time as well as amazed that we were actually able to get them out.
We didn't have the money to pay for a campsite again and it was raining so we decided to sleep in the back of Cam's Subaru Saturday night. It was a little squishy but we stayed warm. Sunday morning we packed up and drove into Jackson Hole. There was a art festival going on so we walked around that, window shopped, and just enjoyed the coolness of Jackson. At noon we headed out. This time we decided to go home via Logan. The ride home was so pretty going through beautiful canyons and valleys and by Bear Lake. The best part is that it only took 5 hours! We had sooo much fun that we are already looking forward to our next trip. Where it will be I'm not yet sure but one thing I'm sure about is that it will be filled with lots of adventure!

Filling the Void

It's routine for me to quickly glance at the news headlines on yahoo.com as I wait to get in to my email inbox. Today one of the headlines caught my attention so I clicked on the link which said, "The Worlds Most Powerful Women." Near the end of August, Forbes magazine came out with the 100 most powerful women. Among the more familiar names to me were people such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Oprah Winfrey, and Hillary Clinton. Yes, these women have lots of influence, attention, and money, but I realized today, as I have many times before, that there is and always will be only one woman who tops my chart. Mom.
To tell the truth, it's been a little tough having Mom (Dad and Andy too!) gone these past couple years. Tom and I have often talked about how frustrating it is to be "homeless". Our stuff is spread and being stored all over the place, we've been all over the place, and haven't had a place to call home for a while now. It's like being an eternal guest. But I have been extremely blessed while they've been away and I would never take this part of my life back. Now, as I begin preparing for my mission, I just wish Mom was here by my side. It just seems natural that a mom should be by a child's side for a thing like this. They often say that it's the mom who earns the Eagle Scout award, and I'm pretty darn sure that it's the mom's who get a missionary set and ready to go. I'm realizing that more and more everyday because sometimes it feels like I'll never be able to do it without her.
Although I really wasn't in the shopping-for-missionary-clothes mood yesterday, I went to the mall and decided to give Dillard's a try. After looking around for a while, I found a nice looking skirt, tried it on, and it fit perfectly. It was $40, which I thought was a pretty good deal for a Dillard's skirt but wasn't totally sure. My first thought was, "Man, I wish Mom was with me. She could tell me." Like countless times before, I counted up 8 hours from my current time, (2pm) which told me that it was about 10:00pm in Italy. Good. Mom and Dad would still be up. "Pronto?" Dad answered. "Pronto!" I replied. I talked to Mom about the skirt and after telling her the price, fabric type, color, etc, she said it sounded like a great skirt and that I should buy it and a couple more in different colors. Today I was checking out Walmart's luggage selection (as much as I hate that store.) I found the oversized carry-on type suitcases that Mom and Dad say most missionaries use now. They were all a little bit different in size, shape, and space. Again, I wished Mom was there with me to help me pick out the best one. Although it isn't necessary to have her there, (I realize I'm old enough to pick out a piece of luggage or skirt on my own) it's times like these that I miss her most.
I know that any of my siblings would help me (and have many times) at the drop of a hat but when it comes down to it, there's nothing that can fill that void. And that's what I'm most looking forward to after my mission. For now, I suppose phone calls and letters will have to do.

Of Moose and Men

On Thursday, I hiked Silver Lake, up American Fork Canyon. It was a beautiful morning and I was glad to be in the mountains. I started up the trail and tried to look ahead to where the lake was. Passed tall aspens, over rocks, and through streams I went. I was lost in my thoughts when I glanced up and 10 ft away from me was a full-on dad moose! Luckily it was looking down at the trail! I was glad I didn't make eye contact with that beast. My heart pumped even faster than it had been pumping and I jumped into the bushes and crouched under a large pine. The noise I made in attempt to get out of its way scared it and it ran off the trail and into the brush opposite of where I was. There was a small boulder close by so I slowly crept up onto that and stood on my tip-toes in hopes to see that the moose was long gone. I saw it heading down the stream away from me. Just to make sure that moose (meese, hehe), or any other animule steered clear of me, I clipped my keys onto my nalgene and jingled my way up to the lake. I thought the worst was over after the moose adventure but boy was I wrong!
The last part of the hike is somewhat steep and I was glad to finally make it up and over the ridge to the lake. As I broke through the bushes I saw the lake sitting still as ever. Naturally, my head turned from left to right as I panned the lake from one end to the other. At the end of the panning, directly to my right, about a 100 yards away, was a man, probably in his 50's, who was buck naked! Like lightening I backed back up into the bushes and turned to my left and walked a little further down away from him. I think I was more embarrased than he probably was! After all that effort of hiking up I just HAD to sit by the lake and rest for at least a couple minutes. So I nonchalantly walked down to the lake edge and sat on a rock facing away from the nudenick. It was nice just sitting there but I really wished I could have been able to look around more freely and have faced the lake head on (apply directly to the forehead). I decided it was time to head back down so I followed the trail back and noticed the man was now fully dressed and his wife was following behind him. In order to avoid the embarrasment of crossing paths, I ran until I was a good distance ahead of them.
The rest of the hike was free of moose and men. However, after all that's been said, I do have to admit that it's not a bad place for a skinny-dip!