The Uintas with the Boys.

As a way to break up the monotony of school and work,  Nick invited me to join him and his BFF's to camp up in the Uinta Mountains this weekend. Nick and Britton (his roommate) have a "secret lake" that they enjoy near Ruth Lake.  So, Nick, Britton, Rico, Tim and I hopped into the car and drove up to the good ole outdoors for a refreshing break from technology (most of these boys work heavily with computers) and the luxuries of Provo.

How to explain this adventure? Think, nerd-fest at an engineer's playground (the pictures will explain everything). Nothing short of typical boy-humor full of potty jokes and Dungeons and Dragons references.  

>>>For one who associates camping with girls, braids, testimony meetings, and treats, I was definitely in for a ride. 

We had such a great time chatting, fishing (or a good attempt--without the hooks--Rico made a homemade (relatively great!) hook out of his sunglasses and pliers), reading by the campfire, discussing doctrine, snapping photos, naming landmarks after ourselves, trying to stay warm during the night, building furniture, testing science over the lake, and using homemade slingshots to hit squirrels and trees. (don't worry, no animal was injured.) 

Nick and I at the lake. 

Nick ripped his jeans, so he had to wear his swimsuit the rest of the trip. 

What do you get with two computer programers, one engineer and one gym rat?

Behold, the Living Room! 

(that's really the name they picked out for this masterpiece.)

Living Room-360

We woke up at 5:30am and worked on carving out three wooden seats, followed by the rockcliner (Nick is sitting in^^).

(Ignore my hoodie, it's doing weird things--needless to say, we all looked like orphans)

A temporary tripod for all the pics going on FB^^

Whatever happened to singing "Sip n' Sider" and "The Cutest Boy" while braiding hair and painting buckets to sit on by the fire? 

Boys, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. 

Babies

I am back in Utah, as of a few weeks ago. I apologize for not updating my status; I have been living in my head the past few weeks, literally.

Blogging is hard to do when my heart feels heavy and thoughts are on pressing issues; however, I have been learning how to endure things well. I know I can do anything, but doing it well--now that is the hard part. Getting to point B from point A with hope in my heart, intentions to do good, and bravery to continue onward--now we are talking. 

The more I learn about sorrow and depression, the more I see and appreciate the simplicities of life. It is a twisted, interesting concept that may only make sense in my little mind, but I am relearning the value of choosing to be happy. 

i.e. I was feeling heavy and a little discouraged (...a mixture of accounting hw/projects/tests, matters of the heart, feelings of desperation while living as a nomad for a few months just trying to be happy). I was walking back home from an early morning meeting on campus, when I prayed in my heart to feel peace or comfort or anything good for that matter. And that's when I saw it. The most beautiful, pure sight I so desperately needed to see. I felt myself smiling, the smile that comes from deep within your soul. It is a smile I have been longing for, for quite some time. It was a father sitting on a picnic blanket on the grass outside the testing center blowing bubbles at his baby boy. This toddler was reaching for the bubbles near his face with an expression of pure joy. The baby was giggling and looking at his dad with pure admonition and wonderment, like how could such a fun, magical thing come from that little bottle in your hand.

---> It was then that I realized, think like a child. Children are easy to forgive, full of curiosity and love. They want to enjoy every moment, even if there is no apparent reason to feel joy. They give themselves permission to be happy every day. They believe the good things people say to them. They want to share their love and excitement with others. It is no wonder Christ talks so sacredly about the hearts of little children. 

Think how easy it is to become jaded and judgmental. To be angry at yourself. To be "realistic" and "educated" though it means diminishing your dreams and aspirations. To clam up and avoid communicating with loved ones.

So to bring out the inner child in all of us, I'd like to share a few gems I discovered over the weeks. I hope it makes you laugh as much as it made me laugh/smile.

1. One of the many things I am obsessed with right now is The Bachelorette. Maybe it's the thrill of seeing drama happen to other people--outside of my personal life--that is relieving or maybe it's just the shock that people would put themselves through such an experience. But after seeing Jimmy Kimmel's rendition, I'm sticking with the babies on this one. Needless to say, I watched ALL five episodes. 

2. Baby pictures all over Facebook and Instagram. The best part about having married friends is all the baby pictures that are sneaking onto social media. I never get bombarded by baby pictures---> babies are simply too perfect to stop obsessing over. 

Twin babies are the cutest:)

3.  Mr. Old St. Nicholas Homer (Aka, Santa!) Since I don't have any babies of my own (or even near me), I manage to entertain myself. I couldn't resist:)