Happy Katy!

Two letters today! Happy Katy Happy Katy!! 60 more days...

Timp Hike!

Mount Timpanogos, elevation 11,749, is one of the biggest mountains that overlooks the Utah and Heber valleys, second only to Mount Nebo.
For as long as I can remember I have wanted to conquer this geological monster that has silently stared at me my whole life. My brother Clint has hiked it several times, and each time he tries to get me to go, but I just didn't feel ready. I've always been scared of starting it and then freaking out and not being able to finish it. I know most people from the Utah Valley area have climbed Timp.. and since I think of it as a sort of rite of passage, I knew I had to eventually conquer the mountain (and my fears and hangups about it!)
Finally I felt ready, and this time I asked Clint to hike it with ME! We recruited two other guys, Adam and Spencer, to hike it with us and we set out about 1:30 am on Friday night/Saturday morning. It took us just under 5 hours to get to the top (all the way to the top mind you, not just the saddle!) and it was incredible! We got there just in time to watch the sunrise, and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life!
This was probably the hardest hike I've ever done, coming out at just about 19 miles round trip, but it was SO worth it (despite the last two hours of the way up being loose shale switchbacks!). Once we were on the top, I was pretty scared. There are 1,000 foot drop offs up there! One wrong step and you're dead! -and it is pretty easy to step incorrectly when you are really really tired like that!
We were all fine though, and I really enjoyed the hike. It was a perfect day and the company was awesome! I am so proud to say I finally made peace with the giant relic that watched me grow up in it's big 'ol shadow :) I took some pictures to prove it, so here you go!















P.s. I finally got some email from Samoa today... at last!

Charlie bit my finger...

Best YouTube video ever, hands down! I have watched this so many times, it is hilarious!

Not much to say, really..

Hi guys... there isn't much to say, but I thought I would give a tiny update as it is.

School starts next week again for me! Is it weird that I am getting excited? I am almost done with my subject classes, and then all that will be left will be the education classes. Hopefully I will be all done in about a year!

For those who don't know, I am majoring in Secondary Education (high school teacher) in the subjects of Health, Anatomy, and Biology (in that order of enjoyment..haha)
I would love to teach lots of different kinds of health classes, but sadly the vast majority of schools do not want exclusive health teachers. You have to be able to teach more than one subject. That is where the life sciences come in. I used to be nursing major, and so all of the classes I did for that play right into a state endorsement in the life sciences.

For the last two years I have participated in the Latter-Day Celebration Choir (LDC), the performing/traveling auditioned choral group at the Orem Institute of Religion. I am doing it again this year, and have been asked to write the script for our spring tour show. I am feeling the pressure already and it isn't for nine months! It is about 'Witnesses of Christ' -specifically prophets in the scriptures who bore witness of Christ, gave prophecies of his coming, saw him physically, etc. Also modern prophets who bear testimony of him and have given prophecies about his second coming. It also will touch on our own personal testimonies and the importance of gaining, building, and sustaining your testimony. I think I would also like to touch on missionaries somehow.. as they are taking their testimonies to the whole world! How I will fit all of that into one script is a really good question.
Please if you have any good ideas/scriptures/scripture stories/talks etc. to recommend, I would REALLY appreciate it. There is just so much! What are your personal favorites? What stories/experiences etc. have touched you personally?

Still no email from Nathan to anybody... sigh. 6 weeks now. I will take comfort in the fact that he will be home in 10 weeks! That does make me feel better. *ahhh*

I have been watching the Olympics like the rest of the world! I bet most of you have been watching too. Aren't the Olympics great? I really wish they would broadcast these really cool sports more often! I would be more inclined to watch sports on television if they were sports that you usually don't get to see like this! One thing that is unique about the Olympics I have observed that cannot be recreated on a regular basis is the camaraderie between countries, and the pride in your own country. It is awesome to always have somebody to cheer for! Go team USA! When it comes down to things like the cowboys and the lions, who do you cheer for? Why should I cheer for them? The USA is something I know I can always cheer for.

Well that's all for now! I love you all!

Oh, and this is Nikko, our adorable neighbor dog. She comes and visits a lot. She's so cute!

The Wadley House in Summer

This summer has been an interesting one! Almost everyone has been gone around here except for me. Clint is down in Provo, Mom has been in Nauvoo for the past 6 weeks, Dad has been on numerous trips with the young men in the home ward.. and strangely I have found myself alone for weeks at a time on and off all summer long. This has really given me more appreciation for all of the work Dad does in the yard. Who knew moving back home would create so much unexpected responsibility? True Dad does get the summer off from teaching school, but keeping up with the huge yard and garden is pretty much a full time job! -and I haven't done nearly what Dad would do if he were here, just what Dad instructed to keep things from going berserk! (well, I did pick a zucchini today that looked like a cross between a baseball bat and a football... maybe I should read the instructions again...)
Working hard and getting great results really does give me a lot of satisfaction.. not to mention all of the delicious vegetables straight out of the ground. Most of all, my favorite thing about the yard is our zinnias. They are absolutely spectacular! They are so gorgeous and hearty.. they last for more than a week after you pick them! I am constantly bringing them into the house. Another great thing is that they continuously bloom from late summer all the way into October when it freezes. I took some pictures so that you can all see for yourself! Enjoy!

No Email :(

It has been 4 weeks since anybody has gotten an email from Nathan :( I'm sad and miss the use of my rare email privileges! We have gotten letters though.. so at least we know he's alive. Our theory is that the school on the island is out for the summer, and so he doesn't have access to computers. Oh well, I'll just look at this picture for now! Woah... look at that tall handsome white guy!

Faces of Millions

So I found this awesome project called "Faces of Millions." It is going to be a large-scale photo mosaic that is three stories high made up of one million thumb-nail sized pictures of people's faces! If you go to this site, you can submit your own photo (only one per email address) to be included in this project. I think it is really cool! I did it - maybe you would like to as well?

Here's the link:
http://www.facesofmillions.com/

Go make some art!