Chasing Goodness: November 2015

Sometimes ,when life gets a bit much i have to step back and realize how grateful i am for the little things.

So, without further ado.....

Fluffs.

I call cows Moos, and everything else is fluffs. Cats? Fluffs. Dogs? Fluffs. Small hamsters that are probably just satan? Evil fluffs. They bring me so much happiness and peace. I'm pretty sure that heaven will just be a bunch of fluffs that want to cuddle and play all the time.

This is Leo. He stops by about 5 times a week and meows impatiently until i feed him deli meat. Although he looks really angry in this picture he loves our apartment. He also enjoys stealing my heated blanket and demanding neck scratches.

Sometimes i convince my friend to send my snapchats of his dogs. I promise that we are friends for more than his dogs...well... Dozer is a total punk, but such a love bug. He also gets scared pretty easily and makes me laugh a lot. Aria is the sweetest and biggest cuddle fluff you will ever meet.

I don't have a picture of Tonks, but she is so playful and will give you all the kisses in the world. She's another fluff that has kept me grounded and sane the last couple of weeks. She is a pretty big derp and i love her.

I've been blessed to have this fluff in my life since Summer, and my heavens i adore her. She steals my pillow when we have sleep overs, hates fireworks, and is the best adventure buddy out there.

Tomorrow is going to be rough because i'm going home for the first time since losing my fluff. He was the fluff of all fluffs. Leaving him when i left for college was one of the hardest things i've ever done. He was my baby. We got him as a puppy and you never really knew where he was looking because his eyes looked both ways. He had such a personality and snored like an old man. I'm pretty sure the only thing he liked more than squirrels was cheese.

Flannel.

If we are Snapchat friends you understand that i have an affinity for flannel. Actually, if you know me at all you know that that's a thing. And about 1/3 of my flannel isn't even mine, i've just acquired it over time. The other 2/3 are for sure from D.I. Flannel is happiness. That's not an opinion, that's a fact. If i'm having a rough morning: flannel. If i'm having a great day:flannel. Flannel brings so much comfort to my life. I don't even know when it started, probably about three years ago. Guys in flannel? Ayooooo. My winter/fall style is just t-shirts and flannel. In my defense, it's a step up from just animal t-shirts. My brother blames my animal shirts for my cat-lady status of being single. It also makes my day when my friend and I's flannel matches, as pictured below.

I've got my roommates addicted, and i have no regrets. NONE.

Work.

Also, if we are Snapchat friends then you see a lot of my coworker who are some of the most solid people i know. I don't know if there is an aspect of my work environment that i don't like. Its a constant party and i get to be around plants and get paid for it. We are all super tight and talk about everything. From boys to Star Wars, its covered. Leaf fights, singing constantly, updating each other on our current drama, Chewy and Hans Solo every time we have to accelerate out of the tunnel, ridiculous puns, fantastic spiritual conversations, Sean's mad skill with kung fu, trashy techno Friday, country Wednesday, kung fu movies like Ip Man, and plants. So many plants. The stories literally never end.

We played Jenga while cleaning up all the pansies. We get pretty competitive, but Sean won. Barely, might i add.

My Roommates.

To say that i got lucky is a huge understatement. These five girls are some of my best friends and i am so thankful for each and everyone of them. They ground me more than they realize. I'm going home for a week and i'm going to miss them like crazy. Wether its reading scriptures out loud at 1 am and discussing how awkward King Lamoni is, making sure someone comes over to give me a blessing when i'm sick, jamming out in the morning to Les Mis, making the best cookies ever, or always being honest with me these girls are stellar. Anyone who knows them is better off for it.

Brother.

I love all of my family, if you know me you understand that they are the foundation of everything that i am. My brother...how do i even begin. There's 14 years between us but he's one of the most important humans in my life. He inspires me to push myself and face the hard things in my life. Wether its running- which sucks, just FYI- relationships, or spiritual things he is there rooting for me. #templeorbust

I'm grateful for a lot more than this, believe me. I could write an endless post for how blessed i am. There's a lot of humans in my life that i am blessed to know, who inspire me. Doctor Who. That's all. Music, my heavens music. I just can't put into words how much music means to me, so i'm not even going to try that yet. God has been so great to me, I am so filled with joy. Does it mean that it's been easy? Heavens no. It's been pretty great though. Pretty dang great.

I'm coming up on my year mark of receiving my Endowment and I'll be in Oregon for a week, so get stoked for the next post.

WARNING: Loads of pictures of girls without makeup having the time of their life.

I mean, we had to get that out of the way first. This weekend was a couple weeks in the making and very much needed. Wanderlust is a word that is basically bolded and italicized in our vocabulary. We all get restless when we are in Provo for too long, or anywhere for that matter. I love that two of my friends get along and completely get me, its something that is beautiful and to be kept for a long time.

So, the group texts started this entire endeavor.

For those of you who don't personally know Katy and Ivy- they are hilarious. They keep me on my toes and are my adventures buddies.

Friday night we got McDonalds, as any good roadtrip calls for, and hit the road. I was DJ, naturally, so the music was loud and lifting our energy as we drove south. We hit Saint George and settled into the condo- thank you Ivy's grandparents.

The next morning our adventures started. We headed to Lytle Ranch, which is a happy place. Katy worked there a couple years ago for a Summer so she showed us her happy place.

Pomegranate Orchards, i think that was one of my favourite things. Why? Because I am a little obsessed with Pomegranates. They are my favourite fruit ever and i love winter because that's when they are in season! So we picked a bunch of fresh pomegranates to eat the rest of the weekend. It was really entertaining to try and get the best ones down from the highest branches. Especially with the ranch dog, Oso, following us around. The sign outside said "Beware of Dog". Yes, beware of adorable dog that will lick you to death and lie on your feet until you scratch their stomach. He was a complete baby. There were two other dogs, a black lab and a chocolate lab. AND the equivalent of a warrior cat. He was so stocky and part of his foot was falling off, but he was a cuddle bug as most cats tend to be. There were turkeys walking around as well, but we only saw them from a distance. All in all, it's a place that i hope to come back to in the future.

Prophecy Wall

Let me explain to you my relationship with rock climbing....i just graduated the kiddie wall. When i get more than five feet up in the air my legs tend to turn to jello and my breathing does this thing where i refuse to breathe or i breathe way too much. I don't do heights. Jumping out of an airplane does not sound like fun to me, it sounds like a form of torture.

This is where Ivy and Katy come in. Katy is obsessed, and Ivy isn't far behind her. Katy is constantly trying to get me to go to the Quarry with her or go up to Maple Canyon. Once my friends Braxton and Chris convinced me to go up Rock Canyon to climb with them....i made it up about 6 feet.

So, why in the world was i hiking up to the Prophecy Wall? BECAUSE WHEN I HAVE FEARS I DO THIS STUPID THING CALLED FACE THEM. There is zero logic behind it, believe me, i've thought about it. Stubbornness? Yes. Pride? Oh yeah. I also do this thing that when people i care about are really passionate about something i like to educate myself. Sometimes that means trying really scary things, like, i don't know, rock climbing?

Also, I'm all talk when i complain about things. I sat there on a rock, complaining about how my goal was to make it up 2 feet, how getting down would be the worst, and how i would never in a million years make it up to the top. The people who know me the best know that i am all talk. They let me complain, and then they put me in climbing gear and tell me to go.

The first little jump is always the scariest. I breathed in and thought to myself, "C'mon, lets get up ten feet". So i did. Katy and Ivy were there telling me how proud of me they were, how far up i was, and if i needed to shift at all to the right or left for better hand holds. They were walking me step by step on how i just needed to stand, squatting would become my best friend, hips to the wall, and how important it was to find foot holds first.

It was about half way up the wall when i understood why people loved it. It was about half way up the wall that i knew this wouldn't be my last route. It was about half way up the wall that i laughed to myself. Here's why i love it though: It was all a puzzle. It was a challenge of a sort that i have never faced. It was getting over my brain and letting my body tell me what it could and couldn't do. All i could think about was how the wall felt against my hands, how insane it was that i could hold on to such a small part of the wall, and how it was all about breathing. When my legs got shaky i just stretched them out or squatted and it went away. It was awkward in a lot of places, but it was so much fun. There were moments where i had to sit back and look at the wall infront of me to get a new vantage point to where the hand holds and foot holds i could use were.

I think the best moment was when i was about 2/3 of the way up and i had the option to stop or keep going. I didn't even consider the option to stop, i just kept climbing. I laughed when i kissed the chain at the top of the route and then looked out at the view below. It was amazing and exhilarating and i'm going to do it again.

Those girls got me up a wall, and I can't even tell them how much it meant to me. Rock climbing is still really intimidating, but i know that i can make it to the top. I know that i can face my fears and tell them exactly where to go. I know that i can do hard things. My body and i are buddies, and it tells me what it can and cant do- not my brain.

So, with our legs turning into jello and our arms sore we headed back to the condo to watch WW2 documentaries and the Emperors New Groove and eat our cravings worth of taquitos, tater tots, and honey bbq chicken strips.

A Lava Tube or Two

Sunday morning we woke up all yawns and stretching. I'm not ashamed to say that i was definitely the last one up, heaven knows i needed sleep. Around ten, Katy and Ivy told me that i needed to turn my phone on airplane mode because today was a day to get back to myself and to be with the people i was with. I am, however, ashamed to say how connected i am to my phone. I need to work on that one, and they knew that. The thing i love the most about Katy and Ivy is that they push me to do and be better in a lot of aspects of my life.

So, we got in the car, said goodbye to the condo, and headed to Snow Canyon State Park. Ivy knew about a spelunking expedition that was really quick that we wanted to explore. Caves? Those are my jam. I don't know why, but they fascinate me. Crouching down and crawling in some spaces? That's cool. I can do that, as long as they are big enough. Having to jump down to get to the next level? Nope. Nope, nope, nope, hard pass. Because i know that if i have to jump down then i also have to get back up.

These girls could probably talk me into murder if they tried hard enough. That's how much i trust them. I don't forsee that in our future, so no worries on becoming a serial killer. BUT they did talk me down a jump at the very beginning of the cave. Did i complain? Yes. Because if i don't my brain goes a little crazy and thinks of every horrible possible thing that could go wrong. So instead of that, i talk. They understand that i'm all talk though. They are honestly two of the most patient people in the world, and i adore them.

We explored the caverns and i fell in love with the rocks. I have a thing for rocks. Where does it come from? Probably rock hounding with my dad when i was little and my fascination over how rocks are formed. Rocks. Man, i could write an entire post on rocks. I'll spare you though. Also, probably Planet Earths section on Caves...although that was a really gross one filled with cockroaches.

I digress. It was super fun, and the entire time we were talking about a Zombie Apocalypse and who would be on our team. We discussed this in great detail. We also discussed where we would set up camp, but that discussion lasted the entire day. We also discussed genomes and how they found a saber tooth tiger cub in Russia. We don't do small talk. It's highly overrated.

There was a moment that i want to touch on though, it was when i was alone for a couple of minutes. Ivy and Katy decided to go a little deeper and jump down to another part, but i opted out of going down another jump. I ran my hands over the Lava tube and was just struck by how amazing Heavenly Fathers creations are. He is aware of every little bubble in that formation. In that moment i was aware of how much He loved me. If He is aware of just a little bubble i was humbled by how aware He is of one of His children. He is in the details over everything in my life, and i am grateful for a loving Father.

The beginning

Ivy, probably laughing at me or something that i said. I also probably cussed at her during this moment.

Asians, asians for days.

I was really really happy to have made it up that jump at the beginning.

We blasted this song on the way to Zions. [And the entire weekend]

Zions National Park

This was my first time and i was really really really excited. I was excited to be outside and to hike with two of my best friends. As soon as we entered the park i knew that i was in love. I was in love with all the colours and how everything just bore testimony of a loving God. It bore testimony of how the earth is for the joy of His children. When i am out in nature i feel very close to my Father. It's the same for Katy and Ivy. The outdoors is our Temple in a way. It's where we find peace and understanding.

We took the Tram because i had never been to the park. I was in awe of every bend of the river, every deer, and every part of the canyon looming above me. If you haven't been, go. Just go.

I opted out of Angels Landing, because you know, death. Weirdly enough, 21 switch backs don't sound like the greatest time to me. But one day i'll probably end up hiking at least part of it. Knowing Katy and Ivy. To the very top, nah, i'm good. Why? BECAUSE THERE ARE DROPS OFF ON EITHER SIDE OF YOU AND ALL YOU HAVE TO HOLD ON TO IS CHAINS. I rather enjoy my existence.

So, we hiked the Weeping Rock trail first. Really chill hike that teaches you a lot about plants. Now, for those of you who know me- that's my kind of trail. The ferns were so beautiful! Everything was beautiful! All of the green reminded me of Oregon and made me want to hike all over Oregon. Maybe next summer i'll take a trip home so i can dedicate the time needed to explore. Who knows?

The lighting was to die for.

Oregon grape sign!

Next up was the Emerald Pools. We hiked really chill hikes because it was Sunday and we wanted to enjoy nature.

"Let's just go to the bottom pools"
"Yeah, sounds good"

I don't know why i ever trust these girls. Mixed messages right, because all i keep talking about is how much i trust them. THEY ARE DEVIOUS LITTLE SUCKERS. Mostly because they know what will make me happy even when i complain, like i said, i'm all talk. {I'm working on not complaining at all, its a work in progress}

So, we made it to the first pools. Which were beautiful. Shocker, i know.

This is us hiking to the second pools, only part of a mile. No big deal.

Second pools, beautiful. The lookout was to die for. That's when they just kept walking and i thought to myself, "I've done this to myself. I knew they weren't going to stop at just the lower pools. This is Katy and Ivy we are talking about". They explained Halo, Zelda, DragonAge, and a couple other video game plots to me. We talked more about Zombies. We discussed books and ideas. It was fantastic.

Eh, i guess the view was alright.

BUT REALLY, GUYS IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. This is honestly one of my favourite hikes ever. The trail was beautiful, the views were beautiful, and it was the absolute best. Favourite part of Zions, at least so far. Goals- Hike part of the Narrows, make it up part of Angels Landing, and explore that river.

We made it to the top and i perched on top of a rock for a moment as i looked around me. It was a little alcove softly filled with the sounds of birds, people, and water. Tucked away perfection is what it was.

For part of the way down i jumped from rock to rock because i was alone. I had time to think about what i wanted from my future adventures and what i had learned that weekend. I have surrounded myself with some pretty awesome people, and i'm grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with them in my life. I'm grateful for a Father who had made a huge playground for me. I'm grateful for people who don't listen to me when i complain but push me to things that they know will make me happy. I'm grateful for patient people. I'm grateful for adventure buddies. I'm grateful for my testimony of my Father and the love He has for His children. It was something i was humbled by as i looked around at all the different people we met this weekend, and even those we just saw in passing. He is aware of each and every one of us and loves us so much.

This adventure didn't suddenly solve all of my problems, but it made my soul peaceful. My body was sore- but a good kind of sore. A kind of sore where my body was thanking me for letting it have fun. My body was sore but my soul was happy. It's one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Then Katy and Ivy caught up and i will never forget this guys face when we rounded a bend talking loudly about the Zombie Apocalypse. I wanted to run down that trail, that's how happy i was.

I need more adventures in my life. I'm a wee bit addicted. So, for now, i'm collecting adventure buddies.

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