Eventful Evening

Tonight, a fairly large group of us went to the hot springs. It was a 2.5 mile and hour long hike to the springs. Kirsten and I got there a little after the first group (I'm a slow hiker). While we were setting our stuff down, there was a man behind us. We thought we were blocking the path so we asked if we should move. Kirsten saw his badge and that's when he told us he was cop and asked that we not blow his cover. He could tell we were BYU students, we could be trusted. There was a certain smell that could faintly be detected through the sulfur and Kirsten (a Portlandian, woo hoo!) recognized it as marijuana. It was a drug bust! He caught the guy and searched through bags. It was the first time I had heard the f-bomb dropped in a while. When that ordeal was over, we soaked for a little over an hour and then headed back down. it was my first time at a hot spring and I liked it. I sat in the perfect spot. It was warm because of a cold stream that ran though. The other areas were too hot. Walking back, it was dark and there was a limited number of flash lights. It was quite the adventure. Sliding, falling, twisted ankles. Let the good times roll!

On the way back, Kirsten, Ally, McKenna and I were all starving. Tomorrow is fast Sunday and we don't have  church until 1 p.m. We decided we would stop at Sonic. Right after getting off the highway and back into town, we saw flashing lights. Yeah, Kirsten got pulled over for speeding. He could smell the sulfur radiating from our skin. He asked where we were coming from and if the three cars behind us, that were also speeding, were part of our group. They were and the only reason why we got stopped and they didn't was because we were in front. Wasn't that nice of the boys, to let the girls get busted?

Luckily, we Kirsten didn't get a ticket. As we started driving again, Kirsten said now she REALLY needed to go to Sonic. It was almost midnight so naturally we got breakfast burritos from their dollar menu and cherry limeades. It was so good. It was a great way to end such an eventful evening. I've showered to rid the stink, blogged and now I am going to bed because I am EXHAUSTED. I plan on sleeping in until noon so I won't have time to think about being hungry.

'Tis the Season

(I took this picture in my yard last year)

When you live on 4 acres there is always work to do outside. Every year, for the past three years around this time, it's yard work season. It seems as if it's never ending. We have to get the garden ready, plant the garden and then water it everyday until it's time to reap what we have sown. It's the same every year; I completely resent having to get up and work outside for a few hours every day. It's not how I want to spend my time. I do my fair share of complaining and sound like a kid on a road trip constantly asking, "Are we done yet?" Although I don't like having to work this much or this hard or getting dirty, that's the life of a country girl (not that I really am one cause I'm a city girl at heart) and I don't mind all the work in the end. When all the work is done and I get to eat the delicious fruit and vegetables we have worked so hard to grow, I know the work was worth it.

"Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty." ~John Ruskin

When all is said and done, I love admiring the beauty of all the plants and all of God's creations. I'm glad that all this work I annually dread allows me to be grateful for what I have and how blessed I am.

So... Thank you Nana for dragging me out of bed every morning. Thank you Tevita for all your hard work. I only hope I can love working outdoors as much as you one day, though that is very unlikely because you just love it too much (but it's a good thing). Thank you T.J. for your hard work too. You always work harder and longer than I do and I rarely, if ever, hear you complain about it. You are also an example to me.