Jacob's New Favorite Saying

"I CAN'T WAIT TO HIKE HAVASUPI FALLS!!!!!!!"

Rocky Point Trip 2008

A picture is worth a thousand words... How about 106 pictures!?!?!!!

We went down with My parents, Bret, Tevs, and their boys and Risa.

We had a BLAST!!! Enjoy the slide show!!!

Timpanogos Caves

Yesterday we decided to hike up to Timpanogos Caves since Summer is almost over and Jacob will be starting up school again. I've hiked them before when I was in Jr. High and Jacob went about 4 years ago. It's a mile and a half hike up to the caves, and although it is paved, I had forgotten how steep the trail is. I though I was getting in pretty good shape from running, but I had to stop and take a breather a couple times!

One of the times we stopped there was a cute little chipmunk. When Ellery saw it she got a little scared and ran to me. I know we're really not supposed to do this but, we had some Frosted Cheerios that we fed it. It was really cute to watch it munch away!

The weather was really nice. It was a big cool with a few sprinkles and thunder. Once we got to the top, we got right into one of the tours. Ellery was already really tired so I was worried she's be fussy and restless once we were in the caves, but she ended up being really good. She had fun looking at everything, although got a little mad when we wouldn't let her touch anything.
I thought the caves were really pretty and interesting. I think I remember them being a lot cooler and more colorful when I was here last, although I was a lot younger.

The hike down was a lot quicker. Ellery by then was really sleepy and just rested her head on Jacob's shoulder almost the entire way down. I'm glad we were able to go and spend some time together as a family.

Rope Swing

Jacob and I went with Abbie and Jeremy to a pond in Mona with a big rope swing. The weather was a bit gloomy and windy, but we still went because we were told the water was really warm. Well, the water wasn't really that warm. We shivered and froze every time we came out of the water. It was still really fun. Jacob and Jeremy were the bravest and would go off the highest parts. You can see how high Jacob got in this picture. Abbie and I weren't so brave and just stuck to the lower parts. Well I think I would have been braver if I could have holden on to the rope! I don't know if it was because I had worked the night before and hadn't gotten much sleep, or if I'm just too heavy for my own little muscles, but I could not hold on to the rope long enough! I could just feel the rope slipping out of my hands. It was actually really frustrating.

When I tried from a lower stump, I did fine. So I decided to try again from the higher branch. Well, I was able to hold on to the rope this time, but still managed to land right on my face again! Everyone got a kick out of that. I ended up being the entertainment for the day. I'm glad we went. It was really fun. I'm going to have to work my arms out a lot more before we go again. Or just learn to be more coordinated. :)

Three Movies, One Theme

Over the last couple of weeks Millie and I have watched a few movies… well, quite a few (especially if you count DVD episodes of Spongebob)… but there are three movies in particular that got me thinking. They are three VERY different movies on the surface: genre, actors, and even to whom they target for marketing. However, I found in them a VERY common theme.

The movies are: Hancock, The Bucket List, and Tuck Everlasting.

The theme: Choosing to live life.

For those of you reading that have not seen any (or all) of these movies I won’t go into any detail in case you do want to see them some time for yourself.

Millie and I Netflix-ed The Bucket List and Tuck Everlasting just for entertainment, without intending to find any sort of theme between them – and really, after watching them that was more or less all I got from them – entertained. It wasn’t until after Millie and I went to Hancock a few days later that the movies seemed to relate to one another… and even that came unexpectedly. While leaving the theater, Millie asked me a question about the movie (Hancock) she said she didn’t quite understand. The connection came to me as I started to answer her question.

The idea of immortality is one that mankind has seemed to be infatuated with since the dawn of time. Whether it is the mythical fountain of youth, modern medical science, or being a type of demi-god/angel, people want to live forever - one day more.

But the three movies seems to hint at the idea that maybe immortality is not all it's cracked up to be. You don't need to live forever, you just need to live.

I think this is a choice we are all given, and must all make: the choice to live life. I know there are far too many days of my life that just pass by un-lived, so I try, resolved once again, to do better.