I've joined the club

I have always found it annoying when people talk for long amounts of time about how cute their nieces and nephews are. Like other kids aren't just as cute, fun, and smart? You know when someone reaches for the pictures in their wallet that you're in for the long haul. However, today I am joining the club to brag about my cute niece!

The last ten days I have spent in Boston and Washington DC with my sister and her family. My brother in law, Scott, has just started a job in the foreign service so I went out to help them move and watch my niece Kate while they get settled and put a bid in for where they are sent in the world. I loved reading with Kate (especially Fancy Nancy books), having tea parties, swimming, bike riding, going to the park, drawing, doing puzzles, etc. She is definitely an artist in the making.



Amidst the moving, we did find time to go to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. Here it is in all it's glory.

A pic with my sis in front of the river. Jennie is expecting another girl in a few weeks so this may not be the end of hearing about my cute nieces!

My cousin Graham gave my Aunt, Uncle, their family, and myself a tour of the capitol building where he is working this summer. Loved having a connection so that we could avoid the long lines!

A funny side note. Every state gets to choose two people they would like to put statues of in the capitol that represent their state. Utah chose Brigham Young and Filo T. Farnsworth. Yeah, that's what I thought too. Who is Filo? Apparently he had something to do with the invention of the TV. I had to snap a photo in front of Brigham Young as he is my grandfather four generations back.

The last night we all went down to Alexandria, VA for a walk along the shore and a yummy dinner. The pizza was a favorite of Kate's.


Missing my cute niece already. This is a tribute to my incredible sister Jennie who is adventurous, funny, intelligent, talented, and the best sister. I have always looked up to you!

Are we having fun yet?

I have often found myself saying recently, "That would make a great blog post" or "That picture is definitely going on the blog." Maybe it's an effort to stay up with my peers who live to blog and go through the day looking for something interesting to blog about. Since writing is not my forte, my blog posts usually consist of a string of pictures trying to show the latest happening in the best light possible. Maybe my blog has become a bit of a travel/picture log. (Sorry but my style is not going to change until after this post.) Maybe I have fooled you on the blog that everything I do is rip-roaringly fun. Although these pictures might suggest otherwise, the honest to goodness truth is that these next events were not quite as fun as they look. Thank heavens for my witty sister Kristen who kept the family entertained. Let me explain. A few weeks ago we had the annual Anderson Family Reunion. Eighty-two of the eighty-seven family members came to Salt Lake City for the event. Unlike most people, I really love family reunions. This one was no exception. However, on the 24th of July we went to fulfill one of my lifelong dreams of seeing the Days of '47 parade in Salt Lake. Here's the fam with Grammy and Grandpa.



The first hour or so we waited in anticipation to see something cool. Sadly, the most exciting thing that came by was this crazy clown.



Later in the day we went to the Bees' baseball game with all the cousins. On account of the opposing team being sick, we watched a high school/college All-Star game instead. Not quite as cool. We entertained ourselves by making bee jokes and trying to spot the most enthusiastic fans (which were few and far between).





Our true feelings of the game.



The rest of the reunion was great however with picnics, sports games, programs, and lots of chatting with the fam. Not to brag, but the Anderson family is the best!

After the reunion, my family went up Lambs' Canyon to my Grandparent's cabin for a few days. Activities included jet skiing on the Jordanelle reservoir, hiking, tennnis, the new Harry Potter movie, and doing a little fix up at the cabin.

Annie X 2

I met up with my friend Jessie this past weekend in Cedar City, Utah for the last day of the Shakespeare festival. While watching A Comedy of Errors we enjoyed eating raspberry tarts. Tarts are sold at the Shakespeare festival like hot dogs are sold at a baseball game. Yumm! The next day we headed down to St. George to see two plays at the Tuacahn theatre- Annie and Footloose. We are pictured with the actor who played Annie.



Two Annies in one place doesn't happen very often! I have always wished I could sing, dance, and act.



Couldn't resist putting in this incredibly cheesy photo.



Almost as entertaining as the plays was driving through a VERY rural area near St. George. I kept pulling the car over to snap pictures. You would have thought we were vacationing in New York. This is main street (the honest to goodness truth).



And my personal favorite- this is the entrance to a construction site. Also one reason I teach school!

At Home

This weekend I got to spent some time in Colorado with the family and hike in the mountains. There is nothing like the exhilarating feeling of reaching a summit, majestic mountain views, wind-blown hair, chilly toes dipped in stream water, the smell of fresh, crisp air, wildflowers, and the sun on my face. This is just one spectacular view from St. Mary's Glacier.



Because I am no poet, I will have to steal these lines from Edna St. Vincent Millay in her famous poem God's World.

O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!
Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!
Thy mists that roll and rise!
Thy woods this autumn day, that ache and sag
And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag
To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!
World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,
But never knew I this;
Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart, -- Lord, I do fear
Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year;
My soul is all but out of me, -- let fall
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

Just keep running

Dory: Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do?

Marlin: No I don't wanna know.

Dory: [singing] Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim.

Marlin: Dory, no singing.

Dory: [continuing] Ha, ha, ha, ha, ho. I love to swim. When you want to swim you want to swim.

Marlin: Now I'm stuck with that song... Now it's in my head.

Dory: Sorry.

If Dory (from the movie Finding Nemo) were a land animal, she probably would have said, "Just keep running. Just keep running. Just keep running, running, running.... I love to run. When you want to run you want to run."

This weekend I joined The Big Kahunas team to run all weekend in the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay. For those of you who have not yet heard of this race, the Wasatch Back is a 188 mile relay race from Logan to Park City. Each team has 12 runners that run around the clock for two days. Each team member runs three legs of the race. Our team mascot was Nemo, who was passed from team member to team member at every exchange during the race. Here is the team before the race with Nemo.



A handoff of Nemo from Alana at one of the exchange points.



Some pictures of the team along the way. Pictured here are members of the Finlay and Crump families and their Grandparents.





My last run was up a mountain leading to Park City otherwise known as "the Ragnar." I don't know if I would have made it were it not for some serious cheering from the team as you can see.



My friend Ian ran the second half of the hill in the pouring rain. We are pictured at the top after completing the run.



The team sporting our medals after completing the race in 31 hours and 17 minutes! Go Big Kahunas!

Jackson Hole

Trip #2 was to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Nine girls and our friend Michael went white water rafting down the Snake River. The weather was about 40 degrees, rainy, and windy. Brrrrrrr! But, not wanting to turn down a great adventure we still went. Our guide said the waves in some places were 10-12 feet high! The best rapid was called the lunch counter. It was a quarter mile of rapids! We were lucky not to loose anyone off the raft that day seeing as it was sooo cold! Here is the group bundled up ready to go.





After rafting we walked around town for a while.



Jessie, Kerri, and I were a little excited to be there!



We had to stop in Swan Valley, Idaho for the famous square ice cream cones!





On the way home from Jackson Hole, I visited my sister Lindsay and brother-in-law Kris in Rexburg, Idaho. No pictures, but we had a great time catching up and helping Lindsay get ready for girls camp. For those who know Kris and Lindsay, they are expecting a new little one in December! I am excited to be an aunt again!

Havasupai

So last week some friends and I went on our long awaited trip to Havasupai. Havasupai is an Indian Reservation in Arizona home to the Havasupai tribe. About 450 people live in the Supai village. However, the tribe opens a portion of the canyon for visitors to enjoy the beautiful waterfalls and scenery. Our adventure started out with an eleven hour drive down to Arizona! After sleeping on a trailer that night, we started the ten mile hike to the campground. Here is the group starting out.

In case you doubted my strength...

Clay, Jessie, and I hiking in.

Last year the campground in Havasupai was flooded so the once green and lush surroundings now look a little like a refugee camp. Jake is commentating on this video.

Havasupai is known for its waterfalls. Here were some of my favorites. The ladies overlooking Mooney Falls (Annie, Cherise, Jessie, Lani).

The hike down to Mooney falls and playing in the water


The next day we tried to hike down the river to Beaver Falls. We never found it, but we had a great time hiking.


Can we all fit on the same rock?

Jumping off the rope swing!

The group in front of Havasu falls.


Exploring an old mining cave.

Stopping for a picture along Route 66.