SCRAPPING at HEARTFELT CREATIONS

Saturday November 7; Suzanne, Dayna, and I took a class at Heartfelt Creations. Marah Johnson had traveled from California to teach 3 classes. We were only signed up for the one which was titled: SONG BIRD. She taught a lot of technique, but also spent some time showing us cool ways to use left over embellishments. I feel pretty blessed to have some good friends to take these classes with.

NIKKI ZIP LINING

Shawna arranged for the three of us to zip line on my birthday. We used a company named Chiclets Canopy Tours in Playa Hermosa. We got all our gear on and heard an explanation of how to perform on the zip line before loading into a truck and drive into the jungle. We then hiked up a trail with stairs. On the way we saw a green and black poisonous tree frog. Thatwas awesome. We also came across some cutter ants that were carrying pieces of leaves to their homes. Once at the top we were hooked onto the 1st wire and began our run. I was quite nervous for the first few but after a while I was much more relaxed. I did not get as brave as Emily who did it upside down and backwards. She was awesome. Then there was Shawna who was a pro after having done it 5 time prior to our visit. The guys that worked at Chiclets were awesome. So patient with me and my nervousness. At the same time they joked with us and their own partners.

It definitely was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had, for so many reasons.

COSTA RICA: day 1

My vacation began with a red eye flight from Denver to San Jose, Costa Rica. My traveling companion was my friend Emily from high school. We arrived at 5:30 am and was met by Shawna, who has been living in Costa Rica for the past year, and we began our journey to Jaco.
After driving for a little over an hour we stopped at a bridge. Shawna told us this is a great place to stop and see crocodiles. Sure enough we looked down and there were a few crocs laying in the mud, sunning themselves. After a few photos we got back in the car and continued on to Jaco. Before we did much site seeing we stopped off at a small restaurant and got some breakfast. We all enjoyed our meal with a yummy fruit smoothie. The owner of the restaurant, who was from Boston, Massachusetts, made small talk with us and informed us of some places we should check out while we were in the area. Once we paid our bill, our next stop with the Feria (farmer's market) There were many merchants selling fruits and veggies, baked good, chicken, herbs, flowers...fun place to walk around and just take it all in.
One of the first things Shawna found to share with us, she called a "monkey brain fruit". On the outside it looked kind of like an orange, but once you opened it I have to admit it did remind me of a brain. She then said we need to suck the fruit out. I gave it a try. It was pretty good, once you got past the weird look of it.

We also enjoyed the fresh herbs. I know this sounds silly, but I thought all the herbs smelt better and stronger than I have ever been exposed to. I'm not sure if it was actually a "better" herb or I was just so excited to be in Costa Rica smelling herbs.
So many pineapples, mangos, papayas, watermelon, bananas. We did make a few purchases to eat as we traveled during the up coming days.

Once we had purchased enough goodies to get us through the weekend, we dropped our bags off at the car and then did a little souvenir shopping.
There was a cute guy named Eric, who was quite the charmer to make a sale. We all purchased some baubles and nick knacks from Eric. I even bought a cute chess set for Zack.

Before hitting the road, we stopped by a man with a cart selling what looked like snow cones. He was making shaved ice, but in between two layers of the ice he would put powdered milk. Then he would add the flavoring (I got grape and Em had orange). It was not done at that point...he would then pour a little sweetened condensed milk on top of that. It was actually quite good, but SWEET!!!
We dropped our bags off at Shawna's sister in law, Rusti's , house and changed into bathing suit. Next stop was the lack sands of Playa Hermosa. It was beautiful. The waves were quite large, which seemed to be no surprise to the many surfers that were there catching as many of them as they could.

We spent some time just taking it all in. The birds flying over head, the sound of the crashing waves, the look of the jungle meeting the beach. It was all breathtaking.
Before the sun set, we made another wardrobe change at Rusti's before driving up the winding road to the highest point on the coast. It was there we order virgin pina coladas and appetizers as we watched the sunset into the ocean. We sat there for a hour or so listening to the music and trying to get caught up on the last 15 years. I did have a few moments of missing Steve. It seemed like such a romantic locale...it seemed a little sad to not be sharing it with him.
It was definitely an awesome ending to a wonderful 1st day in Costa Rica.

CANOE TRIP

On Memorial Day, after a few years of twarted plans, Zack and Steve finally got to canoe the San Raphael River. The 20 mile stretch passes through what's called Utah's "Little Grand Canyon". With the exception of late May and early June, there usually isn't enough water flow to avoid a lot of walking.
By 9am My mom and I dropped off my guys at Fuller Bottom, then drove to the take-out at the Swinging Bridge and dropped off Steve's truck. It had rained the previous couple days but the muddy roads were still in relatively good shape.
Before long on the river, the sun came out and things warmed up nicely. The canyon narrowed and the river sometimes passed right up against the cliff walls. The steady current kept them moving along with ease. Along the river banks, the lush, green vegetation stood in stark contrast to the dry, red desert surrounding. Birds and beaver made their presence known as they drifted along.
About noon they stopped at a grove of cottonwood trees and had lunch. Steve scouted around and was impressed by the many color varieties of the prickly-pear cacti in the area.
Surprisingly, they only saw one other group of boaters (camping along the river) and only 2 hikers the whole time.
After 5 hours on the water, they made it to the bridge and loaded up the canoe again. It had been a while since Zack and Steve had spent the day together and they both really enjoyed joking and singing together as they cruised through the beautiful gorge.

SPRING CONCERT

This school year Zack decided to try playing a new musical instrument. He had taken piano lesson since he was in 1st grade, but he began to lose interest with it. I was not sure how he would take to another instrument. And neither Steve nor I had ever taken band, so I was not sure how I would be able to help him.
It has been fun to listening to the progress in Zack's mastering the Oboe. he spent most school afternoons up in his bedroom practicing various pieces and much to mine and Steve surprise we could recognize the songs. And even better was how happy he seemed with himself and his accomplishment.

All his hard work culminated in the Spring Concert. His beginning band group played 3 pieces

AMERICAN FOLK TRILOGY #2

THEMES from HARRY POTTER

AFTER BURN

It was wonderful to listen to them all play and I am so stinkin' proud of my big guy!!!

Ogden Half Marathon

Saturday, May 16th was the Ogden Marathon.

This was my 2nd half marathon and I was blessed to have one of my good friends, Stacey, running it with. She was so sweet to stay with me at my "slow" pace.

We boarded the bus that took us up into the canyon about 4:45 am. Once at the starting area, there were barrels that had fires blazing in them...thank heavens because it was stinkin' cold up there. I ate my bagel that I had brought with me and drank some of my Gatorade. We ran into our friend Wendy's husband as we were warming our selves and enjoying visiting with him as the start approached. Before we knew it, 7:00 was there and the race had begun. We walked the first mile at a speedy pace to get up the hill.
The rest of the course we tackled with intervals of walking and running. Once we crossed the dam for Pineview Reservoir there were more down hills that were fun to run down. Not long after we got back into the city, Steve met us on the trail. It was perfect timing because I was getting a little achy at that point and he was just the "shot in the arm" to get me moving again.
Once we turned the corner I knew I had a GREAT chance to meet my goal. Last year I had completed the course with a time of 3:44:58. And my goal for this year was 3:30. So we made our way down Washington Ave. and the finish gate did not seem to be getting any closer (so frustrating)
Before I knew it we were crossing the finish line and the time on the clock said
3:23:51

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all my fellow Mommies out there!!!