Craters of the Moon and other things

 Hello family and friends. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Last Friday my geology 380 class started, which is a class just for earth science education majors. It is composed of three students. We go on field trips every Friday all day long and take pictures and collect samples for our future teaching. Our first field trip was technically the Grand Canyon with the 111 class, but last Friday we went to Craters of the Moon. They have this weird policy now that if you've been in a cave since 2005, you can't go in their caves if you were wearing the same shoes or the same clothes...weird. We didn't go through the lava tube caves though, so we didn't have to deal with that. I learned a lot about Craters and had a really great afternoon there. Our teacher bought us milkshakes in Arco on the way home. Score!

That night my team had a frisbee game. We won 11-8 but did not play well. It was just an off night so I'm glad to have that out of our systems. 

This last Friday we went to Big Springs near Island Park and canoed the river to study meandering streams and river systems. My friend Rachel is in that class with me, so we canoed together while the other student canoed with the teacher. The water is a consistent 57 degrees year round, and it was breezy that day. BRRR! It was chilly. I wore my under armor and a jacket and I felt perfect...the other students were freezing! It was fun to spend the afternoon canoeing...and even better to earn 4 credits doing so! 

That night we had a game and had a rough start. They were leading 6-3 at half time, but then my team woke up and they didn't score another point the rest of the game. We had them 11-6 by the end, and then they scored to end the game so it was awesome. I'm confident we can take another championship this season, but you never know if another team is going to click at the last minute and win so we stay on our toes. Saturday morning I had my team over for team breakfast. I made crepes and did the strawberry-nutella-powerdered sugar and ham & cheese crepes Jory made at Trisha's baby shower. I'm addicted and can never go back! Those crepes are the best and my team loved them. 

Justin was gone this weekend at Cedar City playing with the club team. They came in 4th out of 12 teams. I know my family thinks we are kind of weird for loving ultimate so much, but we are really gaining respect from other teams that are regular tournament goers. We host a tournament next weekend so we hope to have a good turn out for that. Justin has done a ton of work making the team more official trying to get sponsors and holding regular practices. We hope T-Rexburg continues after we leave. It's been so fun to play. I'm going to miss it when we leave, but we'll find another club team when we move to Vegas for sure. 

Since Justin was gone Thursday through Saturday, I spent the majority of my time cleaning. And I LOVED IT. We had so much crap in our closet and our bookshelves that we never use. When sorting through our "things" I thought to myself, "Have I ever used this since we've been married?" and if the answer was no, it went to the garbage or DI. It was a wonderful feeling, and I really went over the top. Thursday night was bookshelves and closet, and Friday night after our game I cleaned the apartment (not kidding) from 10 PM to 2 AM. I did everything except vacuum (because I don't think my neighbors would have appreciated that) including washing all the bedding, couch cover, sweeping, mopping, dusting, EVERYTHING. I found it an excellent activity to keep my mind off being alone and vulnerable. Saturday morning before my team came over I finished vacuuming everything including the cracks of every nook and cranny. Our house is immaculate and I love it.

I lost my wedding ring last week. So sad. I put it in my zip up pocket while we played ultimate. I put my keys in that pocket too and when we were done I pulled out my keys but forgot about my ring. I remembered the next morning and searched everywhere for it. We were on our hands and knees in the park all morning, then rented a metal detector for four hours after that. We made signs, put them up, and reported it to the police department. Two days later they mowed the grass....so so so sad! Justin has continually reassured me, "It's just a thing," but...it's a pretty big-deal thing. I've had people reassure me with their miracle stories of finding lost wedding rings, so who knows. The best one was from my supervisor at work whose daughter lost hers while running errands and her husband found it A YEAR LATER in one of the parking lots they were doing errands at...keep in mind this was in Rexburg...where snow is plowed regularly! Miracle.

Saturday Mom and Dad came into town to watch "Ephraim's Rescue" with Chase & Rachel, Trisha and her kids, and me. I could tell the movie was low-budget, but there were fleeting moments that I really liked. I read The Work and the Glory and Fire of the Covenant by Gerald Lund which are novels all about the early saints. I loved those books; they really helped me gain a testimony of the restoration of the gospel during my teenage years. The early saints had conviction like you can't believe, and this movie added to my understanding of just how committed these people were to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a good reminder for me as Justin and I think about our future family and raising them in a wicked world where everything is changing and government can hardly decide which way is up. We have to be absolutely valiant in the gospel if our kids are to gain testimonies and hold fast to what is true.

I have my dress up for rent on the bulletin board and it is getting a lot of attention. So far I've had three girls ask about it. One of them wants to rent it, and another one is coming over to try it on this week to see if she wants to rent it, too. I've written a contract and everything that we'll both sign so if anything happens I'm protected. It's very exciting and if enough people rent it I could make a profit! 

We were invited to my visiting teacher's house to do some family history work for FHE last week. I thought there was no way we'd find a name on my side of the family because it's all practically done, but we found a "maybe match" so we printed it off and we're going to do the work for them. That's exciting!

Tuesday we helped clean the I-Center and I had a rec frisbee game. We won that and hopefully our team will win that championship.

Wednesday we threw Rachel a surprise birthday party. Justin and I brought burgers for everyone and we had a good time. The weather was bad all day, but right when the party started it was fine so we lucked out. Good work Chase for a successful birthday surprise. =]

Finally, I thought the world wide training on missionary work was so great. I just love this gospel! I'm grateful to be relief society president where I am in a perfect position to help the missionaries find people to teach. We have plenty of inactive young couples, and I have a direct part in seeking them out and using missionaries to reactivate them. I loved what the brethren had to say, and I especially loved the little videos they showed, especially the one where each family member had a missionary moment through service and fellowship. I love that the church is allowing missionaries to use more technology to help further the work with sites like Mormon.org. Really what it all comes down to is the temple. We want all to partake of the wonderful blessing of the gospel of Christ, and also to take part in the eternal saving ordinances of the temple. I want to be with my family forever, and it's through temple covenants that we qualify for such a blessing. I have felt the spirit so strongly. I'm grateful for the life I've been given and the people I have in my life whom I have the opportunity to be an influence on. Truly the best way to do missionary work is through the members "catching the wave" of the ward mission plan and helping missionaries in their full-time service. The gospel is true and I love it. 

Pahoehoe AKA ropy basalt flows

      

Cinder Cone

Big Southern Butte

Cinder Cone

Windy day at Craters of the Moon...standing on the fissure zone

Here are some pictures from the Grand Canyon I haven't put up yet

Coal

Canyonlands......we called it Candyland

Arches National Park

I'm the one with my hands up

The Mexican Hat with the Monolith behind it

Goosenecks

Monument Valley

The first few minutes into the hike I did not complete...such a beautiful sight!

Here we switch to my friend's camera because I dropped  mine in sand...which is a shame because the quality is not very good. Oh well.

It takes 4 Empire State Buildings to go from the bottom of the canyon to the top. That middle cliff alone is 1000 ft.

My favorite

Elk are the only animals in the park that are not native...Teddy Roosevelt thought it would be a good idea to introduce them and they've been here since. There were signs for mountain lions, but it's a good thing they're not a real threat because the TAs were so stupid with the food at night. Strangely, the most dangerous animal there is the squirrel...they carry the plague and you're dead without medical attention if they scratch or bite you.