A Quick Glance at the Big Picture

Scott perched high in the Tetons (Wyoming)

Our group on the summit of the Grand Teton....my helmet is nearby I promise. (Wyoming)

In honor of many memories made at the lake. Christmas morning 2012 (Idaho)

Elk Creek Falls (Idaho)

Near the summit of Chimney Rock (Idaho)

Traditional Christmas Morning Polar Bear Swim

Skiing at Schweitzer with the Family

Looking into the Reflection Pool of 2012

We say it every year, but every year it still seems like a good thing to say. Man this past year has gone by so fast. I hope that this new year we call 2013 finds you all doing well and loving life, regardless of your circumstances. I just got back from a chilly snowmobile ride up the mountain with my dad to investigate a camping situation for his scouts. Winter time in the mountains is my favorite because it is so quiet and peaceful. The trees look perfect, like someone sprinkled them with powdered sugar. The air feels crisp as it enters your lungs. It's essentially the kind of outdoor experience that I dream about while I'm sleeping. I wander a little so how about I get back on track.

 It may be a bold statement to say that this past year has been more full of learning than any other year for me, but it's true I think. I have had the last two weeks off of school and have meant to write this post earlier, but it was difficult to find the time between all the many fun activities. I have finally made it to my computer and have time to sit down and write. Earlier this morning and for the past few weeks I have thought about what I would consider to be the "highlights" of my version of 2012. A lot happened so it was difficult to select just a handful to share with everyone. The following are a few of the events that happened this past year that I feel helped make 2012 an unforgettable year. They are in no particular order.

-Transferring to Lewis Clark State College to begin nursing school-

 This is perhaps one of the larger things that have happened this past year. It has been a great experience thus far and I have loved it. When I first found out that I would be transferring I had many mixed emotions because I had so many friends in Rexburg that I was not anxious to leave behind. In the end I have come to see that despite the many challenges that it has presented it truly is where the Lord wants me to be at this time in my life. 

-Being a Director in the BYU-Idaho Outdoor Activities Program-

This experience is one that I wouldn't trade for anything. I was able to learn a great deal about leadership and the outdoors in this capacity. I'm especially grateful for the advisers with whom I worked. They are excellent examples of strong leaders and true lovers of the outdoors. I will always cherish the time I had there and the friends I made.

-My Sister taking in two foster children-

Two small children found refuge in my sister's family and this has been a highlight of my year for many reasons. I have been able to witness selflessness and love in greater proportions than I thought possible. I respect my sister and her husband very much for how well they treat these two children and treat them like they are their own. It is not easy I'm sure. For me it has been a great school of life experience in learning things deeper than I might have otherwise.

-Climbing Chimney Rock and the Grand Teton with Taylor-

It would be uncharacteristic if I weren't to mention an outdoor adventure in my highlights. These two trips are times that I will never forget. Spent in good company they were among the best trips I have ever taken. My little brother and I have never really got to climb together before this past year so it was a blessing to be able to spend those days roped in with him. He proved to be an excellent climber.

I hope that by reading this you were able to see a little bit of the wonderful reflection that 2012 has left in my mind. Though it could be difficult since many of the key pieces are those everyday things that go unsaid. There are many other things worth mentioning, but I can't fit them all obviously. Briefly though here are a few more: Mission reunion in October; calling to be a Sunday School Teacher; Jackson trip with my Dad and Taylor; weekends at the lake; reading several books; cycling trips; trail running; and delicious food. I plan to post pictures from 2012 to my blog so keep your eyes peeled. Happy New Year everyone!!

God's Love

This morning I was able to take a few hours to get away from studying for my finals and take a bike ride. I decided to ride up the Lewiston grade via the Old Spiral Highway. It was a beautiful morning, I might add very cold as well. I slithered my way up the 2,000 foot climb in and out of the fog. Halfway up the hill I even ran into a snow flurry leaving a thin layer of snow covering the road. The sound of my tires rolling through the snow and the gears turning on my bike were enough to make me feel like I was in heaven. It only got better when I got to the top of the hill. As you can see from the pictures it was as if I had found the road straight to heaven. Whenever I ride I am amazed at this earth that our Heavenly Father has created for us to inhabit. It truly is a beautiful place to live.

 I promptly forgot about the view as I road down the hill at a brisk pace because my feet were beginning to go numb. Upon returning home and deicing my feet by the heater I received news of a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut. As I heard the details I thought of my nieces and nephews and how precious they are to me. I cannot even come close to imagining the pain and anguish the friends and family of those harmed in the shooting are feeling. I couldn't help but shed a few tears for them. I wished I could just put my arms around them, words aren't enough.

I imagine that there are many people who are wondering where God is these days. I can assure you He sees what is going on, and I'm sure He is just as troubled as we are by what happens these days. It is foolish to reject God on the basis that bad things happen so why doesn't He do something about it. I firmly believe that God lives. He loves each and every human being on this planet. While I may not understand why bad things have to happen to such innocent people such as children, I do know that He is looking after us. He only wants us to be happy.

In my opinion now is no time for politics. Republican and Democrat alike we hear yelling on either side who is right and who is wrong. I feel that at this moment in time, everyone is at fault. Bad things don't happen because of Republicans or Democrats. Bad things happen because bad people have been around as long as the human race as been on this earth. Our society is clearly doing something wrong if we have been seeing an increase in bad things. I might add that I am a strong believer that this country and its constitution were founded by the help and inspiration of God. Having said that, I find it insane that people deny His existence in a country that He helped found. Perhaps our society is drifting from God? Could that be a reason for an influx in bad things within the last few decades?

I have my opinions and I don't mean to force them upon anyone, but I do feel that with all the bad influence in this world that the good people need to voice their opinion, loudly. I do not claim to be a perfect person but I strive to be a good person. I know that there is more good out there than bad. I have seen too many kind people in my life to believe otherwise.

I am grateful for this country which I live in. I know that it is a blessed land and I never want to take that for granite. I am grateful for my family and friends and the good influences they have on me. Most of all I am grateful for a God who show us His love in a multitude of ways each day. We simply have to take the time to recognize them.




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A Weekend in the Jello Belt

First off, what the heck is the "Jello Belt?" Well, it's pretty simple really. Take the area that consumes the most jello per capita  compared to any other area and that's the Jello Belt. So where the heck is the Jello Belt? Once again, pretty simple. Think of the denomination that consumes more jello than ought to be legal, bingo, the LDS Church. Now that we know who they are we can figure out pretty easily where this so called Jello Belt lays. Utah.

This past weekend I was able to escape the restraints that school has been putting on me and make a quick trip down to Utah. This ended up being a great trip with many different things happening.

Us in front of the Salt Lake City Temple.

Day 1, Friday: We left Rexburg around 5:30...not exactly when we planned on leaving but it still worked out. We made it to Salt Lake City around 10:00 and dropped off one of the people riding with us. After dropping him off a few people in my truck voiced that they had never been to Temple Square. I decided that wasn't right and that we needed to fix that since we were so close to it. We spent about an hour walking around Temple Square, always a good time. We also saw that new City Creek Center mall which was HUGE. They had a river running through the middle of it, excessive? Yes.We then proceeded to Provo. I stayed with Taylor, my little brother. He is quite the little host and was a lot of fun to stay with.

Day 2, Saturday: I hadn't had much sleep since Wednesday night because Thursday night I went to the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games. You can imagine that I was really enjoying sleep...until Taylor woke me up at 7:30 to go rock climbing. It was a brutal but pleasant wake up call since I had been looking forward to climbing with him for a while. He started getting into rock climbing while I was in Ukraine on my mission so I haven't had many chances to climb with him. We had a great time and even had some interesting situations that called for some interesting solutions. He has acquired some good climbing skills, but I still can keep up so don't worry. We spent the morning and early afternoon climbing and then met up with a few friends from back home to go to the Festival of Colors. I found this little bit about it online, "Originally, it was a festival that commemorated good harvests and the fertile land. In addition to celebrating the coming of spring, Holi has even greater purposes. Hindus believe it is a time of enjoying spring's abundant colors and saying farewell to winter. Furthermore, Holi celebrates many religious myths and legends." It is basically a giant chalk fight. I have never been so covered by any one substance in my whole life. When the chalk was all thrown at once the sky literally went dark and my lungs literally filled up with chalk residue. Not the most pleasant of feelings but definitely something you won't forget. I had a great time being tye-dyed. After the festival we spent the evening eating at Jdawgs. It is a delicious hotdog joint in Provo. Upon stuffing our faces full of food we went and watched a movie with our friends from back home. Taylor and I both didn't quite make it through the entire movie...

On the 1st pitch.

At the top of the 1st or 2nd pitch...I can't remember.

Up real high!

The mayhem.

Brother like Brother.

Inside the group during the throwing.

Nice.

I'm not sure if this was a good idea...

Right after some guy sprayed him with green chalk.

We attempted to clean it off but ended up looking like vampires.

Day 3, Sunday: We went to church and listened to one of the "best" musical numbers I've ever heard. That was probably a mean thing to say but sometimes I think people should hear themselves before they sing. That's all I'll say. After church I was able to meet up with my friend Katie who has been on a mission in Thailand until a few weeks ago. It was the first time that I have seen her in about three years. It was a great reunion and I had a blast catching up with her. We first met back in my second year of college and when we each had callings that caused us to see each other a lot. One of our friendship traditions was Sunday drives. Those were always a lot of fun and I still look back on those memories and smile. Friends and family are what create the memories worth remembering in my opinion. This weekend was proof of that on multiple levels. After Taylor and I ate dinner we both took a nap because we were so exhausted from our weekend warrior shinanigans. It was then time to head back to Rexburg. It was a weekend that will go down in the record books I'm sure.

A Day on the Butte

The view looking north off the butte.

A neat little "canyon" to hike up.

The other week I went for a Sunday hike on Menan Butte and I had a great time. I think that it helps from time to time to take a step back and just watch life for a minute. I find that this happens best for me when I'm outdoors and even more so when I'm by myself. I talked about my governing values a few weeks ago and one of them was having alone time and I have been trying to make that happen occasionally. It can be hard when you live in a small apartment with five other guys though. I suppose it doesn't ever get any easier to find the time or place to do it though. I think it is important to have alone time because you are able to gauge the things you have been working towards. For me, it was my recent decision to transfer schools to attend nursing school in Lewiston. It is what I need to do and I think that there are a lot of good things in store for me. It will be an interesting change to study in a place that is not a majority LDS population. Honestly though, I look forward to the change. I do not, however, look forward to leaving all of my good friends here in Rexburg. I have been very blessed to meet the many wonderful people that I have met while here. While I won't be able to keep in contact with all of them I think it's fair to say that I will remember them all, well, most of them anyways.

Gilbert

 

Gilbert in all his shining glory....which isn't much.

I recently was able to find a sweet deal on a commuter bicycle, free actually. It doesn't look like much but it runs well and is surprisingly fun to ride. I have been trying to avoid driving at all cost because gas is so expensive and cycling is just healthier. I have really enjoyed riding Gilbert everywhere I go, work, school, church, or anywhere really. Here's a quick shot of what the ol' guy looks like.

Take Me Where the Snow is!

 Haylee and I

 Haylee and Cory when we were digging Cory's sled out.

 Haylee and I skiing at Targhee. (This was taken at the same spot as the photo below)

Finally a clear day in the Tetons.

This winter has been a very dry winter as far as snow goes. We have hardly seen snow here in Rexburg which is very unusual. We had to cancel pond skimming two weeks ago which has never happened. It has it's upsides too though, it's a lot warmer and riding my bike everywhere isn't as scary because there isn't any ice. I just thought I would put up a few pictures of some more things that I have been doing lately. Obviously, skiing is one of them and I already have a ton of skiing pictures on here but these are clear days at Targhee so you need to see them. Last week we went snowmobiling with all my roommates up in Ashton, Idaho. It was a lot of fun and we had a great group of people that went. Hope you enjoy the pictures!