The Real Deal

Not quite sure how to preface these pictures, so here they are, as is.

 

 

It snowed today ...

... so Jared promptly pushed me in.

 

Don't worry I got him back

Snowshoeing ... is there even an art to it?

We had Monday off of school, so Jared asked me if I wanted to go snowshoeing.  I excitedly said, "yes," and we rented shoes.  Well, Monday was before the snow came, actually exactly a day before the snow came and we had to drive all the way to Tony's Grove to find snow.  I was hysterically laughing as we drove up the canyon making jabs at Jared about the snow ... or lack thereof.  It was ironic that we finally get out to do something like that together and we pick probably one of the worst snow condition days ... it was funny, come on!  Anyhow, Jared didn't think it was quite as funny as I did.  But the day got better. 
We park at the base, with 7 miles ahead of us to get up to Whitepine lake.  We don't see the nicely groomed trail and headed up into the trees.  We spent the following two maybe three hours trekking up and down a ravine, up until the trees were to thick and we were climbing over bushes in our snowshoes and then down again hoping we would find a better pathway back up.  I was having a blast.  It was great weather (minus the looming rain clouds surrounding us).  Jared on the other hand was eating more of the snow then the snacks we brought with us.  It was hilarious.  Mostly because I have never done any winter activity with Jared in the snow and all I ever hear about is his crazy, adventurous, and taleted abilities on a snowboard.  So, seeing him, well, on his face more than me, was quite the surprise.  After maybe the fourth fall he exclaimed, "Snowshoeing is like hiking Mt. Everest in flippers!"  I about died laughing and promptly pushed him over again into the snow.  I later regretted that decision, but I sure had a good laugh before his retaliation!  Anyhow, we found the groomed trail near the end of our hike and headed down in about 20 maybe 30 minutes.  Slightly disappointing, seeing as how we thought we had made a lot of progress.  About back to the car, we passed a couple heading up the trail who inquired if we had gone all the way up to the lake.  I laughed and said that we had spent most of our time in the ravine.  The couple thought this was less than impressive and apparently not funny at all and promptly continued on.  Oh well. 
Sorry we don't have a picture, we forgot our camera.  Nonetheless, I thougth you would all still enjoy the story.  And to address my question above, I am pretty sure there is no art whatsoever to snowshoeing, but am I wrong?  I am going again tomorrow with my friend Abby to try my feet at it again on quite a bit more snow that has freshly fallen all this week.

I Will Be Found of You

I was reading the Ensign this morning and after reading a few articles in the beginning, just began flipping through to see what else it contained before I closed the magazine.  I read this article on the very last page of this month's Ensign.  The analogy was so beautiful and simple; I wanted to share it with you all in case you haven't had the oppurtunity to read it yet.
 

 “ ‘I Will Be Found of You’,” Aaron L. West, Liahona, Jan 2010, 80

At the conclusion of our Sunday School lesson, Sister Hart asked us to turn to Jeremiah 29. She said she would read verses 12–14 aloud, and she asked us to ponder the meaning of the words.
“Then shall ye call upon me,” she read, “and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
“And I will be found of you, saith the Lord …”
Sister Hart went on, finishing verse 14, but my thoughts lingered happily behind, savoring the promise “I will be found of you.” I was reminded of the times when my wife, Emma, and I played hide-and-seek with our young children. When it was our turn to hide and their turn to seek, we always made ourselves easy to find. Sometimes we made noises or left a foot in plain view so they would find us quickly. Sometimes we hid in the same place repeatedly. We wanted the children to search for us, but we also wanted them to find us. We looked forward to their hugs and their joyful, unrestrained giggles of triumph.
This memory deepened my understanding of our Heavenly Father’s love for us. He wants us to search for Him, but He also wants us to find Him—He knows how happy we will be when we do. He does not try to trick us. Rather, He does all He can to help us know where and how to search: He gives us the scriptures, calls prophets, listens to our prayers, guides us by the power of the Holy Ghost, blesses us with temples and priesthood ordinances and family and friends. And if we have found Him somewhere once, we are sure to find Him there again if we are willing to renew our search.
“I will be found of you, saith the Lord.” What a comforting promise! In a world where trouble and temptations seem to find us so easily, it is reassuring to know that our greatest source of strength is so easy to find.

Adam

 Jared and I watched this movie last night.  Definetly my favorite movie I have seen all year and I think it is now an all time favorite.  One website said this about it, "A romantic character study examining the obstacles to intimacy and the compromises we make in the name of love."  I won't say anything more because I think that is a beautiful description and the rest of the movie shouldn't be given away.  I was suprised that Jared wanted to see it too (he is usually more of a high action, danger ... type), but the best part was what he said at the end of the movie.  I won't tell you because it would ruin the ending, but if you watch it and call me, I will.  Anyhow, you can check out the trailer on YouTube, but I would just go and rent it with no expectations if I were you.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.