Summer of 2009

I am so bad at keeping my journal up & like this blog, when I try to catch up, it takes hours. I can't get it all in but will throw some stuff out there & see where we end up.
We knew this was going to be a crazy summer but as we got into it, more events came up which only added to the crazy schedule. For example, Bryce got out of basic training, went to Georgia for communications training. Elise & kids wanted to be with him until he deployed overseas so she rented house out & took off on road trip to Georgia. I was busy with school stuff so I flew to Phoenix & the trip was on. We spent 3 long yet incredibly wonderful days traveling across America & quite honestly, getting to know each other for the first time since Elise was a child. The kids were great even under the intense amount of time we spent in a car. We stayed in Georgia for a couple days & visited Bryce & then I flew back.
Summer had a baby on April 15 in Provo UT, so Mona, my mom & I took off one afternoon because I had more school meetings & drove through the night. As we got into Nevada about 10:00 PM we started to have snow flurries. What was mild snow became the worst blizzard in Nevada or Utah for the year. There were hundreds of cars & trucks off the road because you couldn't hardly see & the roads were not plowed. I tried switching off driving but after a few minutes we realized that i was the better driver for the snow (dang). We couldn't stop because Summer was having the baby about 1:00 PM the next day. We drove through the storm & got to the hospital about 2 hours before Summer delivered the beautiful baby Sephi. Honestly, Summer looked like she was going out for a date just 10 minutes after the baby was born. I can't understand how that is possible. I had to be back for an important meeting the next night so we stayed the night & my Mom & i were going to leave at 5 in the morning but when I woke up before 5 it was snowing extremely hard so we slept for a couple hours & left at 6:30. It was snowing but not as hard. We passed cars all over the road but kept going & then just After the Nevada border the snow let up & was clear for the rest of trip.
It was a quick & extremely difficult trip but was so incredibly beautiful & emotional.
We were back for a short time & then went To Kauai, Hawaii for the wedding of Monas Niece Melanie Pierce. Heather, Summer & family met us & we had a great time. Mona & I backpacked the 11 mile Nepali coast & were picked up by a friend of Mona's brother in his 4 bedroom sail boat. We had an incredible hike & met some very unique people, one named Bill Summers, a former Marine , who for some reason has decided to maintain trails & help wayward travelers on their journey of the Nepali coast. He lives about 7 miles in & although the State doesn't acknowledge his efforts, we found him to be extremely helpful, informative, friendly & compassionate to those who don't abuse this fragile area. We were grateful we met him & decided to spend the night close to were he lives so that we could learn more about this incredible area.
We got home & a week later left for a 36 mile backpacking trip south of Mammoth on the JMT--PCT, we loop around & stayed next to some very hidden yet incredibly beautiful hot springs that are a moderate difficult 12 mile hike from reds Meadow.
We got home & 2 weeks later we went with Kati Kress & some of her family & friends, to climb Mt Whitney which is 14,505 ft tall & is the tallest mountain in the lower United States. We camped the night before to acclimate at 9,200 ft & then we left at 1:00AM to begin the 11 mile east to west trip to the summit. This 11 miles is all up hill except for about 500yds which was close to the top. It was an incredible experience that had us back to the start at 5:00PM. thank you Kati, you are such an incredible friend.
We didn't spend the night because of a work meeting the next day so I drove the 6 miles back home (on auto pilot), literally, i don't remember hardly anything from Monitor pass to Murphys because I was so tired. I know I should have stopped but needed to get home for the meeting at 7 AM.
WE were home a week & then we spent a week at pacific valley camping & doing day hikes out of that area. the 1st day we hiked about 6 miles, the 2nd day we hiked about 12 miles & the last hiking day we did about 16 miles from Highland Lake down to Wolf Creek & then up Bull canyon to Noble lake & then back to Highland lake. We don't normally car camp but this was fun because we didn't have to carry all our junk for camping & had softer sleeping pads although I forgot my sleeping bag in my backpack & had to sleep under a tarp & light blanket from my truck. this wouldn't have been bad except it was 38 degrees for a couple nights. i had a work meeting on Wednesday so I brought my bag back for the last 2 days & what difference a sleeping bag makes. haha.
We got home & the next week, Elise & the kids moved in with us from Georgia because Bryce was deployed to Iraq for a year. He wasn't supposed to leave until end of year but he is gone. & they had their house rented out so they will be with us for a few months. this is a new experience but very rewarding because we have been empty nesting for a couple years & now we have kids running around. I forgot how much fun kids are but how much energy they have VBS.
Kenny came home from school & spent 3 weeks with us & it was the best experience we have had with him in a couple years. He hung out with us & was a pleasure to be with. I Love You Kenny. I coached 7/8 girls softball with Bri who got married this summer & the wedding was beautiful. Playing softball, meetings, life & getting older.
Well there are many details that I left out but think I covered the main points.
Peace & Love.