Marcie and I found a really good article that explains our thoughts and feelings as we pass through a peculiar episode of our lives. For a few years we have been confused as to why things happen the way they do and why things happen to certain people at certain times of their lives. Although we would not wish this challenge on anyone, we have felt a lot of peace and grown much closer as a couple through understanding and facing the reality of this challenge and all of the associated feelings and struggles that it brings. This article explains better than we can in our own words the feelings that are associated with this struggle. -Sam
http://www.resolve.org/site/PageServer?pagename=lrn_ffaf_ie
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Mammoth, Here We Come!
The week after I got back from Kentucky & Maryland, Sam and I decided to take a little vacation together. We drove up to Bishop Wednesday night and we camped in Bishop. We've stayed at this campground before. It's a really cute campground with a little creek that runs behind the tent. So CUTE! The not so cute part was that 50 French teens were also camping there. Talk about clogging up the bathrooms! I felt like I was back in France again, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what the heck they were saying!! On Thursday, Sam and I drove to Lake Sabrina, just north of Bishop. Sam had been planning this trip for months and he was SOO excited to get back into the mountains! So Sam had planned this "moderate" hike up to Blue Lake. It was only suppose to be 3 miles, or 2 hours. Well, 2 hours into our hike, we were getting low on water, we were WAY out of shape, and other hikers were telling us that we were only 1/3 of the way there. We quickly abandoned the thought of completing that hike, hiked back down to our car, and then spent the rest of the evening in Bishop.
Sam and I as we're resting on our hike to Blue Lake.
Lake Sabrina. How beautiful!
Another view of Lake Sabrina. That night, we ate dinner in Bishop and then roasted marshmallows and Starbursts. We had fun!
On Friday, we drove up to Mammoth Lakes. I was pretty happy to be away from the French teens! :). We hiked up to Arrowhead Lake, which was this gorgeous lake that was completely untouched by humans! It was a good 2 hour hike and it was well worth it! The mosquitoes weren't as bad and our bodies were better prepared for this hike. What a beautiful lake though!
After we made it to Arrowhead Lake, we decided to return to our car because it started looking pretty stormy. So we decided to drive to the different lakes in Mammoth (I believe that there are 7-8 main lakes there). This was taken at Horseshoe Lake. I just love the color of the water!
This is Lake Mary
More lakes in Mammoth
Lucky for me, Sam was kind enough to let us stay in a condo in Mammoth Friday and Saturday nights, since I had endured 2 nights of tent camping with our French friends. This is the view from our condo. How beautiful! 
On Saturday, we decided to hike to Rainbow Falls in Devil's Postpile. I did this hike as a child and I remember that it was so beautiful and full of trees. Unfortunately a few years back a big fire came through and destroyed most of those trees that I remembered. You can see in this pic how barren it is!
We finally made it to Rainbow Falls! It looks so tiny in this pic, but it was a good size waterfall!
One of the rivers around Rainbow Falls. Once we reached Rainbow Falls, we were both feeling pretty good. So we decided to keep hiking to Lower Falls. 
I saw this tree at Lower Falls and I fell in love with it! I'm not a tree hugger or anything, but I was so fascinated because by all reasons, this tree should be dead. But it trudges on and is barely hanging on. You can see most of its roots. How amazing! 
Lower Falls. I totally thought that it looked like something from Disney's California Adventureland. So pretty!
After the falls, Sam and I decided to hike to Devil's Postpile. On our hike, we found a deer! I was pretty impressed! For those of you who see cute wildlife all the time, how lucky you are! It's amazing to see these animals in their habitats. What a treat this was for us!
Once we made it to Devil's Postpile, we decided to hike to the top of it. This is the view from the top!!
This was also taken at the top of Devil's Postpile. I love it because you can see the hexagonal shaped rocks! Fascinating!!
Here's our FABULOUS condo! I was totally in love with it! It had a cute kitchen with granite countertops, a fireplace, a king-sized bed, a pool and jacuzzi. After a full day of hiking, this was SOO worth it! On Sunday, Sam and I went to church and then we headed home. We had a good little trip and it brought my short little summer to a close! I'm sure that more trips are on the way! :)Fourth of July
I know, I haven't posted in FOREVER. I'm slowly working on it. Here's the rest of my update from my Kentucky/Maryland trip the week of the 4th of July.
For the 4th of July, we headed into Baltimore to visit Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner. I guess I'm not historically inclined, because I had the story all mixed up before we got there. It was interesting to hear how the song came to be and it was better just to be there! Valerie and I standing near the front of Fort McHenry.
I know the pic is fuzzy, but here me, Em and Jeremy are hanging out in a war bunker (built after the War of 1812).
They had a pretty big celebration for the 4th at Fort McHenry. They had a parade with people all dressed up in time period costumes and they gave us a bit of history.
Then they got out one of the original flags and the audience helped to unfold the flag. They also got out a current flag, which people also helped to unfold. I was happily content to take pics instead of helping! :)! They were unable to put up the flags because it was so windy, but it was cool to see it just the same!
Ok, so I am a HUGE fan of the show "Ace of Cakes" on Food Network. Since we were already in Baltimore for the 4th, Valerie and I agreed that we HAD to visit their bakery. Of course it was closed, but we were excited to just to be there! WE LOVE YOU DUFF!! (He's the head baker)!
That night, Dad, Emily and I decided to be brave and head into D.C. to watch the fireworks. We were just walking over a bridge in Virginia (I think) when the fireworks began. It was REALLY crowded, even on that bridge, but the fireworks were spectacular. You can kind of see the Lincoln Memorial on the bottom right. Afterwards, we had to head into the WAY crowded subway and head back to my parents'. We didn't get home until about midnight, but it was worth it!
Valerie, Jeremy, Em, me, Dad and Mom in front of the Washington D.C. temple that Sunday. What a huge and gorgeous temple it is!
The Washington D.C. temple. So pretty!
On Tuesday Mom, Emily and I went into D.C. to do some museuming! :). Of course we went to the Smithsonians and we had a blast. We saw Dorothy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz.
We also saw Kermit the Frog. Look at how cute he looks!
We also went to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum. This pic just looks like it belongs in the Night at the Museum! :)
Our last stop was to see the largest diamond in the world, the Hope Diamond. This diamond put my wedding ring to shame (sorry Sam! :) ). We had a good time. On Wednesday, Em and I flew home. We almost had to fly home on Thursday because our original flight was delayed and so we were going to miss our layover in Atlanta. After waiting in line for 1 1/2 hours (NO JOKE!), they finally put us on another plane, and they gave us first class! Wahhooo!! We ended up getting back to San Diego at about 11:45PM and I was SOOO happy to see Sam!! I had a really good trip, but it was REALLY hard being away from him.
For the 4th of July, we headed into Baltimore to visit Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner. I guess I'm not historically inclined, because I had the story all mixed up before we got there. It was interesting to hear how the song came to be and it was better just to be there! Valerie and I standing near the front of Fort McHenry. I know the pic is fuzzy, but here me, Em and Jeremy are hanging out in a war bunker (built after the War of 1812). They had a pretty big celebration for the 4th at Fort McHenry. They had a parade with people all dressed up in time period costumes and they gave us a bit of history.Then they got out one of the original flags and the audience helped to unfold the flag. They also got out a current flag, which people also helped to unfold. I was happily content to take pics instead of helping! :)! They were unable to put up the flags because it was so windy, but it was cool to see it just the same!
Ok, so I am a HUGE fan of the show "Ace of Cakes" on Food Network. Since we were already in Baltimore for the 4th, Valerie and I agreed that we HAD to visit their bakery. Of course it was closed, but we were excited to just to be there! WE LOVE YOU DUFF!! (He's the head baker)!
That night, Dad, Emily and I decided to be brave and head into D.C. to watch the fireworks. We were just walking over a bridge in Virginia (I think) when the fireworks began. It was REALLY crowded, even on that bridge, but the fireworks were spectacular. You can kind of see the Lincoln Memorial on the bottom right. Afterwards, we had to head into the WAY crowded subway and head back to my parents'. We didn't get home until about midnight, but it was worth it!
Valerie, Jeremy, Em, me, Dad and Mom in front of the Washington D.C. temple that Sunday. What a huge and gorgeous temple it is! 
The Washington D.C. temple. So pretty!
On Tuesday Mom, Emily and I went into D.C. to do some museuming! :). Of course we went to the Smithsonians and we had a blast. We saw Dorothy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz. 
We also saw Kermit the Frog. Look at how cute he looks!
We also went to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum. This pic just looks like it belongs in the Night at the Museum! :)
Our last stop was to see the largest diamond in the world, the Hope Diamond. This diamond put my wedding ring to shame (sorry Sam! :) ). We had a good time. On Wednesday, Em and I flew home. We almost had to fly home on Thursday because our original flight was delayed and so we were going to miss our layover in Atlanta. After waiting in line for 1 1/2 hours (NO JOKE!), they finally put us on another plane, and they gave us first class! Wahhooo!! We ended up getting back to San Diego at about 11:45PM and I was SOOO happy to see Sam!! I had a really good trip, but it was REALLY hard being away from him.
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