If I ever get out of here I'm getting my eyes lasered.*

BLOG BUCKS - the points are still out there for the last two posts.

This weekend a group of us went hiking near Lexington, VA.  This means I got to use my new Camelbak!

Some of you may remember the story about how this Camelbak came into my possession - but if not, here's the link to the story. http://sixthdonbro.blogspot.com/2012/11/youre-gonna-scream-your-guts-out-youll.html

Chris, trying to sneak in a sword because you never know what you'll run in to out in the wild.

Chris is a little confused



Ben is kind of over this

 We were going to hike Big House and Little House trails.  We got lost on the way because we had the address for Big House Lodge or something like that, and there were two weddings going on.  We also had to meet up with Zach's friend, Scott.  We were going to meet him at VMI and then caravan to the trail head, but as we were approaching the exit, I slowed down and asked Zach if that was the right one and he said, "Oh, uh, go straight," (at which point I stopped hitting the brakes) and the moment we passed it he said, "I mean, that was the exit, but we'll take the next one."  If you've been to the Lexington area you'll know that the next exit isn't for a while (whereas in Richmond there's one like every quarter mile...at least that's what it feels like).  The GPS kept taking us to the hiking trail, not back to VMI - so Zach called Scott and had him meet us. 

We got lost...which I kind of saw coming. I tell you all of this because we didn't get to the trail head until close to 4.  This hike is not as well known as something like Old Rag, you can tell because they don't even have a parking lot.  There is a road that has signs saying, "No parking", "No parking", "No Parking", "Park between signs".  Luckily we only had two cars cause I think that's all that would fit.  After hiking up an uneven road we got to the point where we had to choose which trail to take.  We started with Little House, which despite it's name is actually the more difficult one.  We figured we'd get the hard one out of the way first.  The first obstacle was a field of tall grass, after we got through that we did a tick check.  I think all the boys got at least one tick and as far as I know the two girls never got any (probably because we were praying out loud to not get any).  The next obstacle - the trail was very steep.

I thought at a few times I would have a brain aneurysm (no joke) and my ankle wasn't thanking me, but other Jessica and I took it slow.  Thank goodness she was there.

BEAUTIFUL day!

Most of hiking is about being properly dressed

There was a very angry buzzard who was not happy that we were there.

Who put these two trees here in the middle of the trail? 

We had to leave him behind...

I think the worst part about the trail, aside from being very steep, the trail was clearly defined but there were trees and bushes in the way.  The way was clear three feet and below - I kept commenting on what a great job the midgets did of maintaining the trail.  Lots of stooping and crawling on this hike.



Zach proposing...as usual.  I think Ben took this picture as I was yelling, "Again!?"



A Baptist may love a Mormon, Senor, but where will they build their nest?*



Reevaluating our relationship after I turn Zach down AGAIN.



My attempt to take a picture through the binoculars.

I kept saying during the hike that I would never go hiking again, I was just getting too old.  The view at the top though was gorgeous and the weather up there was perfect.  I was reading on Sunday morning from Maxwell's All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience and he was talking about how it is easier sometimes to go down the "paved, gently descending, wide way" that Satan provides instead of "climbing up the straight and narrow way" that leads the way home to our Heavenly Father. It made me think of our hiking trip, how the other Jessica and I joked about turning around and going to get something to eat while the boys finished the difficult, narrow and steep hike.  Had we done that, we wouldn't have been challenged, but we also wouldn't have seen the view, or felt the joy of accomplishing something so difficult.  Whereas, with aching knees and backs and dripping in sweat, we looked over the valley, resting on the rocks with the cool breeze blowing and looked over the beauty of the Lord's creation.  And that was certainly my "hand of the Lord" moment for Saturday.

Would I do it again? I say "no" but I said the same thing about the 1/2 marathon - so I suppose only life will tell.

Swing Away, Merrill.*

Last night was our Relief Society activity on Self Defense.  We started off with a lesson about spiritual self defense and discussed the Armor of God as mentioned in Ephesians.  It was a really good leason.  Then we cleared the floor and Brother Starns talked to us about physical self defense.  First he told us how to prepare, how to stay safe and hopefully that leads to NOT needing self defense moves.  You know - don't go to the city, alone at 2 a.m. (check).  If you do, take people with you (check - I'll be in bed at 2 a.m.), and always have a route and inform someone of the route, that way if something happens to you, they have a starting point of where to look. Then he started to show us simple things we can do should someone touch us.

Bop them on the nose...okay, he didn't say that, but throw them off a bit, there are plenty of sensitive spots on the head that you can hit and they will hopefully get the message that you aren't someone they can intimidate.

Believe it or not, Renee is not learning how to choke someone, but we were instructed right after this how to stop someone from choking us.  Put your fingers at their throat and push in that soft spot, this will give you more distance (try it).

Ladies - swing away with those purses.  They can be handy, non lethal weapons.  So can hair brushes held firmly in your palm and applied to the bone of their forearm.

Jenn showing us that even a short little thing can break someone's grasp.  All she has to do is push her arms up (which you think she couldn't do against this guy, but she could.

Ashley learning to be more aggressive. I mostly like the look on Bro. S' face here - like maybe he is in over his head now.

Showing us how to make the attacker take all your weight.  This will wear them out.

 Afterwards - we ate fruit.  Okay, okay, everyone else ate fruit.  I took pictures and avoided the blueberries.

We also practiced punching and kicking (my favorite) no pictures from this because I was busy punching, kicking, and yelling. 

Afterwards I went to the boys' house and this is where my "Hand of the Lord" moment comes from.  One of my boys is struggling with a decision and I had the opportunity to talk it over with him, and slowly, his roommates started to join us.  While we were talking I had the thought that he should get a blessing, if for nothing more than peace and clarity of mind.  I don't know why I hesitated to suggest it, but I did and realized that people suggest it to girls all the time, but how often does someone suggest to a boy that they should get a blessing? So he asked his roommates for one and then I asked if I should go (cause blessings are personal) but he wanted me to stay and take notes so he could focus on the feelings he would get.  The blessing was very simple, and I took notes, but the "hand of the Lord" moment came when I looked up at the three of them during the blessing and realized what amazing friends I have.  I am incredibly lucky to have such worthy Priesthood holders who are amazing examples to me, and on top of that, I know they each care for me and would be willing to help me if I needed it.  These boys have been there for me through some pretty rough times and I know that the Lord sent them to me just when I needed them and I am fortunate enough to keep them in my life. So it was the daily "hand of the Lord" but also a reminder of how the hand of the Lord has been there all along.

This crying in the morning thing, this depression, let's get that fixed.*

Blog Bucks: Congrats to Kathryn!

I've been a little M.I.A. lately.  To be honest with you, I'm not 100% certain what has kept me from blogging.  Work has gotten really busy and maybe that has something to do with it.

So here's the update on life for you:

Last Sunday I was released from my calling as the first counselor in the Relief Society Presidency, then, in the same breath I was extended a calling as the first counselor in the Relief Society Presidency.  That was fun.  Ruth (the former president) is leaving to go serve an 18 month mission for church.  I was nervous about who the new president would be.  I only served under Ruth for 3-4 weeks but I liked her and I couldn't think of who would be called as president and if we would work well together.  Then I was told that the new president is Ashley B. (for those who read my friend's blogs, she's the one who writes about miracles).  I was so excited, I wouldn't have guessed (because I'm never good at that) but when I heard it was her I knew that was the best person for that calling.  I am looking forward to working with her!  I care greatly for Ashley and am excited for her in this new calling, I think it will be great for her.  I'm also excited to keep my calling.  As nervous as I was to serve under a new person, I kind of wanted to keep a calling a little longer than a month.  I mean, we hadn't even had an activity yet (that's what I am over).

Speaking of which, we have an activity tonight.  We are going to be learning self defense.  I'm very excited about this and I hope I learn how to hit people better.  Brother Ben wants me to come over to the house afterwards and show him the stuff I learned.  He said he will practice attacking us (the girls) and then I can practice beating him up.  Pretty exciting stuff.

The first Sunday in July, I'll be teaching.  I've been hopping between ideas for what to teach on and I think I finally have my topic.  Recognizing the hand of the Lord in your life.  And since that's pretty general, I've added a subtopic, to help build faith and hope by realizing that the Lord never leaves us.  I feel the best about this topic over all the others (about 5 so far).  So for the next few weeks leading up to my lesson, I'm going to try and find at least one instance each day where I saw the hand of the Lord in my life.  Sometimes they will be big, sometimes they will be small.  If they aren't too personal, I think I will try and write them to this blog.  We'll see how it goes.

More updates:  I'm on a kickball team again this year.  Yesterday was our third game.  I didn't make it to the first and we lost anyway, but last week and this week we won! I can't say I really contributed, but it's still nice to win.  I'm getting more comfortable (should be after three years).  I'm happy to report that my ankle is doing just fine.  Shortly after I signed up for the kickball team I got to thinking what a dumb idea that was for someone whose ankle is still swollen from a sprain back in February.  Last week, I hit the ball wrong and it hurt a bit, but last night - no problems...I even got to second base.  I would have gotten to third but this angry looking dude was coming for me with the ball and I slowed down so he wouldn't find an excuse to get violent (after tonight's activity with self defense though I'll be ready for him next time). 

What else...OH! We put in more segment of fence. Nickipedia and Brother Ben came over and helped us out.  I have pictures - but they are on my home computer - I will post later.

Was behind this car one rainy morning when traffic wasn't moving very fast...I thought, "that should be my license place"

Last Saturday we (Relief Society sisters) put together little gifts for the guys in our ward for Father's Day.  We made a lot of cookies and bagged them up and tied "love notes" around them.  We needed a few extra love notes, so I wrote pick up lines.  I found out of Tuesday that one of the guy's I know got the pick up line, "You're the reason women fall in love".  I hope that made him feel good. 

Last weekend I also went to hang out with the Rowland's.  The kids got to make their own popcorn in the microwave and I got to be the adult to find out that maybe they shouldn't have.

One solid chunk!

For Father's Day, my mom bought two cakes, a chocolate one and this heavenly cinnamon one.  It was like eating a snickerdoodle with the gooey cinnamon part of a cinnamon roll.  I could have eaten the whole cake and then died happy.  Luckily I limited myself to one piece.

Anyway - I think that's it.  I'm going hiking this weekend and I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures from that.  I'm incredibly out of shape so here's hoping I survive to blog about it!