No Way...

While picking a friend up from the airport on Friday evening, I stood next to two chauffeurs who held up signs for those they were waiting for. I hadn't read the names on the signs, as I was slightly behind them.

I had only been waiting a few minutes when two women arrived at the bottom of the escalator, one of them reading the signs aloud, sort-of matter-of-factly.

Woman no. 1: "Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe... really...?"

Woman no. 2: "Who's that?"

Woman no. 1: "From So You Think You Can Dance.... you know, the show on TV."

The other woman was drawing a blank, but it was at this moment when I really understood what the first woman was saying. 

Me: "Are you serious?" (while checking the signs for proof, and finding Mary and Nigel's names printed out on each one.)

After trying to call a friend and my sister with no luck, I stood with my camera turned on, and waited for their descent down the escalator.

What seemed like 30 minutes was probably about 5, but then they were there... and I did my best to get some good shots, and pretty much failed, miserably.

When they arrived at the bottom, Nigel headed straight for his sign, wasting no time. I barely snapped a shot as he was walking away... and clearly, it was not a very good one.

Mary, on the other hand, came right over to me and the above mentioned woman no. 1, who had stuck around to see them as well. The minute she approached us, I could not believe how much she towered over me. She had to be borderline 6 feet tall, without heels. I think I mentioned this to her (regrettably... as she obviously gets that a lot), but she had that perma smile on her face and was more gracious than I would have imagined. As these two fans doted over her,  she voluntarily said, "Well, let's get a picture, girls!" I was grateful for her surprising kindness. It's something I won't soon forget.

It was Pierce Brosnan I saw last time at the airport... I wonder who will be next?

Guess I Wasn't The Favorite That Day...

While at Lake Powell, my six-year-old niece took on the liberty of painting our toenails as we all cringed a bit at the sight of them. Smeared and multi-colored, we watched her enjoy herself, and, as a result, felt happy that she was so happy. 

Enter Lance. As he always does, her three-year-old brother wanted to do what Cessna was doing. I got lucky... he happened to choose the clear on my toes. My cousin Maddie didn't get off so easily. Her silver toes ended up looking like one big nail when he was done with them.

After he did the same to my aunt, and spilling some on the floor in the process, I told him it was time to put them away. He looked at me with a blank face.

Me: "We'll get them out later, ok? You did a really good job. Let's put them away now."

Lance: "I don't like you."

Hmm... guess I can't make everyone happy.

It. Was. Hot.

Luckily, the water was the perfect antidote to the scorching-hotter-than-105-degree weather. And so, the water, along with the burning sun, made the perfect combination for the tan I worked on (that I think I achieved. A colleague at work asked me how I felt being black).

It was a week of relaxation... and that's what we needed. Here are some highlights.

Chris proved he could blow the biggest bubble...

And my dad proved... that he is purely awesome with his peace necklace.

Me... well, I wasn't great at that game...

Of course there were the water sports...

This was dragged behind the wave runner. It spun out of control whenever it turned.... and though I didn't try it, I'm pretty sure I know how it would've gone with me in there...

This toy - the G6 - was the biggest and best new toy this year.

Turns out that it's actually quite useful turned upside-down as well.

King of the Hill was played nearly every night on this thing.

Chris decided before the trip that he would give himself a mohawk. So, that he did...

And set out to change the boat, one mohawk at a time.... 

here he is with my cousin Mitchie.

He even talked my nephew Lance into it... though I'm not sure Lance knew what he was saying yes to at the time.

Too cute though. Too cute.

I even fished with Chris... and it wasn't so bad. Didn't catch anything, however.

Good times.

Looking Forward...

We're heading to Lake Powell tomorrow afternoon... for those of you who don't know, it's my favorite place on the planet. Nothing like laying out with a good book, swimming until you've grown gills, and loving the crazy water sports.

Plus, I get to spend the week with this kid and his cute face.

Pretty sure I could just eat him up.

Didn't Happen

So, my attempt to read two books in July didn't work out for me.

For those of you who haven't been reading the books I have, I highly suggest you read My Sister's Keeper. Jody Picoult is an unbelievably incredible author.... and, this was a book I could read again and again. Other than some language throughout, it's a read I think anyone would enjoy.

I have started The Host and will make it my July read, for anyone who'd like to join me.

Gotta Love It.

When I say "it," I mean the humor old folk have, without knowing it. Those over 50 that cause you to think about what they just said... and then laugh about it.

Case in point: I was at the dollar store yesterday (which, by the way, gets better and better the older I get). In line ahead of me was an older man who seemed to assess me for a moment while the cashier was ringing up his total.

He turned to me and said (paraphrasing), "Now, I appreciate what you're wearing."

I paused for a moment to look at myself. A t-shirt and jeans, flip flops and a ponytail covered by a hat wasn't exactly an outfit to be appreciated... if there ever was one.

He continued. "I was out at the airport the other day, and I could not believe what some of these people were wearing! Now, what you have on is really refreshing."

I thanked him and told him he was nice for saying so.

"I'm just an old man telling the truth," he said. Then, after a few moments, "It's like Rocky said to Adrian, 'you're gonna break a lot of hearts out there.'"

.......Um ......?? That one took me off guard.... all I could do was laugh. And, once I was alone, laugh even harder.

Orderville Canyon

While down south a couple weeks ago, Chris and I decided to hike Orderville Canyon (similar to the Narrows) in Zion National Park. A one-way 13-mile hike, it begins outside the eastern boundary of the park and ends at the Temple of Sinawava in Zion Canyon.

Here we are at the beginning of the trail. My in-laws, bless their hearts, began their day at 5:00 that morning and drove us up a windy canyon road to this point, where we started our trek (about three hours later). 

Because we didn't have a four-wheel drive vehicle, we walked the two-mile trek to the beginning of the hike.

 

It was surprisingly green and full of life on the trail, though...

Here we are at the top of the canyon... 

...before heading down the steep (and I mean STEEP) trail ahead. This picture doesn't demonstrate my point... but I was surprised I didn't slide down more than I walked.

There was still quite a bit of walking to do before getting to more of the surrounding rock, but there were little bits along the way that we explored. It was so cool!

I couldn't  believe just how big it was!

There were several places where you could see what floods have done. Everything is pushed downstream and stacked against something. Some were on the small side...

And others were incredibly large in comparison.

I loved the views we had while walking through the narrow canyon.

A snapshot in the middle of the hike

Chris, at doing what he does best.... being cool. 

There are several large obstacles within the 13 miles; only two of which have a sure way to get down with webbing. All others required creative thinking and strategy on our part to make it into the large pools of water below, some of which are deep enough that require swimming. 

This was the first one. This one had hooks for webbing (where a LOT of trust is placed... they don't look like they'll hold much), so we were able to get down fairly easily.

 

Of course, then came the water.... which was another obstacle in itself. You could say it was a bit on the chilly side...

What it looks like from below.

 I made it!

Random cool shots... this place was unreal.

Thirsty? Yes, I was. And, by the way, I think camelbacks are one of the greatest inventions of all time, as far as hiking supplies go.

We saw lots of little "critters" along the way...

A few times my feet were literally stuck in the mud - and didn't come out easily. It was everywhere.

Some places were so green... it was so beautiful.

Climbing down the only other obstacle that we used webbing on.

I'm so hard core.

Despite our happy faces in this one, we were shivering. Did I mention the water was chilly?

The result from not dodging a rock when jumping, rather than stepping, off another rock. Not good.

This was after we had just swam through the water and had no sun on us for a good 20 minutes or so... I think the entire 20 minutes were spent shivering.

But when the sun did come out, it was worth it. So pretty.

The last two miles feed into the narrows. It was so pretty, but we were ready for the end. Believe it or not, we didn't see one person during the seven-hour stretch of that hike. We weren't exactly ready to run into a wall of people that just kept coming... and it happened to be the hardest part of the hike, on top of that. It might not have been if we hadn't just spent seven hours in the canyon, but we had. And we were ready to be done.

13 miles and 8 hours later...

We hope to do it again soon.