We Made It...Finally!

I've been at BYU for three plus years now and it's taken me this long to finally do something most people do as Freshmen. Abby and I mustered up the courage to finally hike the Y. It was the first time for both of us, but definitely not the last. We've made a combined goal this summer to become tan and fit and regular hiking is a nice way to combine the two. It took us about an hour to get to the top and back to the car. With some rough calculations I think it was about 2.25 miles round trip. It definitely made me huff and puff. Luckily I didn't see anyone I know till we were on our way down. There are 11 switchbacks and some of them feel completely vertical. We were fortunate enough to avoid any serious injuries and falls. I included a map of the trail so you can see the intensity. The picture of our feet is evidence of us making it to the top. Way to go, us!

And the Winner Is....

So I realize it's been a ridiculously long time since I've blogged so I thought I'd treat you all to another post. Life has been moving approximately 5,467 miles an hour and it's finally slowed down to a manageable pace. I finished my last final about 90 minutes ago and I'm overjoyed by the amount of free time I have. It feels good to have no obligations for the next week. Springclasses start again on Tuesday so I'm going to have to really enjoy this next week and be completely lazy. Last weekend I was a contestant in the Days of '47 Royalty pageant for the second time. Thanks to Kristy and Lucy for helping me get my application polished and submitted on the last day they were accepted. Last year my number was 37 out of nearly 50. I made the top 20 then and was satisfied with that result. This year there was only 35 contestants. My number was 30 and it seems to be a little better luck. After an interview with five judges, giving a 40 second speech, and answering a question on stage I made the top 10. As the announcer was calling the girls to the front of the stage, (in no particular order), I came to terms with the fact that there weren't many spots and I wouldn't be likely to get one. To my surprise I was the 7th one called and I even made the jaw-drop-shocked face. Each girl was asked the same question and then the winners wereannounced. Aside from the Royalty they have a Miss Congeniality award. The recipient gets a $500 scholarship. I wasaware of this opportunity because of my experience last year so I was extra attentive at the seminar and triedto learn everyones names. I even brought name tags on the second day which I thought would make me a shoe-in since everyone knew my name. Sadly, I didn't win this award either. Overall I had a wonderful experience participating in the pageant. I was a little relieved not to win since all the activities you have to participate in take up your whole summer, but a crown would have been nice. The highlight and ultimate draw of being in the pageant is the gift bag each participant gets at the end. Last year Nu Skin was a sponsor and we got some cosmetic items along with a few things from other sponsors. This year the high ticket item was a paper cutter. I guess they'll hope we'll scrap book ourexperience.

Now that I've sufficiently filled you in on the recent events of my life, I'll leave you with a few pictures from the event.

Tim is Debt Free!

So about 15 months ago Tim lost a bet to me. He proposed that Utah would beat BYU in the football game and clearly that didn't happen. BYU beat Utah in overtime and I won this most glorious bet. It's commonly known that Tim hates mayonaise and American cheese. Because he lost he had to eat a Double Double from In-N-Out which includes both. This picture was taken before he started to eat this burger like a champion. He only gagged a few times and didn't even come close to throwing up (thatI know of). I let him take off the tomato so hopefully he'll remember that mercy if I am ever in a bet debt with him. I have a video that I will post eventually. Until then my faithful readers!

Campus Celebrity

So I know this isn't Jimmer Freddette but it's probably going to be
the closest I get go any basketball star this year. I'm pretty sure
it's Noah Hartsock. I walked behind him for a good portion of my walk
today. It was one of the best things that's happened today. Why?
Because people treated him like Moses. The 'sea' was parted and I
didn't have to play any sort of pedestrian guessing game in order to
walk in a straight path. It was also funny to watch the faces of
people walking in the other direction. You'd think in college that
people would know not to stare. When they realized who he was their
expressions turned to awe. I guess that's acceptable considering he's
a big part of the top ten basketball team here at BYU. Maybe if I keep
seeing him I can ask him to line me up with Jimmer ;)

A Big No-No

As you can see from the picture, the "Big No-No" isn't the fact that we still have Christmas decorations up past the New Year. The "Big No-No" that I am referring to is the fact that I had to walk home from my evening class in my all-black ensamble. Mom-I know you raised me better than that. The Invisible Pedestrian costume, as my family likes to call it, had me walking home with caution. Just kidding, the un-shoveled sidewalks I encountered on my .75 mile walk back from campus were what really kept me guessing. Luckily I had Brandon Flowers new album on my iPod to keep me company. You're probably thinking I had both ear phones in to drown out my sorrows of walking home in 18 degree weather, but you'd be wrong. I only used one ear piece so I could still hear all the cars that were coming to hit me at each intersection. But as you can clearly see from the picture, and having not heard of any horrific accidents happening to me in the last 24 hours, I made it home safely. And, the only thing that froze were my fingers. Darn you leather gloves!!

Look Around You

Can you guess what we'll be talking about today? That's right, hand rails. Now write that down in your copy books.

Psych! We're not talking about hand rails... Now I try not to be one to complain, but really?! The mat is encrusted with ice which has been frozen in the shape of various shoes and sizes from each person walking down to the garage without the snow being taken care of. Aside from the fact that the main level patio at my apartment complex is just shy of an Olympic sized ice rink, the real problem is the icy floor mat at the top of the stairs. By now you've probably made some calculations and figured out that ice by stairs is bad. Well done. In the short 36 hours I've been back in Provo I have had to use this stairwell at least 5 times which always makes for a small adventure while I try not to fall to my most certain death at the bottom of the stairs. Obviously the picture doesn't do the amount of danger involved justice but it's the best I could do. So, in order for me to end this post I'm going to plead for you to feel a little bad for me that walking down to my car is so dangerous because I could slip and fall and receive any number of injuries. Also, does anyone have a spare shovel so I can do my best to eliminate the danger for me and everyone that walks through this place?!

Love me some Walter

Congrats to Courtney on getting baptized!