taste of trek.

 

Thought I'd share a few pics 

from our Trek weekend.

June 7-9 in Skull Valley.

 

 Kelly aka IceMan

(he was VERY popular.)

 

 Madison was a "ma" for her family -

here are her girls during the "women's pull".

It made me cry.

 The girls on day 2 - 

after Madison was caught in the dirt devil.

 It took A LOT of water to keep 600 people happy and hydrated.

 ONE of the THREE companies pulling out on day 2.

It made me cry.

 Yup.  A very important part of the plan. :)

 

Almost to camp on day 2.

Happiness.

  

 Lookout Pass on day 3.

Rest and lunch after a hard pull to the top.

It made me cry.

 

 A view of our camp on the morning of day 3.

Pretty amazing.

 

 Gathering at the top of Lookout Pass.

It made me cry.

Honestly, the whole weekend was pretty incredible.

We spent hours organizing, praying, and preparing.

Trek came.

We went.

We were amazed.

The 485 youth were incredible.

They surprised us with their strength and determination.

33 miles of hard.

And they did it singing and (mostly) smiling.

I was humbled to be there and strengthened, too.

fast and furious. kl style.

So. 

I got my chance to visit Shirlee in Kuala Lumpur.

Not the way we had planned, but a visit, nonetheless.

Shir was REALLY sick and in the hospital for a few days and upon returning home realized she could use some help.

That's where I came in.

Talked to her Sunday evening and was on a plane Monday evening!

Yup.  Fast and furious.

So, here are a few of the pics I took...

 Ethen and Maya trying to get each other wet!

Shir (after she felt better) and Maya at the

infamous food truck.

I wish it came to my house!!

 Maya and I stopped to pose on our way to the mall.

(realizing I'm not going to wear that shirt again... not flattering!)

 The amazing artist who wrote each of the girls names on a single grain of rice.

Then the rice was put in a charm and made into necklaces for Ken and Kimbel,

a keychain for Madison.

Shout out to Mad - who took her driving test the day after I left and passed with flying colors!!!

Is it wrong that she had to drive herself to the test?

Picture from inside the Chinese Central Market.

What a fun place!

A Buddhist temple that we stopped and visited after the market.

Very interesting.

And very colorful.

 Okay.  I think Ethen is the "fast" part of this post.

The only time he slows down is when he's asleep...

or Thomas the Train is on.  :)

 The seaweed aisle at the grocery store.

I brought some home for my family.

It wasn't a hit.

No. really. yuck.

The night view of the Petronas Towers from Shir and Dave's apartment.

It is absolutely breathtaking.  Gorgeous city.

I'm so glad I could go and provide a little love and support at least.

Don't know how much I did, really.

I just colored with Maya and played trains with Ethen

and thankfully Shir was on the up and up when my time was done.

Worth the 30 hours of travel time to get there.

Thanks to Niccole for being the heaven-sent auntie

and thanks to Kel and the kids who stepped up and let me go.

And thanks to Dave and Shir for showing me around their latest adventure. :)

Yup, I rode a camel.

Well, thanks to the fact that my sister, Shirlee, lives life on the edge... I get to visit cool places. On Friday, January 22nd we loaded up 3 year old Maya and 10 month old Ethen into the back row of a 767 and headed to Paris (a LONG trip) and then onto Cairo (not as LONG, but almost). We were SO HAPPY to see Shir's hubby, Dave, waiting for us outside the airport. Not to mention Ibrahim, their driver - who saved us from the luggage guy wanting more than the $4 we gave him for loading our NINE bags (along with some other poor guys bag). Whew.

After a day of some serious unpacking I was unlucky enough to experience the "Pharoah's Revenge" - let's just say if you don't know what it is... you really don't want to. ick. So, one day of unpacking lost. But, we got Shir mostly moved in so that we could do a little roaming around before I headed back the following Saturday.

You can see more of the unpacking chaos here...

On Thursday we met up with a lady from the Cairo branch and headed down to the Nile River. It was a nice walk - until the "Pharoah" got his shot at Shir. Needless to say we headed on home.

It's a darn good thing I didn't strong-arm Shir into one of these faluka's on the Nile. She just had to see the sailboats and she was done.

On to our biggest Egyptian Adventure... We got to head into Giza and experience the pyramids via camel. We went with ladies from Shir's branch. Great fun!! Shirlee's version here. Oh, and thanks, Shir, for pointing out that the camel looks like he is in some serious pain ~ while I am getting on so gracefully.

Here is my advice to you... if you ever find yourself in this situation. When the guy on the ground says "lean back!" Just do it. Much easier to stay on your camel if you are leaning back. Way back.

Success!

By the way, camels are really tall.

It was a pretty windy day ~ so there was more than a little sand and smog in the air. The pyramids in Giza are surrounded by a tall wall/fence on all sides. We didn't actually go in, but instead rode along the side. But, even from outside the compound the pyramids are still very majestic. Pretty amazing.

The obligatory "hee, hee, I am touching the pyramid" photo.

Trying to smile while our teeth are getting coated with the blowing sand!
On the way down from the top of the hill- Shir braved the camel and I rode the horse. Not the most comfortable thing to do before a 25 hour trip home. Just sayin'...
Our reward at the end. Yummy barrel-baked sweet potatoes. Seriously good.
We did some shopping on Road Nine in Maadi - I really should have taken a pic of the little shop-owner there. He was super nice and really likes you, shir.. go back and take a picture for me, okay?!?

It was definitely an adventure and if the plane trip/jet lag wasn't so darn grueling I would head back next week. But, I guess I will have to wait a few months or so. But, I would love to get back to see the things I missed. (That is, as long as you can only get Pharoah's Revenge once per lifetime!)

Girls Camp!

Okay, so I don't have any pics of myself and only a few of Madison - because the battery on my camera ran out -- of course!! But we are home safe, dried out and exhausted!

(Here are the 3rd and 4th years... I got to go to the challenge course with them!)

(Madison and Chelsie)

It was a GREAT week -- good to bond with these sweet Rose Springs Ward Young Women. We took 27 girls and 4 leaders, including me. Nothing like a lack of sleep to bring out the best!!

We got to go up to Heber Valley Camp - which is AMAZING!! Seriously, wow. It was VERY nice and was full of opportunities... We got to take canoes out on the lake, experience the challenge course with its zip-line, and smell like campfire every night! It was all good... and beautiful.

time. flies. by.

Thanks for the birthday wishes!  It was great.. blue sky, sunshine, happy kids.. it really doesn't get better!

Kelly made me a FABULOUS cake, Braden picked out a Blu-Ray dvd player (because every cool mom needs one?) and I got lots of birthday kisses.

Happy day.

(Jamie, here's the cake pic ~ just for you!!  German chocolate - my fave!!)