Donut Falls hike

We had a great time hiking with a couple of friends from our Monday night church group, Ashley and Creighton.  We picked the Donut Falls trail, an easy hike in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  The waterfall at the end of the hike flows through a circular hole in the rocks- the donut!

 The fall weather in Salt Lake City has been so nice lately.  I love the dry coolness here that doesn't feel too chilly.

 It was a windy day and the yellow leaves from the aspen trees were blowing around and falling to the ground as we hiked- so pretty!

 checking out the creek

 Climbing up the slippery waterfall.  The water was freeeezing cold, but it was really cool to climb to the top.

Looking forward to hiking with them again!

A Grateful List

Taken in Saipan, New Year's 2012 on the beach

I'm reading the book, One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp right now.  Her book centers around thanksgiving, and how the practice of thanksgiving brings contentment and trust.  I thought I'd do a list of my own:

So grateful for...

A good, solid job for Brian, after a couple of difficult months of searching for jobs and not knowing where we would go.  The job market really is hard right now and it got so frustrating.  That is my #1 thanks.

That we get to feel fall weather after living in tropical and sub-tropical weather for 3 years.  

My Gram and cousin Ryan are coming to visit us this summer. And hopefully many more people and family to come visit!

Thankful we had the opportunity to travel the last few years and also thankful to be back in the states.  It's so nice to call family any time of the day and to shop/eat at/see some of the places I was really missing. It's nice to decorate my home and make it feel a little more permanent.  There are lots of things we miss about living overseas and we eventually want to do it again, but right now I'm so thankful we are back and I'm really enjoying life in the States.

Making my dad's bruschetta recipe last night- I miss cooking with my dad!

Supportive, encouraging family

Being in love with my husband Brian

More Ensign Peak

 Here's a few more pictures of our hike up Ensign Peak yesterday

 view from the lookout point

 me and my babe

 up the trail

Brian found a hoof print from some kind of animal

I've been taking classes at a yoga center Downtown called Centered City Yoga and I'm loving it. Some of the most difficult, but best yoga classes I've ever taken.  If you're in the city, check it out!

Looking over the city

We got some much-anticipated and awesome news this week: Brian got the job with the US Postal Service that he was really wanting to get.  We're so thankful and excited for him to start.  Orientation starts this Saturday, so we've been taking advantage of his free time (he was told that he will be working a lot of hours pretty soon) and exploring our city.  This afternoon, we tried a hiking trail directly behind the Salt Lake City Capital called Ensign Peak.

 The SLC mountains have been hazy lately because of the fires in Idaho.  It looks kind of cool, but makes it a little more difficult to tell what direction you are going in the city.  The mountains have been an excellent help to me when I've been lost while driving:  I can easily find out which way I'm going by looking for the highest peaks.  Which is nice, because I've been lost a lot lately ha!

 

 As for my job, I was hired as a CNA at a healthcare center in the city, but can't start until I pass my CNA certification (I'll be taking the test soon).  I'll be working as a CNA while going to school this year.

There's a quick update on us and a pretty view!

In the mailbox

You know what I love so very much?  Getting letters and cards in the mail!  I'm lucky to have some really wonderful friends and it made my day to look in the mailbox and see a card from them.  Anna, Kara, and Aunt Carolyn, thanks so much for the cards this week!!

 My favorite part was the stamp on the back of Kara's letter.  Hafa Adai means hello in Saipan!