Brian's Visit

What a fun time we had with Brian during his visit home for his 30th birthday. Brian flew into OC airport and spent a day with his best friends in the Santa Ana area. They drove him down on Saturday in the early evening in time for his party. A few of his friends were there along with Margey and Tom, our neighbor Christa and her grown daughter Vanessa, and of course Heidi and Jay. I picked up some Mexican food and beer and we just spent time chatting. It was so nice and susper fun.

He had the opportunity to go to the Alpine Brewery and bought a few beers to take back to Chicago~stuff they can't get back there. We also went to dinner at a fun burger place called Slater's 50/50 Burger with the family, Christa, and Joey and his girlfriend, Kristin.

It was a relaxed 5 days and we look forward to having him back at the Christmas holiday time.

He and Patience are trying to work through some tough times and while they are separated, they are still in contact and in counseling. We are all praying that things will work themselves out. Neither one of them is in a hurry to make the split permanent. Five and a half years is a long time to be married, so they are seeing what will happen.

A New Hobby

I have a new hobby that is a complete waste of time, but so relaxing and fun. It is mindless and creative at the same time. It is Pinterest. It is simply creating a virtual bulletin board of things you like. Just like in a classroom where we have multiple boards to display information/work in themed areas, this virtual board allows for the same thing. I just pick things I am interested in and then search either the Internet or other peoples "pins" and "boards" and put their ideas on mine. It is a great way to enjoy your hobbies and interests without spending a dime! Very Dave Ramsey smart. Just make up a name for something you are interested in and start pinning!

I have chosen topics called:
Tips for Safe Travel- I'm on the lookout for ideas as we are traveling a good deal now and I have found some amazing ideas.
Favorite Gems- I love rubies so I am collecting pretty settings for the precious stones I don't own and never will :)
Moon and Sunset- just great pictures of God's amazing earthly heavens
Doors, Fences, and Gates- Well, I am just fascinated with doors and fences.
Health and Home ideas- home fix-ups and tips for staying healthy
Dachshunds- need I say more!
Crafty Cards- Ideas for card making. This supports my real life hobby of making cards :)
Healthy and Not So Healthy Foods- great recipes I have found
Workout Mentality- Well, if you know me, you know I avoid this
Things to Ponder- just quotes and things that make you pause
Just Too Funny -things I find amusing
His Love and Grace- Spiritual quotes and thinking
Love That Purple- all things purple!
Thimble collections- since I really collect these I took pictures of them and put them on the site as well as looked for others.
Beach Life, Just My Style, Great Hats, Crosses, Dog Houses, Holiday Ideas, Places I've Bee, Dream Destinations and Living Spaces round out the boards.

Feel free to check out the site if you are on Pinterest. It can be completely anonymous. There is no risk like with Facebook. But you can see what your friends and other people are interested in. You look for Katie Pedersen (the picture is of a dachshund yawning-it's Danny) under people. Jay has said I won't get into trouble with this hobby...but still says I cannot have Facebook. I obey my children. Surely that is a commandment.

Needless to say, I am having a wonderful time with my virtual hobby and keeping up with friends and relatives!

The Ladies Take on The Rim

 While the men departed for the long-anticipated trip, Heidi's sister-in-law Lorena and son Kade took off on the bus to ride around the park and then eat and nap. Stacey and I were not about to be completely left behind while the "men" hiked so we plotted a route to hike/stroll.

We hopped on a west bound bus and took it almost to the end of the rim trail and then got off. We began walking eastbound along a gravel trail. The views we saw were absolutely breathtaking and so different than what we have always seen at the Bright Angel Trail. While well marked, the trail is less traveled by folks, so it was quiet and peaceful. We munched on apples as we went and after 3 miles we got back on a bus that would take us to Bright Angel. Unfortunately, my hip bursitis is still an issue and made me stop earlier than I had wanted. It was while we were just sitting down for a salad that Jay texted that they were 90 minutes out! We did not expect them for 3-4 more hours. Stacey and I quickly ate and headed for the trail head to greet them. They looked great, but tired. As you would expect the 30 something crowd still had pep in their step while the 50-60 generation were bringing up the rear.

Showers and an early dinner was the mandate from our hikers and then off to bed. I think they were all asleep by 8:30! The next day the youthful set all said they felt like a 10 out of 10 and Dan and Greg were happy to be an 8 out of 10. Stacey and I were just glad we didn't do it!

On Saturday, we had the whole day to explore so we parted ways with the younger crowd and the Kay's and Pedersen's headed east along the rim. What we thought was going to be another short little walk turned into a 3 mile hike. Stacey and I found that between the 3 days we had for walking/hiking we had covered most of the South Rim.

This was a fun trip filled with the glorious views of the Canyon and the wonderful interaction with family and friends.

"DON'T DO IT! Do Not Hike Down and Up in a Day"

At last the time had come when everyone piled in cars and met inside the Grand Canyon National Park for the long anticipated "hike." Jay and Heidi drove their Prius and rubbed in how they were getting 51 MPG! Dan and I drove with a couple from church, Greg and Stacey, and then Heidi's brother, Bernie, and his wife and son, Lorena and Kade (who is almost 3), drove in from the Tuscon area.

Friend Greg in the early morning sun.

We drove from SD all the way to the GC in a day-basically 10 hours. We checked in to the Yavapi Lodge Wednesday evening and settled in for the night. We were up early on Thursday and began exploring the canyon rim by Bright Angel Trail. It was a little warm-up for the hikers. We ate and walked a bit, and stopped at the visitor center to get important hiking information. All the rangers, park personnel, and billboards stressed "Do not attempt to hike down the canyon and back up in a single day." "People die from lack of water and heat exhaustion." This was not going to detour our group!

Dan, Bernie, Heidi, Jay, and Greg end their hike at Bright Angel Trail!

The training regimen that Jay worked up for everyone had them "over prepared." They said the training hikes to San Jacinto and San Gregornio were much more challenging. They started down the Kaibab Trail at 5:30  just before sunrise. They were at the bottom in good time and after crossing the river headed back up the Bright Angel Trail around 10. It takes 2 to 2 1/2 time longer to go up than down. The traversed MANY switchbacks that Stacey and I could see some of from up above. They anticipated a 10 hour hike and they made it in 8 hours 45 minutes! Amazing. Stacey and I were their at the trail head to welcome them back. No injuries, plenty of food and water. They were exhausted after hiking the 17 miles, some of it in 90+ heat. Dan said the last 2 miles was just one foot in front of the other him. But at 3 months shy of 63 he made it! So now he can check off his bucket list, "To hike Mount Whitney" and to hike the Grand Canyon "down and back up in one day." They have already planned their next adventure-The Narrows in Zion National Park. That is only 15 miles in water!!

Orion comes to Visit

Today I was scheduled to watch Danny Boy while the gang went hiking in preparation of the upcoming Grand Canyon Hike. One of the guys who was joining them on the hike was Jay' s  old roommate, Paul. Paul has a new doggie-Orion, an 8 month old Corgi. He is as cute as a bug (a big bug) and fairly well behaved especially for  a pup. He does like to sit on every piece of furniture there is though.

Danny and Orion spent a good 8 hours of the 16 hour day rolling, chewing, humping, licking, and generally slobbering all over each other. It was so disgusting. Danny was slick with slobber. The house reeks of wet dog fur! I am sure they will both sleep well tonight, because they sure didn't take much of a break today.

Heat Wave

Is this heat getting to any of you?!
We San Diegan's who live at the beach don't really know much about humidity and heat. Temperatures are fairly steady. The 88 degrees we have is hot, but the humidity makes it feel like 108. I told Dan it was like being in Thailand again.

It is so hot, I think I will go take a nap...because I can.

The Reunion

It's hard to believe I graduated from high school 40 years ago! The Sonora Raiders had their reunion in Costa Mesa last weekend. I was a little apprehensive about going because I was sure I would remember few if any of the people. I knew of one person who would be there (see picture). I would say I talked with about 8 people that I was friends with or had in classes. Many of the people I vaguely remembered, but we all look so different. Thankfully the reunion committee provided name tags with pictures or we would all be lost! I look like I have the same glasses! LOL

Everyone looked great...of course we all have a few pounds added and either graying, losing, or balding in the case of some of the guys! I saw 2 gals that look EXACTLY like they did at 17. How come they didn't gain a pound or get a gray hair? It was like a time warp.

It was sad to see photos of the dozen or so who had died over the years. I spent a great deal of time with an old pal who now lives in Alabama. She is an amazing woman and I really enjoyed hearing her life's story post high school. It was so interesting to talk with people and see how we had all "grown up."

Two teachers were there that I had and it was good to chat with them. One, my biology teacher, looked amazing for 73! He calls himself a "gentleman rancher" and lives in Colorado. I think all the girls had a crush on him back then, and he continues to look great and have that wonderful, genuine, personality. And to think he remembered me! He showed us the yearbook he brought with him so he could refresh his memory. Glad I wasn't the only one that did that!!

I must say though that those days seem very distant and I don't recall as much detail as I would have liked. I remember silly things, like where we ate at lunch, where our lockers were, and gym class. Most of the class seem to have stayed connected via Facebook (remember, I am not allowed to have that per Jay) so they have continued to build memories. I laughed to my friend and said how while I remembered little, I was sure my sister Beth will remember it all when it comes around to her 40th!

Glad I went, but won't go to a 50th. Dan was a good sport to tag along :) The key word from this entire blog entry: REMEMBER.