A trip to Utah meant another check up with Pierscen's doctor as we were just shy of 2 years post surgery. My mom was able to attend this time. The doctor was impressed with his progress and said everything looks grand.
Pierscen found these fishes fascinating when he was 5 months and not much as changed. Primaries knows what they are doing. :) He also loved the train and fair scene. We had a hard time getting him to leave, even though we were heading to the zoo afterward.
That being said, once we finally did leave - he LOVED the zoo! And Issy is the best little friend and zoo buddy.
I thought the eagle exhibit was really neat. They have two bald eagles that have lost part of their wings so they will never be released. But while we were there we got to watch them eat, which was really cool.
They've added some cool attractions since I was last there. They have a mini Sea World now. We got to watch some seals do some fun tricks. It was awesome!
They also have a cool bear display. The bears were really fun to watch. The one just wanted to enjoy lounging on the log, but the other kept sneaking up on him to try and get him (or her?) to play.
Grandma was very nice and bought tickets for Pierscen and Issy to ride the merry-go-round. This was the first time P has ever been on one and he LOVED it! He was heartbroken when we had to get off.
The last thing we went to see were the monkeys. Pierscen thought the gorillas were pretty awesome. Especially this big guy that just sat there posing for everyone.
The picture with Grandma isn't the best. He was pretty tired at the end, but they had an awesome time.
My mom and I went to see Sabrina's cosmetology era fashion show. She was assigned the 20's and used our niece, Samantha as her model. She did an incredible job! She should have won the award for that era - and I'm not just saying that because she's my sister.
Didn't she do a great job?! Very cool. And Samantha looked so pretty and grown up. My mom made the dress for her too. Talented family.
One of the great things about going home is being able to visit the temple with much more ease. It really is hard having the nearest temple four hours away. So glad I could go. There really is no better place!
The weekend before Pierscen and I headed home, the family took a trip to St. George for a mini family reunion. The first evening we stopped by Necia's in-law's condo and took a swim. Then we headed to the hotel. I was really nervous about sharing a room with other people when Pierscen, traditionally, do NOT like his pack 'n' play. However, it was 11 pm or later, and I knew he was exhausted. While my parents were out of the room, I tried putting him down and walking out the room, knowing that chances were he would cry like crazy. Sad as it was, I hoped that he would wear himself out and just allow me to hold me while he passed out. Instead of crying, he just talked to me through the door. So I went back in, picked him up and started singing. After a while, I put him down, though he wasn't asleep. I laid on the bed next to him and kept singing. Within a few moments, he was out. It was awesome!!! My mom laughed the next day and said the only one that snored that night was Pierscen - and it was true. :)
The next day we all met up at Zions National Park. All the grandkids were there except James'. Pictured below are Zane, Isabel, Dad, Deidrik, Pierscen, Charlotte, Hazel, Paxton and Samantha. Pretty awesome, right?
Fred, Kara, Will, Joey and I wanted to hike Angel's Landing. This is a tough hike, but well worth it. However, it is NOT kid friendly. There are several sections that have drop off on both sides that require you to hold on to a chain to climb up. There is no putting it lightly. One slip here, and you are dead.
Anyway... we ventured off together. I felt like I had never spent a day exercising in my life. Why was that so stinking hard? Thankfully Fred was super patient and waited behind while I turtle paced my way up. At one point when we had reached the chain section, we were waiting off to the side while a group was coming down. I was standing on my own, a ways away from the chain, but not on the edge of the cliff. Fred as standing behind me. As I was standing there, the thought crossed my mind how potentially scary this was - standing without any support knowing the cliff was just a short way behind me. I wasn't actually nervous as I wasn't very close to the people coming down. However, the idea of being knocked to my death was still pretty scary, so I knelt down and grabbed onto a tree root above my head with my left hand and braced myself against the rocks with my right.
At this point, the group coming down bottle necked with people trying to get up. One guy, who was standing a few feet from me began griping rather loudly. "You know, if you guys would all just wait for us to come down, we wouldn't have this problem!"
Fred kind of laughed and turned to me, replying, "You know, hiking etiquette says that the people coming down are supposed to wait for the people coming up. I don't know why, but this hike has always functioned backwards in this sense. Every time I have hiked it, the people coming down have gotten the right of way."
I have only hiked it once before, but it's true. 9/10 the group coming down DOES get the right of way. In some instances I think it's just because the people coming down already had a head start. There is no room to use both sides of the chain, so to avoid death, the group going up has to wait. It's really no big deal, but apparently this guy was rather irritated about it.
We are not sure if the guy heard Fred's response as it was directed "to me" but was loud enough I'm sure he could have heard it if he was paying any attention at all. Regardless, the guy turned away from us quickly. His backpack hit Fred square in the chest and and he began flailing backward. He was MUCH closer to the edge than I was and he felt himself begin to fall. I was unaware of this until I felt him had grab me from behind. Instinctually I reached out with my right hand (the hand that was resting on the ground, my left was holding onto the tree root) and grabbed his arm, helping to right him. Fred's eyes were wide and he was at a loss for words for a moment. (To be fair, we are pretty positive the guy had no idea that he had hit Fred as he just continued on.) When Fred recovered, he burst out laughing.
"I almost just died! I seriously almost just died!"
Of course, there was nothing funny about it, but adrenaline can do some crazy things to you.
We took a moment to compose ourselves before finally continuing our ascent. I thought about how only moments before, I had stood without holding onto anything. On my own, I probably would have been okay. But when Fred started to fall, if he had grabbed me, we both would have gone over the edge. It was that thought - that moment when I decided that even though there was no logical reason for me to kneel down - that I would do it anyway. I didn't hear a voice prompting to me kneel down, nor did I have an overwhelming sense of danger. In fact, even as I was kneeling there holding onto the tree, I thought it was probably kind of silly. I was/am beyond humbled as I realized that I was prompted by the Holy Ghost to act and because I listened, it not only saved Fred's life, but likely my own as well.
The implication to life struck me head on as we continued our hike. If we are not grounded in our lives, if we are not strong in the gospel and our testimony, when others need us, not only will we not be able to help, but we may fall as well.
I am so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. It blesses my life each and every day. Not every experience is as life altering as this one, but I know that the Spirit is real. He is there to lead, guide, comfort, warn, and testify. It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that Fred and I both could have lost our lives on that hike, but I know that our lives were spared. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for his Son, Jesus Christ. I know we are sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven and that he knows exactly who we are and what we can become with his help. Each day is another chance to become more like Christ - to reach out and serve by following the Savior's example. He is our older brother. He knows and loves us. I am so thankful for this knowledge!
We did make it to the top of Angel's Landing (appropriately named, don't you think?) and enjoyed some snacks and the view.
The hike back down was uneventful - thankfully. When we reached the bottom of the canyon, we couldn't reach another in the other party by cell phone. Unfortunately we didn't set a real solid meeting time, so we just headed back to the meeting place and hung out for quite a while before the rest of the gang finally showed up. Pierscen was out cold! He and the other kids had a totally blast. I am grateful that there were several adults there helping out, because as dad said, "Pierscen just ran and ran and ran and ran."
Following the park, we climbed in the car and hit the road after visiting the house my aunt is building. (It was such a long day!) The turn around time for that trip was pretty brutal, but it was worth it.
The next morning, we packed up and said our goodbyes. Dad drove Pierscen and I about half way home. Ryan picked a random park to meet up at so we could eat lunch and transfer luggage. I really treasure time with my dad like that. I talked to him a lot about his ancestors (it wasn't too many generations back that his side came from Denmark - my great grandpa), his growing up, and his early relationship with my mom. It was pretty dang cute hearing about how they met and his first impressions of her. It was a really enjoyable drive considering I-80 is notoriously boring. ;) I am very thankful he was willing to drive us out there. I know that makes for a really long drive for him too! Four hours one way to flip around and come right back. Yuck.
Pierscen was super excited to see Ryan. They played for quite a while on the playground and then we loaded up and headed home. We decided to take a different route home which on a map looks WAY out of the way, but everyone that has taken it says it's really no different.
The landscape was a little better in areas, but the fun thing about it was that we were able to stop briefly at the Willie Center/Sixth Crossing Memorial. We stopped on a Sunday when pretty much everything was locked up, but it would be fun to go back. We live so close to so many amazing historic sites for the church. This one was in commemoration of the sixth crossing of the Sweetwater River which was where several young men helped nearly the entire handcart company cross the water after they fell to their hands and knees saying they could not do it again. I love the quote about those young men that says something to the extend that that act alone was enough to guarantee them a place in heaven.
The trip was a success. The only thing that would have made it better was if Ryan could have come, but it was still great. We were able to see a lot of family and friends and the writing conference was fantastic! I will definitely be going again.
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