As you may have noticed, it has been several months since we posted on here. That does not mean that we have not had anything going on. 2009 was, in fact, a very eventful year and here are our top ten highlights in basically chronological order:
10 - For spring break we traveled to balmy Nauvoo, Illinois in February to visit the historical Mormon Church sites. We stayed in a friend's summer home only three blocks from the Nauvoo temple and were well received by the senior missionaries who were happy to see anyone in the off season.
9 - Ryan graduated with a master of public health degree from the University of Michigan and Candice received a Child Development Associate certificate from Washtenaw Community College.
8 - Ryan's parents came out for his graduation and also went with us on a very fun trip to northern Michigan in early May. We visited Mackinac Island, the Upper Penninsula, Traverse City, and Sleeping Bear Dunes. Although spring hadn't fully arrived, the crystal blue water of the Great Lakes and the forested hills and massive sand dunes were beautiful.
7 - In May, we had a trip of a lifetime to visit Brazil and the cities where we served as missionaries for the LDS Church. We made new friends while we waited for our flight that was delayed an entire day. We visited Copacabana Beach and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro; Candice's mission cities of Campo Grande, Presidente Prudente, Maringa, and Sarandi; we visited one of Ryan's companions and his mission president in beautiful Curitiba; we also went to two beaches and visited several cities (Florianopolis, Imbituba, Tubarao, and Joinville) in Ryan's mission; and finally we visited Iguacu Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world and a place of indescribable beauty.
6 - At the end of May we were also grateful to be able to make it out to Mike and Jenny's wedding in the Salt Lake temple. It was a short, but sweet visit to see them.
5 - In July, we decided that 80 degree flawless days in Ann Arbor were getting boring, so we flew out to California and then drove with Candice's family to Lake Havasu, Arizona. We had a fun time being with the family, jet skiing, seeing the London Bridge, and basking in the 115 degree heat.
4 - In August, Ryan's Mom returned to Michigan for a trip with his sister, Melanie. The four of us drove to Indiana and then took a train to Chicago. We had an awesome time visiting the museums, taking boat tours of the city, and eating very good food. We recommend Chicago to everyone (at least in August).
3 - In September, we packed up our belongings and drove back out west to the booming metropolis of Grantsville, Utah. The arid, conservative small town was a huge contrast from Ann Arbor. To us they each have their own charm. We spent several months living with two of the kindest and most energetic people we know: Candice's grandparents, Ed and Elaine Burrola.
Sadly for us, in December we had to finally part ways and move ourselves into Salt Lake City. We are currently staying at Mike's newly renovated condo on the corner of 700 East and 3900 South. Stop by any time you'd like.
2 - We have had a lot of fun being closer to our families and friends here. We have had dinners, we have gone snowshoeing, we went to California for Thanksgiving where I played golf for the first time in almost ten years, we spent Christmas with the Isaksons, and we rang in the new year with the Robinsons.
1 - Fortunately we are both working now. Candice has been working at Dancing Moose Montessori School since September and Ryan has been working as a risk management consultant with the United States Wellness Chamber of Commerce since late December.
2009 was a great year full of traveling, graduating, and finally being closer to family. We are very blessed and we have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to during this new year.
Happy New Year to you all and please keep in touch.
Just last week we went on an Isakson family trip to the Escalante/Highway 12 area, one of the most scenic places in Utah. This first picture is the early morning view off of Boulder Mountain looking down into the Escalante Canyons. Todd and I camped out the night before to get an early start on hiking and we saw dozens of deer, a few elk, and a number of cows grazing along and sometimes on the highway.
Todd and I did a really cool hike in Capitol Reef National Park called Upper Muley Twist Canyon. The hike was about 15 miles long and very beautiful. We saw about eight arches along the way including this one, apparently called the Trinity because it is a triple arch (the third one is a tiny hole on the middle right side).
This arch, called Saddle Arch, is probably the most famous and most striking on the hike. It hangs off the slick rock at a strange angle and is quite beautiful.
This is my favorite picture from this hike. These mounds stick out at a 45 degree angle and make for a fascinating formation. I have never seen anything quite like this.
Here's a picture of me on the hike. It was a fairly hot day, but the biggest challenge was the endless swarms of gnats. I ended up with probably twenty bites and couldn't even sit down to eat my lunch without being covered with gnats. 
This is the first arch you see on the way in and the last one you see on the way out. I don't know the name, but it is very unique looking. 
One bonus of this hike is the beautiful drive to get to it. We took the Burr Trail Road from Boulder for about 18 miles to reach the trailhead. This was a particularly beautiful spot with a steep dropoff a few feet in front.
After we met up with everyone that evening at our awesome and spacious cabin Escalante, a number of us headed to Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. Unfortunately the reservoir had been drained, but the hike to see the petrified trees was worth it. Previously I had only seen small pieces of petrified wood, but to see an entire petrified tree is quite different. The variety of colors and the pretty sunset made this a nice time. 
Here is an adorable picture of our niece Sara that was taken by Candice. Isn't that hair just awesome?
On Sunday we headed down Hole in the Rock Road near Escalante. This is the famous old Mormon trail that leads to the Hole in the Rock that was widened by Mormon settlers to allow their wagons to pass through and descend a steep cliff to the Colorado River on their way to the San Juan River. The story of these settlers is the theme of the novel, "The Undaunted," by Gerald Lund. Because of poor road conditions and other factors we only made it part way down on this trip.
After some of the ladies headed back, the rest of us continued down the road until we reached the Dry Fork trailhead. We descended down in the canyons and after some wandering eventually found Peek-a-boo canyon. This is an awesome slot canyon with several arches and a narrow twisting path. I think it about killed my dad to get up into it, but it was very worth it.
On Monday, I planned what was supposed to be an "easy" hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls. It didn't end up being quite so easy with a newborn, a sick person, and a middle aged woman who was not properly dressed for the occasion. The hike is 5.5 miles round trip and ends at the beautiful waterfall shown here. Candice was a trooper to make it to the end and we were saved by dipping our shirts into the frigid water on the way out. 
It's pretty incredible to find a beautiful waterfall and marshy area in the middle of the desert like this. The water was below 50 degrees and was very refreshing after the warm hike in. This was a fun hike with some cool things to see along the way such as Indian rock art and granaries. Give it a try if you're in the area. 
The drive between Boulder and Escalante has to be the most incredible stretch of road I've ever driven on. The canyons on both sides are beautiful and I took a few pictures to try and capture that.
We ended our trip with a great short hike on the Mossy Cave Trail on Highway 12 just outside of Tropic. The hike lies just on the other side of Bryce Canyon and has the same type of formations and a stream with a waterfall all for free. This was a relaxing hike with beautiful scenery and easy access to water to stay cool. Another worthwhile hike if you don't want to pay $25 to get into Bryce Canyon (which I personally think is still definitely worth the money). 
Congratulations to us! We are finally an aunt and uncle. Also, congratulations to Mike and Jenny for getting it done! Our first niece, Sara, is now about 3 1/2 weeks old and she is as cute as a button. It is awesome to see such a small, innocent, and pure little thing. She warms our heart and we're glad that we live a few minutes away from her, so that we can visit often.
I am putting this out as a public service announcement: Cheese graters pose a hidden and potentially deadly threat to anyone who might handle one in an unwise or risky manner. 
Back on the second week of April, we had an awesome three day trip to the Goblin Valley area of south central Utah with Melanie and her boyfriend, Aaron. We hiked and camped in the San Rafael Swell, including its most popular hike Little Wildhorse Canyon (shown above). This is a really fun hike through a narrow canyon that was filled with a few ice-cold puddles that we were required to climb over. I highly recommend this hike to anyone who might be in the area.
We had intended to camp at Goblin Valley State Park, but unfortunately the whole campsite was full. We settled for a spot out in the middle of nowhere with no water and no bathroom. I was proud of Candice for her hardiness and good attitude about doing things the way nature intended. 
We also did another lesser known hike into Horseshoe Canyon in a separated section of Canyonlands National Park. It takes an hour on dirt roads and then a 7 mile roundtrip hike to see some very impressive Indian pictographs. Pictographs are different from petroglyphs in that they are painted onto the rock while petroglyphs are carved into the rock. This is considered one of the most significant archaic rock art sites in North America with art from as far back as 2000 BC. The figures are life-sized and quite strange-looking and some believe them to be Native American depictions of aliens who came into the area to refuel on uranium when their spacecraft ran low. 
Back in April, we were happy to have Dave and Curtis spend a few days with us to attend LDS General Conference. We were able to attend several of the sessions and also got to give these Californians a taste of the snow with a snowshoeing trip in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We also had fun receiving Pam and friends for a few Days for BYU Women's Conference at the end of April.
