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. About a month and a half ago, the plastic on a cheese grater broke and the sharp metal edge went directly into the joint of my thumb. I had to get nine stitches, but luckily the tendon was not injured. My thumb is still somewhat numb and I have not yet and may never regain full motion.
Please spread the word about the danger of this common household item.
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.
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. Pictured above is Goblin Valley. It is really a fascinating place where your imagination can run wild. We had fun there and have heard that little kids really love it here. This picture was taken around sunset when the park becomes especially beautiful. Another highly recommended place for camping and hiking.
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.
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. This was a beautiful hike through a slickrock canyon with a sandy riverbed to walk through and amazing history to study. If you really feel like getting off the beaten path and seeing some history, then this place is really worth your time.
This area, in general, has some really cool stuff to see that even many Utahns are not aware of. Go check it out!
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.Job update: I just started a new job last Monday. I will be working on health programs for a non-profit called the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The IRC was founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein and assists refugees throughout the world including those who are resettling in the United States. I will be working in Salt Lake City specifically with Bhutanese refugees who are Nepali speakers driven from Bhutan starting in the late 1980s. You can check out more at http://www.theirc.org/ and http://www.bhutaneserefugees.com/.
Life is good.
