What do I value?

Trying to come up with a title for this post was a little difficult.  I've had several thought swirling through my head recently.  But one of the thoughts has been centered around what I spend my money on.  I do not have many physical possessions, although more than many people in the world.  Instead I have spent most of my money on experiences, most of those being travel. :)  The other day I listened to a radio discussion on whether people value things or experiences more in the long run.  The conclusion was that most people find more satisfaction in experiences rather than things.  I know that has been the case for me.  I love trying and seeing new things.  So about six weeks ago I combined the two and closed on a house.  It has been both an experience and well, a rather large physical possession.  After having spent my money on mostly experiences, this is a new adventure for me.  I have faced some fun problems already, but it is a great learning experience.  Even if, part of that experience has been having enough crickets to compete with the Mormon cricket plague of 1848.  My house is slowly coming together, and when it is done I'll post some pictures of the inside.  For now here is me and my house...

SOME OTHER EXPERIENCES FROM THE PAST FEW MONTHS.  :)

Michelle came to visit.

Fun on the strip and way too many selfies.  

We went to see Zarkana on the strip on Halloween.
The strip is pretty sketchy anyway, but on Halloween it provided some interesting people watching.

First time to the St. George temple.
Humbled by the history.

Quick weekend trip to Arizaon to hike Humphrey's Peak.
The highest point in AZ. 

A brief encounter with Fall.

The RiSE Festival

Friends to add to the experience in the middle of the desert. :)

I was a little giddy to say the least.

SOO many lanterns, IT WAS SPECTACULAR!

Just a Friday night.

This girl can eat more sugar than anybody I know.

 

Favorite view of campus at BYU.  

Chance to see old friends.

I hated the reason for being together.  Saying goodbye to Karmen was difficult but grateful I got to reminisce with these wonderful people.  Maybe we shouldn't be smiling this much at a memorial... on second thought it was much better that way.

This was a gorgeous run!  Boulder City to Lake Mead.

Sometimes when you're the shortest....

When you get together with four of your favorite college roommates, why not do Zumba.

There have been many trips to Disneyland this year, but this was great because I bribed Elise with popcorn to go on Space Mountain with me.  She LOVED it. (The ride and the popcorn.) 

Said goodbye to summer in California.

First hike in Nevada... Mary Jane Falls it was a bit of a disappointment.
 I'll have to return in the spring when hopefully there is more water. :)

My America

Under this tree Washington took control of the American Army. How cool is that? :)

While clearly I love a good adventure abroad, this year I've kept things a little closer to home.  I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring new cities and new landscapes in the good old USA.  I am fascinated by the people that I come across in all of my adventures.
Caution: There may be a little bit of a photo overload. :)

MAY
The beginning of May took me to the foundations of our country, and the cradle of the revolution.  My friend BH was graduating from Harvard with his masters, and thus it was just as good of a reason as any to make a trip east.  I LOVED Boston!  Whether we were wandering the Freedom Trail or taking in a game at Fenway, it was a great time.  There is always some inevitable gratitude the ensues when I'm able to visit places that I have read about or heard about growing up.  Standing where they first read the d\Declaration of Independence, or where the Boston massacre took place, put me in awe as to all of the factors that led up to the revolution and eventually the United States in general. In addition,  there were still some spring blossoms which I absolutely loved.  Oh how I've missed seasons.  There's something refreshing about change.  BH was a great tour guide, and I'm grateful for his amazing hospitality.

A Sunday drive along the coast to Maine.
Determined to get a lighthouse picture in Maine.

Sunday drive to Maine.

Harvard's Freshmen Dining Hall...
somehow the Morris center doesn't seem up to par.

Inside the freshmen dining hall.
BH convinced a little freshman to sneek us in,
don't tell anybody especially
since you're not suppose to take pictures. :)

What child wants to ride a skunk?

BLOSSOMS!

MORE BLOSSOMS! I was pretty happy about it. :)

Fenway!

Union Oyster House

Enjoying clam chowder at the oyster bar that has been there for over 200 years.

Loved these historic cemeteries in the middle of the city.

Also in the month of May I popped down to visit my mom for Mother's Day.  I made these rolls, which if I do say so myself were AMAZING!  I was quite proud of them.

JUNE

The beginning of summer brought its own set of adventures.

Exploring the Lava Tubes outside Flagstaff.

Last minute trip to Mexico, yes please! 

Yay for teachers getting in free to the Musical Instrument Museum. in Scottsdale.
 It was FANTASTIC! Experience music from around the world.

SAN FRANCISCO!

For quite a while I have had the intentions of making it to San Francisco.  Several people had given me a hard time that I had been to Antarctica but I had yet to visit such a major US city. So I jumped at the chance to go with my good friends Bethany and Jackie.  I think we had the perfect trip.  So many little things seemed to just fall into place.  

Muir Woods. So maybe I was a tree hugger for a day.

What an American Icon! 

What girl doesn't love a little bit of chocolate?

BIG anybody? :)

JULY

During one of Argentina's World Cup games, my friend David made Milanesa. MMMM. Hard to go wrong with thin strips of steak breaded and fried. MMM MMM MMM.

Timothy's home from PANAMA!!!

One of my last DBacks games I decided to treat myself to a lemonade from THAT guy in the background.  He's great, always cheered me up hearing him.  "LEMONADE, LEMONADE, LIKE YOUR GRANDMA MADE!"

Quick trip up to Snowflake, I didn't realize we were hiking the pinnacle.
My not so skinny jeans were exactly helping me out.

Loved finding the petroglyphs in the canyon, but it always makes me miss grandpa and his expertise.

Not too far outside Mesa is Four Peaks.  In six years I hadn't been out there. So for a sunset hike he headed out on a Friday afternoon, and it was spectacular.

Glacier National Park - Just over 30 total miles of hiking and it's hard to say anything other than God is the master landscaper.   Absolutely Gorgeous!

Oh, and we stayed in a Tepee.  I was pretty stoke about that. 

August

And by the way now I live here...