A Late Night Spelunking Adventure

Friday I got invited to go spelunking with a group of friends.  I enjoy caves (a lot!) and was in need of a stress relieving activity after a long week, so it worked out perfectly!  I knew I was in for a night of fun and adventure, but I didn't know quite what a night it would turn out to be!

We left town around 8:30 at night.  We drove for about half an hour on paved road and half an hour on a dirt road before getting to a hiking trail.  Then we hiked for half an hour and finally reached our destination - Providence Cave.

To get into the cave you use a rope (there for your convenience) to lower yourself into the entry way. 

Once we got in there was lots of squeezing over/under/around rocks and such.  There was quite a bit of army crawling and shimmying involved.  It was pretty humorous!

I have been in caves before, and I have always enjoyed them.  But this was the time when I realized I truly have no claustrophobia in small spaces. I kind of like them, actually!

Eventually the cave opened up as we made our way towards the back. We met some bats, which was not my favorite part of the whole experience.

Once we got to the back of the cave we signed a paper to mark the fact that we had been there, and admired the really cool cave surrounding us. 

We started back and took a wrong turn - which led to an extra half hour of wandering around the cave.  My headlamp died, and Scarlet dropped her flashlight into a crevice.  She rescued her light, and I stayed with someone the rest of the night so that I didn't have to wander through the cave in the pitch black.

It was about 1:30 in the morning when we climbed out of the cave.  A half hour later we arrived back at our cars, and an hour later I got home.  It was three in the morning and I was ready to collapse, but pretty caked in mud so a shower was a must before going to sleep.

 

The mud, bruises (I have LOTS!) and very late night were totally worth it!  I wish every weekend could be so exciting!

Bucket List Item #103

Item number 103 on my bucket list (it's a rather large list) is to sit in a box seat in a theater for a show.  I don't know why, but it has always seemed so exciting and sophisticated to sit in a box seat.  Normal people like me don't do that - we always sit in the orchestra or clear up in the balcony.  Last week there was a performance of Les Miserables at the Eccles theater, done by local students.  All seats were the same price, so Ash and I quickly snatched up a couple of box seat tickets.

We were ridiculously excited about the show.  The music is phenomenal anyway, and we got to sit in really cool seats!  Could life get any better?

Because we were sitting in box seats we acted really sophisticated.  All night long.  HA!

So was it all I thought it would be?  Actually, YES! Normal people like me should definitely sit in box seats!  They are awesome!  I will be sitting in them as often as I can, and you should try it too!

Historic Homes & Lots of Drooling

This is my friend, Katie.  We met years and years ago when we were in college and in the same summer ward.  Not only do we share the same name, but we have lots of things in common and can talk forever!  She is amazing!  Now she is married with kids, but we still get together often for what I refer to as "Katie Dates".  I think everyone should be so lucky as to have a friend with the same name because it is always fun leaving a message that says "Hi Katie, this is Katie ..."

Usually our Katie Dates consist of going out for dessert and talking about everything, but when Katie told me about the Historic Home Tour in town, we decided we had to go.  We both have a love for these kinds of homes and were curious and excited to see inside!

We spent a Saturday afternoon wandering through seven historic and beautiful homes.  It was so much fun!  We talked about how great it would be to live in a historic home, or even more ideally, the year 1900 :)  (Anyone else wonder if they were born in the wrong century?)  If you ever see that there is a Historic Home Tour going on, I would highly recommend going.  It was a glimpse into the past, or a glimpse into the kinds of homes I can only dream of living in!

I tried to hack my foot off with a razor ...

You would think that I was tired.  Or in a hurry.  Or using an old razor.  Or that I was 12 and just learning how to shave. But no, I was not tired, or in a hurry, or using an old razor.  And I have been shaving for about 15 years.  And yet I managed to get the most nasty cut I have ever had from shaving.  It is about four inches long, nice and jagged around the edges, and hurts like crazy!

All I can figure is that there was a small bump or something left over from a mosquito bite.  I must have caught it and tore off everything with it as I went up.  It bled like you wouldn't believe!  It took me four band-aids to get it covered up, and it still bled through them.

 I decided to try the liquid band-aid stuff to see if that would work better.  Holy cow, PAIN!!!! I sounded like I was having a baby while I was waiting for it to dry.  OUCH!!! It did work better than the other band-aides, though the next day it got super infected.  I tried putting gauze on it and wrapping it with an ace bandage.  Did pretty well until the gauze stuck to it, in spite of the copious amount of neosporin that I put on!  Not very pleasant to remove.

So now it is back to four band-aids a day.  I need to come up with some cool story, because this thing is sure to scar!  And "Well, you see, I was shaving" isn't really impressive!

Mrs. Wonka

I take each of my niece's shoe shopping for their birthday each year.  It is a tradition I have grown to love.   They get to pick whatever shoe's they want, and we get some fun time together.  This is one of the conversations I had with Maddie in the car on our way to the shoe store.

Maddie: Hey Katie, do you want to hear about my dream?

Me: Of course!

Maddie: Well, you see, I married Willy Wonka

Me: Oh you did?

Maddie: Yep.  But I wasn't a kid like I am now.  I was old enough that I could get married.

Me: And how old is that?

Maddie: 17

Me: Oh, so you were 17 and marrying Willy Wonka?

Maddie: Yep.  He told me that if I married him I could have all of the candy in the factory for free.  So I was going to marry him.

Me: So you were marrying him because you wanted the candy?  Did you love him?

Maddie:  No.  But I wanted A LOT of candy.  And do you know how much money that would cost?  A LOT.  So I was going to marry him.

Me: You must have REALLY wanted that candy!

Maddie: I did!   But then someone else came and I loved him and decided I didn't want to marry Willy Wonka any more.  And he was really, really mad.

Me: Oh dear!  What did you do? 

Maddie: I ran away!  And I woke up.

Me: Well I'm glad you got away!

Liz, when this girl turns 17 I would keep an eye out!  And keep her away from the candy stores!

(PS - after this conversation with Maddie I changed my list of things that I am looking for in a future husband.  Forget a good guy with motivation in life and a love for the outdoors, now I am looking for a man who owns a chocolate shop!)

I'm a good girl, I am!

My cute friends, Mona and Esther, had and extra ticket and invited me to go to the Utah Opera Festival performance of My Fair Lady with them. I, of course, was thrilled!

We sat on the 9th row in the middle.  Seriously, you can't find better seats!  It was the UOF last performance of the year, and My Fair Lady was their biggest success to date, selling out every single show.   It was easy to tell why.  I was enthralled from the moment it started until the end.  You couldn't get a better show on Broadway.  It was phenomenal.

Esther and I got a picture with Freddy.  He is pretty much crouching here so as to not tower over us :) Yay for short girls!

After the show we decided that such an amazing night needed to end with pie.  So we ran over to Village Inn for a midnight treat of pie and onion rings.  As you can tell, we took the healthy road ;-)

I am still in love with their Lemon Supreme pie.  If you have never had it and you like lemon things, you should run their now!  It is like a Lemon Meringue pie and a cheesecake had a baby.   Love that stuff!

A fantastic play, a fabulous treat, and all with two fun friends - what a perfect Saturday!

A Farewell to Summer

We used the last week of summer to run away from life and play at Bear Lake.  The weather was lovely, the water was warm, it was an ideal day! 

My dad rented a couple of paddle boards.  He had read about them in the newspaper and was super curious.  He wanted to see if we would like them and use them. 

 

And like them we did!  The girls played on them for hours! 

 

Little miss Aubrey couldn't get enough!  She is a water baby to the core! 

 Vi, on the other hand, not so much!

I was still recovering, so I spent the day in a chair on the beach.  I did get some good cuddle time with Violet! 

 

 

We celebrated Madison's fifth birthday while we were there and enjoyed one last day in the sun.  It was the perfect way to end the summer!

The Wicked Miracle

Do you remember how I came home from Guatemala just in time to go to Wicked with my family and then ended up in the hospital the day I was suppose to be at the theater?  The rest of my family headed to SLC to enjoy the show while I was wheeled down for a CT scan.   It was so disappointing!  Since the shows had been sold out for months  I didn't think there was a chance I would get to go.  Then, the night before the last show, I was offered a ticket.  I didn't think twice and took it!

Not only did I get a ticket to Wicked, but I got a seat right next to Ashley and her family!  Does it get any better?  Ashley's family is kind of like my second family, so getting to spend the afternoon with them mixed with one of the greatest musicals makes for one of the best Saturday's ever!!!

The play was phenomenal, the cast was amazing.  Glinda was absolutely perfect and had me giggling the whole time!  It gave me goosebumps and almost had me in tears.  It is a play I could see again and again.  The storyline is compelling and the music fits perfectly.  I didn't think seeing Wicked this summer would be a possibility, but it happened! Hooray for miracles!

Once Upon A Time ...

There was a crazy red head who blogged every day for the first 18 days of July (life was super exciting, so there was lots to blog about!) Then one day she got sick.  Really, really sick.  There was nothing to blog about as she slept and did little else.  It was during this time that she realized something - her next post would be her 500th Post!  Exciting, right?  She desperately wanted to do something epic for this monumental post, but couldn't figure out quite what.  So she did nothing (not the path I would generally suggest when you don't know what to do).   And then time passed.  And things happened.  And she wanted to blog about them, but she didn't want to steal the super cool 500th post position with something only mediocre.  The posts she needed to do backed up as school started and life got crazy and the great idea for a 500th post still eluded her.  Then one day she sat down and decided she wasn't allowed to leave until she had posted her 500th post, epic or not (more likely not :)

As I have pondered my 500th post I have thought about why I blog.  Some people say it was a fad that has now been overshadowed by pintrest.  I love me some pintrest, but I also enjoy blogging.  I realize I don't have a sensational blog that is followed by thousands or hundreds of people, but that is okay with me.  For me blogging has been a way of following my life.  It has also helped me to pay more attention to the things going on around me.  It helps me to notice the unusual things that happen, and laugh at things that otherwise might make me cry.  It is my record of the happenings.  My mix of a journal and a scrapbook.  It keeps me in touch with friends and family who live far away, and it allows me to write (something I LOVE to do, and should do more of).  So while it may be a passing fad, for now I will continue onward, because for me it works.  I enjoy it, and I enjoy reading others blogs.  

When I started this blog I was 22 with no idea what my future would hold.  I had just returned home from my mission and was a bit out of sorts.  I was going to college and working as a switchboard operator.  In the almost five years since then I have done my student teaching, graduated from college, gone to Spain, got my first teaching job, survived the first year (and second, and third), bought a house, and traveled to Guatemala and around Central America.  I've learned a lot.  I've grown.  I have had amazing experiences, and excruciating heartbreak.  I am now 27, and still have no idea what my future will hold. But that's okay. 

I decided that for my 500th post I would pick my top 10 favorite posts I have done.  Turns out it is kind of hard.   I went through all of them and had a great time laughing and reminiscing (see, blogs are fun!) I realized a few things.  1) - I have far more embarrassing moments than I should.  And they are funny 2)- The year 2010 was really slow and uneventful in my life 3)- I like to start my posts with titles that end in ...  go figure.  I narrowed it down to 15.  Then to 12.  And then I gave up.  So here it is:

My Top 10 12 Favorite Blogs Posts from Kate's Corner

Mission Weird  - aka, first post ever.  

The Adventures of Paula and Katie - Makes me smile every time

How did THAT happen? - HA!

First a Spanish kiss . . . then this!  -My very own Spanish love ;-)

Just Horsing Around in Oregon - Horseback riding on the beach will forever be one of my favorite things ever

Dear First Grade - A reminder of why I love it

Because I don't embarrass myself enough ... - Of all my embarrassing moments, this is a classic

That Time I Went on a Polygamist Date - So weird ...

The Great Skydiving Adventure (in pictures) - A dream come true!

Mud Madness - So much fun!

Family Pictures - 2012 - We have taken family pictures three times, and I have posted about them all, but these are my favorite

A Birthday in Tikal - What a birthday it was!

Happy 500th Post!