The Big One

He's the one.

The love of my life, my best friend.

He's the guy I love to date, the one who loves to stay up late and watch movies.

He's a music guru, a concert lover, a weekly temple-goer, an athlete, and the head honcho at his company. He's an amazing dad who tries so hard to fill the gap when I'm away. He's my confidant. My forever.

And this weekend, he's my hiking partner too. In two hours, we'll be on our way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Tomorrow is the big one - the day we've been looking forward to for one year. We're doing the Rim 2 Rim tomorrow: 24 miles, north to south, in one day. We've been running all year, doing stadiums at Mountain View, going on long hikes. We have our day packs loaded, our camelbacks ready to fill, our extra socks and duct tape in case the dreaded blisters emerge.

I hope we're ready. Neither one of us has ever hiked the big one before, and this will be a record distance for me. I'm pretty excited. Maybe a smidge nervous, too, just because it's a new experience. But mostly just excited. My Uncle Dale, whose birthday is today and who orchestrated this whole hike, is a veteran GC hiker. He's been doing the Rim 2 Rim for his birthday for the past several years. He's going, along with me, Ryan, my cousins Matt, Luke and Karrie, our neighbor & friend, Billy Rowley, his sister and brother in law, and two friends of Dale's, Steve & Katie. Ten of us riding up together, 9 hikers, one driver.

I can't wait.

So here's to little e-toast to us: may we be ever so safe, may our ipod mixes be awesome, may our feet be blister-free, may our trail mix and beef jerky taste extra delicious, and may this weekend be one to always remember!