Continued...from the River to the Top!

And here we are, back at the Colorado River, this time crossing the Bright Angel bridge.  All the rest of the hike (the ascent up) is familiar, as this is the way we come back up on our Rim to Rim hikes each year.  But everything was new to Barrett since this was her first experience traversing the Canyon.  At this point, we were all still smiling and doing great.  

Just on the other side of the bridge is the infamous marker that has been the subject of a picture on each adventure thus far.

Shortly after crossing the river on the way up Bright Angel, we enter The Box.  Short for The Sandbox I believe, which is very appropriately named.  Lots of fun digging your way out of this part, especially since it's now late morning/mid day and the temperature is rising.  Still, it's a sign that the second half has truly begun.

Man, did I already say I love the river?  Someday I want to go on a weeklong river tour in one of these babies.  It looks so fun and reminds me of a couple super fun river rafting trips from years gone by.  I looked up the tours online and they are just a mere $2500/person.  Chump change, right?  Aaahhh, maybe someday.

Ok, so it's getting hot, and we take every opportunity we can to dip our heads in the creek and cool off. Sure, we smelled a little (or maybe a whole lot) like river water after that, but I'm sure the other aroma of sweat and dirt overpowered that stench.  It was so freezing cold and refreshing, though.  We loved it!

Perhaps her expression is telling of the fatigue?  But let's cut her a little slack...it's hot and hard at this point, and she's starting to question my promise of shade.  Oh ya, it's May not September and there will be no shade at all the rest of the way.  Sorry...

Another head dunking break on the quest for Indian Gardens.

Oh my goodness!  We are almost there!  Ryan took off about a half mile ago to get in some running on the flats, and I stayed back with B.  He said he'd meet up with us at Indian.

Breaking at Indian Garden in the shad, right next to the water spout.  It feels so good to sit for a bit and fuel up on some snacks.  Only 4.5 miles to go!  All uphill!  So close, but yet so far...

Just keep hiking, just keep hiking...

Barrett gave up the poles close to mile 14 or 15 and all of sudden she was a new woman.  She decided it was too awkward trying to coordinate that extra movement and the effort she saved from not using her arms (which are her least strong muscles) saved her.  She seriously rocked it coming out!

 Quick break to catch our breath and rest for a few.

 I think this was between the 3 and 1.5 mile water stations, but I am not certain.  Picture taking on the way up diminishes significantly...

We are soooooo almost there!  Only about another mile I think.

The light at the end of the tunnel (literally).  Now, we are really, really close!

High fives at the top.  Time for ice cream!

Yay!  We did it.  We took our time, took lots of breaks and tons of pictures, and so much enjoyed this great experience with Barrett.  What a cool memory for all of us.

Just the training that we did together getting ready for the hike was a special experience for me.  Barrett and I had a lot of of one on one time as we got up before the crack of dawn and hiked Pass Mountain, or took late night runs/hikes around Mesa.  She is an amazing young lady and I am proud to be her mama.

When we got home, B asked, "Mom, when we do the Rim to Rim in September, can I get a shirt?"  Sweet.  She's still in :)

And here are our Garmins for the official blog record.  Ry's watch says 18.65 miles, and mine says 18.62.  Officially, the journey from South Kaibab to the river to Phantom and then back to the river and up Bright Angel is only 17.5.

Kickoff to Summer

The Update:

Softball:

Barrett's team ending up winning the Juniors Division championship in a double header against Red Mountain.  The first game was tight (6-5) but then they schooled RM 11-5 in game 2.  It was a great night at the ball park, but then again, it's always good when you win :)  Barrett played well that night, and really had a great season overall.   She went 3/4 with a walk, 3 RBI's and stole home in the last inning of the first game to tie it up.

Grandma Rita:

My Grandma Rita peacefully passed away in her sleep on Friday, May 18th, 2012 after living a long, rich 94-year life.  Almost 95.  I think she just didn't want to face another Arizona summer to get her to August 16th.  And I'm sure she was hankering to get back to Harry.  They were pretty darn good together.  72 years married before he passed away last July.  And what a legacy they left: 4 children, 21 grandchildren, 57 great grandchildren, and 3 great-great granchildren.  That's pretty fantastic by all accounts. 

I am so blessed to have grown up with her (and all my grandparents) so close all my life.  I've always known them, always loved them, always had them involved in my life and the lives of my children.  We will miss her very much, but are so thankful to know that she's reunited with Grandpa Harry again after almost 10 months apart.  I can only imagine what a joyous reunion it was for them.

The week following Grandma's passing was a busy one.  I was grateful for the opportunity to prepare Grandma's funeral program and go through so many photo albums and scrapbooks scanning old pictures.  I love that my Grandma was an amazing historian and wrote detailed information on the back of just about every photo.  She always loved geneology and family history and temple work.  I think I get my inner "historian" from her.  The week culminated with a wonderful funeral service on Friday, May 25th at our ward building, and Bishop Uncle Jim conducted the service.  My two cousins, Jodi & Karrie, spoke and both were so funny.  Really, it was just perfect.  I loved hearing their thoughts and stories.  I told Jodi she stole the show and I meant it. My dad gave a good life history, and Aunt Katrina, Uncle Dale and Uncle Jim all shared some good thoughts too.  I sang with my cousins Loralee & Sierra Willis, SIL Shari & niece Randi, and Barrett, "I Need Thee Every Hour."  Melanie accompanied us on the piano.  Everything was beautiful.  The burial at the cemetery was pleasant and breezy, and the luncheon by the RS was also so nice.  I think that when someone has lived such a long, rich life, that gathering together with family to celebrate that life is truly a blessed occassion.  I loved seeing all my cousins again and catching up with them.  I have pics I need to post.

School Finale:

Yes, school has officially ended and we've made it through the first week of summer break.  Afton ended her year receiving the Citizenship Award at her awards ceremony, finishing with straight A's again, playing an awesome season of softball, dressing up as Martha Washington for her 5th grade wax museum, progressing nicely on the piano, and being one of four students in her school to be invited to take junior high math next year.  Yes, she's got the math gift.  She'll be going over to Stapley for 6th hour every day during her last year at Hale.  I'm not super sure I would have chosen to do that, but I think she's looking forward to the challenge.  And it will be good for her to get ahead and get 2 years of high school math under her belt before she actually gets to high school since I know she'll be taking 4 full credits of sports at MV and will need the extra room in her schedule.  Our Afty still cracks me up all the time.  She is so dang funny.  Even when I try not to laugh because I think she's gone over the top and is teetering on plain goofy, I just can't help myself.  She just makes me smile with all her impersonations and funny wit.  She spends lots of free time hanging with her best friend in the world, Sydney, and we love her so much.

Rowan also finished the year with straight A's, having one of the leading roles in her school's 2nd grade play (she was the spider in "Goin' Buggy), kicking some booty on the softball field, and being our social butterfly.  She's constantly playing with a friend.

Buddy Boy graduated from kindergarten and received the "Extra" award at his graduation for being Extra Smart, Extra Good and an Extra Delight to have in class.  We loved his teacher like no other and I secretly think that our little 6-year old man had a small crush on the beautiful and amazing 20-something year old Miss Etzen.  She was so good for Easton this year. 

Barrett is moving on to 8th grade and was awarded an Academic Honors Award for 4.0 GPA at the Stapley awards ceremony.  She too had a great school year and made so many new friends this year in junior high.  It seems like she blossomed so much.  What a fun year she has ahead of her being in student council!  She's already diving in, working at the school for a couple of hours every morning for the next two weeks, helping the incoming 7th graders in the Step Up to Stapley Program and prepping for next year's activities with her student council team.

Summer Plans:

We kicked off the summer vacations with no delay, spending Memorial Day weekend up at the cabin with my folks and Grandpa & Krissie.  The girls brought their friends, Hallie & Syd, and we spent tons of time playing and eating, as always.  Mike & Shari & family came up for the day on Saturday and played with us (sans Bryant who was busy partying it up after graduating from Highland High School - woot woot!)  I ran and lounged and cooked and swung and played tons of cards and just enjoyed everything.  It was such a nice start to our summer.

Barrett headed out last Tuesday morning to her Time to Blossom conference where she stayed all week at the Doubletree Hotel in San Tan.  She roomed with Hallie Bauer and Amy Garner and some other girl they didn't know and really had a fun, uplifting week.  It's basically like EFY, but just for girls.  It's always wierd having one of the family members away - kind of an odd void even though we all knew she's be back in a few days.  Ry and I got to go to the hotel Friday night to see their closing ceremonies and pick her up.  I cried of course.  It was pretty powerful watching those videos of the week and seeing all those girls out on the stage and around the conference center singing their closing song.  I hope she remembers those tender feelings always.  

Today Barrett started her Strength & Conditioning Camp at Mountain View.  She goes 4 days a week all month long and they train them hard.  I asked her how it went today and she said, "Intense."  It's a mixed class of boys and girls (but mostly boys), incoming 8th - 12th graders.  The MV coaches are teaching it and I know they will work them hard.

Meanwhile, Afton's summer is all about sports so far.  She started Mountain View Basketball Camp last week and goes every day for 4 weeks.  She's been swimming and practicing so hard at her evening softball clinics at Quail.  This week we are adding in 3 afternoons of Volleyball camp too.  Just for good measure :)  Yes, she is tired, but she is definitely having fun.

Row and Bud have just been doing a lot of playing and swimming and hanging with friends.  Their sports camps don't start until next week, so they've been able to veg a little. 

Ry took off today for scout camp up at Geronimo and won't be back until Saturday.  Barrett leaves again Thursday for Girls Camp at Lo Mia. I'm flying solo on the parent front.  Thank goodness for Grandma Cindy who can help with my little peeps on the work days. 

Me:  I'm just here, doing the usual, playing house and working.  I'm still running a lot and enjoying it, but I can feel the mornings warming up for sure.  As long as I'm out the door before 6:00, it's not too bad.  Soon, we'll be ramping up the mileage, going on some longer hikes, getting ready for the R2R in September and then flowing right into race season.  It will be here before we know it.  That reminds me - I still need to post our GC hike pics from Cinco de Mayo.  Tomorrow...yes, tomorrow I will post :)

Europe is right around the corner - two weeks from yesterday.  I still can't believe we are going and I can't believe it's almost here.  Truly, I am a little nervous about being across the globe from my kids, traveling via trains on a rail pass, being in a foreign land I've never experienced, and being away for 9 days.  But what an incredible opportunity we have to go.  I know it will be amazing! I can't wait to tour Interlaken, visit the real Matterhorn, hike Mont Blanc, paraglide over the French Alps, dine in an authentic Italian village, and experience it all.

Life is good at the Brown House.  We are happy and busy and staying active.  Just the way we like it.

Almost Over

Only one more night of this.  Truly, I am going to miss it.  Yes, it will be nice to slow life down a little with summer break, but we love watching our kids play.  

This Tuesday Barrett's Mtn. View Softball League team - juniors division - plays for the championship against Red Mountain.  It's the last night of the tourney and we have to beat them twice back to back.  They lost to RM on Thursday night in our game 3 of the tourney, 5-4 in bottom of the 6th.  They just didn't have any bats after the first inning when the scored all four of their runs.  But they played great on Saturday to eliminate the Mesa Southern team, and now we are back up against Red Mountain, the only undefeated team in the tournament.  We all know the girls can do it.  They beat them before in regular season play, and Barrett's team is really quite good.

 Afty had a great season playing in Majors.  She was so much fun to watch and we're hoping she tries out for All Stars again.

Rowan really picked up the game this year in her second year of Coach Pitch softball division.  She has a great arm already and she hits the ball hard.  She had so much fun playing on the Pink Devils.  We loved her coach, too.  Dan Richardson coached Barrett years ago in coach pitch league and he is still awesome.

This was Buddy's first year playing ball.  He was on a coach pitch baseball team in Mesa North Central league, so he played all his games at Hawthorne.  Although it's a little tough for a field full of kindergarteners to stay focused for three whole innings, he did great and had so much fun.  

love this picture of my boys

Wish Barrett luck for Tuesday against RM!  We're hoping for a double header victory!

Just call her Madame President

I would be terribly remiss if I didn't post about this.  Meet Miss Barrett Brown, the newly elected President of the 8th Grade at Stapley Junior High, 2012-2013 school year.

Yes, we are proud of her.  Yes, we are thrilled she won her election.   But mostly, we are proud of her because she had the guts to run for office in the first place and the diligence to get everything done for her campaign in such a short window. And because she's a great young woman with so many terrific skills to be a leader and a friend to so many kids at her school.  Her campaign slogan was "Rock the Vote" and she made some super cute posters.  Right in the middle of the posters were one of these funny pictures.  Yes, we laughed a lot during the photo shoot.

We took some mug shots too, but decided not to go the criminal-looking route.  Maybe not the best PR move....just sayin'...

But in all seriousness, she's gonna be great.  Way to go, B.  We love you!

South Rim, here we come!

I'm getting excited.  Really, really excited.  This weekend we are hitting the trail again, and hopefully getting out of the big hole with no broken bones this go around.  But unlike the picture below (taken last September on our annual Grand Canyon Rim to Rim hike), there will only be 3 of us making the journey this weekend. 

By the way, I love this picture. It makes me happy just thinking about all these amazing people, about half of which I'm related to, and what a memorable experience we shared last year. What a group! We went from 10 of us the year before (9 hikers and 1 driver) to 28 in 2011 (25 hikers and 3 drivers). Our 2012 crew is even bigger! It seems that the madness has become contagious.

Everyone else has bailed for one reason or another, or said they wanted to go but just couldn't make it work, yada, yada, yada.  And that's OK.   I've kinda figured out that extreme hiking isn't really for everyone.  Not everyone gets excited about 8 hours of hiking one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  Not everyone feels the urge to push and train and climb and sweat and work and call it "fun" once they've conquered 9,000 feet of elevation change and are completly exhausted, sitting on the top of the world's largest hole licking the most delicious chocolate ice cream cone known to man.  I get it.  I guess.

And just like with anything, if you're not really committed to something, other things will take priority. That's just how life goes. Like every good family I know, our house is in full drive mode just about every day.  We're busy.  So busy.  We work hard and play hard.  I'm pretty sure I like it that way.  I'm hoping it's the recipe for good kids.  I know it's the recipe for a good marriage.   So...in our house, I've long since learned that there will always, always be something else to do, someplace else to go, something else to fill the calendar.  So we schedule early and do our best to make it happen.  It's important to us.   

Ryan, Barrett and I are going to rock it.   What a cool thing to do together. And what an awesome thing for our 13-year old to accomplish at her age.  Sure, she's a little nervous, but that's OK.  She'll be great.

The North Rim isn't even open for the season yet, and the Rim to Rim  hike certainly does pose some transportation challenges since it's a 4+ hour drive from the North to the South via car.  So this weekend we are just doing a South Rim hike:  South Kaibab to Bright Angel.  16.5 miles.  The NPS website says it's 7 miles from  South Kaibab down the canyon, across the Colorado River to Bright Angel Campground.  Then it's 9.5 miles to the top of Bright Angel.  I've read a few bloggers who wrote up their adventure, and most say it's more like 17 - 17.5 miles.  Who knows.  I'm sure the NPS has it figured out after all these years.  I just know it's about 7+ miles shorter than the Rim to Rim, so I am hoping that it will be a good experience for Barrett.  She's been a rockstar on our training hikes.  Hopefully she enjoys it and still wants to rock the Rim to Rim with us in September.

Go and Do

Sometimes it's important to write it down.  Today I feel strongly about it.  So here it goes.


Last Monday morning, 4/16, I woke up for my early morning run as usual.  I hardly thought about the run or the weather or the music or anything common, as I was so preoccupied with a dream I had the night before.  Actually, I think the best way to describe it was that I felt frustrated that I could not remember all the details and I was, for some reason, struggling hard to recreate the fragmented bits and pieces.  Nonetheless, the feelings and impressions I had were undeniable.


After the run, the hustle and bustle of the morning routine kicked in as Ryan and I worked in tandem to get our 4 peeps off to school with cute hair, ironed clothes, full bellies, signed planners, and something healthy in the lunch bags.  Then it was a rush to shower up and get ready for work while Ryan went for his run.  As I stood in my bathroom curling my hair and doing my makeup, those strong impressions kept coming back.  Finally, Ryan got home just as I was about to head out the door, and I had a couple minutes alone with him. 


I told him about my dream and that I had such a strong impression that we needed to get our water storage supply in order.  It was an unmistakable prompting and his immediate reaction was, "I'll go today."  No hesitation.  He concurred that when inspiration like that hits, just obey, don't question.  I felt a sudden peace.


Not an hour later, I got a call at the office from Ryan telling me he was at Fry's buying $100 in bottled water.  My first thought was, "Wow, that was fast."  And then he said, "After I ate breakfast this morning, I came upstairs to brush my teeth and the water was all cloudy.  I turned on all the faucets and let it run, but it didn't clear up.  What if the water supply is contaminated or something?  And I couldn't help but think about your dream.  So I am here."


Just wait - it gets better...


The week passed and we had intermittent cloudy water a few times, but it would clear up.  Then this weekend and this morning it seemed especially bad.  The girls were freaking out about brushing their teeth with it today so they used bottled water instead. 


Well, Ryan left for his run this morning out the back Arcadia door, and when he came back he yelled for me to come outside.  When I got out there, our back patio was getting flooded with water coming up from a hole in the patio.  The sprinklers were on in the yard so we weren't sure if there was some connection.  But it was flooding bad and looked like a spring had erupted under our house.


This, combined with the skim milk coming out of my bathroom as I brushed my teeth kicked me over the edge and I called the City of Mesa.  After waiting on hold forever, I finally got through and talked to 3 people before I finally got the city cell phone number of the water inspector for the Water Quality division.  Amazingly, he answered right away.  His name is Jeff and he was very kind.


I told him about my milk water and he explained the following:

• Last Sunday night, 4/15/12, the main water plant at Lindsay and McDowell which serves our area went down.  They have been working to repair it all week.  (This was the night I had the dream).
• In the interim, the City is running water from the reserve wells in order to "not run out of water to serve the residents."  Yes, he said that.  I wrote it down.
• As the wells are used so seldom, there is a lot of air in the lines, which is causing the water to appear "milky" looking when it comes out of the tap.  He advised for us to fill a clear glass and watch the water clear from the bottom up as the air evaporates out of the water.
• He assured me that there was no issue with the quality, just excess air.  I grilled him here, and he stuck to his guns.  No issues he says.
• When I asked him how long this would go on, he said that they were hoping to have the water plant repaired by yesterday, but they've been running into problems and the latest estimate is that they will still be tapping into the reserve wells for another week.  They hope to have it back up by Friday.

And what if it's not?  Hmmm...


Well, our under-house spring is yet to be resolved, but we are praying it's just an irrigation pipe that burst.  Our guy will be out today to check it out.  But at least now our water storage is in order again and, if nothing else, we'll be blessed for our obedience and prepared for the hot summer.  I am grateful for the inspiration that comes when we need it, and even more grateful that I heard the prompting.  I am certain that inspiration and promptings come more often than we recognize and certainly more often than we heed.  I hope to do a better job recognizing that and being ready to "go and do." 


One more thought...


Thanks to my Uncle Dale for his short and sweet testimony yesterday during stake conference.  The reminder that we need to be "goers and doers" was a good one for me.  By the way, that was the best stake conference I have ever attended.  Ever.   What a great spiritual boost for me.  And I was so grateful that our family accepted our stake president's challenge from last stake conference to read the BOM before this conference.  We finished as a family on Friday night, and I finished my personal reading on Saturday.  Without a doubt that was the best BOM reading experience I've had.

Easter

Our Happy Easter Pics

Somehow the Easter Bunny just knows to make a special stop by the Brown house on Saturday morning during his last minute rounds of prep for the big drops on Sunday.  But we like it that way.  The littles were concerned that he might not remember (even though he's been coming to our pad on Saturday for years) and urged me to send him an email.  Unfortunately, I told them I wasn't sure he was that techno-savvy, but hoped that he'd find his way back to our house this year.  

The kids woke up early on Saturday, pretty weary-eyed from a long week of late night ball games and too many shortened nights of sleep.  Since Buddy Boy had a game at 8:00 and the hidden eggs just apparently could not wait until later, they were all up at 6:30 scrambling to see how much hidden loot they could discover and pile into their baskets.   

The big bunny man must have seen some economic recovery during the past year, since he filled our kids' eggs with a bunch of quarters and chocolate eggs.  Jackpot.  I think Afty's haul topped the list at nine dollars and change.  Not bad for 15 minutes of work (if you can call it that).

The rest of our Easter Saturday was fantastic.  After Easton's ball game and a few chores, the kids went swimming in the ice pool while dad and I enjoyed a little sunshine and reading.  Us oldies weren't quite ready for the chilly plunge.  Let's give it another month.  The Brown/Hawk extended family Easter get together followed that afternoon out in Queen Creek with lots of cousin time, swimming, another egg hunt, early dinner and good times all the way around.  It was great seeing Ryan's Great Uncle Keith, even though it's so hard to see him getting so old and now largely unable to speak.  I have such a soft spot in my heart for him.  I've always loved him a little extra.

Ryan and I took off from the family shindig a little early to head to the Sun's game with some friends from my office.   We had the suite that night, which is always nice, but truth be told...after sitting in Francis' floor sits a handful of times, nothing else really compares.  Of course we still had a great night and enjoyed the company and free eats.  Plus, the Suns beat the Lakers by a landslide.

Easter Sunday began with 9:00am church, which was nice.  My mom and I sang in the choir and Barrett sang with the YW.  The program was great and the kids and Ry indulged me with a few pics afterwards.  Aren't they so beautiful?

We finished out the day with late lunch at my folks' house with all the Teeples clan, followed by dinner at Morgan & Jessie's with Ryan's fam.  Lots of fam.  Lots of food.  Great day.