Timpanogos

Growing up, my cousin Cheryl and I always argued about which of our respective states were "better", Utah or Idaho? Criteria included such things as fewest mosquitoes (Idaho looses that one), best school vacations, best swimming pools, and best hiking. I was convinced that there was no greater hiking than that to be had in the Tetons, and Cheryl was convinced that Mount Timpanogos was King. Having never hiked the other's favorite hike, we were really at an impasse.
This summer while we were in Utah, I was finally able to hike Mt. Timpanogos. The all-day babysitter made it almost the most expensive hike I've ever done in my life (second only to the Inca Trail in Peru), but it was worth every penny. To those of you who have yet to do the hike: do it. It's awesome.


Awe-inspiring views led to lots and lots of pointing
Wow, what a long way to go yet....
The wild flowers were just spectacular!


And I LOVED the mountain goats. They must see lots and lots of hikers to be so chill.

See that tiny little white speck at the back of the second ridge? That's the strange little hut that marks the summit.
What a view!



Looking down at Emerald Lake
Triumph!!!
We summitted rather late in the day due to a string of circumstances including a WAY late start, and starting out on the wrong trail head, among other things. So we were anxious to get down as quickly as we could. On our way up we had talked to some people who had slid down the Northern glaciers and bypassed the climb down. We started the trek along the ridge to the glacier. It looked so steep and scary; the pit in my stomach grew with each step. We were going DOWN that? Without skis?
Okay. The promise of dropping a good 1000+ vertical feet in less than a few minutes was too good to pass up. But I was so nervous, I'm not sure how I managed to smile for the camera.

What a wild, wild ride. I have to recommend it as the preferred method of descent. And once the initial moment of terror wore off, it was fun. The tiny little black speck is a fellow-hiker sliding down.
I was so steep, we just sat down on our behinds and gravity did the rest. It was SO COLD, fast, and plain old fun.
The exhilaration from the slide kept me going most of the rest of the way down.

And Cheryl: I'm still not sure which state wins. Timpanogos or the Tetons? What a debate...

We're Back!

...and all of our contact information has changed! I don't want to post our new phone numbers and home address here on the blog; if you would like them, send an email to melanieglade@gmail.com

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. I warned it would happen. But things should start settling down a little bit now. We are home from our travels and as moved into our new home in Oklahoma as we can be. We're currently in the long slow phase of settling in, finding where things belong, and learning how to live in a new city. The new house is fantastic. We do not miss our rat-hole apartment one iota. And although we've had a ton of work to do, it's really nice to be working on our own home, instead of a crappy apartment. I've been to Lowes at least 5 times in the past 9 days. Purchases include a power drill and all appropriate drill bits and drivers for the current list of projects, a speed bore, painting needs, various small bits of hardware and lighting, and tools to fix the broken sprinkler heads (we've been successful, too; isn't it amazing what you can learn on the internet? Thank you iPhone).

I do have a back-log of good pictures from our travels: we spent time in Kansas, Idaho and Utah before moving in the last few days of July. To keep this post from being too crazy-long, I'm only going to do the Idaho pictures today.

We did some great hiking while we were out West. Nothing beats the Rockies (okay, so the Andes came close, but...). Thanks for the babysitting, mom!
Devil's Staircase, July 16th, 2009. We really couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The breeze was light and cooling, the sky was so blue, the temperatures were moderate, the flowers were all in bloom... Perfection.
This critter (rock chuck?) was way friendly. We also saw a mama moose and baby. I gave her wide berth.

TJ's appetite is growing faster than him. I cannot figure out what he does with all the food he eats. For example, for dinner last night, he ate 1 whole fresh peach, 1/2 steamed yam, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1 small glass of milk, and 5 strawberries. Then he still cried when he saw me eating! Bottomless pit. Here he is eating all of my barbequed beef, and the fresh raspberries from dad's garden.
TJ and my dad, his Grandpa Summers.
So lately mealtimes have been getting super messy. TJ grabs fistfulls of food, makes this terrible face, and strains as hard as he can as he mashes it all to a pulp in his little fists. Not real sure why this is so fun, but TJ sure loves it.
Mom, Natalie and I at a fireside given by my younger brother, who has just returned from a mission to Brazil.
TJ's favorite toys at his Grandma Summers' house were a rubber snake and a toy car. Go figure.
Boys will be boys, I guess.
He stayed real busy charming grandma.


Matt (front right, black shirt) just graduated from college with his degree is engineering. Here we are celebrating at the Hard Hat Cafe.
Congratulations, Matt!

Pictures of Utah, and the new house coming next.

Kansas, Sedgwick Zoo & Some Catch-Up

We've spent the past week in Kansas visiting with Rob's parents. TJ has had a total blast demonstrating all of the ways in which Grandma's house is NOT baby-proof.

Rob and TJ have spent some really good time together, too. This is one of my favorite faces TJ is making lately (sorry, honey; I caught you mid-blink).
This is my younger sister, Natalie, baby-sitter extraordinaire who made getting my tonsils out a much less stressful experience by taking such good care of TJ. Thanks for a great job, Natalie!!!

We took TJ to the zoo on Tuesday. As we drove there, we wondered if he would just be miserable, or if he would like the animals. He LOVES the dog, so we figured there was a good chance he'd like it. Boy, did he ever.

Did this giraffe pose for us, or what? I love this picture.

This tiger cooperated nicely by sitting right in front of TJ and letting us all admire his beautiful coloring. I hope he wasn't dreaming of Baby Thigh a la mode... TJ wouldn't make much of a lunch.
The elephants were also a huge hit (elephants are one of my favorites). As we watched the elephants, I told TJ about how he has visited the elephants before. He was much smaller then.






This is the Keeper of the Plains monument in downtown Wichita, located at the convergence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers. Although much smaller than the Arkansas River as we are accustomed to it in Little Rock, it's still beautiful. We enjoyed our jaunt to the monument, and I learned some good history about the Plains tribes that once lived here. I always enjoy an area so much more when I know something of it's past.

The Fat Lady is Singing

Last week we pulled out of Little Rock. Thus closes more than a chapter of life; thus closes a saga, an epic journey, never to be fully appreciated by anyone who has not either done it themselves or been very close to someone who has done it.

Rob grew up always knowing that he wanted to be a doctor. Once he was grown, the work began in earnest.


4 years of undergraduate at BYU.

4 years of medical school at Texas A&M.

1 year of research.

1year of internship in Salt Lake City.

4 years of residency in Washington DC.

2 years of fellowhip in Little Rock.


These are the bones only, a framework upon which a specialty surgeon was created.

Some of the stories are awful and make my heart hurt: 120+ hour work-weeks. Pain. Blood. Exhaustion. Lost holidays. Lost years. Some of the stories make me laugh until I cry: Dr. Love. Scrub pants that won't stay up during long surgeries. Bizarre personalities of other surgeons.

Honey, you are amazing. I'm so grateful I get to be part of your life. I'm so glad TJ has such a great dad.

I'm thrilled I got to be your date to your fifth and final (it is the final one, right?) graduation. You do such amazing work (this is the "after" picture. I don't think I should put the "before" picture on. I'm sure I'd be violating some sort of privacy act, since it is a recognizable picture of a child's face. This one is a little more anonymous. Check out those perfect stitches. My husband could give Amy Butler a run for her money any day). Those Oklahoma kids sure are lucky they're going to have you.

I did indeed hook up with the right guy. We love you tons!
Mel and TJ

PS- Thanks for the house. I can't wait to move in!
(We close on July 28th!!!!!!)