Livin' It Up: Our Last Few Adventures in Utah

Realizing we were leaving Utah and there was still so many places we hadn't been and things we hadn't done, we tried to cram in as much as we could before we moved. Still never made it to Arches, Great Salt Lake, etc., but we had some good times.


One last time up beloved Rock Canyon. We'd had an unusually wet spring, so it was pretty green.

And the snow run-off filled the river bed. (Not the most flattering picture if me--27 weeks along, but I loved this little make-shift bridge.)


I'd never known that when the river up Rock Canyon is flowing, it actually continues flowing through Rock Canyon Park. The water wasn't very deep, but we decided to try tubing it anyway.

The best part is at the end when it gets a little deeper and faster, and then you get sucked in the drain.

We convinced Kristel to come along with us. Here she just missed the pipes that the water seems to aim you towards.

Sam found another good use for the tubes. He got going pretty fast.

June 12, we went camping with Dave and Jeff (Sam's co-workers from Terracon) and their families up American Fork Canyon. It was one of the neatest camping areas I've been in (with tons of different types of trees, deep ravines and streams, hills and mountains with rock outcrops, etc.), but it was raining most of the time, and we didn't explore much at all. Went to Cascade Springs the next day instead, having made it through the night without getting too wet (which seemed a miracle to me).

More Family in Utah!

On the way back from California, we stopped in Cedar City to see Pete, Emily, and Henry--a nephew we hadn't yet met. Pete (Sam's brother) brought his family out for a summer internship.

I'll bet Sam can't wait to try this one out with our little guy.

Hoover Dam

We took a detour on the way to the Z fam reunion so Sam could see the Hoover Dam. He was like a kid in a candy shop, exploring this engineering marvel and the new bridge they were building. Just disappointed we couldn't get down below the dam or closer to the bridge.

Family Reunion... aka, "The Zierenberg Zoo!"

This post is going to be a continued work in progress.


Click on the picture to see it bigger.

Classic

Lest you judge her, keep in mind that of all of us that tried, Wendy was the only one that took the paddle board out in deep water and back without ever falling. . . until the end, of course. I could hardly stay up at all, but I'll blame it on my shifted center of gravity and loss of stomach muscles... Make sure the volume is decent--the 2nd best part is her scream. That's Sam on the boogie board.

Sam's BYU Grad

Sam wanted me to show that this is "proof" that he has officially graduated.

Sam graduated from Brigham Young University, Civil Engineering, Cum Laude, April 23 and 24, 2009.

Sam's parents flew for out for half the week to celebrate with us. It was great having their company and getting to know them better.

Sam and Beth.

I love being on BYU campus. It brings back so many great memories and feelings and motivates me to be a better person, as did the commencement ceremony with Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Elder Russell M. Nelson speaking. The Hinckley Center (background) wasn't even around when I graduated, but I still love this building. (I'm about 22 weeks along in this shot.)

We ate out, met Shari's friend and got a tour of the Hale Center Theater in West Valley (pretty incredible), enjoyed dinner and visiting Kaleb and Suzanne (Sam's cousin's family) and Aunt Pam and had fun playing with the kids on the trampoline, and went to the Provo temple using some family names that Shari had researched. We also took Sam's parents for a drive up Provo Canyon and visited my Aunt Beth in Heber. We stopped up at Squaw Peak. The whole weekend was cloudy and rainy, and you can see that it snowed in the mountains.

Jim and Shari

Feel free to ask me about the "van experience" we had while we were up here. Quite the surprise.

It was a great week, seeing everyone and enjoying various activities. I think my favorite part, though, was just seeing a lot more of Sam. I took the day off Friday and didn't have my usual Saturday morning commitment, and Sam didn't have any work or classes or studying to worry about. I loved waking up and being able just to talk and hang out with him without having to rush off immediately. And then having him with me throughout the whole day.

We celebrated Sam's birthday with everyone here.

Cam was one of Sam's missionary companions.

Happy Spring! April 16, 2009

Snow wasn't exactly what I had in mind for my spring break, but it's pretty cool anyway! I just hope we still get some blossoms, since many of the trees were starting to bloom.At least the duck is camouflaged now.

After taking Sam to work this morning, I had to stop by BYU's botany pond and take a few shots. Good thing I was wearing my most hideous pajama bottoms, so I could be extra noticeable, tromping around in the snow.

It's a BOY!

I'll admit, I've never cared much to see other people's ultrasounds. But seeing our own baby's form and movement was absolutely incredible. He's got Sam's nose, our wide feet, and some great little soccer legs. He was big enough that they set the due date to two days earlier--August 25th.

Three days later (April 10th, one day after hitting the 20 week mark), I couldn't sleep at night. I had gotten to bed at 10:30 or 11 after enjoying Sam's BYU grad night, and was apparently too wired from the ice cream or from beating Sam at bowling or something. I was supposed to get up at 4:45am and was super frustrated that I couldn't fall asleep.

I never did fall asleep until about 1am, but somewhere in those still hours, I felt our baby move for the first time! That was definitely worth it. It's been pretty amazing feeling the life within me. A few days after that, he was moving enough for me to feel it from the outside with my hand. I probably scared Sam calling him to come fast, but our little guy apparently went to sleep right after.

General Conference

Sam's mom got us some tickets to the Conference Center for the Sunday morning session. Beth and her friend came with us. I loved being there in the session, and I loved being in and around Temple Square. Such a beautiful place in so many ways! (My nineteen weeks was really starting to show.)

Glessie, Beth, Sam, Amber

Like so many others, Elder Holland's was one of my favorite talks from this session. And perfect to keep in mind during the Easter season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc
One of these days I'll learn to link this better. Beth, how'd you do it?

THE GREAT RACE

A few months before she passed away, my sister Ginger ran a 5K in the Great Race with the goal of getting in under 30 minutes. Her time was exactly 29:59:55. Her friend Tiffany said that Ginger had been great about cheering and encouraging everyone else running as well. She thought running in the Great Race this year would be a fitting tribute to her memory. She designed a shirt, and 72 other friends and family of Ginger joined. I was so glad to be able to make it to be there, just for that day. (If anyone has group shots with others, please let me know!)

This is something my brother (Jason Z.) wrote about Ginge, who was 30 years old when she passed away: "Ginge, you ran a great race and you finished at 30 (at least this leg of the race). You didn't let anyone hold you back, but you definitely helped countless others along your way. You broke the tape first in our family and we look forward to seeing you when we cross the line and giving you a huge Ginger-style victory hug on the other side of the finish line. Until then, we know you will be watching us, cheering us on."

This is all our family that either ran or came to support. Derek, Heidi + Don, Jace + Jen and I were able to fly in or drive down to be there. We missed the rest that couldn't make it, but they participated in their own ways. (Double click on the picture and it should show up clearer.)

Walking to the starting line.

"Happiness" was the title of Ginger's last family blog she posted. She added it the night before she passed away.

The back of the shirts simply said "gdc" . . . for Ginger Dee Clinton.

Jace C. ran a half marathon.

Rod, Derek, Jace Z., Dad, Don, Luke, Mark, Carson ?, Tyler?, Trevor, Brady, Jace C.

Before the race: Nat, Heids, Mom, Kate, me, Jen

I have to admit, once I realized that Dad had been ahead of me for a long time, a slight bit of competitiveness came out, and I did push myself a little. I was impressed that he never stopped running, though. I took a lot of walking breaks.
I was 19 weeks along, so I wasn't supposed to really train or push myself. But I was pleasantly surprised at how much better I could breathe down at sea level! My time was 31:09. Not great (quite a few minutes slower than my last one), but better than I expected.

Enjoying all the free food afterwards. Hmmmm, Great Harvest bread!

Nat started the rolling down the grassy hill. We were both itchy for the rest of the day. Monica and I had a good time with some hula hoops too. Have her demonstrate her trick for you sometime.

Rod came in first of all our family. Monica had an injury and couldn't run. (Probably would have beat us all if she could have!) But she stood a little ways away from the finish line to cheer us on and let us know that we could run full speed the rest of the way. That really helped!

Over 70 people ran the race in Ginger's memory. Here are some of them.

A trip home is never complete without dinner at Lalo's--home of the world's best chicken tacos ever! It was great to be with the family the whole day.
Mark, Kate, Monica, Rod

Jason C., Heidi, Don, Dad, Mom
Amber, Jason Z., Jen, Natalie, Trevor, Wendy

Virginia Here We Come!

The weekend before I went to California for the Great Race, Sam went to Virginia. (Yea, people were starting to wonder about us taking trips separately. Believe me, I would have much preferred that we could have both gone to both places together!) Virginia Tech flew him out to check out their grad program. (Yep, he's a smarty.)

Sam stayed with my sister Summer and her family. Ever since Murphy (Summer) and I realized Sam was looking into Virginia Tech (Clint is in med school out there), we've been careful not to get our hopes up too much. Every time Sam would say something leaning towards VT, I'd call her up and tell her the news, but warn her again not to get her hopes up, and I'd try not to get mine up either. How cool would that be if we ended up living in the same town all the way on the other side of the U.S.?

Clint, Lindy, Sum, Paige, Kaden

Sam didn't get any pictures of the campus activities, but he got this great shot of himself with Kaden.

This is Paige's little smiley smirk I've heard so much about that I can't wait to see in person!

Summer called me as soon as Sam was on the plane back to Utah and joked, "I just want you to know, I've prayed about it and fasted about it, and I feel really good about you guys moving out here." :) Turns out, after getting a better view of the program out there, Sam was feeling pretty good about it, but it wasn't until a week later (after we'd been praying and fasting about it for months) when I was in California that he told me on the phone that he wanted to go to Virginia Tech for sure. No need to convince me!

Exhausted

This has been one of Sam's heaviest semesters with 19 credits (three of those credits for being an ASCE student officer--BYU's chapter of a civil engineering association), getting ready to graduate and applying and figuring out what grad school to go to and what he wants to go into, and working 20 hours a week. Plus he's taken a two-day trip for a student leadership conference in San Francisco, a two-day trip to help Beth (his sister) drive and move out here, a three-day trip to Virginia Tech to see what they have to offer, and keeping up with all the usual church and family responsibilities and making time for me (and doing all the laundry, dishes, etc.). This is when I found him asleep while attempting to read one of his books. Isn't he cute?