Washington

A month ago I got to go home for a week to just relax and be home. It was wonderful. I just hung out around Longview/Kelso, went to the beach, went to Willow Grove, and was there to watch my brother open his mission call to Guatemala. I love being home. I love being with my family, being in the house where I grew up, eating all the tasty foods my Mom buys & makes for me, and of course being around all of the trees and water. I miss Washington but it was a great week and I can't wait to go home again for Thanksgiving. Here are some pictures from my trip:

Checking out Kyle's mission call before he opened it. Mostly keeping it away from him so he wouldn't open it before my Dad got home from work.

Kyle and I in Astoria, OR.

Enjoying the water at Willow Grove

Kyle & I at Willow Grove

Hanging out on the beach

Spanish Fork Peak

So Ben & I love to hike but we never seem to hike just normal hikes. We always seem to want to hike mountains. In June Ben had the idea to hike to the top of Spanish Fork Peak which has an elevation of 10,192 feet. It is a 5 mile hike to the top making it 10 miles round trip. So we packed our hydration packs with lots of snacks and water and got ready for a day of hiking. Shortly after we started the hike we noticed that the stream that normally runs down the mountain turned out to be a river thanks to all of the rain and snow that melted so late this year. So we had to trudge through freezing cold water to stay on the trail. It was a difficult hike, no switch-backs, just straight up. By mile 2 my calves were burning. But we kept on going. By about mile 3 we noticed a lot of snow and eventually the trail ended up being covered in snow. Since we no longer could find the trail and we weren't exactly dressed for snow hiking we regrettably turned around and ended our hike. Ben keeps prodding me to go back up there since all the snow is now melted with it being August, but every time I remember how incredibly sore my legs were after this hike I turn him down and tell him we should do a fun, simple, scenic hike. So maybe one of these days, we will eventually make it to the summit.

Just hiking along.

Ben plowing through the river we had to cross to get to the other side of the trail.

Trying not to fall in the water.

 I wasn't sure if Ben was gonna make it. The water was FREEZING and he seemed to be too frozen to move!

Us at the Trail Head.

Intramural Champions!

After years and years of playing almost every intramural sport BYU has to offer from inner-tube water polo to kickball to co-ed basketball we finally won a championship and the most coveted shirt on campus!!! Believe it or not it came playing co-ed soccer! I didn't grow up playing soccer and have limited knowledge of the sport. I especially lack necessary skills to pass, dribble, and score. However, I am athletic and tough. In co-ed there isn't offsides so my knowledge of how to play defense in basketball paid off tremendously. Nevertheless our team pulled it together enough to win a championship!!! It's also really cool that Ben and I were able to do it together. He was fun to play soccer with. It was a great season!

The winning team!

Look at those shirts!

We do not look like soccer players...hello basketball shorts!

Camping!

Over memorial day weekend we had the opportunity to go camping with Ben's brother Ryan & his wife Ashley. We went to Diamond Fork Campground up Spanish Fork Canyon. It felt just like camping in Washington. It was cold, wet, and very green. And although I froze to death I really enjoyed myself and ate my fair share of s'mores. The second day the weather cleared up a little and we decided to go hiking up Three Forks Loop where there was a waterfall and some hot pots. I actually really enjoyed this. It felt good to be active and also to see the beautiful scenery along this hike. It made me miss home really bad with all the water from the Cottonwood Creek and huge trees everywhere. But I love camping, even despite the uncooperative weather. I can't wait to go camping again this summer!

Putting up a tarp to shield us from the rain.

We made it to the waterfall up Three Forks Loop

Me and my s'mores. We have a special relationship.

Rugby

As much as I love sports, I have to say I don't know much about rugby. They don't really have rugby in Washington and I think I've only seen rugby on TV once. So my knowledge strictly comes from the movie Invictus. However, some friends of ours invited us to go to the college rugby national championship that was set to take place in SLC. I've never been to a national championship game before, and probably won't ever make it to another one again, so I figured I'd go, even if it was a sport I didn't understand. We paid only $11 and had front row seats!!!! It was BYU vs. Cal Berkeley. It was a gorgeous day and after learning some of the rules of the game I actually found I really enjoyed myself. Unfortunately BYU lost and made some costly mistakes at the beginning that they couldn't quite make up for at the end. Here are a few pics from that evening: 

The view from our seats.

Enjoying the game.

Yellowstone/Jackson Hole, Wyoming

A few weeks ago my family came down to Utah to pick my brother up after he had finished his freshman year at BYU. We then went up to Rexburg to be with my sister & her husband for Easter. As part of this family get-together we decided to go to Yellowstone since members of the Baker clan had never been before. Much of the park was closed because there was still 8-9 feet of snow everywhere but that kinda made it cool to see everything so white and it wasn't very crowded. Then after Easter Ben surprised me with my birthday present which was a trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a few days. It was a cute little town & I definitely grew to like the lit-up antler arches at nighttime. Anyway, enough chit-chat. Here are some pics from that great week.

The famous Antler Arch

Yeah for Moose

The Moose kinda freaked me out so I'm barely touching it in this picture.

Old Faithful

We had many Buffalo walk right near our van which totally freaked my sister out.

Hockey!!!

So as I sports fanatic I have to say that I have never been to a hockey game. I willingly watch SportsCenter but when hockey highlights come on I tend to change the channel. But my first hockey game was fun and a cultural experience. I felt like I was back home. When I think of SLC I tend to think of super trendy, highly fashionable, super skinny Mormon girls. At this hockey game I felt like I was right back at home with people dressed in hoodies, drinking, and yelling profanities. It ended up being really fun, and like baseball, watching hockey in real life is way better than watching it on TV. Here are a few pics taken on my iPod from the night:

World of Coca-Cola

Almost two months ago now (man I am bad at keeping this up to date) I got to go to Atlanta, Georgia for a conference. It was about first-year programming and how to help incoming students adjust to the rigors and demands of college life and academics. I really enjoy going to these conferences because I get to see new places and stay in hotels I could never afford to stay in normally. This conference was busier than the one I went to in November so I didn't get as much free time to explore Atlanta as I would have liked. However, I did get to visit the World of Coca-Cola. Coke was invented in Atlanta and it's main headquarters (as well as those of CNN, Chick-fil-A, and Delta just to name a few) are located there. Being a Pepsi product fan I don't totally love Coke products but Coca-Cola is an American and pop-culture icon so I just had to go! It was so much fun and if you are ever in Atlanta I totally recommend going to the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium right across the lot. It was just one giant carbonated playground with a bottling plant, 4D movie, and a tasting center. Here are some pics from my adventure.

This is called Beverly. It is a Coke product offered in Europe that I got to taste in their Taste It! exhibit where you can taste Coke products from around the world. It was truly one of the worst things I've ever tasted.

Sitting on the Coke Couch from Season 3 of American Idol.

Found a postcard of a Coke plant from Washington

Running with the Olympic Torch from the 2000 Sydney, Australia Games

Hanging out by an old school Coke vending machine