Ode to California

Well.. Kevin and I have moved to California for the Summer.
Mmm... who could resist the beaches and nice weather.
I definitely couldn't, especially after being in ice-cold Rexburg aaaaaalllllll Winter! (Brr...)
This was Rexburg:


And this is wonderful WARM life in California:


I might be a little bit biased towards California. It's not that I don't love Idaho, it is beautiful there, but I can only take the cold weather for so long. I am just basking in the beautiful weather here. :) I love being outdoors and doing things. So far this summer we have gone camping, wakeboarding, boogie boarding, jet-skiing, sea-dooing, had a beach bonfire, went on several bike rides to various places, played in tide pools, went to a car-show, I biked in a triathlon (Kevin did the whole thing and came in 5th), and spent a few days at the river. It has been a great summer so far, and I hope it continues to be great. Although it's only May, who knows what other surprises and adventures this summer will have in store!

My Aunt Laura Jo

I have to take a moment to say a few words about my aunt Laura Jo. Here is a picture of her, her sisters and my grandma at my wedding:


On Monday May 13 at 3:30pm my aunt was killed in a car accident. She was driving home from work, the wind was blowing across the freeway causing a white-out. She slowed down due to the poor conditions and lack of visibility and was rear-ended by a semi-truck. She died on the scene...

This was such an unexpected tragedy. My aunt was a wonderful woman, kind hearted and always doing things for other people. She was a great aunt and was always very generous. My heart goes out to her and her family. I am grateful to her for giving life to my five cousins, 2 of which have had a great impact in my life. I am grateful to know that her family can be together forever after this life, and that her children will have the opportunity to see their mother again.

Her Obituary:
"Shelby —Laura Jo Parker McKamey, 55, a speech language pathologist from Shelby passed away May 13, 2013 due to a car accident south of Sunburst. She was struck from behind by a semi-truck during a white out by the alkali flats... Survivors include Laura Jo's husband, Alvin McKamey; her children, Brandon and Kristal McKamey, Russell and Brigette McKamey, Sandra Jo McKamey, Alvin James "AJ" McKamey, and Lucas McKamey; and her three grandchildren, Kyra McKamey, Porter McKamey, and Logan McKamey. She is also survived by her parents David and Wyoma Parker; her brother and sisters, Bruce Parker (Jan), Rebecca Wheeler (Denis), Jill Howells, and Shaula Holt (Kelly); as well as many nieces and nephews.

Laura Jo was born in Great Falls, MT, on September 21, 1957. Her father was an Air Force Navigator and she had lived in Montana, Utah, and Alabama. After he retired, the family settled in Bountiful, Utah, where she grew up and graduated from Viewmont High School in 1975. She attended Brigham Young University where she studied Elementary Education. She then went to the Utah State University to get her master's degree in Speech Language Pathology. Laura Jo married Alvin McKamey on June 17, 1980 in the Logan Utah Temple. They had five children. She has lived in Shelby since 1990 where she had become a large part of the community. Laura Jo was involved in Special Olympics, Destination Imagination, Fine Arts Parents, and any other program her children were involved in. She loved to sew and quilt and watch basketball games while reading the complete works of Shakespeare. She will always be remembered as a multitasking magician accomplishing things in a day that did not seem possible.

Laura Jo was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in every capacity that she was asked. She had a strong faith in Jesus Christ and the healing power of the Atonement. She was loved by all who knew her and her influence will be forever remembered."

Christmas Break

It's been a long time since I posted in here, but that's ok. I'm doing it now. We went to California for Christmas and spent some time with Kevin's family and I really enjoyed it. We flew out there and the first night we headed to Dry Soggy Lake to go motorcycle riding. It was the coldest night ever! I even slept in a sleeping bag within a sleeping bag (classy I know). Then we went riding on our dirt bikes the next day, I was a little scared at first (it had been 8 months since I'd last been) we rocked it. I even went on sand dunes for the first time!

We also went as a family on a bike ride along Newport beach and out to the harbor/the wedge, it was a fun bike ride minus when my nephew got hurt. Kevin and I rode on a tandem and it was scary letting him be in front because he is one crazy driver. We had a lot of fun though and then we went and sailed some remote controlled sailboats (Kevin loved that).

Overall it was a great vacation. We also played a lot of golf (Wii style). Needless to say I did bad at the beginning and great at the end. We had a lot of great meals and some good family time. I'm grateful to have such a wonderful family-in-law. We also got to spend some time with my family in extremely snowy Utah. Good times. :)

THe PeRFeCT HeaRT

I came across this story many years ago, and just recently found the whole thing on line, I thought it would be a good thing to share since it touches my heart in so many ways.

THE PERFECT HEART

"A young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it.

But an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said, “Your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine.”

The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating strongly but full of scars. It had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in … but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. The young man looked at the old man’s heart and laughed. “You must be joking,” he said. “Compare your heart with mine … mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears.”

“Yes,” said the old man, “Yours is perfect looking … but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love….. I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them … and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart but because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away … and the other person hasn’t returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges … giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too … and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?”

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man.

The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It fit …. but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his."

Got It Covered...

This picture says it all. If the "world ends" aka if all the technology in the world stopped working and grocery stores were no longer a viable source of food people may panic. People would panic. There would be a world wide frenzy in search for food, people would die of starvation if they didn't know how to get food without a grocery store (which is kind of pathetic but probably true). While everyone else results to scavenging etc, I would be feasting. I wouldn't have that problem, I wouldn't have to scavenge. My husband would keep us alive. He is great at spear fishing, normal fishing, he knows how to hunt birds and other kinds of animals; he can clean them and gut them and skin them before I could even blink and eye. He's a regular Bear Grylls.If my husband participated in the hunger games he would have been just like Katniss Everdeen, he's a survivor. So just in case the world ends, I want you all to know I'm not worried about a lack of food. I will survive, thanks to my husbands skills.

25 Years Wiser

I am 25.
TWENTY-FIVE.
1/4 of a century old.
OLD.
If the movie "In Time" was real, the clock on my arm would have started ticking down indicating that I only had a year left of life unless I gained or gave away time. It was weird to watch a movie where 25 was the age that everyone remained at and here I was turning 25. What irony, to watch that movie on the very day that I turned 25. What would I do with my life if I only had a year left to live. In all honesty, I'd have a baby. I'd start a family even with only a year left to live I'd want to have a child. I would also try to enjoy life more, which is sometimes hard to do. Agh. 25. I feel OLD! Kevin's brother said he didn't feel old until he turned 28... but I am 25 and I feel old. I don't have any kids, I just got married 6 months ago, but I did graduate from college and served a mission for England. I do feel accomplished, but I also feel like there are things I should have done already!

I did have a good birthday though and my husband was a sweetheart. He brought me flowers, so I woke up to him holding flowers and he made me french toast palooza. He was a total gem the entire day. Overall 25 has been good, but I still feel OLD. :) (Especially since Kevin is only 22, and will not be 23 until October--marrying someone younger, definitely doesn't help with the whole feeling old thing.) :)

Climb Every Mountain

Well I did it. I climbed to my first peak. Mt. Humpreys in Arizona. It's the highest peak in Arizona at 12,633 feet which is a pretty good altitude. It was really cool to get on top and be the highest point around for miles and miles, as far as I could see. It was a hard hike though, there were lots of roots and rocks on the trail and at parts there was some pretty steep incline. It's labeled on the internet as "strenuous" and in ways it was. The last thousand feet from the saddle to the summit was killer and we took it very slowly. Hiking + Altitude change is no joke! It was a lot of fun. I have been on lots of hikes before but this was my first summit. It tired me out like nobody's business BUT it did make me feel really accomplished, climbing that mountain showed me that I can do difficult things. If I can climb that mountain I can climb any mountain in front of me (tangible or imaginary).

So these pictures are of me when I started climbing up and at the end when I was on top. My calves have been sore for the last 4 days though haha. It feels good to climb a mountain, to be out in fresh air and do something that you don't necessarily feel like doing or that is hard. This is a really random blog about nothing very important except that you can climb every mountain. :) Such a fun experience, hard but very fun. Kevin and I are already planning the next summit we want to climb.