After a wonderful time at Brigham Young University's Education Week, it was time to come back home. I'm not quite prepared to settle into a fall routine yet, though. Summer weather in California hangs on, so summer fun must, too.
1. Although temperatures are still hot here in the desert, I appreciated the glimpse of cooler days while I was in Utah. The morning I left Provo, the mountains were sporting a fresh coat of powdery snow. I was surprised to see it had snowed in August, but the not-so-naked-anymore mountains made me smile.
2. I stopped in St. George for gas, and for another attempt to capture the beauty of the St. George Temple against the mountains of red rocks. I spent more time than I intended trying to find the right location to shoot, and still didn't succeed. I'm thankful for the beauty in the color contrasts between the white of the temple, the reds of the mountains, and the blue of the sky.
3. I'm thankful for the ease of travel. It's incredible to me to think that I can hop in my car in the morning, and by evening, be over 600 miles away. (And that's just by driving; flying is even more amazing!)
4. I'm thankful that my church calling reminds me to be more outwardly-focused. I've been more aware of the needs of others, and have been trying, in my small way, to help. As is typically the case, I have come away from such situations feeling good that my efforts made a difference. I'm reminded also that little unexpected acts of kindness really can brighten a day, both for those on the giving end, as well as for those on the receiving end. Win-win.
5. I'm thankful for good neighbors. When John was preparing to BBQ hamburgers for a crowd of women from our church this week, and he realized our grill was taking its sweet time heating up, our neighbors graciously allowed us to use their grill. Using both grills, John was able to supply BBQ for the group of us--about 30 people in total. Yum!
6. I'm thankful for the Relief Society women. I think everyone had a good time at our BBQ. It was nice to just spend some time visiting.
7. I'm thankful for beautiful sunsets. I know I've mentioned this before, but the desert offers such colorful sky palettes that I can't help myself.
8. I'm thankful for fireworks displays. I love their lights; I love their heart-shaking "booms." John and I were at Disneyland last night. We enjoyed some rides, then ended the night by watching the fireworks display from Main Street.
9. Why were we at Disneyland? Thanks for asking. We went down last night so we'd be ready for the 10 K that we ran this morning! We were part of a crowd of about 10,000 runners that descended upon Anaheim to run in the Disneyland 10 K. Not only did the race describe the distance, it described the number of runners!
I'm thankful that John ran this race with me. It was our first 10 K race together, and we had a blast! Disney runs are so much fun. Park workers line the course, yelling encouragement and offering high-5s (or high-4s in the case of those with Mickey gloves.) Dressing up, and seeing the costumes of others, is half the fun. As you can see, we smiled the entire race.
10. With the exception of photo stops, we ran the entire way. I'm thankful that we enjoy good health that allows us to run together. I'm also glad that we can enjoy laughing together--and so that you can join in, too, I'm sharing with you more photos that belong in our "Will We Ever Learn How to Take Selfies?" folder:
Thanks for another enjoyable summer week. Please join us in the blog hop!
Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group
1. Although temperatures are still hot here in the desert, I appreciated the glimpse of cooler days while I was in Utah. The morning I left Provo, the mountains were sporting a fresh coat of powdery snow. I was surprised to see it had snowed in August, but the not-so-naked-anymore mountains made me smile.
2. I stopped in St. George for gas, and for another attempt to capture the beauty of the St. George Temple against the mountains of red rocks. I spent more time than I intended trying to find the right location to shoot, and still didn't succeed. I'm thankful for the beauty in the color contrasts between the white of the temple, the reds of the mountains, and the blue of the sky.
 |
| This is a blurry shot I captured years ago while traveling (as a passenger, of course!) along I-15. I would love to get this image in focus, but it is impossible at 65 mph and I still have not found a good place to pull over for this view. |
4. I'm thankful that my church calling reminds me to be more outwardly-focused. I've been more aware of the needs of others, and have been trying, in my small way, to help. As is typically the case, I have come away from such situations feeling good that my efforts made a difference. I'm reminded also that little unexpected acts of kindness really can brighten a day, both for those on the giving end, as well as for those on the receiving end. Win-win.
5. I'm thankful for good neighbors. When John was preparing to BBQ hamburgers for a crowd of women from our church this week, and he realized our grill was taking its sweet time heating up, our neighbors graciously allowed us to use their grill. Using both grills, John was able to supply BBQ for the group of us--about 30 people in total. Yum!
6. I'm thankful for the Relief Society women. I think everyone had a good time at our BBQ. It was nice to just spend some time visiting.
7. I'm thankful for beautiful sunsets. I know I've mentioned this before, but the desert offers such colorful sky palettes that I can't help myself.
 |
| The sky was actually more pink than golden, but this is what my camera picked up. |
8. I'm thankful for fireworks displays. I love their lights; I love their heart-shaking "booms." John and I were at Disneyland last night. We enjoyed some rides, then ended the night by watching the fireworks display from Main Street.
9. Why were we at Disneyland? Thanks for asking. We went down last night so we'd be ready for the 10 K that we ran this morning! We were part of a crowd of about 10,000 runners that descended upon Anaheim to run in the Disneyland 10 K. Not only did the race describe the distance, it described the number of runners!
I'm thankful that John ran this race with me. It was our first 10 K race together, and we had a blast! Disney runs are so much fun. Park workers line the course, yelling encouragement and offering high-5s (or high-4s in the case of those with Mickey gloves.) Dressing up, and seeing the costumes of others, is half the fun. As you can see, we smiled the entire race.
10. With the exception of photo stops, we ran the entire way. I'm thankful that we enjoy good health that allows us to run together. I'm also glad that we can enjoy laughing together--and so that you can join in, too, I'm sharing with you more photos that belong in our "Will We Ever Learn How to Take Selfies?" folder:
Thanks for another enjoyable summer week. Please join us in the blog hop!
Your hosts
A Fly on our (Chicken Coop)
Wall, Amycake and the Dude</
a>, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal</
a>, I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine
Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group
ok I thought the costumes were great until I saw the selfies... those were SPECTACULAR! So funny!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to believe we are generally pretty competent individuals, but our selfie-taking skills definitely leave something to be desired!
DeleteWhat beautiful photos - as always. That orange sunset (?) is absolutely stunning.
ReplyDeleteI love that the Disney workers and characters line the 10K route - that has to be a great encouragement. How fun! Love the costumes. As for the selfies...well, I don't even try! So at least you're making the effort!
Congrats on the run!
If at first you don't succeed, right? :-)
DeleteAwesome photography, Kristi! Glad that you've included incredible people in your list this week!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many incredible people in the world, aren't there?
DeleteKristi selfies are not easy , but yours were adorable. I loved all the pictures and the St George was too, looks like a Monet- even at 65 mph you captured the beauty its spectacular. :) Congrats on the 10k awesome job.
ReplyDeleteYou are very kind, but I still think the selfies definitely have room for improvement! :-)
DeleteI hope you will find a place to take a photo of the temple because the blurry image shows it is a beautiful scene.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on mastering the selfie - I haven't been able to do it either.
I'm going to keep trying! :-)
DeleteHahaha, love your selfies!! That's how Henk and I started too, but after lots of tries, we are getting better every time! Keep on clicking that camara!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your first 10 K together. I'm very, VERY impressed! I can't even WALK 10K, so can't even imagine to run the whole part. But it must have been a wonderful experience in those surroundings.
Very jealous on the lovely weather there and love your pictures of the mountains. I take a lot of pictures out of a riding car and with some training that too is something you can train. Work with your shutter-time on the next try.
Thanks for sharing again. I've been off-line a lot lately, so sorry for not stopping by recently. And thank you for your kind words in reply on my blog and fibro-flare update. It's getting a bit better I believe. Hopefully within a week I feel my normal (?) self again.... Ttfn! xxx
Oh, I'm definitely going to keep practicing with the camera! I love digital cameras, because I can just keep on clicking and eventually something will turn out.
DeleteNo need to apologize; I've not been as active online recently, either. I'm glad to hear you are feeling a little better. Hopefully you'll be back to normal soon!
Your photos are always so beautiful. Well, the ones of scenery and flowers and such. You really are lousy at taking selfies! Would you like to borrow my 15 year old to teach you? She's most excellent at it! I love the costumes you wear for the Disney runs. That would ALMOST make me run,but not quite! I can see Lizzi doing it, though!
ReplyDeleteOh, Dyanne, I'm so glad I can count on you to be honest with me! :-) Maybe your daughter can post a youtube instructional video for me. I definitely need help!
DeleteOne of the most unique costumes I saw this time was a couple of women who were dressed up as Dole Pineapple Whips!
Dole Pineapple Whip - yum! They always have that at the Missouri State Fair!
DeleteAnd here I always thought they were only in Hawaii and at Disneyland's Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room!
DeleteI hope your knee allows you to run again soon, but it sounds like you're doing a fantastic job with cycling. I went to a spinning class at the gym exactly one time and promptly decided that definitely was not my thing!
ReplyDeleteIt was quite warm here yesterday, glad you ran early!
ReplyDeleteThe race started at 5:30--although it was more like 6:00 when our corral got to the starting line! It was nice and not too warm that early in the morning.
DeleteFantastic.
ReplyDeleteLove your picture of the Provo mountains. When I was a kid we lived outside of Logan and each weekend travel to SLC for a Grandparent visit. I miss all the colors, seasons and the odd sprinkling of mountain snow.
ReplyDeleteSt. George is the only desert I really like. I'm not a heat person but the colors of St. George are overwhelmingly surreal.
Bravo!! on the 10K. I have friends who run it and say it is a blast. Because of my health it will always be a romantic idea to participate BUT it is lovely to live vicariously.
I'm not a desert person by nature, either, but I'm learning to appreciate certain aspects. Surreal is a great word to describe the colors of St. George.
DeleteWhat an awesome post, Kristi! I love that you and your husband ran the 10K together and Disney makes it so much fun. I'm close to Orlando and they do the runs here at Disney World too. I don't run but I have a lot of friends that do the Disney marathons. Have you ever done the Color Run? Those are fun. I love the pictures of the sunset and the mountains. Gorgeous! You're voice is so calming in this post. I think I needed that....so thank you!
ReplyDeleteThe first run John and I did together was a 5K Color Me Rad run. I love fun runs like that!
Delete10K?!?! Wow!!!! And in that costume, no less!!!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful views you get to see. I've spent so little time out west.
You have some great photos of nature this week! So glad you had a great gathering with other women. I always love time with women in my culture. I think my favorite photo is the one with the snowy mountain tops!
ReplyDeleteOk I so love the selfies. And awesome job on the 10K - and to the beautiful mountains already snow-touched that I miss, here in DC so much... ah, west. Also? Weird random thought because brains are for thinking - I remember being young thinking it was weird people called Colorado "west." Now, well, look at me.
ReplyDeleteYour selfies are like mine so in a word they are terrific! LOL Yea for running with your husband and at Disneyland to boot! I think I would like to run a race at a Disney park some day. Your pictures are beautiful. You live where I want to live!
ReplyDelete