:'(

Well, today was my last day of work for the season, other than a few pool parties... which is either a good or a bad thing. Good as in, I get a break before school. Bad as in no more money, and Amber has left town. Oh how I loved that girl. She will do great things at her Christian school in Kentucky. Also, this morning I was informed that I would be leaving after church tomorrow to go to Greer with my parents. Which I don't entirely want to do. It also means that tonight was my last night to see Nat and Riss for basically a year. Which just plain sucks. A lot. I mean... Seriously. I miss them so much already. Let me tell you something, never have your best friends live half way across the world. Its not that much fun. So yeah... I would say that today was crappy in terms of goodbyes. But good in terms of who I spent it with. I wouldn't change that for anything.

:)

Wow, I'm on a roll with this whole posting on the blog thing. But tonight, I went to Oregano's for the first time, and man it was good! I am soo full now though. It was a fun experience, although I could do with out the uncomfortable fullness. Hahah.

Yesterday, I went to freestone park with Natalie. We got Costa Vida and ate it there. Only we had some extra food left... And there were tons of ducks around. So we fed them! There were so many! There was even a little baby duck, which is now affectionately known as "Baby Duck." :)

But yeah...

Decision-Making in Quotes

So, decisions have been coming my way left and right lately, what with college and all. And I'm just not that great of a decision-maker I guess. I say this because I take forever to make them... And I'm very indecisive about them. The only solace I can find is when I pray about them, which isn't a bad thing. But I guess it comes down to some quotes I've found lately. To start out...

“The key to change... is to let go of fear.” -Rosanne Cash

This quote has defined a lot of my decisions lately. Such as college. I had so many fears about it, about things that would happen depending on the college I went to. If I really wanted to change where I lived, or just change the school I was going to (like ASU, which is still a huge change in... everything). In the end, I decided on going to ASU. To do so I had to let go of many fears. But so far it appears as if it was the best decision. And who knows what could happen as a result of this decision?

Which brings me to the next quote...

“Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.” - Keri Russell

Its a common quote, in one way or another. Heard several times, several different ways in one's life. But this is just so very true. Not talking to someone for one day could turn into not talking to them for six months. But this quote just makes me weary sometimes. Such as my decision about what ward to attend. Singles ward, or the home ward where I would teach primary? This decision is still on my mind, and its not going anywhere anytime soon.

But I guess the most important quote is...

“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.” - James Dean

So never let go of your dreams, but say things that you feel impressed to say, do the things you feel you should do. You never what will happen. Thank our Heavenly Father for all the blessings in our life, no matter how small they may be. Live your life so that you would be comfortable dying tomorrow.

Trip to Greer... In more detail.

As if you wanted that, right?

Alright... Here's how the story goes: leave work at about noon on friday, pick up coxes... Skip forward to Pinetop, about 3:40 pm, and we are buying groceries. Then we continue the drive down to Greer.

We arrive in pretty good time, and we unload our stuff and head down to explore the area. Visit the creek, lakes, and everything else. Trying to figure out what to do, we attend a woodwind quintet concert at the community center, which was pretty good. We left at intermission though, because Marissa didn't like it all that much. Then we go back to the cabin, and we hang out and watch a lame scary movie (it still freaked Rissa out though).

The next morning Riss and I wake up at about 5 am, and get ready for the hike. We finally get Nat awake, although apparently she thought it was 8 am. I only discovered that later on the hike. We ended up leaving at about 5:30. Then we drive on a dirt road to the trail head... And begin the 16 mile hike up the highest mountain in the White Mountains of Arizona. The first half goes pretty good, and the scenery is great. We cross a creek and begin the real incline to the top of the mountain.

We turn back about a half mile from the top, however, because it starts sprinkling. Then once we get across the creek, it starts to pour. At first, we try to stay dry, but to no avail. With about 7 mile to hike in the pouring rain, there is no chance. We finally make it back to the car, soaked through and freezing. Then we dry off at the cabin and hit Rendezvous, which is my favorite restaurant/cafe EVER! In case you wanted to know that. ;)

There we eat lunch and have much needed Hot Chocolate. Mmmm.... Afterwards, we head down to Eagar and buy new, cheap, extremely comfy jackets, as the ones we wore on the hike are, well, wet. We head back and nap... Then Nat and I head down to the stream and take pictures. We then go back to the cabin, and play games(like dominoes and Wahoo).

The next morning we go back down to the stream, and take more pictures. Then we head out. We eat lunch in Pinetop, and return back down to the valley around 4 pm.

Great trip, all things considered. And oddly enough, I want to hike Baldy again next year. Who wants to come?