SNOW!!!

Prays were heard, the night was still,
A small shriek from my lips did spill.
Snow is falling all around,
Hearts unhappy cannot be found.
Christmas songs all in full play,
Words like "pow" and "gnar" we often say.
New skis, fresh snow, lift tickets and more,
Ski season is here and we're out the door!

If you can't tell, I'm cheesy and excited that winter finally showed up again! Some friends and I hit the Canyons yesterday with about 8-10 inches of new snow. Not much of a base underneath it, but enough for a good party on the mountain! I am unable to download pics right now, but as soon as I can, Ill post pictures from yesterday.
Happy Holidays!

CHANGE...

Change is the name of the game for me and I decided to blog about it today.

I start my new job at the Mountain Center up in Park City for the Quicksilver Rossignol Group tomorrow, so I am enjoying a day off inside away from the COLD! Due to the change of seasons, my days of being a Garden Girl came to an end Thursday. It was a fun day working with my boss Sarah and the whole gang. This job has been physically challenging but very rewarding. I will miss it!

With the change of the weather, the leaves and the length of daylight, I feel my life has taken a turn as well. Some days I'm excited about change, other days I wish I could step back in time. I didn't get my dream job earlier this summer, my parents no longer reside in Maui and I recently jumped back into the hideous scene of being single. Life is as spontaneous as ever and so unpredictable...

Amidst all this change, I found hope. The new job infects me with ski fever and I have every hope of finding my niche. My parents finally live close enough for Utah to feel like home again and despite the disappointment and heartache, I learned a lot and treasure the experiences I've had this summer. This past weekend of General Conference I found wisdom in a talk given by one of the General Authorities. He said, "hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness," and that "it is the foundation of our faith." Another one of my favorite talks was Joseph B. Wirthlin who quoted a phrase his mother used to say "Come what may and love it." The perfect motto to the rest of my year...come what may and love it! Between the two talks, I realized that there are certain things we can't control in our lives but with hope and faith, we can learn to love it and move on still loving life and hoping for the best.

More changes reflect in the fact that I recently became a big fan of the color pink. Not just because it's girly, more importantly because it signifies Breast Cancer Awareness. I don't know why I'm interested in being a dedicated supporter, but I have since collected quite a few pink ribbon items. My nalgene bottle, camera case, gardening gloves...even tic tacs.

Here are a few more pics...
My sis, my boss Sarah and me (garden girls gone wild my last day) Arden, the little gal I tend on Wednesdays and a sneak peak of some hard work this summer...Many of you may think I didn't do much this summer but play However, I did learn a few trades one of which happened to be rock work.

MY TRIP TO CHILE!

" AND TAKE YOUR MONEY..."
Some of you might think this irrelevant, but my theme song for the trip was paper planes by M.I.A. and this picture is in lieu of it. Oh this is Portillo by the way... The first shot is of me and the second is Cory at Valle Nevado (let's pretend it was a sweet landing ;) It needs to snow soon, I can't wait for the season!

Skiing on my 24th BDAY!

Friday the 22nd I turned 24 and what better way to spend my 24th than on the slopes? Corey and I took a ski shuttle an hour and a half from the Santiago to El Colorado Ski Resort in Farrellones through one of the sketchiest canyons. I was laughing the whole time...these drivers are crazy! If you've experienced the road to Hana in Maui, imagine a more barren, steeper incline along with some crazy Chileans who pass on blind corners, (a fellow traveler referred to it as Chilean Chicken)...and that should paint a rough picture of this experience...it was awesome! I couldn't get over how tall the Andes were and how high we were! The skiing was surprisingly good and left ear to ear grins on our faces. Skiing mid-summer in Chile?? Who would have thought...this is going to be an expensive habit...

WELCOME TO CHILE!

Dramamine, earplugs, three seats to stretch out across and an eye mask makes for an incredible 9 hour, red-eye flight! There's no better way to fly. I passed out about an hour after take off and woke up to this...Good morning Andes!! I believe this peak was Mt. Aconcagua - the tallest peak in the Andes mountain range. I was more than thrilled to finally arrive! Chile is currently on my top 3 fav. countries! I hope this blog illustrates why..
(I have way too many great pictures to post in one blog so I made a slide show, you can check out all the pics by selecting "view all images.")

The first few days were spent in Santiago, (with the exception of my birthday which I posted above.) with my friend Ximena Dona and her family. When speaking of great people, I will always think back to this family and how hospitable and welcoming they were. For the time being, we were family and I will always consider Ximena my Chilean sister! The first day we arrived, we were treated to a home cooked meal complete with a birthday cake for me! What a surprise! They also invited us to their cousins 18th birthday where we met several relatives and ate more cow than I thought was edible. If Cory's face didn't approve I replied as her uncle came around with the bowl of meat "No carne, gracias!"
The next week we headed up to Farrellones (for detailed road conditions see the previous post) where we stayed at the cutest A-Frame hostel (aka Tribeca A-frame hostel for rockers!) It was owned by Bryan from New York and ran by the coolest couple from Tahoe, Jerimiah and Andrea. I have to admit, I was refreshing to speak and understand English for a few days. The hostel was so cosey and warm, we had so much fun up there! My only complaint was the failed hour and a half attempt to hitch hike. The Chileans up there would drive around us and pick up the locals...unbelievable! The next day it dumped about 5-6 inches and we skied powder all day! Thanks to the Brits who gave us a ride, we were able to enjoy a whole day of faceshots!

The last stop was Portillo. We caught a bus from Santiago to Mendoza, Argentina where we got off a few miles from the border in Portillo. This resort topped the charts! Its nestled between towering cliffs just aside a frozen lake and the view was absolutely breathtaking! We scored a bunk, two days skiing and four gourmet meals for $180. Try that in Park City...I don't think so! The snow wasn't as soft as Valle Nevado, but the terrain was steeper and we found some killer lines. My favorite was the rocket rope tow that shot us up the steepest mountain at mac-90! I laughed so hard I almost fell off several times. Ski Magazine was also doing a photo comp. that week so we were able to sneak a peak of the slide show and upcoming photos for February's edition. We also got to meet and hang out with the skiers and photographers who were a lot of fun. Ironically enough, Jason West was there shooting, Cory and my old boss's husband from Solitude. It was a fun weekend!

The last town we visited was Val Paraiso, a port town two hours north of Santiago. This town was very unique complete with graffiti art and smelled of fish. We found a decent restaurant where we were serenaded by a cute Chilean man in a white dining coat and had some killer Chilean Sea bass. I love this country! I highly recommend it and already can't wait to get back!

Time for an update...

I'm terrible at keeping up at this blogging business for reasons such as this...it's past 2 a.m. and I can't put this down! So here's my update... I've spent most my summer working for a company called Garden Girls where I play with plants and dirt all day while working on my tan...or skin cancer for that matter. I decided to post a picture of my favorite plant right now, Echinacia. It's not only beautiful, but it's used for medicinal purposes as well. I also love lilly's, crocosmia and lavender. My boss Sarah Clemensen is a riot to work with and I get a high working for her. I've also been able to stay in shape and love being outside! My sister Aarika and I work together and we can't figure out how the two of us never run out of things to say during our long work hours. She and her husband Rob live only a few blocks away and it's been loads of fun hanging out with them! I've been on the job search for sometime now and haven't had any luck. All this college grad hype is overrated! It's been a challenging year thus far, but I've been fortunate to stay busy playing with friends and taking short weekend trips. This weekend I am running a triathalon in Logan with Craig and his sister. I like to dedicate my finish to my good friend Rich Alley who ran a marathon with about as much training as I have put in...wish me luck!! I hope I don't die.. In less than two weeks, I fly to Chile with my good friend Corey Heintz to ski for 10 days! I guess you could say I've started checking off my bucket list...this is definitely one of them and I'm stoked! I can't complain...life is GooD! Sometimes life throws you curve balls but I'm glad I have great friends and family around to remind me that life is short and to live life happy!

St. George

Jules, Mady, Suzette and I took a short trip to St. George a couple of weeks ago for a little R&R. We stayed at Mady's grandparents condo (thanks Larsens!) where we biked, swam, read and challenged each other to some mad mexican train dominos. Mady and I also learned to ride dirt bikes, thanks to Suz and Jules. It was definitely a therapeutic trip for me! I had high hopes of landing a job I'd been dreaming of and the earlier part of the week was rough. All this college grad hype is overrated! So I am still in pursuit of a career. This summer has been fun regardless and it's not over yet!

Summer FUN!

MOAB 2008

This was our 3rd annual Girls Moab trip and let me tell you, it gets better every year! This year consisted of Jen, Jules, Mel, Emmaliegh, me and Jude (mel's dog). YAY for Emm who drove clear up from AZ! The trip began at the Moab Brewery with to-die-for wings! This year we found the greatest campsite along the river and the exact location is a secret so no one can steal it next year! haha! Jk, but really it was the best camping spot yet! We hiked negro canyon...at least I think that's the name of it. When we got the the little oasis at the end, Mel found a rope and of course turned it into a rope swing that left us with battle wounds after swinging out through the trees. We also worked on Yoga poses. That night, Jen and I drove up the canyon and watched the stars.. WOW! I miss that about living in the city...you just can't see the stars like you can out in the brush. The next day we blew up our hefty Coleman rafts, borrowed some life jackets and paddles (thanks Western!) and headed up the canyon to float the river. We heard rumors that the river was high and when one of the river guides told us there were 12 ft. rapids, we got a little nervous.. But of course that didn't stop us. We started the adventure with a prayer and yes...Humorous Emmaleigh snapped a photo of us praying that we wont die down the river! Jen charged the river on her wave attacker complete with water gun (if you can see in the pics). I have to admit, I thought she was going to die! Turns out they weren't 12 ft. rapids and we missed the best ones taking the guys advice to steer left past the ranch...we were bummed. But the float was fun! Mel and I made it through all but one of the rapids and totally flipped in front of the first pull out with tons of people...it was hilarious! The trip ended with the traditional Moab diner greasy food and ice cream....mmmm! Can't wait for next year!

Girls Girls Girls

These are a few of my favorite girls!

Kayaks in coves with sweet tasting mangos.
Bright shiny sailboats full sail when it blows. Hikes through bamboo over bridges that swing, My girls in Maui's my favorite thing!













Cream colored ice cream and crisp sho you chicken
Palm trees and coconuts, cheeseburger in Paradise...to be continued... I am no poet.

Basically this was an action-packed week complete with wake boarding, kayaking, hiking, beaching, shopping, bbqing, and lazy nights staring at star-filled skys. Oh if we could turn back time!

Maui sweet Maui

I'm a sucker with no job, no obligations or responsibility so why not spend a few weeks home in paradise? What a rough life. I've been home for almost three weeks now and find it hard to think of going back to Utah. If it weren't for the third wedding, I'd be tempted to stay.

Pond Skimming

Jules, Jen, Mel, Terrin and I rockin out the last week at the Canyons and the annual Pond Skimming event...what a riot! Oh how I love this culture! I sure didn't get any of this back east!

Can anyone up this?

If anyone can find a cuter picture of a 3 1/2 yr. old in ski garb, let me know! After putting on her own skis, I looked back to see what was keeping Emily... Ducky -who had to come with us- was being tied to her coat. You better believe she skied almost the whole day like that too. I was laughing so hard and everybody else seemed to be quite amused. She was a rock star on the mountain after 5-6 days of back breaking lessons... well not quite back breaking, but my back is way out of whack and the chiropractor is heaven sent! It was a rewarding way to end the season teaching. I am sure going to miss it...the good parts. It's been a rough season teaching and I am actually glad I got a few days in here at the end.

Weddings weddings weddings...

Wedding # 3 Aarika and Rob Branham




Aarika and Rob were married in May and will be the last for quite some time. My parents had to take a deep sigh of relief after this one. Three weddings within 5 months of each other...go figure. My parents are rockstars!

Aarika spent a summer in France and has been taking French classes since high school so it was only right to have her wedding luncheon at La Callie here in Salt Lake. It was fun to have my family fly out once again and crash with me, I am so spoiled! I hate to be biased, but I loved being Aarika's brides maid the best because I love my new shoes! The dress is hot too...love the dress, love shoes, love everything!

Wedding # 2 Natalie and Joey Worthen

Natalie and Joey were married on March 1st 2008. I have to admit, I miss my sister :( Natalie and I have shared a room our whole lives with the exception of probably no more than 4 years...you may think I'm joking but, seriously, we were inseparable these last few weeks together. I love Joey and am so excited to have him part of our family and know they will have a wonderful life together. I guess the sad part was the fact that they moved away on Monday. Yeah that's it...come back you two! Anyway, here are some pictures from the dinner the temple and her reception. It was lovely and so much fun!

















Wedding # 1 Alise and Chris Allen
And the last shall be first...
Yes, my little sister, Alise (19 yrs.) was the first of the four Hatch girls to get married. Crazy huh? She married Chris Allen, a great addition to the family from Park City.. Alise and Chris met in Physical Science class at BYU...haha! I love that story! It was a beautiful wedding and we are happy for them!