Rivers, Rain and Waterfalls

We just got home last night from a Hale family vacation to Yosemite, California. You would think that being in California we would all have nice tans by now, right? Well, let's just say that we didn't see much of the sun. In fact, it rained the WHOLE time. Despite the rain, we had a great time in Yosemite. We hiked some beautiful trails up to the most gorgeous waterfalls, rafted the Tuolumne River, and visited the Mariposa Grove Redwood forest. Sorry for the length of the post, but I took so many great pictures!

On Saturday we ran the Tuolumne River. It was only 40 degrees and pouring rain the whole time, but it was SO FUN!! As an incentive to get good grades, my dad has been taking my family on river trips since I was in ninth grade. This was my third time running the Tuolumne River and it was as big as ever!

This would be moments before my little body hit the freezing cold, glacier-fed river water. Yes, I fell in twice.....in the rapids.....I have bruises. I pretty much had hypothermia until my dad gave me his fleece to wear under my splash jacket.

The four-way spoon while watching 'Disturbia' in our yurt.

The crew. This year marked the 20th year of Hale-May Memorial Day vacations. Go team!

The hike up to Nevada Falls. There were over 600 stairs. My legs were BURNING!

Scott cooking breakfast in his speedo. I apologize for the indecency.

The Mariposa Grove Sequoias. Worth the drive!


We had a great time in Yosmite!

Two Years and Counting..

On Tuesday Jordan and I celebrated our two year anniversary. Instead of buying each other presents and staying somewhere nice, we decided to spend our money on some new mountain bikes from the REI sale. The plan is to stay in shape AND have fun together. Fool proof. Anyway, after buying our bikes we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (one of my favorites). It was such a fun night! I wouldn't say that our first two years of marriage have been conventional (i.e. most husbands don't fall off cliffs and almost die), but they have been wonderful. I love Jordan more than I did when I married him two years ago, so I guess that's a good sign. I included a few pictures from our wedding day and also a few shots of our bikes. Disclaimer: the bike I wanted came in only one color--PURPLE! Given the choice I would have picked a different color, but I guess it's time for me to embrace my girlie side.




Doesn't get much hotter!


Two years later and we're still in love. Imagine that!

It's Official!!

It's official everyone. On Thursday, May 1st I received my Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology. After five straight years of school, I am more than happy to be done. After reflecting on my college experience, I realize that receiving an education has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. The things that I have learned in my studies will help me throughout my life. I recognize that I couldn't have done it on my own though. I feel like I need to thank Jordan first and foremost. He has been SO patient with me while I have been in graduate school. He worked hard so that I didn't have to work while I completed my degree (and so that we would actually be able to see each other). He also helped me to tone down my Type-A, overachieving personality and just CHILL a little bit. I love and appreciate him so much.

Also, my parents have helped me to get to this point by helping me to understand the importance of education. From the time I was small they have helped me and encouraged me to go as far as I can academically. I couldn't ask for more supportive parents.

Speaking of supportive, my in-laws also came to my graduation. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but my father-in-law didn't even go to his own graduation. He has now suffered through two graduations on my behalf. For him it is the ultimate act of love.

What now? Well, this summer I plan to do whatever the heck I want. I'm going to travel, work on my tan, read books, and get my life organized. Oh yeah.

The fun part of school was making such great friends. These are two of my greatest friends in the program--Brittany and Julia. Though I will NOT miss taking tests and writing papers, I will miss seeing these girls everyday.

The crew. What a good looking group, eh? I have loved going to school with these people.

My brother Scott graduated from BYU with his Master's in Accountancy last week as well. We took some pre-grad pics.

Who knows?