BYU Baseball

 We went to a BYU baseball game! 

Throwing Clay

For Matt's birthday I bought him a class at a local pottery studio.  It's something that he had expressed interest in.  He wanted me to join him, so I went along and made a piece too.  

Scottsdale

Matt had a medical conference to attend in Scottsdale, Arizona so I tagged along.  It was at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn.  While he had his meetings in the morning, I got a little studying done for my final.  Then we found fun things to do together after that.  The day before his conference started, we had the whole day free, so we went on a hike in the morning and golfed in the afternoon.  

Our hike was at Pinnacle Peak.  It was an easy enough hike through some gorgeous dessert hills. 

Matt golfed the resort's course, and I rode along in the cart enjoying the nice weather and eating M&Ms.

Here's our "casita".

On our second evening, we hiked a little more, but I don't remember the name of the area. 

Citrus trees were full of big fruit.  Here's one at the hotel.

On Sunday, we drove to both temples in the area.  The Mesa Temple is our favorite of the two.  It was built in 1927.  It now has a wonderful new visitors' center that we were able to go into.   The Gilbert Temple is beautiful in a more modern way.  

We had a wonderful time in the Phoenix area.  We ate a lot of yummy food including some legit New York deli sandwiches, tasty wood fired pizza, and awesome Thai food.  Unfortunately, MLB spring training games had been postponed, so we didn't get to enjoy any baseball on this visit. 

Vegas Bound

At the beginning of the month, Josh and Megan made the big four day move from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Las Vegas.  Josh drove the moving truck, and Megan drove their car with their doggy, Scooter, along for the ride.

Josh has a new job flying for Maverik Helicopters which they are very excited about.  They dropped their household goods into a storage unit, and then came up to Provo to stay with us for a little while. We loved having them with us! Scooter was fun to have around too.  We all went up to Rock Canyon park where Scooter played hard with some other friendly dogs.  He's super energetic, but occasionally he'll be chill and let you snuggle with him.  We dog sat for them when they went up to Logan for the day, and then another time when they drove to Vegas and back in a day to go check out some places they were considering renting.  Scooter and I spent time together on a bunch of walks in the neighborhood.  He's a puller and a bit skittish, so those walks weren't longer than 15 minutes. He liked sitting by my feet while I did schoolwork at my desk. 

We enjoyed having dinners at home with J & M.  One night, they made us an Ecuadorian meal that was so yummy!  We also went out to lunch and dinner a couple times.  We took them to the BYU art museum one afternoon. It was also fun to celebrate Megan's birthday while she was with us. We gave her some soft Lates by Kate pajamas and took her to Hi Mountain Drug in Kamas for burgers and onion rings/fries.  My favorite part of that was watching Josh give Megan the presents he picked out for her. 

They were able to rent the house that they most wanted.  They left Utah on a Wednesday, and two days later we were able to go down and see their new place and help them settle in.  We are happy for their new desert adventure and that they are living within a six hour drive from us.  

I Missed Anniversary #10

Today marks eleven years since starting my Kim's Amazing Race blog.  Unfortunately, there were some sparse years.  I wish I had written more from 2014-2018.  Our family went through a lot during those years.  But I'm glad for what I do have written down and for the pictures I've put on here.  It's been a fun thing for me to do occasionally...just for me.  I don't think anybody else is reading it and that's ok.  That's not my purpose.  I think this year I will print this out in book form.  Then it will be easy for my family to read and enjoy.  

My "amazing race" life looks a bit different than it did in January 2011.  Different yet the same.  My "team" is the same but has grown as my kids have married and started having their own kids.  They also have left home to begin their own amazing races, but mine will always be connected to theirs.  My detours, u-turns, roadblocks, and daily travels are more geared toward the 50 year old empty nester, college student, and Grammie that I am today.  I'm trying to figure out my current purposes, desires, and goals.  Doing the best that I can in creating a "race" just right for me.  I get to share it with my best friend, the best teammate I could ask for.  We are having a grand adventure.  

Last week the real Amazing Race began it's 33 season, and I was right there ready to enjoy episode one. So fun!  I decided each week that I will sample one of my Trader Joe's Chocolate Passport.  I chose Peru for the first week.  The show started out in London, filming right before Covid shut down the world.  They made it to another stop in Scotland where the producers then decided to put it all on hold.  Little did they know that it would be for 19 months!  This coming week is the episode when they resume the race.  

May my race continue for a very long time!  I'm not ready to be "eliminated" yet.  Ha!

A Book A Month 2021

More great books this year! Some were purchased, borrowed from the library, or given to me as gifts.   

January- The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare

February- Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India by Madhur Jaffrey

March- Refugee by Alan Gratz

April- Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

           The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

May- The Residence: Inside the Private World of The White House by Kate Andersen Brower

June- Mama Maggie: The Untold Story of One Woman's Mission to Love the Forgotten Children of Egypt's Garbage Slums by Martin Makary and Ellen Vaughn

July- Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

August-  Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

September- Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski  

October- Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza

November- Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Firoozeh Dumas

December- Grace Where You Are by Emily Belle Freeman