If I Can't See Him...

I was teaching a group of ten preschoolers how to play baseball. During our batting practice, a small tiff broke out between Tech and Sam. I quickly break them up and give them the friendly reminder that if we push our friends, someone may get hurt. I believed the issue to be resolved, but less than a minute later, Tech had his face pressed against my leg and was bawling.

"What is wrong?" I ask, stumped about what could have caused such a hysterical reaction. He looks up at me, his bottom lip quivering, and tries to explain. He manages to utter one word between each heavy sob and tells me, "I tried to tell Sam I didn't like what he said, but I can't see his eyes."

I look across the room to Sam, head tilted back, and both hands clasped tightly over his eyes. I ask Sam to let Tech talk to him, but with hands still in place, he gives his head a quick shake. And Tech continues to wail. 

I tell Tech, "though you can't see his eyes, I'm sure he can still hear you." Finding no solace in my statement, Tech once again buries his face into the side of my leg and cries.

For the remaining ten minutes of class, Sam kept his hands cupped tightly over his eyes, occasionally creating a small opening between his index and middle finger to see where he was walking.

I just might try this defense mechanism next time Troy gets snippy with me. :)

Exam Results

I just received the news that I passed my pilates certification exam. Oh yeah, I'm doing the happy dance! :)

Grand Gulch

To celebrate our one year anniversary, Troy and I took a four-day backpacking trip through Grand Gulch. Grand Gulch, located forty minutes outside of Blanding, is a 24-mile canyon full of Anasazi ruins. I had never been before and Troy had only done the trip once while in medical school. 

We were planning on spreading the 24 miles out over the four days, but our plans were quickly foiled. The BLM told Troy there was "plenty" of water in the canyon, which after an iodine tablet, would be suitable for drinking. This was not the case. We realized after the first day that we would not be finding water so we began to ration. Troy aptly changed the BLM to "buncha lies & misinformation".

If the water rationing wasn't enough, it was hot! Though we were excited to get out of the rain that has been plaguing Utah for weeks, we weren't fully braced for the jump to 90 degrees.

I loved the wildlife. We saw oodles of lizards and frogs, and thankfully no snakes. Troy snagged this frog on our first night. As I was pulling my camera out of the case, Troy yelled, "Ah, the frog went to the bathroom on my hands!" Ha, serves him right. :)

Our second day at the Turkey Pen ruins.

I thought these faces with blue hair were neat. I had never seen this style of pictographs before.

The Split Level ruins.

Troy in the Perfect Kiva. This was the final, and the coolest, set of ruins. There was a perfectly preserved kiva (hence the name) that you could descend into. Slightly creepy, but still fun.

The storage areas around the kiva.

Me climbing out of the dark and dusty kiva

Troy enjoying the last bit of shade before our long climb out of the canyon.

90 degree heat + 8 mile hike w/backpack + 800 foot climb = a tiring last day of hiking. Because we had been rationing water, we were unable to cook our food. We lived on Triscuits, apples and jello for two days. When this photo was taken, about 3 miles from the end, I was having some major cravings for a hot meal and a Coke. 

We made it! The fatigue was completely overshadowed by the realization that I was about to get some real food. :)

We finished the 24 miles in just under 48 hours. After reaching the top of the canyon, we refilled our water bottles with the backup supply of water in our car and decided to camp at a campground near Blanding. Not exactly how we planned the trip to go, but it was still a blast. Troy said it was one of the most difficult camping trips he has been on and still can't believe I chose backpacking over a nice hotel for our anniversary. I figured hotels are all the same and this would make a very memorable anniversary. And it most certainly was memorable. 

Anniversary

Troy and I have been married one year! Right now we are backpacking through Grand Gulch, but thanks to the delayed post date setting, I am able to mark this special day while miles away from civilization. It has been an absolutely wonderful and beautiful 365 days and if this is considered the "difficult" year, I can't wait to see what's in store! I am looking forward to many, many more years with my sweet Troy Boy.

Vegetarian Recipes

As someone who limits meat intake to only fish, I am asked frequently, "what exactly do you eat?" I can sense skepticism when I explain being primarily vegetarian is not a life sentence of dainty salads and tofu. Here are a few favorite recipes in the Madsen home:

Halibut enchiladas - I know, I know, it sounds questionable, but these are surprising good. As you can tell by some of the ingredients, these aren't a calorie counter's friend, but these enchiladas are a great solution when you need something easy to fix for dinner.

Portobello Mushroom Burgers - This recipe came to us from Troy's brother. I'll admit I was a little hesitant to try it, but these burgers were scrumptious! I've eaten my fair share of veggie burgers and these quickly topped the list as my favorite.

So, those are a few suggestions if you're looking for some new recipes. Give 'em a shot, I dare you!

June Challenge: Matterhorn Loop

Is it really the 14th of June already? Though it's the middle of the month, I still haven't forgotten my challenge -- I just forgot to post it. ;) This month I have set my sights on the Matterhorn loop. This is a 2.6 mile run starting at our house, up to Matterhorn drive (hence the name) and back down Parkview to our house. I know two miles is anything but difficult, but the challenge is the 1,000 foot elevation change. This is a steep road! I attempted running this path a few times last year and my shins were screaming the next day. So, June is the month I conquer this course. My goal is to run it at least 9 times before the month ends. I'll be a pro runner in no time! :)

Home Improvements: Kitchen

Sorry about the lack of posting lately; life has been hectic! For those who haven't visited our house, let me give you a little background. The house is beige: beige kitchen, beige bathrooms, beige bedrooms, etc. Of course Troy, being the bachelor, never really took any interest in spicing up the color during the two years he lived here sans Laura. But, fortunately, I LOVE projects. I started with the kitchen. First I updated all the appliances. I had selected the ones I wanted, but waited a few months until I knew I could get a better deal on them. Troy re-stained the cabinets then I covered the beige walls with a darker, purple-based brown. The pictures aren't the best, but it gives you an idea.

I have picked knobs I will be adding to the cabinets, but between starting two new jobs, finishing my pilates certification and taking a summer class, I haven't gotten around to them yet. Also I have been looking for a new island. The one in the picture was here when Troy moved in and I'll admit I don't like it. I know what style and color I'd like, but have yet to find one that meets both criterion. I figure if I don't find a suitable island in the next month or so, I'll just have one built.

The wall was removed between the living room and kitchen last year creating a great flow between the two rooms. I continued the purplish color into the living room, but used a lighter brown on the wall with the fireplace. I had originally planned to use a different color, but I was worried the color I liked would be too drastic. So I figured I'd use this brown to tie together the paint job for now and if I do want the other color on this wall, I can change it later. I know this wall looks really light, but it really is much darker than the dreaded beige.

So those are the changes we made last month. The next project is the office. I have picked new furniture, will be replacing the carpet with wood flooring and painting the walls either a light green or a light blue-grey color. But that's a project for another day and another paycheck. :)

**7 days until Grand Gulch**

**8 days until our anniversary**

**3 months until Europe!**

Children

What I love most about teaching children is the things young ones say. I can't leave a class without chuckling to myself over something uttered during the hour of exercise. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from my past few classes:

During a warmup, I'm telling a story where we are pretending to grow like trees. I tell the children to reach tall towards the ceiling and wave their "branches" in the wind. One little boy, age 3, immediately stops. "That's not a tree - this is a tree," he states as he strikes the tree pose typically used in yoga. How does he know that?

A few minutes before class ends, I am leading the children through a cool down. I say, "show me how much you love your parents" (to get them to stretch their arms to the side). Powell, a round faced preschooler with a wild mop of platinum blond hair, says, "I love my parents more than God loves them". His sincerity in the statement is mostly what made me giggle.

Today I was teaching the children sports drills. I had the children follow up their jumping jacks with one legged hops. Noah, a 4-year-old with a prosthetic leg, gets the most exaggerated smile I've ever seen. His eyes become wide as he exclaims, "I'm made extra special for hopping!" He couldn't wait to show all of us how he could hop.

Gotta love children.