Obstacles...

The recent trip to NC helped me to realize one great thing about humanity and namely about myself. 

Obstacles are a matter of decision. 

That is to say that physical obstacles that we encounter as humans, such as hills or tree stumps in mountain biking and rolling eddies in white water rafting, exist mostly in our heads. The true obstacles in life lie mostly in navigating ourselves.

Getting Gritty

I can't even believe how much my life has changed since the last blog post!

I've heard that the devil is in the details, and let me tell you friends, the Devil loves the details.  Life's recent, big events have not remained a mystery for most of my friends (and the only 5 people who follow this blog). I've said goodbye to too many loved ones, moved three times, changed jobs, had my heart broken, been abandoned by who I thought would be the one person to see me through...Let's just say that the events that have defined a greater portion of 2013, albeit tragic and annoyingly timed very close together, have blessed me with a whole new perspective.

Thanks to all of the awesome friends and family that I have in my life, I have found a deeper sense of self; a resolve even greater now than it was from the previous 31 years. With the love, compassion and kindness that have flowed from the hearts of the people who have stood by me this past year, I know I can overcome anything this world sends my way. In the times of my greatest grief and loss, when I felt all alone, the Holy Spirit came to comfort me and not just in the sense of a warm, fuzzy feeling, but in the thoughtful acts of strangers and friends. What a beautiful world I live in!

Today, I realize that the waiting place I spoke of in July, was just waiting for me to get through what was ahead and to refocus my energy on the bigger picture. Now, I can sit back and recognize that the details are no big deal. My greater purpose in life is not to mourn the loss of so many loved ones this past year, but to keep moving forward, sharing the light that shines within me, and helping others any way that I can.

I say to the devil and his details, "Bring it on - I've got friends, and together, we'll beat you!"

Camping Adventure - Sans Bug Spray

Sunshine? Check.

No wind? Check.

Full tank of gas in the boat? Check.

Camping Gear? Check.

Food? Check.

Star Locator Map? Check.

Bug Spray? Ummm....

Let's just say this past weekend was an absolute blast! Ryan and I took the opportunity to go camping out on the lake. The weather was amazing and the water was perfect. We headed out Saturday afternoon and crossed through the narrows to a lake basin with nearly no one else in it. He found a great island and we decided to set-up camp. It was a great adventure.

 We brought in some firewood and were able to get kindling from the area on the little atoll. The tent was a breeze to get up, and am I ever so grateful that he talked me into brining and air mattress because that island was rocky!

 The boat anchored in nicely and once camp was set, we relaxed! It was quiet except for the sound of jumping fish and the water lapping against the sides of the boat.

 The sunset was absolutely amazing - with pinks and purples painting the sky.

 I pulled out my star locator (thanks to the nice guy at Rebel Books) and we went to work locating stars above us. The next morning, Ryan had the fire going before the sunrise.

 We had previosly decided to bring donuts for breakfast, but somehow ants managed to get on the island overnight and invaded our food supply! It was a good thing there were some left over brats from the night before and we had a tasty breakfast over the fire.

After cleaning up camp, we set out to enjoy the adventures of the lake. It was a fun and relaxing adventure. I am marking 'Camping on an Island in the middle of a lake.' off of my bucket list and will be sure to add BUG SPRAY to my next camping gear list!

KAYLA'S TOP 30 before I turn 30 - Celebrate 14 more amazing memories!

Today is the last day that I am 29 years old. Goodbye 20's. Hello 30's. A little scary to say. A little hard to swallow. But in the true essence of how my father raised me, there's not time for tears. Just time for moving on.
So, in the spirit of enjoying the last day before I turn 30, I still have 14 more memories to count down! Wow, what a slacker! I am going to be a true slacker and put all of them in the same post.

14. San Antonio Trip - I made this trip on a whim back in 2007 and had an absolute blast! There isn't time for all of the details, but it's an amazing city with some great memories!

15. Charleston, SC Trip - This trip was planned. Between Rainbow Row, the Angel Oak, swimming in the ocean, eating amazing southern food and southern hospitality, it's still one of my fav cities!

16. Anytime fishing, hunting, camping or trapping with my dad - I am a daddy's girl (sorry mom - it's true) and have been since I was very little. I have very fond memories of spending time with my dad. He taught me how to fish from the shore and from the boat and we event went ice fishing once. I don't know if I'll ever go ice fishing again, but it was a good time. The first time I went duck hunting with him, I didn't tie my boots up to my belt loops and ended up in a serious mud hole with water covering every inch of my body, including my gun. I don't particularly like duck hunting so much either, but I did enjoy sitting in the reeds as quiet as could be, doing duck calls with my dad. Then there were the other hunting trips. The first year I drew a deer tag it was for area 10. We were up at like 3 a.m. every day to get to the mountains and into our spot before the sun came up. Have you ever climbed up one side of the Ruby mountains and looked down onto the other? I have - and all before the sun came up. It was probably the most beautiful site ever. The sun coming up over the valley as we're sitting there, with our binoculars and guns, trying not to get forst bite! Anyway, we didn't get anything that year, but we did have a lot of fun listening to the quakies, driving all over those mountains and just sitting and watching. I learned how to read tracks, listen to nature and hold still (which as Ryan will attest to any movie watching adventures, is very difficult for me to do for long periods of time). Then of course there was the time we got shot - literally, with a shotgun. Luckily it was long range and it wasn't too serious, but we were both hit. He was hurt, but he checked on me before anything else. We certainly have a complicated relationship, but I have enjoyed all of my time with him.

17. Horseback riding - anytime.

18. Caribbean Cruise.

19. Cruise to Mexico.

20. Summertime - So many summers were spent with my dad and many with my mom growing up. I have fond memories with both of them. With my mom, I made friends in Carlin where she lived and we would do al kinds of crazy things like trestle jumping into the Humbolt River, camping out and shooting hoops at the park. My mom loved to help us do crafts and I learned some great recipes from her during our summers together. The summers with my dad were spent working in the fields chopping cockle burs, swimming in the irrigation ditches, swimming at ash, fishing, doing yard work or working on the drill rig. There were times when we were building forts and adventuring all over our little hiko valley in the mountains. Those were all great times!

21. High School Graduation and after party.

22 - 25. All of the service projects and great work we did with our Civitan Clubs. The first, Civitan Accelerated, Chartered January 19, 2006. Then Lovely Ladies Bruncheon Club chartered in August 2008. Then Civitan on the Greens in 2009 and Diverse City Civitan Club in 2010. Some of my bestest friends in the world have come from my volunteer work with Civitan!

26. Civitan Conventions to Detroit, Orlando and  NYC to Nova Scotia on a cruise. Civitans ROCK!

27. My first road trip with Ryan to Tempe for Halloween last year. This is one of my favorite memories for many reasons - and they include fun, friends and relaxation!

28. The Novel Completion party in Atlanta with Julie and the gang after we completed the NANOWRIMO Competition in 2007. My novel was lost - all 10,000 words of it - when my usb drive went kaput - but the memory of working, going to school, taking care of a family and still writing a novel in 30 days reminds me that I can do anything I set my mind to, have good friends to support me, and take baby steps to get there.

29. Spending time with my grandparents. A lot of people had a hand in raising my siblings and me. I have some great memories of trips to Hurricane, UT from Fredonia with Grandma Carolyn and Grandpa Johnny for apples and then the memory of canning homemade apple sauce, of playing in grandpa's yard, learning to sew from grandma and watching Transformers (the cartoons) and He-Man with my cousin Josh at their house. My grandma Alice and Grandpa Davis also carry some special memories in my heart. Grandma always took us shopping, let us read to her and play beauty shop with her. She also had an endless supply of grapes and other fruit at her house, which I loved. Grandpa had great stories, staunch opinions (about everything) and always seemed to have a pot of beans on the stove.

30. Last but not least. I hope my birthday celebration this weekend with my friends and family counts as one of my top 30 memories of the past 30 years.

Here's to 30 great ones and to 30 more!

KAYLA'S TOP 30 before I turn 30 - Celebrate Varsity Basketball



After winning the championship game for the "A" State Title.

I am quite behind in my Top 30 before I turn 30 Count down...so here is another post for today. Today, I celebrate the memories of Varsity Basketball. I played 8th grade basketball and two years on Junior Varsity. My third year of HS ball was an interesting one. There were 14 players on team, which made for a deep bench. In addition, there were a lot of really good players on the team. Gals who worked hard to be really good at the sport (KUDOS to Haley who walked on to the UNR Ladies Basketball Team and to Sarah who played for Snow College).  During my Junior year, I thought I was going to be GREAT! I ran my guts out at every practice. I spent the summer before practicing at the park; dribbling the ball, shooting hoops and practicing free throws. But, as it turns out I had run my course as a player and was a better bard. (If you don't know what a bard is, look it up). What I loved about that year was playing with some truly inspirational players, running my guts out at late night practices and being part of something truly amazing. I had the opportunity to share some pretty cool poems and words of inspiration to the team (MIP) but I also learned some hard lessons. The first, and probably the most profound, was when I had a sit down with the coach. No, I wasn't the best. In fact, I would probably sit the bench most of the season. No, it didn't matter how hard I worked, I would never measure up. No, you can't cry - you gotta suck it up. For all of the hard work I had ever put into anything else, I had reaped some valuable reward. This reward was not what I had been looking for - it was a very real message that I was part of a team, but I wasn't the best on the team. I think that this lesson, although a big and bitter pill to swallow, was one of the best lessons I learned in my years playing basketball. Sometimes, I won't be the best. But it's sure fun playing on a the best team. 



THREE-PEAT CHAMPIONS! Posing for pictures after the game.

Celebrating upon our return home...