Labor Day Arches Trip

Timon's picture

Duncan, Grandpa Brubaker, & Timon

Michael takes the hard road

Timon, Kristi & Duncan at Tunnel Arch

Michael at pinetree arch

Michael & Duncan

Timon, Duncan & Kristi at PineTree Arch

Timon attacks the trail

What you don't see is that there are steep cliffs on either side. 

We're on teh primitive trail in Devil's Garden.  Good thing my boys are rock climbers.

Even further up!

Duncan at the Swimming hole in North Mill Creek Canyon

Timon at the swimming hole

Kristi contemplates cliff jumping

Timon climbs the waterfall

What kind of lizard is this?

Are they pectoglyphs or pictographs?  They are native american rock art!

Mitch Smoot, Jonathan Brubaker, Caroline & Maren Dunford, & Timon

Seriously love this picture of Duncan and Timon on the cliffs

Backside of Skyline Arch from our campground

Sunset from the campground

Is Duncan really helping Grandpa Dutch Oven?

Duncan, Michael & Timon (at the arch before Delicate???)

Michael trys to make sure Duncan looks at the person taking the picture!

1st day of Kindergarten

Big Brother Timon shows the way!

Hurry up mom - it's bright out here

This is where I wait every day to go in my class! I'm #2!

Duncan Burns and Nate Guinness!

Mandatory 1st day of K picture

at the green table

Ms. Huntington welcomes Duncan to Kindergarten

9th anniversary of Sept. 11th

This is a day where I wax philosophical.  Due to a nasty cold - I actually forgot!  My darling husband did not.  I have been pinning for a deep freezer.  Only people who coupon like I do and have food storage as an obsession can understand the signifigance of this.  I have been trying to figure out where in our 1300 square feet this deeply needed deep freeze would go.  Finally our neighbors Karla and Ben showed us how moving one shelf could make the space available.  I feel like I'm in NYC again just thinking in these ways.  So this tells you how amazing my husband is - he was in a fender bender while navigating the Jordan Landing parking lot (a virtual nightmare).  Due to construction cones he and another lady get in a fender bender - still can't figure out who is a fault - maybe the cones?  Even after this event manages to buy me my deep freeze and put a card in it for me to discover.  Good thing I didn't plug it in before opening it.

My main intention of journaling was not to write about my freezer - although it is obviously important to me!  But more one of reflection.  9 years seems like a long time ago and so much has happened.  I am so happy to say that in the seeking for a false sense of stability that I now own or am pretending to own by paying the bank a mortgage - the home we live in.  My children are both turning into wonderful people.  Timon who I am proud of and Duncan who I adore.  The images of people falling from the buildings will never fully leave my mind, but they don't haunt me and I don't sink into melancholy over thinking of how I have experienced more Drama and life in my 30's than most in their 60's.  Instead I have a small moment of wise today.  I think wisedom stems from gratitude.  And I have so much to be grateful for - not the very least of which is a new freezer.

Pictures from Dallin's Wedding

Dallin & Arielle & Burns (- Michael)

Dallin & Arielle & Burns (- Michael) take 2

Dallin &Arielle & Dunfords

Brubaker Siblings (- Jed)

Duncan Hugging Arielle

Duncan and Timon

Duncan, Timon & Maren do silly faces

Grandpa Mac and Timon have a deep chat

Tah Duh by Duncan

Brubaker Family

Brubaker Family again

and the close up!

and the look at the couple while they kiss

Burns: Duncan (5), Kristi (36), Michael (38), and Timon (8)

at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building at the Reception.

Wedding Dinner August 23rd at the Old House at Valley View Avenue

Timon hugs Arielle right as she gets out of the temple

Dallin and Arielle coming out of the temple

Dallin and Arielle with all the kids on the Salt Lake temple steps.

                      It was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding!

1st Annual Burchwin Retreat

We spent the last three days at Becca Buchart's mother's cabin.  It was up in Hobble Creek Canyon.  It was beautiful and wonderful.  The three families were all together in Hawaii in 2003 - 2005 more or less and we all left by the end of 2005.  My favorite part of the whole event was resting out on the balcony in a hammock listening to my i-pod. When does that ever happen?  I'll try to put up some pictures!

I can do hard things

So I read this lady's blog where she talked about doing hard things.  She's wanting to lift weights everyday for 30 days.  I have really been wanting to run, but getting 20 minutes in and thinking that I am going to die.  Nevermind that my sister who just had a baby is going to kick my trash in a 5K in Sept.  So it's August 2nd - I guess I only have a month to get ready to do it without dying.  I get to the DCC and what do you know there is Dawn this weight lifting neighbor.  It was very motivating - I can't really give up at 2.6 miles when she's over there lifting weights.  So wahoo!  3.3 miles in 38 minutes - not that I really am excited to write that down - but I've learned enough in special ed. to know that I need to take a baseline!  We'll see what Wednesday's run brings.  Then I came home and read the Splore newsletter.  Here's a quote from it! 
  
Every day I hang out with people who experience more daily hardships than I have experienced in my entire life, yet they are so excited and positive. It's hard to complain about the blisters on my hands from the oars when someone in my boat has a spinal cord injury, and it's hard to worry about my arms getting tired while I watch someone who has had a stroke paddle through a rapid. I've come to realize the so-called "disabled" people, who we serve, have more to offer me than I could ever offer them. 

So here is a list of my hard things I want to work on and how I am going to do them:

1. Run a  5K and then a half marathon
2. go to bed by 10 pm
3. stay on a financial diet
4. control my temper
5. eat less sugar (this won't be hard as anything would be less than I am doing - and I am leaving it for last - hahaha!)

Validations for hard things I've done:

1. quit drinking diet coke
2. quit drinking coke zero
3. quit drinking carbanation
4. lost 10 pounds
5. quit my job
6. learned how to coupon
7. work out 5 times a week
8. working on learning how to cook
9. working on emergency preparedness


1. quite