I married a man who LOVES to hike, camp, be outdoors, all that jazz. Me, not so much. My ideal vacay is Lake Powell. But we haven't tent-camped at Powell since I was little, now we sleep on our houseboat. When I married Jeff I knew I would have to get out of my comfort zone and do camping trips/hiking with him. I had no idea that would mean a 16+ MILE hike. (We guesstimated that we walked about 20 miles through the Narrows)
Jeff's family decided to do a trip to Zion's to hike the Narrows. It would be not too hard, they said. It would be a cool temperature, and I wouldn't sweat, they said. Ha, well that was all wrong.
I want to preface this by saying I have had really bad hip joint pain for a little over a year. I have severe hip bursitis that my family has been nagging me for a while to go to a specialist for because it seems to be much more than that. By Jeff & his family's description of the Narrows, I thought it would be something my hip could handle and would be fun. But I figured out how wrong I was about 2 miles in. Somewhere around half way through I got to the point where I had to literally depend on Jeff to get through. Also, it was SO hot. The water felt so good because at times I was dripping sweat.
However, the Narrows was gorgeous. And the next day we went on a smaller hike to explore more of Zions. Then on our way home we stopped at Bryce Canyon. Growing up in California, I hadn't been to either of these National Parks so I was glad to have seen them, but the hip problem kinda put a damper on the whole 'fun' weekend. I'm glad I went to see the beautiful area, but I don't plan on doing the Narrows again. I think once was enough for a lifetime. If I hadn't been in so much pain, I really think the Narrows would have been an incredible experience. Jeff loved it and that made me so happy. I was glad I could do it with him.
We went with Jeff's parents, his aunt and uncle, and 2 cousins. It was fun to be with them for the weekend and bond a little. And by the end of the trip, we were all ready to be home again.

love,
SK

This photos is Jeff's favorite from the whole trip, and I think its pretty funny too.

Grandpa & his kids - My dad, Aunt Sheri, Aunt Toni, and Uncle Mike

• Jeff eats a lot of food. Like, I thought I could just double the amount of food I buy, but that is so wrong. I have to triple the amount of food I buy.
• It is really hot sleeping in a bed with a man. I'm a freaking thermos. I radiate heat. And now with someone who is double the size of me also in the bed, it's like someone turned up my heat by 20 degrees!
• My husband is really handy. I like to think that my dad taught me a lot growing up so I can figure out how to do something if I need to. But I have been less depended on recently with roommates trying to fix things in the apartment, because I come home and Jeff has already figured it out! Now I just need to teach him a little about cars...
• When he's gone, I'm actually so lonely. Since he is gone some nights until 9pm, I get home from work, make him dinner and take it to him on campus, then come home and... become lonely. I'm so lucky that Madison (best friend) comes over on these days, or we go shopping, get things done, etc. But on the days where Madison isn't here, I find myself feeling really lonely!
• It's way too hard to change your last name. Like seriously?! It should not be this hard! People get married all the time, the government should really come up with an easier system. I finally got my new Social Security card, but I can't change my driver's license until I go to California in June. The Orange County Recorders office says it takes 6-8 weeks before your marriage certificate can be sent, so how to we provide proof of marriage if we can't get that for 2 months! Basically, I'm living with 2 last names and I have to remember which name to use where.
• Sometimes the best dates are the simplest dates. Jeff and I have been going on a date every week, either Friday or Saturday. Last week our date was going to Target to get some things for our new apartment. We wanted to make it feel more like a date so we went to the dining place there and bought slushees! This weekend, our date included making Pazookis and getting a redbox.