Please go but please don't!

Today has been a day of mixed emotions. An envelope arrived in the mail this morning to Elder Robert Badger. It sat, constantly being looked at by curious eyes until the time it's contents could be revealed. Family and friends soon arrived each placing a sticker on a large map guessing where this young man would be sent to serve for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Ever since Robbie was a young boy he dreamed of serving in the same mission as his father. With everyone gathered around he began to open the large envelope. He read aloud, you are assigned to serve in the Germany Hamburg Mission! Robbie was not only called to the same country his father served in but to the exact same mission! He as well as the rest of us are so excited!

I am so proud that Robbie made a decision to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know that he is doing the right thing at this important time in his life. I can't wait to see how much he learns and grows. However, I will miss him terribly! Rob and I have been good buds for a long time. We enjoy doing a lot of the same things and have spent many days hiking together. I used to take him hiking a lot but now he takes me. I know he is going to have such an amazing experience. I know he will be so happy as he teaches those who want to hear about the gospel and as they see what joy comes from living it!

Congratulations Robbie! I am proud of you and I love you!

To learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints click on the link located under Favorite Sites on the right hand side of our blog.

Called To Serve: Germany Hamburg Mission


A few of the many memories with Robbie.
My how time flies!

Birthdays, Photos, and a little catch-up.

It's been really hard for me to make another post after posting about our trip to Nepal but I guess it's time. It was so much more than just another vacation and we miss it very much. I know this sounds really cheesy but that trip will always be part of us.

Recently Dave got a new job in an ICU in one of the best hospitals around here. I am so proud of him and we are both excited to be taking the next step to his goal of Graduate School. Dave works so hard and I am so grateful for that. Congratulations Dave!

With Thanksgiving coming up this week we thought we might include some things we were thankful for in this post:
First, we are thankful for the gospel and to be members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Having the gospel makes such a difference in our lives. Second, we are thankful for each other. We are so thankful that we are best friends and that we love to do everything together! Third, we are so thankful for our families. We are both part of wonderful families who love and support us.

We have tried to do some more hiking before the weather turns for the worst or as Dave would say for the best. We have had the opportunity to hike tons through out this summer and fall in preparation for our trip. It has been so much fun! We have gone to so many new places and loved every second of it. We are so glad that we love to do the same things and have so many opportunities to do them together.

Dave and I both had birthdays this past month. Dave's birthday was first and for his birthday we went to the REAL soccer game and then we went out to eat at Red Robin afterwards. It was so much fun and REAL won which was a plus! On my birthday Dave took me shopping to get some new clothes. I can't remember the last time I went shopping and I really needed some new clothes. Afterwards we went to eat at Texas Roadhouse. Dave along with my mom and family always make my birthdays the best! I was spoiled (so was Dave) and my mom even got me an ice-cream cake. I love those! Sadly Baskin Robbins made it pink but oh well it still tasted really good! Thanks everyone! We didn't get any photos on Dave's Birthday :(.


These are some of my recent photographs.

Our adorable nephew Braxton.





When one of my best friends Amber came in to town I had the opportunity of taking pictures of her and her new baby. It was so good to see her and her cute new little girl.

A while ago I got to take pictures for a friend who I have been friends with ever since I can remember. It was so much fun to hang out with her for a little bit and to take pictures of her cute little boy. He was so easy to take pictures of because he has such a happy little personality.

It is a great blessing to have friends who you know would do anything for you if you needed them too!

My brother Robbie has trapped some huge beavers recently. I couldn't help but put these pictures on our blog. The background is a close up photo of the beavers tail.


If anyone wants to order chocolates for christmas we have started taking orders. Check out our Lacey's Chocolates blog at www.laceysfamilychocolates.blogspot.com

More from Nepal

I know we haven't posted anything since we posted about our trip to Nepal and we need to catch up but since this trip was such an amazing experience I thought it deserved another post. We are so glad we made the decision to go on this trip and followed through with it. I don't think a day goes by we don't talk about experiences we had while we were away. We hope you enjoy these pictures and we will catch up on what we have been up to soon.






Hong Kong Temple.

Kathmandu before we flew to the mountainous region.

Our trek to Mount Everest Base Camp

Absolutely AMAZING! I don't think there is a word that could describe this trip so that will have to do. Because of a typhoon we missed some flights on the way and our adventure almost ended before it began. Our trip has come to an end but the experiences we have had, memories we have made, things we have learned, and friendships we have created will never end. To me life is all about the experiences we have no matter what they may be. I think it is important to record the experiences that we have so on this trip we have kept a journal every day, taken hundreds of pictures, and lots of video so that we can preserve as much to our memory as possible. We only had two others in our group. Their names were Shaun and Tracey. They are from England and were great. We could not have asked for better people to trek with! Our guides name was Steve and he was from England also. He was great as well! We also had a sherpa crew who were amazing. As I have been thinking about what to write and where to start I have decided that there is far too much to write. The pictures will have to do the talking for now. All I can say is that it was an amazing experience and we are so glad we had the opportunity to go and do something like this together.

Click on the images for a larger view.



Dave and I stayed in the Hotel Shanker in Kathmandu for a couple days before and after our trek.


We flew on a small airplane from Kathmandu to Lukla to begin our trek to Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar.





We were supposed to have a rest day to acclimatize in Dingboche but Steve decided we were in good enough shape to take a hike up to Nangkartsang Peak. It was great! I would have much rather done that than rest anyway :).



We did not really have a chance to take showers along the way seeing as how we were camping but one day Tracey and I decided we needed to at least try and wash our hair. This was our attempt at doing so. Dave decided to try and shave.
Meet Tracey, Shaun, and Steve:






From the top of Kala Patthar:


ABC..........


Dave served an LDS mission in Hong Kong so we stopped by there on the way home. We got to have lunch with his friend Michelle, her husband Joseph, and their adorable daughter LeeAnn. They even bought me a gift which was so nice and unexpected! If you want to see more let us know.

I have to mention that when we got home from our trip our bedroom door had a big welcome home sign on it and our room was covered in Dr. Peppers and candy. Thanks guys!

Two weeks to Everest!!!

A couple years ago Dave and I decided to make a goal toward a common dream. We made a goal to go to Nepal and trek to Everest Base Camp. We did not know if we would be able to reach our goal but have been working hard ever since to make it possible. We planned our trip for last December and were extremely disappointed when I tore my ACL playing soccer and we had to cancel our trip. We did not think we would ever be able to plan the trip for another time but some things changed and we planned our trip again! It is finally almost here! Preparing for our trip has caused us to reflect on the past year which has handed us some of the hardest trials of our entire life. I can't express how blessed we have been through persevering these hard times. Dave and I are so excited to have reached a goal we have worked so hard together to reach. We are so excited to be able to go to Nepal and be among the highest mountains in the world and most of all to be able to spend so much time together! Dave served an LDS mission in Hong Kong and on the way home we will be spending a day there. We will be leaving in two weeks and making the 75 mile trek going to Everest Base Camp and climbing Kala Patar. We will be gone almost a month. In preparation for this we have been working out daily; running, strength training, and of course lots of hiking! It has been such a wonderful experience working together with Dave to reach our goal and to spend time with him working out and planning. I can't wait to see how we work together in our future goals in life! We will try to post pictures from our trip as soon as we get back!


It is so much fun to live minutes away from Millcreek Canyon, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Little Cottonwood Canyon, etc. and to have such easy access to so many beautiful hikes!

Some of our most recent hikes:

- Neffs Canyon
- Sunset Peak
- Grandeur Peak (West Side)
- Lake Blanche
- Thayne Peak

- Twin Peaks




- Pfeifferhorn

Red Pine Lake- on the way to the Pfeifferhorn



- Gobblers Knob



- Deep Creeks (Elk Hunt)


and more to come...................

Slot Canyons in Zion's National Park

Last weekend Dave and I went to St. George and stayed at the condo. We spent our days hiking slot canyons in Zion's and checking new slots off of our list. We left Wednesday evening. On Thursday we hiked Echo Canyon. Thursday night Katie and Geoff came down to St. George to spend the rest of the weekend with us. On Friday we went down a slot called Pine Creek. It was awesome and had a rappel that was 96 feet! On Saturday we went down the Subway which we had done once before but was still really beautiful and fun! Unfortunately I did not take my camera with me on Echo Canyon or Pine Creek because of the great amount of swimming and the canyons being new to me. I was using an old digital point and shoot that had tape holding it together so those pics suffer a bit but I hope you still enjoy them.

Echo Canyon contained six short rappels and a lot of downclimbing. There are potholes full of water which is said to be the coldest water in Zion's and it doesn't help that there are a couple "keeper potholes"!

Pine Creek is a beautiful slit in the sandstone which contains many rappels, swimming, wading, and downclimbing. This slot contains a 40 foot, 45 foot, several shorter rappels, and then to top it all of a 96 foot rappel!!! This slot was amazing and was so much fun!



The Subway is a 9.5 mile hike and is gorgeous. There is a lot of downclimbing and swimming. At times on the trail it seems like the ground was moving because there were tons of small toads trying to escape our every step.