Cross that one off my bucket list . . .

There's an awesome underwater cave up in Logan, Utah called Ricks Spring.

That dark blue patch in the spring above is the entrance to the underwater cave, which has been explored up to 2200 feet down and contains incredible stalagmites and even an underground waterfall. 

Since I first learned of the cave's existence a few years ago, it has been on my bucket list to explore that cave.  And I can now say that I am crossing that one off my bucket list.

Not because I actually explored it though.  Nope - rather, it's because I found this video a couple of divers made as they were exploring it.  I got about five minutes into it when I became aware of a strange thing happening - I suddenly and inexplicably felt sick to my stomach and very claustrophobic.  It took me a minute to realize it because the sensations were not ones that I am very familiar with, but then it hit me that the physical queasiness and shakiness I was feeling were a direct result of one emotion:  fear.   

I know that I seem utterly fearless and adventurous most of the time.  I certainly have never been afraid of caves before.  But apparently underwater caves scare me to death - who knew?  Guess I'll be crossing that one off the bucket list for good . . . 

But for any of you that are braver than I am, here's the video that had such a dramatic impact on me.

http://www.wendellnope.com/ricks20091010small.wmv

Is it just me?  Did anyone else get all nervous watching this?

Happy Birthday!!

To my dear little sister

I love being your sister.  

I love all the adventures we've shared over the years . . . 

And we've had quite a few

I loved growing up with you.  

You were the best and cutest little sister.

I loved the hours I spent playing with my best friend every day.  

But even more I love being grown up with you.  

You have become a beautiful, smart, fun, and extremely talented woman.

I'm excited for you and the fun age at you're at, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you.

I love you and wish you all the very best on your birthday!

YES!!

Or, in other words, the short and illustrated story of how Marc and I took a giant leap toward the land of marriagedom.

On Saturday, Marc and I decided to take a hike up to Grandeur Peak.  We listened to General Conference all the way up and stopped to take pictures and generally had a good time.

We had gone ring shopping several weeks earlier, but had only decided on a ring on Wednesday, and I thought it would take a while to actually get the ring.  Plus, Marc had told me that he was going to fake me out at every possible opportunity before he actually proposed.  So in sum:  I truly did not think he was going to propose that day - in fact, I bullied him about it several times on the way up.

We finally reached the top of the snow-covered peak, and I teased, "Aw, too bad there's another guy coming up the trail behind us - guess you can't propose today after all."

"Yep, guess I can't propose today.  Hey, want to take a picture of us at the top?"  And Marc set up his little tripod and we posed for the picture.

Or so I thought . . .



My very romantic reaction as he took out the ring and was preparing to get down on one knee in the snow was, "Are you punking me?"  I truly thought that he was teasing me, and that he'd even gone to all the effort of getting a ring box.  It was not until he opened it that I knew he was serious.

I said yes.

"True love isn't easy, but it must be fought for.  Because once you find it, it can never be replaced."