GETTING EXCITED FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

with the holidays here, we're having fun decorating our little christmas tree, looking at colorful lights in the cold, and singing along with bing crosby on the radio.

it's hard to believe that christmas is only a little over a week away- but i'm excited that we've wrapped up all the shopping and are currently cuddling up around the (gas) fireplace and watching the snow fall. i'm honestly in love with the beautiful blanket of white we have covering the trees...we'll see if i change my mind after a few more days of treacherous commutes and slippery sidewalks.

sending love and happiness to you and yours this holiday season. merry christmas.

love, sharred

THE PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

last weekend was uea for jared which, lucky for us, happened to coincide with the parliament of the world's religions- hosted right here in salt lake city. we went to four days of workshops, discussions, and speeches with religious leaders from around the world. we listened to buddhists talk about anti-materialism, hindus discuss nonviolence, muslims speak out on climate change, catholics sharing tips on social justice activism, sikhs serve free food as an act of charity, methodists condemn income inequality, and baptists talk about rising above our petty differences. 

honestly, i was blown away to hear their stories and experiences, and by the tireless work so many people do to spread peace and compassion around the world. 

    

"the least [we] can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves" -jane goodall (amen!)

    

and after the big saturday sessions, which were my favorite of the four days, we went for a walk in a nearby park to get some fresh air and decompress. so much to think about...

...so much work to do.

HARVEST BLESSINGS

somehow we are already halfway through october and i can't believe it...especially since it's sunny and 85 degrees and I still get to spend the weekends outside in shorts and t-shirts. the past few months have been kinda stressful and busy so i'm really looking forward to the holiday season and am enthusiastically embracing fall.

we kicked off autumn by watching the super harvest moon at the great salt lake. we were of course swarmed by mosquitoes and came home with 10,000 itching red lumps, but the moon was so huge on the eastern horizon while the sun set in the west- the whole thing was pretty magical.





we've also spent a pretty significant amount of time the last few weeks going for walks and drives looking for fall leaves. for all of our efforts, we really haven't seen too many very colorful spots. the trees seem to be either still green or dead and brown, with very little in between. in fact, the most colorful yellow branches we've seen were shrubs. shrubs!

we even put out a few decorations around the house to try to remind ourselves to enjoy the beautiful and short harvest season. afterall, winter is coming ;-)

happy harvest!

CELEBRATING MY 29th BIRTHDAY!

so, yesterday was my 29th birthday. 29 years- can you believe it!?!? i've been celebrating for a week and have planned 30 more adventures to have before 30...gotta have a last hurrah of my 20s! i have to say, i feel incredibly spoiled and blessed for the love and happiness i have in my life and was reminded of this birthday. i got to spend time together with family, which is always an important part of a birthday bash, ate lots of yummy food, stayed up late talking about the future, dangled from a zip line, crawled through timpanogos cave, opened way too generous gifts, and received two bushels of flowers at work. thank you to friends, family, and coworkers for making me feel ridiculously appreciated and loved this week.

this is the view from the mouth of timanogos cave (which i can't believe i'd never been to!). the view from the top looks down over this beautiful canyon and into pleasant grove. it's a nice short uphill hike to a sweet cave with an amazing view and interesting geological formations. it really surprised me how cool it was.

and this was the adventure course and zipline we did at the utah olympic park. my fear of heights made me shake like crazy, which made the wires shake like crazy! but i made it through without any tears or freakouts= huge success. 29th year, facing my fears!

thank you to friends and family for making me feel so much love this birthday! looking forward to the exciting new adventures i hope to have my 29th year.

CEDAR MOUNTAIN WITH THE FAMILY!

one of the things we love most about summer is get-togethers at the decker family cabin. even when it's crazy and crowded, it's fun to be with everyone's little ones, playing games and eating loads of food. we spent some time at the cabin with both sides of our family, and it was fun to laugh about completely different things and talk about totally different topics. i love that no two families are alike, but somehow we were lucky enough to land into two great ones.

we enjoyed eating and hiking and canoeing and partying...but mostly it was just nice to enjoy time with family and to savor the sweet smell of pine. these experiences are the ones that help keep us taking the next steps, and counting our many blessings.

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

we are still unpacking all of our clothes, and cleaning the crumbs out of the car after our trip to two gorgeous national parks- glacier (montana) and banff (alberta, canada). we had such an amazing time- i don't know where to begin!

it was an incredibly refreshing opportunity to enjoy the mountains and wildlife, but i do have to say it was also abnormally warm with the highs even reaching the mid 90s. in the early 20th century, glacier national park had 150 glaciers, 150 has now dwindle down to 25 which will likely disappear completely in the next few decades due to climate change. if you are going to see these beautiful views, now is the time to get out there before they melt away.

glacier was our first stop along the long drive through the rockies. once we got there, we were lucky enough to find a camping spot right on a clear glacier lake at sprague campgrounds. after we pitched our tent, we were free to slip and slide down glaciers, hike through beautiful mountain meadows, float on icebergs at iceberg lake, and drink from natural springs (one of jared's favorite activities was pulling out his lifestraw and drinking from every river, lake, and stream). there is so much beauty in this world- so so grateful we were able to see more of it this week.

iceberg lake was unreal. what better way to cool off on a hot summer day, than dipping your feet into a pristine mountain lake, filled with glacier water and icebergs? we hadn't heard anything about this trail before we started walking, and sorta picked it based on the length, difficulty, and how it fit into our plans. so glad we did, because this trail into the "heart of glacier" ended up being one of our favorites of the entire trip. 

did i mention we got to watch baby mountain goats hop along the trails while we hiked? they were all over the logan pass area and cute enough to kiss. 

i've probably shared this before, but i am ridiculously afraid of heights...which might seem odd because i love to hike. i can handle roller coasters, probably because i'm strapped in, but i get so nervous on steep cliffs. i always think i'd be one of the few klutzy people who trips or stumbles on a little stone and falls over the edge. i try not to let it stop me from doing things i want to do, but while i 'm clutching the metal chain (see above) and trying to avoid looking down, jared's wandering around checking out the view and hanging his feet off the edge (see below). while part of me is just plain jealous, his lack of fear is actually really comforting for me. it helps me see my nervousness as fear, not danger. plus, he goes slow, holds my hand, and and tells me it'll be okay. 

and in the end, the views are always worth it.