I'm Getting Braver

So I know that my last post was about skiing, but really that's the most interesting thing I do these days. I got up the courage to finally do some hiking and backcountry skiing this year. (Yes, I actually hiked...a big deal for those of you who know me well) I took this picture with my phone at the top of the nintey-nine nintey peak at The Canyons. Dave, you should be proud of me, and Russ I'm not sure if "Slaughter House" still exists, but this sign is pretty scary! For any doubters out there, I did walk through that gate...and I survived!

Ski Heaven

I went skiing on Saturday (as I try to do every Saturday) and we brought a camera along this time to take pictures by all our favorite signs. The skiing this Saturday was AMAZING! The Canyons had just been dumped on with a bunch of new snow, so the powder was pretty nice. Even despite the snow and the thick, thick fog, it was an awesome day.

Sledding Fun!

Approaching the Jump

Afterwards.....

The Evans Sisters Shake a Leg

Well I got this idea from Allison's email and I couldn't help make one of all our sisters! Even though none of us were ever superb dancers (or at least I never was) I think we can do the Charleston quite well, don't you think? Besides, this gets me excited for the holidays, and I love the holidays with our family!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

D.A.M. # 6

Elevatorism - n. --- A system of belief which states that, if there is an elevator in the building you MUST use it, no matter what floor you may be traveling to.

You would be surprised how many people out there adhere to Elevatorism. It doesn't matter if they are going one floor up---which may take like five steps---they will wait for the elevator, climb inside and take the split second ride up to the next floor. As many of you know I am not one to jump at the chance to run (or walk) up anything...least of all stairs. I will almost ALWAYS use the stairs if I am simply going one floor up however. Five to ten steps is not going to kill me, besides it is more courteous, more efficient, and yes...usually quite a bit faster...to simply take the stairs. I have been witness to elevatorism on a frequent basis this semester because I often go back and forth between the basement and the fourth floor of the JFSB here at BYU. I usually take the elevator, even though it irritates me to do so. It irritates me because I usually have to wait as the elevator travels from the fourth floor to the basement...stopping on every floor. When it arrives I quickly get in (for those who don't know me well I have an irrational fear of elevator doors, and so always have to hurry over the threshold for fear of being crushed) and press the fourth floor button. As I travel upwards from the basement I once again must stop on every single floor. People inevitably get on at the first floor and get off on the second. I don't think I'll ever understand why...except that perhaps our society is becoming increasingly lazy. What really blows my mind are the people that stand with me while waiting for the elevator. Sometimes we will stand there for literally minutes. I will have decided to run all the way up to the fourth floor and changed my mind several times before the elevator arrives. We get in the elevator together and they only ride to the next floor. They wasted minutes just standing there!

Now, if there is anything worse than riding the elevator up one floor it is this...riding it DOWN one floor. I mean come on, down? I jog down all five flights of stairs to the basement quite often, and I am one of the laziest people I know!

I think it is time to take a stand against Elevatorists. If there is anything I have learned in school it is to beware of isms, and Elevatorism should not be an exception!

Pre-Halloween Fun

Fall

Fall always takes me by surprise. One morning I wake up and the breeze is a little bit cooler, the air feels a little bit crisper, and everything in its own way feels just a little bit different. The hillsides suddenly change color, almost before my eyes, and I know that winter is coming. Sometimes I hate the cold, and thinking about the coming of winter makes me a little sad. Walking to school in blizzards has never been fun. But then I stop and remind myself that really, I wouldn' thave it any other way. As Mark Twain said,
"No land with an unvarying climate can be very beautiful. . . Change is the handmaiden Nature requires to do her miracles with. The land that has four well-defined seasons cannot lack beauty, or pall with monotony. Each season brings a world of enjoyment and interest. . . And I think that to one in sympathy with nature, each season, in its turn, seems the loveliest."