No kisses for Ali: A trial of Faith

We'll we didn't skip a beat coming back to Idaho. Last weekend I took advantage of the great weather and went ice climbing up in Bozeman, MT for 3 days. The Bozeman Ice Festival is held there every year and this was my first attendance. I was able to meet incredible climbers from all over the world. During a slide show I sat right next to Pat... (brain fart) anyways, he was one of the founders of ice climbing in America, he looked like he was around 90 and that day he was climbing ice that I could only dream about climbing at this point. I was able to push myself again and lead my second route, a WI 3 called Silken Falls. There were a few tough sections that I surprised myself on how well I did (pat on the back). There will be more stories like this through this winter, so get ready for some sweet shots.

Trying to get just the right placement with my ice tool.

In the process of raising my feet for better placement, then will start swinging again.

While I was in Bozeman Ali went to Poky to see our niece, Kyrra, get baptized. She had a grand old time seeing family, running with Ben, and making ginger bread houses. We were reunited on Sunday at 5:13 pm, it was wonderful. Although I was sick at this point so Ali was rather upset at me because I wouldn't let her kiss me (you all know how she is about kissing, just imagine trying to take away a honey comb from a beehive while the bee's are still living there). Yea, needless to say, I got down on my knees right then and started praying that she wouldn't leave me. I didn't get up until Wednesday, when I was better. She had pitty on me, I'm healing now and so is our relationship.

This is finals week; exciting and scary at the same time. We're just looking forward to next week and hoping for the best. Speaking of finals, I've got to go take one. Tune in next time for " All hell breaks loose when Ali finds out we ran out of ice cream!"

Cancun

Our trip was so much fun. We wish it could have lasted longer. We were able to go with Stacey and my parents for one week. Our first day we went to a time share because it's tradition. My parents didn't buy it which is impressive. They did end up with a free car rental for listening to the presentation. We stayed at a really beautiful all inclusive resort. We ate way too much, played on the beach, saw a different show every night at the hotel, snorkeled at Cozmel and a few other beaches, and had a blast! On Thanks Giving Day we went to a water park called XCaret. We snorkeled for most of day and saw a Mayan show that night. We also ate a traditional Mexican dinner, buffet style. One day Mike and Stacey both won the mechanical bull riding competition and received bottles of Tequila! The last day in Mexico Stacey, Mike and I went to downtown Cancun and paid to have our hair braided. The trip was amazing!