Temple Square

This last week the crew all went to Temple Square and then went to dinner at the Skybox at the Gateway. It was a total blast and a great break from finals. Now finals are over and I'm back living at home. I love the Christmas season but can't wait for my internship in January!

BYU v. UTAH

I love Rivalry week! Going to the BYU/ UTAH game was the perfect ending to my Thanksgiving weekend! We had awesome seats this year- East bleacher, 20 yard line, 6th row. I'm so glad that I was able to spend this season sitting with my awesome friends and roommates. And of course I loved the outcome of the game!! GO COUGARS!!!

Me, Mekelle, and her cousin Morgan before the game

Love the Royal Blue throwbacks!!

I should've known it wasn't over... It is BYU/UTAH after all...

Final score baby!!! After OT

Me after the fans stormed the field

Happy Thanksgiving!

At this time of year we all reflect on our lives and the people we are. I would just like to publicly show my gratitude for all I have.

Things I am thankful for:

My family
My parents
My little sisters
My little brother
The beautiful valley I have grown up in
My friends who are always there for me
The restored Gospel and knowledge of Jesus Christ
The Atonement
The blessing I have had to be able to travel to 3 different continents
Growing up riding horses, hunting and spending time in the outdoors
Amazing family, friends, mentors and examples who have helped make me who I am today
Being able to attend BYU
My parents working hard to provide me with all the opportunities I could ever want
To be born in this amazing country
To be a proud American
For freedoms we enjoy
Differing opinions
My roommates
My health
The opportunity to intern at the Capitol
My horses
My house
My neighbors
The Priesthood
Football
Basketball
Just sports in general
The JAZZ
BYU FOOTBALL
Rivalry Week
Having 4 seasons
The color green
People who make me a better person
People who love me
Forgiveness
The ability to love

I hope all of you know how thankful I am for you and the influence you have in my life. I hope all of you well tell your loved ones how thankful you are for them. Happy Thanksgiving!

Kelsey

I got it!!!

Well I found out today that I got the internship that I had applied for!! I am now an intern for the Public Affairs department of Riester Inc.!! Next semester I will be working at the Utah State Legislature during the legislative session!! I am so excited!!!

My roommates and I at the Capitol last year.

College GAMEDAY!!!

Well ESPN's College Gameday came to Provo so the roommates and I got up early, not as early as we planned ha ha, but we still had fun being in that atmosphere. Here are some picks from our morning.

Sunday Afternoon

Well today Lindsey wanted to go take pictures so we went on a drive and took pictures. All the places we wanted to go had people but we found this cool little road by Wasatch State Park. It was fun. Here are some of my favorites.

Conference Weekend

Well last weekend was General Conference. On Saturday when conference was over, Hayley and I were sick of sitting at home so we decided to go on a drive. It was a chilly, cloudy, almost perfect fall day and we drove to Heart Lake up above Kamas. It was fantastic!

Heart Lake

Most Epic Weekend!

Well this weekend was fantastic!! On Friday I went to one of my roommates to her cabin up Weber Canyon. It was totally awesome and we celebrated a friends birthday up there too. Then on Saturday I went 4-wheeling up Snake Creek with an awesome group of people. It was amazing and I don't think I have ever seen the leaves as vibrant as they are this year. I didn't want the weekend to end...

Starting out

The Group

The Girls

Happy Birthday Lindsey!

For those of you looking for updates on Troy- on the right side of the screen is a link to the blog for updates.

Today is my little sister, Lindsey's birthday!! Happy Birthday sis! The only difference between 16 and 17 is that 17 sounds older. Love ya babe!

Pictures

Here is another update for Troy if you are checking. He was transferred from ICU to another floor today. He is doing fantastic and he said a couple words today- which is a major improvement. On the right side of this page there is a link to Troy's blog.

Here are just a couple more pictures:

Feeding the horses

Kenai & I

Red Castle

Filtering Water

Camp

Squirto and Zach

Me & TJ

Last update

A blog is being made that is just for Troys family and that will have his updates so this is the last update that will be posted here.

Here is the situation so far: Troy is doing amazingly well. He has his breathing tube out, and physically he is ahead of schedule.He opens his eyes and is starting to show some of his personality in his movements. He is doing amazing with physical therapy and is making good progress. Kylie brought a family picture to put in his room on the recommendation of the physical therapist to help him continue to progress. He knows and acknowledges the different family members that comes into the room.

Angie, Kylie and the kids are very appreciative of all the calls, texts, food and other services that have been volunteered by wonderful friends and family. Angie, Kylie, and the kids are doing well and are continually buoyed up by the continuing good news.

Troy & my dad

Not the weekend we expected

The Group

Here is the complete story:
Last Thursday we left on a pack trip up to Red Castle- the north side of the Uintas. The people on the trip: Me, my dad, little brother TJ, Troy, Kylie and Zach. We took our 5 horses, Troy's horse, and we picked up 2 horses from a friend in Francis. After we picked up the horses we just about to get on the highway, from Rock Port, to Wyoming- because we enter the Uintas from the north- my mom texted us to see if we needed the containers on the deck... then we remember that we left the packs with the food in it because we forgot to put it in the truck when we were leaving. Its good we had to go back because Troy and Kylie had forgotten some snacks as well. So we have to go back to Heber to get them and then we stop at the One Stop to get drinks and gas and one of the horses in Troy's trailer got kicked so we had to stop at my dad's office so he could stitch up the cuts. FINALLY we were on our way and didn't have any more problems... until Friday morning.

Friday morning we were heading up to go fishing- there are 3 lakes where we were... Lower Red Castle, Middle Red Castle and (you guessed it) Upper Red Castle. We were camped on the edge of the trees at Lower Red Castle. We were heading up on our horses to Middle Red Castle to fish. My dad was first in line an then TJ, then Zach, then Kylie; Troy and I were last and just as we were leaving camp Troy told me to go first so I started to leave and I can't remember if I heard him yell or if I heard the horse make a noise but I turn back and the horse had reared up and was starting to fall backward. The horse went all the way back but landed on its side- and Troy's head hit a rock, it was one of those smooth rocks about an inch out of the ground, and that is what did the damage. Kylie & I hollered to my dad and he was about 15 yards away so he comes racing into camp and starts doing mouth to mouth on Troy who wasn't moving or breathing; he had a pulse so my dad just jump started his breathing. Troy regained consciousness and started to wrestle with my dad as he tried to keep him still. During this I started to tie the horses back up because it happened right in camp and Kylie took Zach and they say a prayer because we didn't know what else to do. Then my dad told me to go and find Dr. Haderlie.

We knew that Dr. Haderlie was up there because he had gone up the day before us. We thought he was up ahead on the trail because we didn't see him as we had come in on Thursday; he ended up being behind us on the trail just off into the trees. Well I ride up to the middle lake but can't find him so I head back to camp and by this time Troy was on his knees with his head on his hand and sleeping bags over him. My dad said he was going to ride out to get help and I said I would feel more comfortable if he stayed here, and Kylie seconded my concern. He agreed and gave me one of the GPS's so we could communicate because they have radios in them. So I leave and start the 12 mile ride to the trail head. I get down in about 2 hours and in my hustle to get out and get service I end up locking the keys in the truck, this turned out to be a blessing. There is a 4 wheeler trail head at the same spot and a guy happened to be coming out just as I locked the truck, he could see I was a mess so he asked what was wrong so I told him and he happened to have his phone with him. I'm lucky to run into him because he took me to service sooner.

There are 2 ways to get to the trail head- one way through Mt. View, WY takes about 15 miles to get service, he took me the other way that goes up hill so we were able to get service in 3 miles. Its about 3 o'clock now and the accident happened around 10:30/11. So we get service and call 911 which goes to Evanston and they say they can't send a helicopter without GPS coordinates, which were locked in the truck, so they were going to have Summit county call us back. During that time I called Kam Kohler who happened to be home (because his home number was the only one I had memorized) and I knew he would get it figured out because he is on Wasatch County Search & Rescue. Kam knew where we were because my dad showed him on Wednesday before we left so Kam knew enough to get the helicopter a GPS coordinate to get them in the air. I hang up with Kam and are about to call a locksmith and I remember that my dad has a hide-a-key so I go back and its about 4 o'clock and it takes 2 1/2 - 3 hours to get to our camp spot, so I figure I have 3 1/2 hours of light left to get back to camp and I was hoping that the helicopter would've got there soon enough for the group to start heading out so I would just meet them a long the trail.

Come to find out the first helicopter that came was Air Med, but its too small to land at that altitude- which is about 10,200 ft. in elevation- and this is what Kam told them but Life Flight was out on a call so Air Med went. Air Med came about 3:30 and just hovered about 100 ft. above my dad and then just left- didn't leave a note saying they were coming back or anything. After the helicopter came and circled people started coming to see if they could help or what was wrong- Saturday was the start of some hunting seasons up there so there were a lot of people. Then about an hour later Life Flight came and was able to land, luckily our camp spot was about 150 yards from the only real place where they could land because everywhere else was either bushes or swampy. During this time Troy was in and out of consciousness and was throwing up. Kylie and my dad had taken care of him for the whole 6 hours and had kept him conscious and warm. They were able to have everything packed hoping that they would be able to leave that night. When the helicopter got there Troy was leaning against a rock and was starting to shiver from being cold. It took about 30 min to sedate him and get him into the helicopter and at that point it was too late for the group to head out, 8 horses and 4 people is a big deal to take out let alone in the dark.

I had no idea any of this was going on because there are some switch backs about 1 1/2 miles from our camp where you drop about 1,000 ft. and that is where I lost GPS contact with my dad so I just kept riding in hoping I would get there before it got dark. Once I hit the top of the switch backs I radioed my dad to tell him I was close and I ended up connecting to Dr. Haderlie who, with his brother had seen the helicopter and went to help, told me that the helicopter had come and that all was well- I was so relieved. I ended up getting back to camp with about 15 min. of light to spare.

Well Kam had called and told everyone and had called my dad's younger brother Chris and he and his wife, Jessica, ended up driving up to the trail head - which is at China Meadows- because no one knew what I was doing and they didn't want me to stay up there by myself and Kam thought that we were coming out Friday night. So Chris & Jessica ended up sleeping in the back of the truck and Chris started hiking up Saturday morning to come help us. He had been up there 2 weeks before with my dad and sisters so he knew where to go. We ended up leaving camp at 10 o'clock with the help of Dr. Haderlie and his brother to get our pack horses ready. Our outfit went- my dad with a pack horse, TJ, Zach, then the extra horse just fell into line and he had a saddle on because its the horse Troy rode, then me with a pack horse, and then Kylie. We ended up running into Chris about 8 miles in after he had been hiking for almost 3 hours. It took us 3 hours to get out so we got to the trail head at 1:30. Jessica then took Kylie and Zach in their car to get them home and to the hospital. We loaded up the horses and took them home (While listening to the BYU game- glad they finally picked it up :) ) we got home about 5:30 and showered and headed to the hospital around 7.

As of right now Troy is doing amazing- he has a small fracture in his skull and the pressure, swelling, and bleeding in the brain has not been bad at all. They removed his breathing tube earlier today and he has been opening his eyes and holding hands and acknowledging family as they have come in the room. He is a little hard to recognize because he has a shaved head and everyone knows he has the most hair of the 3 brothers. The family has been strong and is doing well also. We are so thankful for all of the fasting, prayers, and concern that has come our way. We are so blessed to live in an amazing valley where people care for each other and come together in the time of need. I know that Kylie had a ton of messages from people voicing their condolences. I had 15 text messages and 5 voicemails when I got service on Saturday from people wondering what they could to do help and wanting to see how he was doing. I know that Angie and Kylie appreciate all the calls and text messages as well.

I'm including some pictures of from the trip before all this happened- we were having lots of fun and enjoying the trip. Unfortunately this is the way life works and things don't go as planned. Kylie ran into one of the helicopter pilots in the cafeteria at the hospital on Saturday and he recognized her and asked if she was LDS. She responded 'yes' and he asked if Troy had received a blessing on the mountain, and Kylie said he had; the pilot said they could tell because Troy should have been in a lot worse shape after 6 hours. I know that Troy's good condition was a result of the blessing and the care he received Kylie and my dad on the mountain. I hope as you read the account of what happened you can see the Lord's hand and blessings to us and in way the events unfolded. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

The kids

You gotta love it BABY!!!

Well yesterday was the happiest day of my life!!!! #20 BYU upset #3 Oklahoma 14-13!!!! I have been so happy I haven't been able to take the smile off my face!! It was one of the most amazing football games I have ever seen- very close to the awesomeness of Harline's touchdown to beat Utah a couple years ago. BYU played amazing in this game- they out played OU from the beginning. I wish Bradford wouldn't have gotten hurt because then it would've been a better win but a W is a W what ever way it happens. Mistakes cost BYU an even bigger win... missing a FG because of a delay of game penalty and fumbling a touchdown on the 1 inch line. But all in all BYU came away with the 1st major upset of the college football season. I love fall and football and everything that goes with it. I'm so excited for the rest of the season- say hello to a BCS bowl if we can finish business. GO COUGARS!!!!

Celebrating the go-ahead/winning touchdown!!!

Final Score!!!

Ode to Summer

Well... all good things must come to and end and summer is no exception. I loved this summer and had a blast. Ranging from lots of horseback riding and 4-wheeling, to the alpine slide and softball, and of course the best part of summer... just partying around Heber. I didn't do a very good job blogging so I'm hoping to make up for it with this summer in review post.

4-Wheeling up Cascade Springs

Horseback ride up Cedar Hollow

Drive up Dock Flats

Horseback ride up Willow Creek

Alpine Slide

Playing in Heber

Ragnar

I know it has taken me a while to finally put pictures up- I just haven't had enough time recently, but here they are. The Wasatch Back is a 188 mile relay from Logan to Park City. There are 12 member teams that split into 2 vans of 6; each member runs 3 separate legs of varied lengths. It usually takes over 24 hours to complete. There were 650 teams and they figure 9,000 people participated in this. Thats a lot of people... I was runner #4 and ran legs of 5.1, 4.8, and 3.2 miles. I was hurting the next couple of days I can tell you that... ha ha.

Starting- I was runner #4. This is exchange #3.

I don't know why I was smiling... I sure wasn't happy

Team Moco

The team after we had just finished- we couldn't bend down anymore than that ha ha

My Dad ran the relay as well but was on a different team. I loved texting my Dad through out the race and, in a way, running the Wasatch Back with him. Love you Dad.