Well, Chris and I haven't been able to come up with a good way to put this, but here we go:
We're no longer hiking the Pacific Crest Trail this summer.
We've made this decision primarily because the Sierra Nevada mountains have gotten so much snow so far this year that we no longer have enough time to complete the trail in our window before returning to school late August. We're probably the only Americans who are lamenting that California is headed out of their multi-year drought - I mean why couldn't El Niño just wait one more year for us?! Not wanting to fail before we even started, we've decided not to section-hike by leaving the trail early and instead take the summer to move to a new city (to be determined in March when we hear back from nursing schools). We'll find jobs and continue to save up for our future. After all, we still have a lot of school ahead of us and tuition isn't cheap... and neither are kids (NOT a hint about being pregnant, remember, this is about the
future).
We also realized that although thru-hiking the PCT has been a goal that we've looked forward to for the last year, we've looked forward to our dreams of school, a career, and being parents for our entire lives. While it's definitely not a one-or-the-other deal, forgoing the PCT this year will put us ahead for our "big life priorities." We haven't given up on our hike forever, but rather have come to a pivotal point where we've been able to admit to ourselves that although hiking it would be an incredible achievement, it doesn't do much to help us reach our eternal goals. For now the PCT will have to wait on the back-burner--still a dream--but taking second to the things that really matter. I think Dallin H. Oaks said it best when he said, "We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is
good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives."
Wednesday night we had a fun date night. Chris and I decided to go on a run together, and ended up running to the library. We meandered the library and both found some good books that we are excited to read. Nothing beats a free date of exercise and learning.
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| Chris got in a fight with the ice at the crosswalk |
We also celebrated my birthday this week! I must be getting old because when Chris asked what I wanted the only thing I could think of was a bubble bath and time to relax. Working two jobs and 13+ hour days is starting to catch up with me, and I've definitely been feeling a lack of rest and well being lately. Luckily Chris pulled some strings and was able to grant my wish. Friday night we stayed in one of our favorite rooms at the B&B (what
will we do when we move back to the lower 48 and no longer have a great connection for more than affordable get-away nights!) and you better believe I enjoyed every bit of that huge Jacuzzi tub and feather bed. On Saturday morning (my actual birthday) we met up with our friends Liz, Johnny, Camille, and Ben for breakfast. After breakfast we headed out to take some fun pictures. Liz and Ben both love photography and thought it would be a fun birthday gift to take pictures for me - they were right! I'm really not much of a model, but Chris makes me look good and it's fun to have some professional grade pictures together. Ben even designed a new top for our blog with one of the pictures he took and the lettering for "The Andrew Family" - we love it! Here's some fun pictures from my birthday for now, and more of our photo-shoot is to come as they finish editing the pictures.
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Using the selfie-stick to capture the whole crew
L->R Liz, Chris, Me, Camille, Ben, Jonny |
Ben set his camera up on the tripod and did some long exposure shots with the creek. They turned out pretty awesome!
Remember to pray and remember to play,
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew
