While I am sad to leave my twenties, the march of time is inevitable. So I have decided I might as well embrace it and look forward to my thirties with excitement! Hence the photo below. It represents me welcoming a fresh new decade. I look forward to God molding my heart in the next ten years. I look forward to learning more about God and trusting Him more. I look forward (with terrified anticipation) to becoming a mommy. I look forward to deepening the bond of my marriage. And I look forward to supporting Francis as he begins a cool new career.
I insisted that my 30th birthday be epic, if not necessarily
smart, so I decided I wanted to climb Half Dome to prove my youth and vitality at this important life marker.
We did not end up hiking Half Dome.
Upon the wise counsel of our landlords, who are Yosemite experts, we opted to climb Upper Yosemite Falls instead. It turned out to be just as epic!
At the trailhead...grrr!
Beautiful view of Half Dome behind me.
It was, as a website had warned us, the Mother Of All Stairmaster Workouts. 3.4 miles straight up. Let it be known, Francis and I are
woefully out of shape. But we made it! The payoff was worth it. We were able to watch gallons and gallons of water (melted snow from the High Sierras) rush over the edge of the granite cliff toward the river that winds through the valley below.
Here's Francis giving me a guilt trip so I won't get too close to the edge. He didn't want to lose the old lady over Yosemite Falls.
I'm not sure what that person was doing to the right of us. Something stupid probably.
The Falls and Half Dome in the same shot.
Oops, it's sideways. But you get the idea. It's big. Real big.
We enjoyed tasty alcoholic beverages and well-earned dinners at the Yosemite Lodge that evening. We'd been discussing having a cold beer the whole way down the mountain.
All in all, an epic way to welcome my thirties, testing the limits of my strength and marveling at God's creation. And as for Half Dome...there's always my 31st birthday...
Danielle sweetly offered to host a birthday dinner for me at her place. The food was awesome, and we all stayed up chatting until midnight.
Ahh! Strawberry shortcake. My summer birthday always used to include strawberry shortcake, so the cake Danielle made brought back memories.
Jen gave me an amazing gift basket with gardening supplies inside!
While I am sad to leave my twenties, the march of time is inevitable. So I have decided I might as well embrace it and look forward to my thirties with excitement! Hence the photo below. It represents me welcoming a fresh new decade. I look forward to God molding my heart in the next ten years. I look forward to learning more about God and trusting Him more. I look forward (with terrified anticipation) to becoming a mommy. I look forward to deepening the bond of my marriage. And I look forward to supporting Francis as he begins a cool new career.
I insisted that my 30th birthday be epic, if not necessarily smart, so I decided I wanted to climb Half Dome to prove my youth and vitality at this important life marker.
At the trailhead...grrr!
Beautiful view of Half Dome behind me.
It was, as a website had warned us, the Mother Of All Stairmaster Workouts. 3.4 miles straight up. Let it be known, Francis and I are woefully out of shape. But we made it! The payoff was worth it. We were able to watch gallons and gallons of water (melted snow from the High Sierras) rush over the edge of the granite cliff toward the river that winds through the valley below.
Here's Francis giving me a guilt trip so I won't get too close to the edge. He didn't want to lose the old lady over Yosemite Falls.
I'm not sure what that person was doing to the right of us. Something stupid probably.
The Falls and Half Dome in the same shot.
We enjoyed tasty alcoholic beverages and well-earned dinners at the Yosemite Lodge that evening. We'd been discussing having a cold beer the whole way down the mountain.
All in all, an epic way to welcome my thirties, testing the limits of my strength and marveling at God's creation. And as for Half Dome...there's always my 31st birthday...
