I forgot, I'm famous!

So, about 6 months ago I was in the WILK for a Special Olympics meeting when some random guys walked up and asked if I'd be in an advertisement for them... I couldn't quickly think of a reason to say no, so I let them pose me and take my picture...

Recently, I made a friend, Trevor, who, it turns out, was a part of that project and recognized me... and was nice enough to send me a picture of the ad.



Crazy, huh?

Mati sent this to me...

Football in the south is an interesting beast. It's not a game, it's not a pastime...it's a way of life. It's a mixed drink of family, religion, politics and pageantry, spiked with shots of antagonism, arrogance and pride. .

Critics label our view of college football as naive and tendentious. Our response? We couldn't agree more. Southerners revel in regional bias and why shouldn't we? In the south, we transform a vast picnic area into The Grove. We see a stadium on the river and bring a Navy. We take a plain desert stone and make it magic. We have The Chop, The Chomp and The Ramblin' Wreck. We root for the same team as our dad, the same team as his dad and say "to hell" with the team of your dad's dad. We call players by their first names, anyone on the athletic staff "coach," and--to the ...(tharr be more)chagrin of media pundits and those who just don't understand--we say "we".

Down here, you're not born a boy or a girl, you're born a Bulldog or Gator. Down here, football is just as entrenched in our culture as Jesus, sweet tea and barbeque sandwiches. We say "Yes Ma'm" and "No Sir", but we also say "Roll Tide", "War Eagle" and "Go Dawgs". Down here, "two plus two equals third down and six".

The players, the coaches and the rivalries are captivating here in the south. Florida-Georgia weekend causes more people to call in sick on Monday morning than the stomach flu and strept throat, Alabama-Auburn divides households, neighborhoods and the entire state, and The Egg Bowl is a true late November fixture. The storylines are just as alluring. Think "The Choke at Doak," "Lindsay Scott!!" or the 1961 Clemson-South Carolina game where a group of USC students inpersonated the Tiger football team in pre-game warm-ups, catering to the crowd and the band before flopping all over the field and mocking Clemson's agricultural background with milking hand-motions.

Though the press tries to hype the last week in the regular season as rivalry week, every week is rivalry week in the south.

Something down here makes this game different. College football has a legitimate influence on state government, a major affect on commerce and local economies and is the lifeblood and pulse of God's country.

Perhaps former Tennessee Volunteer radio personality George Mooney put it best.

"Southerners are proud of their football heritage, their schools, and their teams. And they share a deep pride that goes with being from the South," he said.

It's a match made, and currently outplayed, in heaven.

You know what I love most of all?

My sister, Mati, of course!
<3

I love risking my life

My family is awesome. Seriously, they’re the best. Over the summer, we had a reunion up in Island Park, Idaho, where we rented out a giant cabin and all my dad’s siblings came up with their families. Two weeks of adventuring included float trips (with a fleet of kayaks, canoes, rafts, and dear Cory in a fishing tube), historical sites, fishing, hiking, games, karaoke, bonfires, Jackson Hole, wildlife, food, and, much to my delight, white-water rafting. The first day, some of the adults and the bigger kids went to Gallatin and went with Montana White Water company. Way fun. So much fun, in fact, that we decided to do another run, a few days later, minus the guides and equipment and adding all the little kids. (It’s a Kappel thing, don’t worry about it)

Too bad we didn’t get pictures of the Kappel run.

My summer = one constant adventure

See here's the thing. My life is ridiculously epic. And summer 2010 was pretty much the pinnacle of all epic-ness.

Hannah came down for the 4th of July, and she, Annie, and I participated in the Critical Mass as Team America. So. Much. Fun.





One of our new favorite loves is rock climbing... day or night.







We basically just love being outdoors. Sometimes, we'd do spontaneous and random hikes. This day, we got caught in the rain, and after hiding out in a little cave for a bit, decided to just run down the canyon in the rain to the car. Love our lives.



Another of our favorites is the rope swing down in Mona, Utah. With ladders and platforms at all different levels, there's fun for everyone.





Speaking of water, Annie and I both seem to live in and for it. Both having worked as lifeguards (we actually met at Seven Peaks) we just can't seem to stay away... and swimming at night is the best.





We also organized a group of people to float down the (painfully freezing cold) Provo River.



So have I mentioned that I have the most awesome friends? We went down to some caves in Nevada to explore (that's actually where Kip and I met, kind of) and just had a blast.



Welcome to my life... every day an adventure.

Saggital plane, geometric plane, air plane

So I’m really good at talking to strangers. I think it’s my complete lack of inhibition and/or social skills. Whatever. So I’m in this courtyard at a random apartment complex, and I start talking to this guy. Turns out he’s a pilot, and next thing you know we’re setting up a time for he, Annie, and myself to go for a ride. We show up that morning, and he tells me to get into the pilot’s seat.

That’s right, add flying a plane to my repertoire.

Bungeeeeeee

Ok, this one is going all the way back to Feb, but when you’re talking about being launched off of a 467 foot bridge into the Grand Canyon, I think it’s worth it.

That’s right, bungee jumping. One of those activities that many add to a bucket list, and few ever check off. Well, I decided that I was taking matters into my own hands, and so called up a company and a few weeks later found myself road tripping down to the Navajo Bridge with three friends.

We stayed the night in a ghetto little motel, then woke up bright and early for the festivities to begin. We went in order of descending weight, so I had to wait till the very end (about 15 people)… watching everyone jump off the bridge sure built up some anticipation. When my turn came, I asked if I could go “pall-bearer” style (where 4 guys pick you up and run to the edge of the bridge to launch you off). They warned me against it, saying it was scary, but I could tell that the two guys running the bungee company were glad for a little excitement.

The actual jump went by really quickly – but, let me tell you, that was the biggest adrenaline rush of my life. And I’ve had some pretty sweet adrenaline rushes. I remember the water at the bottom of the canyon rushing towards my face as I plunged face-first. I remember trying to do what I had been instructed – keeping my arms by my sides as I descended, tucking my body during the recoils. I remember shaking so hard I thought my ankle-harness would come off. I remember realizing after the fact that my leg was bleeding from hitting the bridge as I was being pulled back up.

And I remember thinking: Wow. I cannot believe I just did that.

Who doesn't love a little mud?

Keep in mind that these are in no particular order, ok?

So what do you get when you combine 5 good friends, 10 kilometers of mountain trail, obstacles like haybales to jump, walls to climb, and giant slip-n-slides to summersault down, very skimpy clothing with underwear worn on the outside, and a whole ton of mud?

Well, the Dirty Dash, of course.




Done in Soldier Hollow up by Heber, the first Utah Dirty Dash was held on Sept. 25th, and the 5 of us decided to form a team (lovingly dubbed Down ‘n Dirty). The race was exhausting, but totally worthwhile.

Next year, here we come

MMT '10

Massive Moab Trip. Just sounds awesome, right? Well back in June (I’m gonna try and slowly play catch-up here) about 300 fellow adventurers and I drove on down to that dusty desert and had the weekend of our lives. There was a city of tents – there was the party bag (sleeping bag that easily slept us four girls) – there were night hikes – there was rock climbing – there was rafting – there was river-floating – there was sand-hill-jumping – there was barbequing – there was Delicate-Arch hiking – there was Indian-ladder-climbing – there was swimming – there was cliff jumping – there were bonfires – there was jeeping – there were friends and families and flirting and fun galore… and there were memories that I’ll never forget.

The funny thing about blogging about adventures..

Is you're too busy living the adventures to sit down and write about 'em.

But trust us, we're still living them :)

Idaho Trip

Rather spontaneously, my friend Matt and I decided to take a mini-vacation to Idaho. The original plan was to visit some friends in Rexburg, but those plans morphed into a plethora of fun visits and activities. Saturday afternoon we drove to Pocatello and had dinner with his grandparents, then finished our drive up to Rexburg. I stayed with Hannah, a friend from Oklahoma, and had a lot of fun catching up with her. We went to her ward the next morning and had a relaxing Sunday. That evening, after my lovely cousin Cara finished with her ward’s meetings, the three of us trekked to the Bronson household in Ammon. They fed us a delicious dinner and successfully entertained us for several hours – I love family. (Noteworthy moment – as we were taking cousin pictures Kim (the photographer at the time) yelled, “supermodel poses!” Her children immediately sprang into action while the 3 visitors looked at each other in confusion… I guess not everyone has what it takes to be a supermodel.)

The three of us then drove the block between the Bronson’s and Rusty & Sheila’s. We were greeted warmly and spent the next few hours keeping them awake with conversation. The next morning Sheila provided a delicious breakfast, a few hours were spent harassing cousin Brandon, and then we all went over to Rusty’s ever-entertaining Preparedness Store. We were given gifts and were allowed to explore. Then they really treated us – they took us to Big Judd’s! Talk about massive burgers. Everyone did their part in helping consume the enormous amount of food we ordered. We then parted ways and the 3 of us headed back to Rexburg.

After a fun afternoon, evening, and morning with friends and the BYU-Idaho campus, Matt and I headed over to Swan Valley, where his family has an extremely adorable A-frame cabin next to Lake Palisades. After getting some square ice-cream, we got to go four-wheeling (so fun!!!) around the lake and up the mountain, and spent a little time hiking and making s’mores. We regretfully drove home early the next morning and returned back to Provo and the real world.

Man I love my family, and I love having fun.

Kialei's Kidney Fiasco

Well, what started as lower back aches sure ruined my month. That, as well as some unexpected blood, took me to the doctor’s office. After being told it was just a kidney infection and to take some antibiotics, I finished finals and Mati and I took off for Oklahoma. No smooth sailing though, because the pain kept getting worse. Finally, unable to bear it, we stopped at an ER on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. We waited for several hours in a waiting room (where we were definitely the only white people – I’ve never felt so self-conscious about my blonde hair!) and finally got in to be seen… by then, the pain had subsided substantially, so after a few tests and an ultrasound, I was released with heavy-duty narcotics, the diagnosis of kidney stones, and advice to drink a lot of water and wait to pass the stone(s).

The following week, however, back in Utah, the pain hadn’t gone away, and I hadn’t passed a stone. So back to the doctor I went. After a CT scan, it was confirmed that I still had a 3.6 mm stone (as well as a 6.6 cm ovarian cyst, but let’s not go there) and that it had just left my left kidney. Again, I was given drugs and told to let it pass. 2 weeks later, though, I was STILL having pain, so I went to the doctor AGAIN. Frustratingly, I was told to continue to be patient. Patience, though, only got me landed in the ER that night due to unbearable pain. Thankfully, the ER gave me miraculous drugs that made it so I didn’t want to die, another CT scan confirmed that my stone was still in place in my left ureter, and I was given the number of a Urologist to call.

The Urologist immediately scheduled me for surgery, and I had a basket extraction done. Basically, that means getting completely knocked out while the Urologist goes up through the urethra, bladder, and ureter to grab the stone and pull it out. Then, he places a stent (long bendy tube) in the ureter so it doesn’t swell shut from the trauma. After the effects of the surgery wore off, I was allowed to go home, as well as given more narcotics and anti-nausea meds. After 3 days, I was instructed to pull the stent out, and I was told that everything would be downhill from there.

False. After the stent came out, all of the blood I had been seeing stopped, and it was back to the ER due to pain. After more miracle drugs and yet another CT scan, this time with contrast, they told me my pain was probably normal and that my ureter was fine. But the next several days of trying to survive unbearable pain (and I’m not just being a baby here – it was so bad I couldn’t walk, couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but lay there and cry, and throw up repeatedly) told me otherwise.

I kept trying to get back in to see the Urologist, but was told everything I was experiencing was normal and that they’d see me in a little over a week. A call from my dad with the hint at a lawyer if I had complications due to not being seen in a timely manner got me a same-day appointment. A look at my previous CT scan as well as an ultrasound finally earned me some validation – he told me what I was experiencing was NOT normal, that I had renal colic and inflammation of the ureter (just as we expected) which usually clears up quickly. Since mine hadn’t, however, my choices were ridiculous drugs to try and allow me to endure my body trying to fix itself, or get another surgery to put another stent in place for several weeks. Not wanting another surgery, I chose the endurance route, and set up another appointment for the following week.

Waiting seemed to do the trick! The new drugs made the pain bearable (as well as making me very itchy and sleepy all the time), and now (2 weeks later) I have been feeling great and starting to get back to normal life. Thank goodness. And also thank my great support group that took care of me through everything. Just don’t thank my original doctor.

Disclaimer:

ps, we're still trying to figure out this formatting stuff, so don't judge. One day everything will line up and make sense..hopefully :]

Semester 2: Winter 2010

As winter 2010 semester started, we decided to kick things off right with a trip to California..and most importantly, DISNEYLAND. A first for both of us, excitement ran pretty dang high.After staying the night with the Andreasens in Las Vegas, we made our way to Anaheim, CA and the most magical place on earth!


After playing in Disneyland and California Adventure for a couple of days with the fam, we headed to Huntington Beach before we had to say goodbye to the great CA. The water may have been freezing, but the weather was as gorgeous as the scenery.



Eventually, reality set back in and school was once again underway. We took a D&C class together, bringing great joy to our teacher with our sisterly affections. We also created an intramural waterpolo team..successful, not so much..but way fun nonetheless :] Another memorable day was that of the Festival of Colors!


Many, many more adventures took place, but you'll just have to ask us about those ones!

Semester 1: Fall 09

Ok, we’re going to do a few posts just as a quick recap of the past year, and then we’ll try to keep this current.


First off… rafting! We moseyed on up to Flaming Gorge with a big group of friends and strangers and had the time of our lives.. this involved camping, rafting the Green River, swimming, cliff jumping, water battles, bonfires, barbeques, and much more :).



Next.... SKYDIVING!!! Now THAT was crazy fun... jumping out of a perfectly good plane at 13,000 feet.. no problem, right? We went with friends Keith and Emma and had the time of our lives.

The beginning...

We'll write more later, but this blog is mostly to let family know what shenanigans we're up to at school!