Goodbye Twenties! Hello Thirties!

I have turned 30! Most of my friends have approached this age with dread and sadness, feeling old and wrinkly as they approach the inevitable.

But I am really excited to be in this new decade! I loved my twenties and had so much fun-- but I think my thirties will be just as good or better. :)

Here are some of the highlights from the last ten years and the greatest times of my life.

Living in Alaska



Tough day at work.  Ha!

When I turned 20, I moved to Hawaii to attend the University of Hawaii. 
And I had some of the best times of my life there!! 



Roomies





My best buddies



 I traveled through Mexico and Guatemala with my Hawaiian buddies-- my first real experience out of the country.

Tikal, Guatemala

The only time Krans is bigger than Eike, ha ha

I planned a trip to Europe with friends who all backed out.  Natalie joined me instead but crashed her bike the second day we were in Germany and had to fly home for surgery.   I stayed and traveled by myself for a month.  It was such an awesome trip!! (Other than the bike crash.)



First Ever Ambulance Ride :(





Baltic Sea





Swiss Alps





Cique Terre, Italy





Paris



Skydived for my second time on a trip to California

I moved home from Hawaii and got a job working at Brighton to snowboard to my heart's content.

I started dating my best friend somewhere around there: 

How can we resist each other?

The canyoneering trip that started it all for Todd and me.

When Todd and I were still "just friends" I asked him half jokingly if he wanted to go to Thailand with me.  He said yes- and I knew in that moment that he was the kind of person I wanted to marry.

We fell in love in Thailand :) 



Railay Beach, Thailand



And got married March 14, 2006

I joined the Hammond Family:

As newly weds we moved to Puerto Rico for work.

Our house

Work was really slow so we moved to Chicago.



We moved back to Utah and eventually I graduated from the U of U in Exercise Science & Nutrition.  Nice hair, Todd. :)

I went back to the U and became certified in Nuclear Medicine Imaging.

Several years after graduating from the U of U in Civil Engineering, Todd took and passed the Professional Engineering exam.



Just a few study materials

Todd and I bought a house and a cat in December 2009.



Home sweet home

Smacker the cat

Performing plumbing surgery in our yard

We have taken dozens of weekend trips and a few big far away trips over the years.

Peekaboo Canyon, UT



Oregon Coast



Havasupai Falls

Zion

Moab

Lake Powell

This was our "home" in Spain for 3 weeks:

We didn't realize till we were there that this was a nudist beach, ha ha ha!

Todd deep water soloing

Me deep water soloing and almost pooping my pants because I was so scared

Fly fishing trip, British Columbia



Mesa Verde, Colorado

Getting pooped on by wild monkeys, Costa Rica

Bungee Jumping, Costa Rica



Lower Calf Creek Falls with the Hammond nieces and nephews

Our Annual Yosemite trip: 

Trail leading up the Half Dome in Yosemite

Yosemite

In 2008 we climbed up the "Snake Dike" route on the Half Dome.  It was so cold that we didn't take any pictures till we got to the top.

This photo was borrowed from the Internet- it is the 80 foot run out with no protection.

Me freezing cold and celebrating at the top

At the top we got completely lost in a blizzard for a couple hours and blindly wandered around trying not to slip and fall to our deaths.  That really, really sucked.  Luckily the storm broke and we found the trail down. 

We escaped with minor frost bite.  Todd's hands blistered up and my skin peeled off.  And my toenails fell off several months later.  Gross.

Goblin Valley, UT



Visiting the Dartons in Hollywood

Yangshuo, China

Longsheng Rice Terraces, China

Patagonia, Chile

Patagonia, Argentina

Biking the Oregon Coastline with Natalie and Harrison



We have camped so many times I can't even begin to count...



I love camping :)



Shay the best dog ever, rest in peace

Naturally, being married to Todd, we have done a ton of climbing over the years.



"Frogland" Red Rocks, Las Vegas

Todd's route "Mellow Gold"

Ancient Art

The top tip of Ancient Art

On top of Castleton Tower, Moab

Todd and Mark on the East Buttress of El Capitan, Yosemite

Todd and Mark spent four days climbing and sleeping on El Captain, Yosemite.

 The 31 pitches up The Nose of El Cap

Todd and Mark are the champions!

Todd and I see a lot of wildlife in the Wasatch range

 Todd has been the drummer for a lot of bands over the years and he's played a lot of shows.

Kid Theodore

I got into running and ended up doing a couple marathons and lots of halfs and other shorter distance races.



Pinnell Family Triathalon



See the pain on my face?  Running 26 miles will do that to ya.



Moab "Other Half"

And the number one event in my life that defines who I am and has changed me forever:

 I became a mom, three weeks shy of my thirtieth birthday.

The Hammond Family

 I'm so excited for the next decade!!  Woo hoo!