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8.05.2009

39. Milk a cow

My incredible cousin Josh married Carolee, who is just as incredible. They live in Clinton UT and have 6 adorable little kids. Carolee is probably the healthiest mom I know. She doesn't eat anything that is processed or has chemical preservatives in it. She used to purchase all her dairy products from a farm but eventually decided to buy a cow (and chickens) to have fresh dairy every day. So every morning and evening Josh goes out and milks the cow (now that is love). He was kind enough to let me come out to their cute little farm and give milking a go. As soon as Josh came home from work he changed out of his business attire and into his milking attire (just jeans and a t-shirt) and away we went. He introduced me to Tilly their cow, who was very kind to let me milk her. Josh gave me a quick demonstration and then let me have a try. My Mom grew up with cows and had warned me that it wouldn't be easy. The first couple of squeezes were a little awkward and I missed the bucket a few times, but I think I got the hang of it pretty quick. Although I only did one teat (that is the proper name) at a time and not nearly as much milk came out as when Josh did it. Carolee had me try some milk that was fresh from that morning. It was the best milk I have ever had and I don't even like milk. Tilly makes about 4 gallons of milk a day. Carolee lets the cream and whey separate and makes all sorts of wonderful things like yogurt and ice cream. It was such a fun experience and I am so grateful to my lovely cousin and his family for letting me come down for a milking visit!

This is Tilly herself.

Josh giving me the demonstration.

Getting my fingers all lotioned up.

The first couple of awkward squeezes.

I think I missed the bucket here.

Milk Maid

Notice the milk stream.

Right in the bucket.

We have milk!

7.29.2009

61. Go hang gliding/paragliding

On my birthday David took me for a surprise ride somewhere. He drove me up to the point of the mountain and told me that he signed me up to go paragliding! So this one I didnt even plan, it was given to me as a gift for my birthday. Best present ever. We have been trying to go ever since my birthday but the winds were never good, especially because "im so light" like they kept saying. So yesterday there was finally good winds and I was able to go. It was amazing. When it was my turn to go, the owner of the company and my pilot Steve came and got me harnessed up. I asked him to take me high and to do cool tricks but he said the wind wasnt at the right conditions. Once we got up there though Steve was lovin the winds and decided to take me super high and do lots of spins and what not. We ended up being in the air for an hour instead of the normal 30 mins. The view up there was absolutely incredible. I so wish I could have had a camera with me. The chute flies you so smooth and it was actually quite relaxing. Steve even let me control it for awhile. The only downfall... as we were making our descent he started doing a ton of spins and wing turns and we were dropping elevation pretty fast so I got pretty nauseous. Over all though I highly recommend doing paragliding. David went through a company called Cloud 9. They were incredible, and reasonably priced.

Thanks David!

and my helmet. Which if you crashed to your death wouldnt do you any good anyway.

woo hoo!

see that dot? thats us at 1500 feet above the ground.

the moon.

coming in for landing.

me and steve.

7.27.2009

1. serve a mission

I served a mission in the California San Bernardino mission. I left on September 12, 2007 and returned home on February 17, 2009. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I had a hard time choosing photos to post. There were so many people, places and memories. If you want to see more photos and hear more about my mission you can go to the blog that my sister Emily created and maintained while I was gone.