Festival of Colors

{friends}
{one big colorful crowd}

{Hindu temple. Utah mountains.}

{inside the temple. cool musicians.}

{chilling before the festivities}

{Stacy, me, Avriell, Anna, and Emily(my roommate)}

{Stacy goes crowd surfing}

Always looking for the cultural experience, last weekend my friends and I went to HOLI, the Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork, UT. It was sweet seeing this massive Hindu up on a hill in predominately LDS Spanish Fork. The temple is called the Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple. And it looks like something straight out of India. This festival is a Hindu religious spring event, but lots of non-Hindu people attend just for the experience. There were so many people there and I thought it was a pretty accurate depiction of what it would be like to visit India, the 2nd most populated country in the world. Everyone really goes for the color part, the part where you get to throw the colored chalky powder you have bought all over your friends.

Everyone chants the Sanskrit mantra:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare,

Hare Rama, Hare Rama,

Rama Rama, Hare Hare

over and over again. It is the only lyrics to all the songs that they sing. And you probably say it a million times throughout the whole festival. This chant is believed to bring a higher level of conciousness and according to some theologies this conciousness takes on the form of the pure love of God (Krisna).

It was an incredible experience.

It's Spring!..... Not.

So, I've discovered that our dearest Mother Nature likes to play games. She'll bring you a fabulous week of spring weather, in which the birds start to chirp, the tulips start to bloom, the mountains turn green, and people begin to venture out into the backyards they forgot they had. And then..... BAM! She dumps a load of snow on you! Why???? I hope she gets her laughs out of watching us scramble to pull out our winter clothes once more, after we had snuggly, and happily, tucked them away.

You have to admit though, she sure knows how to make things beautiful. I snapped these pictures from around campus this week.






If you look closely at this one, you can barely make out the Y. Can't see it? Follow the middle wire, it goes straight through the middle of the Y.

ding-dang. here's the goblins.

{the valley of Goblins}

{the catacombs}

{food!!}

{the part where I thought I was going to die}

{the big drop-off}

{just a cool picture}

-Last weekend my Outdoor Leadership class took a trip down to Goblin Valley in southern Utah for a class campout. (This is the class that Uncle Brad teaches.) It was the best campout I have ever been on. The weather was perfect. The hike through the Ding and Dang Canyons was amazing. The food was delicious. And the people are some of the best that I have ever met. Some highlights were a late night game of capture the flag in the Valley of Goblins (the first picture), bananna boats, sleeping outside under the stars, spending time with Elizabeth and Uncle Brad, the announcement of four engagements, tinfoil dinners, and lots of laughs.

-Thanks to everyone that made this campout spectacular!-

i might possible put more pictures on later.

To make Brita feel better.....

Hey guys. I'm only posting this picture because I give Brita a hard time about her goofy faces in pictures. I think I've outdone you this time! The picture is kind of blurry becuase it was taken on Dave's cell phone. We were hiking and Dave started taking pictures before I was even ready, thus the freaky facial expression. I'm practicing to do some freelancing. Anyone want a model?

Blue and Gold Dinner

Gabe finally was presented with his Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, and several Webelos badges! Although he has been diligently working on scouts, we haven't had a very active pack. Hopefully, that is changing now. My Wolf den performed a skit called "The Bravest Scout". They had a great time.

I went to the university of scouting in Elko on Saturday and earned my Associates degree. I am now working on my Bachelors. I am really enjoying scouting.