Reflections

It's still hard to imagine someone as active and involved as Mike to be gone. And I believe that he isn't. While he physically cannot be with us anymore, our memories with him and his positive attitude and especially his smile will remain with us forever.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe that there is more than our earthly life. I believe in a spirit world (heaven), where we can go to learn and be with our families forever. This belief gives me hope and a testimony that my loved ones are cared for.

Mike or Kriesel, as I think most people called him, was so full of laughter. He was always happy and positive. And like I mentioned above, his smile was one of the most spectacular things anyone could behold. I loved being able to do shows with him, take classes with him, and more importantly hang out with him and play frisbee.

When I left for college, I would always check on my friends status updates and pictures. Kriesel has been a favorite to keep up on. He is an amazing family member, I loved seeing how wonderful and happy he was with his family. I loved seeing the pictures from his obstacle courses, and I really want to do one because of him. I also love that he continued learning. He went above and beyond average. Not just in education, but in relationships. He truly cared about people.

Reflecting on this tragedy, I have realized that I need to make more of an effort to keep in touch with the people I care about. I need to take opportunities to capture those moments. I only have two pictures with Mike, out of the hundreds of memories and moments I spent with him. I know that someday he will be reunited with his family. I know that he is in a wonderful place learning and being filled with love. I know that he has been embraced and held by angels. Our time on the earth may seem so long, but in a flash we will be reunited with our lost loved ones and it will be comforting. The beautiful day will come, but for the time being, life is short and we have to enjoy every second. I look up to Mike as someone who truly enjoyed his life. He left with no regrets. He is an example to me. Instead of lingering on his absence I will use his life as my inspiration. I will be more positive and enjoy every moment given to me. I will work hard and make my goals and dreams come true. I will remain close to my family and friends and will cherish the moments I have with them.

Mike was and is an amazing friend and person. I know that he is in the most wonderful place surrounded by angels. 

p.s. We totally dominated those Foosball games. I think it was 7-1. :)

Please feel free to post any memories you have of Mike. It would be great to have them recorded so that we can look back on them and laugh. 

You Can't Buy Time. But Can You Make It?

 TIME!

How much have you thought about time? Lately I've had time on my mind...a lot. It seems that I never have enough time to accomplish all of my tasks or to just breath. What would happen if time just didn't exist? As a Mormon, I know that Heavenly Father's time is way different than my perception of time, but what exactly does that mean?  I don't have proof, but here are some evidences of what time in heaven seems like to me.

1. Firstly, there is the simple idea that time will not exist because there is no end. without an end, can there really be a measurement? I don't think so. I will discuss this further in point three.

2. From a scientific perspective, when objects travel near or at the speed of light time dilates. There's some stuff regarding reference point thrown in there, but couldn't there exist a point at which time slows so much, that it doesn't seem to exist? For instance the theory that the universe is expanding at high speeds, possibly near the speed of light, which could cause time to dilate. To me the idea that Heaven's and earth's time are different fits so succinctly into this scientific reasoning. Heaven could possibly be on earth (or I believe it will be once the second coming happens), it's just in a different "realm" right now, which sounds iffy to non-religious people, but I know Heaven exists! Heaven offers a different reference frame, possibly expanding at higher speeds than us physically on the earth. Thus, giving a different time frame. If Heaven is in a faster reference frame time will dilate and will be evidenced once the earth is restored during the second coming and Heaven is on earth. Why? Because heaven was expanding at a speed closer to the speed of light, and when brought into the earth's reference frame it's time will have dilated compared to that of the earth, possibly so much that time does not exist.

3. No end = no time. I was pondering about the length of my marriage and how excited I am to be married for 1 1/2 years! In my mind I said " 1 1/2 years out of eternity!" which was directly translated to "1 1/2 years out of infinity!". My math friends will laugh at that statement, which I will discuss why in a little bit. But first I should mention something.To me, I believe infinity and eternity are interchangeable. Both are endless, and allow you to do many cool tricks. The eternities give us amazing opportunities, and so does infinity, but it's often difficult to use it, just like obtaining eternal life can seem like a hard process, but really the way is easy (how to get it is easy, but our human errors make it seem hard). To show why no end= no time I offer up some postulates (that I don't know how to prove, but will maybe learn next semester).
  
First, let me list some variables t=time, c=constant (time in years) and ∞=infinity (infinite time)

In calculus we know that ∞/c=∞ and what applies to the point I am trying to make, c/∞=0

Ah, you see where I am going! If I say I have been married for 1.5 years out of infinity, that is like saying my time ratio or t = 1.5/ ∞, which we just learned above to mean 0. t = 0. Meaning even though I may measure my time on earth, in heaven, an infinite realm (endless realm), the time that I will be married for will equal zero, it will not exist, but at the same time will be endless! That's an idea to chew on!

In short, I just wanted to talk about how amazing science and religion are. I feel sorry for anyone who believes science and religion do not relate. You simply cannot have one without the other. My faith and love for my Heavenly Father has grown exponentially through my studies in science. And my understandings of science have increased because of my faith in a Heavenly father and the infinite (endless!, t=0) atonement of his son Jesus Christ. 


p.s. As a side note, I have a really cool idea regarding science and religion about the expansion of the universe (different than time), which maybe I'll talk about later. I wrote a paper on it, but I want to get it published possibly, so I'm going to wait to make that idea public. 

That's it! I'm joining the Circus.

Someday...I wish. haha

So this one time I went to visit my sister in Seattle and she took me to a flying trapeze class. Seriously the most exciting and fun and exhausting 2 hrs of my life. I thought I would be super nervous to fly through the air, but once I jumped of the bar all my nerves went away. It was so much fun! I learned how to hook my legs on the bar and hang upside down and then do a back flip. I also got caught by our super ripped teacher.

 I wish I had money and lived in Seattle so I could pick up this hobby. YOU HAVE TO DO IT, if given the opportunity. Or just make the opportunity available to you. It's such a good work out. Not to mention fun and makes you feel accomplished.  It's 5 days later and my abs are still a little sore. But let me tell you. My abs and arms hurt the worst I have ever hurt for the first 3 days after. I could barely move!

Here's the link to me doing the trick. The reason I didn't put my hands down the first time was because I thought the lady calling said to wait... I was totally about to let go. Whatevs. She obviously said hands down.
http://youtu.be/p-qWkiDr2Z0

This day and the rest of the days made the trip to Seattle AMAZING. My sister taught me about portion control and fed me yummy healthy foods, and Landon was super adorable and funny. Fiona was Fiona. It was such a great week and I wish it could have lasted longer. I am exhausted, but I just love being with my family. I really like the Seattle area, although I think I would much rather live in the suburbs. I love my Sister. And I am so thankful that she let me come out to visit her. It was a great visit. I would write more, but I forgot my camera, so I don't have cool pictures to show you and I don't want to bore you with more words.

p.s. Mount Rainier is such a beautiful stratovolcano! It was so clear when I flew in and I looked up from my book and saw this huge volcano out my window! I was awestruck. I would love to go back to study the subduction zone volcanoes. It was cool to see the big chain of volcanoes and to see the glacial buzz-saw evidence all around it. In normal people terms...Seattle has a BEAUTIFUL landscape.

p.s.s I am so excited to take beginning gymnastics in the Fall. yeah...I got in. The trapeze class just got me super pumped. I want to see what else my body can do!

Becoming a body builder

Gotcha!

so....I'm not actually becoming a body builder (surprise, surprise). But, my body is getting so strong. When I went to see the doctor regarding my knee, he told me that I could take steroids for a week or do physical therapy. I have no desire to use steroids, and Seth wants to become a physical therapist, so guess which route I chose!
I was so nervous going into it, but I am so glad I made the choice. The first day was terrible. I could barely lift a 2 1/2 pound weight tied around my ankle. Just so you know...that would be like tying a can of soup to your ankle and doing palates leg lifts. Yeah...I was super weak. Then I rode a bicycle and did some squats. My legs were tingling so much and I was purely exhausted. My knee was a fragile little baby. And then my therapist gave me electric shock therapy. It is the oddest feeling ever. I left that day feeling so weak and extremely exhausted. But I was so proud of myself. I couldn't believe how much my body needed this. I have been diligent throughout the entire week doing my exercises and slowly I have been able to do more and more reps.

Today, I was able to lift the 5 pound weight! Almost with ease, but by the end of my reps I was in pain. And then I rode the bicycle with major ease. My squats were a little more difficult. But that's because my quads are still pretty weak and my right quad is strained. He even added on these knee bends. Basically I stand on phone books with one leg and bend down until my toe touches the ground. It hurt. But a good hurt. And then I had to use my feet to pull myself across the floor on a stool. I don't know the name of the muscles it worked. But I AM FEELING IT. I feel so good! It is AMAZING the progress my body has made in a week. I love feeling good and healthy. And I love that my body is healing on its own.


By the way. I mean no offense to actual body builders...it's just a look that definitely does not work for myself.

Smart blonde...dumb blonde.

I may get good grades, but sometimes I still follow the color of my hair. A little too well.

We went to a family reunion and the family rented out this pool place that had a lazy river, water slides, a wading pool and then a normal swimming pool. It was a super fun night and a great escape from the heat. One of the babies had an "accident" (#2) in the wading pool, so while they sanitized the pool we went to swim in the big, normal pool.

I was so excited to jump back into the water, and saw Seth and Erin go in flawlessly. I decided to pencil jump into the pool...without realizing it was the shallow end. My feet slammed into the pool bottom and the wind got knocked out of me hard core. I inched my way to the pool edge and held on until the breath came back into me. I could not stop laughing when I finally started to breathe again. How did I not realize the pool was 4ft deep in that one spot?

 I thought I had survived with no injuries, sadly a few days later (a week and a half ago) my right knee started aching and stinging whenever I lifted and walked up stairs. And then 4 days ago my knee became swollen. So I went to the doctor on Friday, got some x-rays, had my legs moved around in weird ways and realized that there really is something wrong with my knee. My left knee cap is all loose-y goose-y and moves around, but my right knee cap is really tight and won't move.

It hasn't been officially "diagnosed", I have another apt. on Thursday, but I'm taking anti-inflammatory pills (which haven't started working yet). The doctor I saw said it was most likely a cartilage tear, a.k.a. meniscus tear, but I'll find out for sure on Thursday. I'm really hoping that these pills work so I don't have to get a cortisone shot. I hate shots!

Overall though, it could be worse. I hit the ground super hard. I'm just glad nothing else got damaged and I'm so thankful that for once, I didn't point my toes! That would have been nasty. Just another day of me being Kari...having my occasional blonde moments.  I'm one awesome lady! haha! And don't worry too much about me, I can still walk without my knee hurting, I just can't do crazy stuff (yeah I know...that's hard for me).

Can we get it? Please?!

Today was one of those days where I just wanted to be locked away and learn forever, have beautiful babies, and get the cutest puppy ever.

I feel like I have three callings or loves in my life.

1. Learn, learn and keep learning. I just love learning and I love solving problems (scientific mostly). I absolutely love school and I love putting in a good days work. I would keep it up forever except for #2 (which is also an extremely over-overwhelmingly good days work).

2. I love kids and I want to be a mother more than ever. I have so much fun babysitting and I had loads of fun working at a kids summer camp in high school.The more I babysit the more I realize how many fun activities I have in my noggin and how active my children will be. I am so excited for the joys and pains (all in good company) that will come from being a mother.

3.  I LOVE animals! Today while I was babysitting, the kids and I were on a walk to get shave ice and we came upon some neighbors who had a dog with 4 3-week old puppies. OH MY GOODNESS. My heart melted, especially for the chocolate brown puppy and his heart melted for me. He came right up to me and crawled under my legs, cuddled and fell asleep. ugh...I wanted to take that puppy home so badly. The mommy liked me too, she gave me lots of kisses. She wanted some loves too.
 

Not the real puppy, not quite as chubby and cute. But still so adorable!

So I have this really awesome Father...

My Dad is the bomb. Let me give you some reasons why (how about 17, because Father's day is on the 17th!).

1. He loves me
2. He really, truly and deeply loves my mother
3. He has his own sense of humor that has always made me laugh
4. He is super smart
5. He has a wonderful spirit
6. He instilled within me a desire to discover and learn
7. He taught me how to work
8. He shared his passions with me
9. He spent time with me
10. He is a peacemaker
11. He loves the outdoors
12. He has good taste in music
13. He knows how to serve and love others
14. He is humble (but he'll never admit it)
15. He is the glue in our family
16. He always tries by doing
17. He is my Daddy.

Some of my most cherished childhood memories are:

I miss being held by my dad. Sometimes I wish I could be a little girl again and just climb into his arms and fall asleep. I love how I would fall asleep in weird places in our home and he would be my "prince" and carry my to my bed.

I remember asking my dad to marry me, because at the time there was no man who could come close to my Father in looks and personality. It turns out I found someone, but mainly because I had my Father's example to teach me what to look for. And not to get off topic, but I will forever be in debt to my dad, because my Husband is awesome.

Anyways, to describe how much of a daddy's girl I am, I will tell you a story. One time my dad was holding me and he was in his bathing suit. So, no shirt on. I remember thinking I was hungry, so I looked at my dad and thought, he has what mom has and that gives me food, so he should give me food too. I don't even know why I tried to nurse on my Father. he didn't have moobers, but after getting a mouthful of hair I realized, oh yeah. My dad isn't my mom. Both of my parents are wonderful people, but there are some things that he can't do that she can and vice versa.

As I have grown older my Dad has still always been there. I love the car rides we had to seminary. A lot of times they were quite, but it was a special time I had to sit with my dad every morning. I love how supportive he is. And I love that he cares about what I love. He is always sending me links to articles or pictures of wonderful astronomical and geologic things. He loves space too, so maybe I care about what he loves. But anyways, I love that he takes time to share those things with me.

Gosh, I just love my Dad so much. Me has a calming nature and always makes people laugh, maybe because they don't get his joke or maybe because he's just so so so awesome. My dad is the Best. I hope everyone has someone they can look up to as a Father figure and feel so full of love. If not, adopt my Dad (my Mom comes with the package, but she's awesome too)!  Happy Father's day to a wonderful man, who has willingly listened to three kids and helped them through trials and helped them become their best. I love you Dad!!!!