34

Recently I had my 34th birthday. 34 years young!

This year I decided to celebrate with extreme amounts of exercise. The day before my birthday I went for a 4mi hike with Melanie on my back. Melanie + the framed pack itself + some gear = about 40lbs. 40lbs on your back + some decent elevation gain = a serious workout! The next day, on my actual birthday, I went for a 6.2 mile hike solo. This was Mary's gift to me - childcare so I could get out in the woods by myself. The 6.2mi hike was a bit tiring after having done another hike the day before, but it was still easier than 4mi with Melanie on my back. I have to say.... I have new respect for people (myself included) that climb mountains with serious weight on their backs. Anyway, the evening of my birthday Mary provided more child care so that I could take a 90min yoga practice, and then that Saturday John watched the kids so that I could take a 2.5hr yoga practice which included 108 sun salutations. I am alive and strong! These days I feel GOOD!

So my new resolution is to climb a mountain every year on my birthday. It might be a small mountain (such as Tiger mountain - ~2000ft elevation change) or a slightly bigger mountain (such as Mt Si - ~3400ft elevation change) or a truly big mountain (Ranier, 10,000ft). I figure the mountains will grow in size until I start getting older, and then the mountains will start shrinking in size again. Either way, a mountain will be climbed every year.

Other birthday notes - I was thrilled to get calls/emails/cards from so many family members. I got calls from Mom, Dad, Sally, Juliet, Rose, and Pat (John's dad), and cards from Bridget and Granny/Gramps (John's grandparents). Yay for loving family members!