Birthday Fun and Hiking

We had a lot of fun celebrating Curtis' birthday. We met him at work and took him his favorite chocolate covered pretzels from Costco and then had lunch with him and the hotel staff. They bought him a cake and sang Happy Birthday to him and Taylor thought it was so cool that it was her dad's birthday. He came home from work a little early and we all headed up to the red rocks to do some hiking around. It was beautiful sunny weather and we had to take advantage of it. Both of the kids were so happy to be outside and free to roam wherever they pleased. I am continually amazed at the beauty that surrounds us here and am so happy to be able to enjoy it with my family.

After we had worn the kids out, we went get some dinner. Since it was Curtis' birthday he got to choose, and he didn't hestitate to pick his current obsession....

This place has some amazing Hawaiian food and has become a place where we like to take all our visitors...okay so only my parents so far, but if you come visit we'll take you too! The kids love it too, so we all walk away happy. Since Curtis already had cake at work, he opted to have dessert at his favorite ice cream place...Baskin Robbins, which was conveniently located right next door. He got 2 quarts of ice cream and almost had one finished before he went to bed! It was a great day and we are always excited to have an excuse to celebrate and have fun together!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Now onto a lighter note. Yesterday we decided to go out hiking again since it was such a beautiful day. Curtis got snacks and drinks packed up and we headed out to the Chuckawalla Trail that we previously hiked last month. This time Curtis was determined to hike the whole thing so we brought a stoller for Boston since the trail was pretty clear. It started out great and Taylor even saw some cowboys(people riding horses), but it was when a man on horse back passed us heading back up the trail with a policeman on back that we knew something must be wrong. Not too far behind them was another officer this time on a mountain bike. We told Taylor that someone must be hurt at the top and continued on our way. We saw where there were people gathered and just before we got there an older couple heading down, pulled me aside to warn me of what was ahead. Apparently there was a man mountain biking that had passed away and was lying up the trail a ways dead. Curtis decided we should keep going since it looked like we could bypass the man and the officers without seeing too much. As soon as we reached the top of the hill, I immediately saw the man lying next to his bike. I avoided looking at his face, and hurried Taylor along. She saw him instantly and asked what he was doing. We decided to tell her that he was just resting after having rode his bike all that way. The remainder of the hike was troubling for me. I have never seen a deceased person, and was most troubled by loved ones waiting at home for him. Just before we finished we saw a helicopter fly in to take the man away. Once we got to the car, I fell apart. I couldnt help but wonder if he had a wife and kids at home waiting for him to return. I couldn't imagine he being alone as he realized what was about to happen to him, and most of all I just hurt for his family, whoever they were. I realized how precious each day truly is and that we really never know when our time on earth will be finished. He wasn't very old and we assume that he died of a heart attack although not much information has been released yet. The image in my head still haunts me and will be a reminder to Cherish each day, never wait to say important things to those you love, and always live as if it were your last day.