July 13, 2010

Provo...Grand Canyon...Phoenix

We went down to Phoenix so Robert could check out some dental schools, and because he knows I love Arizona. We had never been to the Grand Canyon and decided to add that into our trip. It was amazing. I love RED ROCK! This first picture you can tell was taken from inside the car, from the bug splats on the windshield:)
Robert got together with some mission friends, and we all had little boys about the same age, and they all stayed up way past their bed times having a ball together. Brady riding the donkey in the Grand Canyon lodge on the north rim.
Brady and Robert on the North Rim. Sorry about the foggy smudge, after taking all our pics, I realized there was a water spot on the lense. Sheesh.
The Potters
Brady and I
We ate at the restaurant at the lodge and Brady sat in a high chair as usual, hardly ate any of his grilled cheese sandwhich we ordered for him, and kept throwing food towards the table next to us. How can I get this kid to behave in public?? In church he throws his toys two rows ahead of us! We'll just have to get him into sports and suggest he be the pitcher or the quarterback!
Momma and Brady:)
It was such an amazing trip. As hot as it was in AZ, I loved being there on my old stomping grounds. It was fun to visit my mission companion Hermana Kurowski, of course that's not what she goes by now, but it was fun to catch up with her. It was also fun to meet Robert's mission friends, an get to know them. And who knows, maybe Robert will be going to school there next year!
My favorite part was going back to the Anasazi office where i worked in Mesa. I got to introduce Anasazi to Robert, and them to my new family. I haven't been back there since 2007 when I was young, skinny, and single with no prospects. I even got a chance to see some old friends' faces which was a total bonus.
For those of you who don't kow, Anasazi is a nonprofit wilderness therapy organization for troubled youth. Youth go there with various challenges, for 6 weeks and basically hike around in the desert. They learn how to survive using primitive living skills which in and of itself is very empowering. They learn how to make good choices or to "walk forward", and most importantly they learn of their individual worth, or as we call it, their "seeds of greatness".
Their parents are not off the hook, they participate too. They work with a therapist, write weekly letters to their child, attend the Arbinger Institute seminars, and read various books from the Arbinger Institute about how to change yourself, and love others etc. Anasazi helps families to heal their hearts and relationships and to walk forward by changing their old destructive habits.
I was not a troubled youth, but I learned more at Anasazi in the 5 months I was there, than at any other time in my entire life. It changed my life forever, my way of being and the way I look at and treat others. I only wish that Everyone could experience it. If you happen to run accross any of the Arbinger Institute material, read it, it will open your eyes. Two of their books, the latter written by C. Terry Warner, are: "Leadership and Slef-Deception", and "The Bonds that Make us Free".
To those of you whom I walked with on the Trail, worked for Anasazi, and to the desert I grew to love, you will have a special place in my heart forever. Thank you for changing my life.