Drought over!!

I finally got someone to write in and send me a picture. Thank you Michelle!! This is a picture of Michelle Brown Joines and her husband Jake and two boys Shade and Jonah in Bryce Canyon recently.


I could tell you a lot of stories about Michelle. My first experience with Michelle was in first or second grade. During the winter of that year she called and asked me to go skiing with her. I thought it was Michelle Murray calling so my mom dropped me of at Michelle Murray's. She acted a little strange when I came to play, but let me in anyway. When I returned home my mom told me that Michelle Brown had called and wondered where I was. I was so sad that I confused the two and that I missed out on going to Michelle Brown's house to ski even if it was just cross country skiing.
Michelle and I are a lot alike. We spent many years playing soccer, volleyball, basketball and track together. We drove to school together, did our homework together, and hung out with the same friends. We both graduated in teaching, she in math and I in Spanish. Michelle got married in April and I in May of the same year and had our first two children just a week from each other. Needless to say Michelle and I have been friends for a long time and I am so lucky to have grown up so close to her. She has been a great friend.
Here is what Michelle is up to in her own words:
" As far as I know, the Valley is the most beautiful spot on earth and St. George is the second most beautiful spot on earth. We, my husband Jake and our children Shade (6) and Jonah(4), are thrilled to be living in beatiful St. George. We moved from Las Vegas 2 years ago seeking the healthier lifestyle of a small town.
Don't get me wrong Las Vegas is a great place to live and was very good to us. We lived there for six years. My husband worked for a large construction company managing such projects as the Coliseum and a 27 floor tower both at Caesar's Palace. I enjoyed my second year of teaching in Las Vegas at an inner-city high school before my first child was born.
We also went through the hardest of times in Las Vegas. I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer three years ago when our youngest son was barely a year old. After a year of treatment- surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation- we needed some fresh air.
We loved the fresh air that we found in St. George. We started hiking each morning on the cliffs behind our house and then we started running on the plateau beyond the cliffs. Now we can run for over an hour up there-we found our healthier lifestyle. A year ago, just one year after completing my treatment for breast cancer, I ran my first triathlon-I fell in love!"

Michelle and Jake competing at a triathlon a few months ago.
Michelle is amazing- an inspiration to all of us. Keep it up!!