Kristin grew up in Colorado and spent most of her childhood growing up on the family farm. Some of her favorite memories of her early life were seeing her baby brother for the first time, watching her dad dive after her shoe that was floating down the river, sneaking fig newtons with Grandma from the pantry, and playing with her cat- Oshkosh.
One of the funniest stories about her is the day she almost gave her parents a heart attack! She was two years old. Her parents woke up to find the crib empty, her clothes on the floor, and the door open. They weren’t sure what had happened. They frantically looked everywhere and there I was… Stark naked, happily riding my tricycle!
Kristin loved growing up in the country. There was lots of room to play. Erik, her brother, and her spent a lot of time building forts in the trees, flying kites in the field, and building and floating boats down the ditch. They spent a lot of time together. Often, they would sneak into each others bedroom late at night and play with their stuffed animals, make shadow puppets, and act VERY silly. Dad would come tromping down the stairs to tell us to go to bed. After coming down a few times, Dad would REALLY start to get irritated. Erik would leap for his bed in the other room and they’d pretend to be asleep. It didn’t seem to matter how much trouble they got in they were always doing that.
As they got older they began to ride their bikes all over the dirt roads. Especially to Nana and Papa’s where cookies and strawberry milk awaited them! Sometimes they would go as a family up into the hills and roast marshmallows, camp, and look for arrowheads.
Kristin has a great love of music that she got from her mother. She loved to fall asleep to the sound of her mother playing the piano. Mom taught her to play when she was young.
Elementary school was fun for Kristin. It was here that met two people who would become her closest friends for a lifetime! In middle school she began to play the flute and made many more friends in the school band.
Math was something she really struggled with. However, Kristin excelled in science and went to the state science fair twice! In 8th grade there was a unit during which all students were taught dances of the 1930’s. Kristin and her partner took second place.
In high school Kristin still enjoyed being in the band. She excelled at playing the flute. She also auditioned and got accepted into the school show choir. Through all for years she participated in them. In addition, she taught the 8th grade how to dance for all four years, instructing them on the Jitterbug, Foxtrot, Waltz, and Kanga. Lastly, she taught an after school origami class at the elementary school and was an aide in a 3rd grade classroom.
In high school Kristin’s favorite things to do with her friends were to go shooting, spend time with her boy friend, ride motorcycles around the dirt roads, and play the flute. Working as a lifeguard at the pool was also something she enjoyed. Another high school experience is that she got to go as an exchange student to Costa Rica for a week. She loved the rainforests there and the family that she stayed with.
Kristin’s family would also take a trip to Belize where they would go snorkeling, repelling, camping, and tubing down rivers. It was a great time! Kristin and her mom later went on a cruise in the Caribbean and spent a few days in Puerto Rico. They had a lot of fun on that trip together.
As Kristin got ready to graduate, she began to look at colleges- with much encouragement on her mother’s part. She was planning on going in- state as she had received many scholarships. Her mom convinced her to apply to BYU at the last minute. She got accepted, but was hesitant to go out of state. They drove up to look at the schools. She saw BYU-Idaho and liked it, so that’s where she went!
With her free time Kristin would go hiking in the ice caves, going up to Jackson, rock climbing, and exploring Yellowstone. Once a roommate got angry left her and another roomie in Yellowstone with no way to get home. They hitchhiked back and got to see a lot of the park at the same time! It turned out to be one of the most fun adventures of her college life.
During her five years at the University she was, studying Elementary Education and taking other classes that interested her. She especially enjoyed her fencing, clogging, and floral design classes. She went year round all 5 years! Half way through, her mom and dad encouraged her to take a break.
Kristin thought about it. She saw a poster for a volunteer program, talked to her parents about it, and decided to go to Ecuador for three months. There, she worked in orphanages and had some of the most life changing experiences of her life. She still has a great love for those children. Kristin learned much about the culture and fell in love with it and with salsa and meringue music. She got to tour the Andes and the Amazon. But the best part of the experience was working and loving the children that she worked with.
When Kristin came back, she finished her education, met her husband, and began teaching. She teaches 4th grade and loves her job, but finds it very exhausting sometimes!
Kristin has a great love for traveling and spending time observing nature. Both of which she inherited from her father. Her two great loves are the Colorado Rockies (especially Yankee Boy Basin) and the ocean (especially Cannon Beach Oregon). Some of her best memories are of hiking in the Utah desert and the Rockies with her family She also loves to spend time up at the family cabin.
Hiking, rock climbing, camping, ice skating, swimming, and collecting seashells along the beach have always been Kristin’s favorite hobbies. She used to enjoy rafting until a trip down the Escalante River in southern Utah, which consisted of being scraped to shreds by olive trees, a flooded river, a near drowning experience, boat submersion, slamming into cliff walls, being wet and cold, hiking all night over 600ft sand dunes with little water and a 60lb back pack, hitchhiking, and being without sleeping for 36 hrs!
But her most favorite thing to do is to spend time with her sweetheart wherever he is!
Some pictures of Kristin can be seen by clicking here.
