And so it begins...

The story begins on July 29, 2011.  The Toone Family Reunion was set to begin in Island Park, ID and Bree Toone (my roommate) had invited me to attend with her.  The plan was for me to meet her near Salt Lake City and we would drive the few hours together.  As I approached the meeting spot, Bree text me and said, “I’m not ready yet, take your time getting up here.”  So take my time I did!  I stopped in the Sandy UT REI and, since we were going to be up in the mountains for a week, I of course needed to pick up anything and everything that MIGHT come in handy.   I have what I call a hobby of collecting hobbies…you know, I get the idea to start playing golf, so I go out and get clubs, shoes, gloves etc…then worry later about learning how and if I’ll even like it.  So I’m in the REI and I find my way back to the shoes.  My sister Crystal is quite the hiker/outdoorsy gal and she had introduced me to the KEEN sandal.  They seemed really cool/cute/functional but I’ve never really been into dangerous adventures like hiking or really anything too fun.  I’m a fun person to chat with, hangout with, do low key mild activities with like watching movies or playing board games, but I’ve never really been what one would call adventurous.  I often say I’m the opposite of an adrenaline junky.  I fear adrenaline and avoid it at all costs.  This is probably because I grew up with a worry wart (My mom is great but it is true) and spent most of my childhood as an adult (cautious, worried, anxious, thinking out the most logical options or the option where the most things go wrong). Possibly be because I grew up in a family where everyone was always at least 7 years older than me or because my Grandma was my best friend as a child and well, you do see too many 80-year-old ladies throwing caution to the wind.  Though she didn’t teach me to be adventurous, my Grandma did teach me how to by what I want and never tell me no.  A skill I am also working on curbing. J  Anyway, back to REI.  I knew of KEENS, but nobody could have prepared me for their POWER!  I thought I’d try some on, since I would be all outdoorsy for the week to come, I might just NEED them.  I put them on and even with their $95 price tag, I had to have them. After consulting with Bree and Crystal, via text message and camera phone, it was decided that I should for sure get them (even if Crystal did warn me that they usually go on sale around holiday weekends I didn’t want to, I mean couldn’t, wait.  Please, I spit and $25 comes out…JUST kidding).  After trying the various models of the KEEN Sandal I settled on the Newport H2, Brown with greenish trim (pictured above).  Thus far it has been one of if not the best purchase in my life!  I put them on as soon as I got out of the store and a week of throwing caution to the wind, adrenaline seeking, reclaiming my childhood, and KEEN adventures ensued…