America's favorite pastime

Subject: baseball, the greatest sport in the world



Exhibit A: the fearsome mascot, the chukar

Exhibit B: the players

Location: Idaho Falls, Melaleuca Field

I have been to not one, but two Chukars' games this season. I submit to you that there is nothing better than eating a hot dog and watching a game of baseball. Granted, they're no Oakland A's, but they can still be fun to watch . . . when they win. And if you happen to get bored, you can just take silly pictures of yourself like we did. . .

¡Mi cumpleaños!

One year older, and wiser too . . .

Yes, on August 8th, I turned the ripe old age of 23. Quite the accomplishment if you ask me. :)

Celebrations started early this year. The day before my birthday, I floated the river with some friends from the ward and then we went back to a cabin to have a prime rib dinner. This was my first time eating prime rib, at age (almost)23. Does that qualify as deprivation?

Later that night Michelle, Jordan, Tom, and I went to West Yellowstone to meet up with my mom and brother to go to the Playmill Theatre and watch "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." It was a great show with lots of laughs. I ♥ musicals!! And this one has always been a favorite of mine. When I was a teenager, I would watch it all.the.time with my friend Marinda. We would always pick out which "bride" we were and who the respective "brother" was. (Always our latest crush of course.)

At the beginning of the show, they made everyone who was celebrating a birthday come up on stage so that they could sing to us. And when I say they made me come up, I mean they made me come up. I was not happy about this, but it turned out ok in the end I guess. At least I got a kiss on the cheek from one of the young male actors. To my horror, Tom made a video of the whole thing which I will not be posting due to my embarrassment and awkwardness. I'm sure I've never blushed so much in my life.

Half the fun was the car ride to the Theatre. We were blasting the tunes and singing along and dancing as much as is possible inside a moving vehicle. Plus, we stopped at a gas station where Jordan and Michelle bought me a fishing license for my birthday! My very first fishing license at age (almost)23. Now that definitely counts as deprivation!

front-seat :

Michelle and Jordan


back-seat:
Tom and Me

On Sunday, my actual birthday, I went to church and played the piano for a musical number in sacrament meeting. After church, my family and I enjoyed an amazing home-cooked meal of lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. (Thanks mom!) Soon followed by oatmeal cake (a family favorite). It was so delicious!

Thank you everybody for wishing me a happy birthday, and for all the wonderful gifts!

The Bob and Tom Show

Many of you may have heard of the famous and colorful Bob and Tom Show. . . Well, I get my own live version of this show all the time, and it is so great! What would I do without these two brothers?? They are some of the greatest guys in the world, and definitely the funniest! Just last night we were playing with Photo Booth on Bob's new Mac and laughing so hard that it put us to tears! If you want to get a taste of how crazy and hilarious these two can be, just watch this video. I promise you'll laugh!

Tom - Me - Bob

A few weeks ago I went fishing with Tom and Bobby. We had a great time, and came away with four good-looking fish to eat. . . I don't usually like to eat trout, but Tom did an a-mazing job cooking them and I actually enjoyed it.

Here are the two fish that I kept (and gutted all by myself)!

These brothers, although 1 1/2 years apart, are practically twins. They are so much alike it is sometimes scary. Being with them is so funny though, because you'll be with one and he'll say something, and then you'll be with the other any he'll say the exact same thing. Is there an echo in here?

Not only are these brothers handsome and hilarious, but did I also mention that they are also both incredibly musically talented?? They both sing, Tom plays the violin, and Bobby plays the piano. Tom and Bob are always working on some song together or making one up. They even have their own little "studio/recording room" set-up in their house where they make all their music. Together they performed at our ward talent show last spring and seriously made all the girls' hearts melt. . . no joke.

I love these boys!!

Lava Hot Springs -

totally worth the sunburn and three bloody noses!


I do not have any pictures for this post because, let's be honest, who really wants to see me in a bathing suit with makeup smeared around my eyes? I certainly didn't, which is why I didn't take any pictures of myself. But, despite the way I looked, I had an absolute blast with my friends at Lava Hot Springs!

We mostly played on the slides, jumped off of the high platforms, and played basketball in the pool. The basketball was my favorite activity. I am not a huge fan of playing basketball on dry land, but it was so much fun in the water!

The weather was perfect all day. I tried to be really good about applying sunscreen (at this point in my life I would much rather save my skin than try and get tan, it never works anyways), but I ended up missing a few spots. Oops. I paid for it later that night, but it really wasn't too bad.

The most impressive thing that I want to share with everyone is that I jumped off of the Olympic high-dive platform that they have there. This thing is 33 feet high! You may be thinking to yourself right now: That doesn't sound too bad, but let me just tell you that 33 feet is a lot higher once you're up there looking down over the edge! I am so proud of myself for doing it not once, but two times. I would have done it more if it weren't for the fact that it gave me a bloody nose. I think that the sheer terror of free falling made me squeeze my nose a little too hard. I just wanted to be extra sure that no water got up there!

Nature Park

Our internet service is back after a long, unexplained absence! Now to catch up on my blogging . . .

Awhile back, I took Colter for a bike ride around the Nature Park. Last summer, this became one of my favorite places in Rexburg. Despite it being really hot outside, we had a good time together!





Here are some of the things we found:

Trees to climb!

Mushrooms: the "you probably shouldn't eat one of these or else you will shrivel up and die" kind.

A little abandoned shoe.



And of course tons of ducks and geese; just waiting for you to feed them.


Colter made this video which I think is hilarious. He says the funniest things sometimes . . .

My poor blog

Sorry that I have been so negligent concerning my blog lately! It's not that I don't have anything to post, because I have TONS . . . seriously, if I could sum up what I have been doing over the past few weeks it would be with one word - playing! The problem is, we no longer have internet service at home. This presents huge problems when trying to blog. . . I could use another computer to blog but then I wouldn't have access to all of my fun pictures. So, just know that I am still alive and very well and I will post everything as soon as I can. Once we get internet service again prepare for an overload of stories and pictures from yours truly!

Cheers!

Just Peachy

I would like to introduce you the new addition in our family - little "Peach." This bonsai tea tree was an early birthday present from my grandparents, Aunt Stacie, and Uncle Don. I love love love it! I have wanted a bonsai for quite some time now, and finally my wish has come true! Thank you so much!

As you can see, we are quite happy together. :)