"She's gone country, back to her roots . . ."

Despite the fact that I'm all grown up with a bachelor's degree, that I spent last summer in the big city, and that I am now working at a law office; at heart, a part of me will always be the country girl who loves to . . .

go camping,

and fishing,

and shooting.

And that will never change!

Lagoon - It's what fun is!

Ok readers, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you: After an amazing weekend, spending about 7 hours in the car and 11 hours at Lagoon, I came home with absolutely no pictures. Zero. Zip. Nada. I think that I set myself up for failure by telling all of you to "watch for Lagoon pics in my upcoming posts." A thousand apologies to you all. I know those potential, but non-existent pictures meant a lot to you.

I'll have you know that I had every good intention of taking pictures, I just hit a barrier or two in the process. The night before we left, I charged my camera battery to make sure it was ready. I packed my camera. I took my camera in a small backpack into the park, fully prepared to take pictures. We approached the line for our very first ride of the day when the ride attendant informed me that no bags were allowed on the ride and that I would have to pay for a locker and keep my bag there. Lame. I really didn't want to pay money just to keep my backpack in a locker all day so I returned it to the car and that is where my camera remained for the rest of the day. I guess it's better than running the risk of losing my camera on one of the rides. (It wouldn't have been the first time that has happened to me.)

If I had incredible photoshop skills and lots of time on my hands, I would find pictures of the rides online and photoshop ourselves into them. But, since I have neither the time nor the skills, that won't be happening.

So, now that I have spent forever making up excuses, I will tell you about all the fun that we had!

The six of us friends decided that we were going to go big, and then go home. Right off the bat, we started with Lagoon's newest roller coaster, Wicked. (see picture below) This ride was so amazing! I think that I ended up going on it four times.

Can you guess what my favorite part was?? At the very beginning of the ride, they shoot you out of the tunnel down on the left, and up and over the arch. Incredible. You'd think that you were defying the laws of nature.

Another ride that I went on for the first time was the Rocket Re-entry. This thing slowly takes you up to the top of the tower, and then - without warning - plummets you towards the ground. It's such a rush. On this ride, I can honestly say that my scream was out of sheer terror, and not just for the fun of it. We rode this both during the day and at night. The view from the top is amazing; you can see for miles and miles.

And then there is my all-time favorite ride (which happens to be Tom's favorite too), the Samurai. I can't really explain this ride to you, all I can say is that it's the best. Period. The end.

After going on rides to the point of exhaustion, enjoying the beautiful weather, eating dippin' dots, and taking lots of pictures (oh wait, scratch that last part), we left the park and headed back home to Rexburg. I think it's safe to say that we all had a blast and would do it again in a heartbeat. Lagoon really is fun!

Fun at the Fair

On September 11th, I went to the Idaho State Fair with Tom and Bobby. It had been about 10 years since I had last been to the fair, and it was so much fun!

If you were to ask what my favorite thing about the fair was, I would say it's a tie between . . .


1. petting the incredibly cute and soft bunny . . .

I could have hung out with this little guy all day and been happy.

Number 2: watching Tom get hypnotized (talk about side-splitting laughter!)

Tom's the one in the bright red shirt, and quite the crowd-pleaser if you ask me! Unfortunately, he wouldn't let me post any of the videos, but let me just say that up on stage he was a ballerina dancer and an interpreter for Martians who came to visit Earth.

and Numero Tres: riding this baby - Footloose. Oh yeah!

I LOVE amusement park rides. Forget drugs, these things give me a high like no other. I've found that the more noise you make, the more fun it is. And this ride was just a prep for next weekend when I go to Lagoon with some friends! I am so excited!!!!

(Watch for Lagoon pics in my upcoming posts.)

I'll admit that we committed the crime of not buying a single bite of food to eat at the fair, which is in my opinion quite an amazing feat. There are food booths everywhere, and all of the fried food loaded with grease and sugar smelled amazing, but we restrained ourselves in order to save money (and our figures).

Here are a few other highlights from our day:

Tom's niece, Kaybrie, riding the Merry-Go-Round


The big cow


Love this picture of us!

Lewis and Clark Caverns

This year's Labor Day was spent up in the great state of Montana. First we visited the Lewis and Clark Caverns, and then stopped in West Yellowstone on our way back for dinner and an IMAX movie. Everybody had such a great time!

If you ever get the chance to visit the caves, I would highly recommend it.
They are amazing.

Tom gave me a piggy-back ride through town . . .

and then Colter had to give it a try too. (Nevermind the fact
that I am more than twice his weight.)

The life of a working woman

In case you haven't heard, after a long and discouraging eight-month search for a job, I finally found one!! I now work as a legal assistant/receptionist at a law office here in town. I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have a job, and how exciting! My life has changed quite dramatically over the past few weeks. . .

I am just finishing up "week two" of my job and I love it. I am so grateful to be blessed with full-time work during this tough time in our nation's economy. I work 9-5, Monday through Friday, and get weekends and holidays off. It really is perfect. Oh, and did I mention that the office is about two miles from my house?! Plus, I work with great people who are so kind and who can also be quite funny too. They have been so patient with me as I have been training for the job, asking questions, and making a few inevitable mistakes. I have already learned so much, and am excited to continue learning.

Now that I have a job, I suddenly feel this sense of independence and professionalism. I wear business dress to work; I have responsibilities to attend to; and I just received my first paycheck in over a year! I tell you what, the choir in heaven was singing for that blessed moment. I can now spend money without feeling guilty about it. I can contemplate buying things like a new car! And maybe if you're lucky, you'll now receive real gifts from me instead of a loaf of banana bread.

I feel like I have finally entered the realm of adulthood.
Seriously, the words "I can't, I have to work" have never sounded so good!

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!