Thursday, June 28, 2012

Oregon Coast Trip: Day One & Two

We took off last Wednesday for our family reunion on the Oregon Coast.  We took over 2000 photos this past week, (insane, i know) so it is going to be difficult to choose, but I hope to post the good ones.  The first night we only went to Boise, and we didn't leave until after Dad got off of work that day.  So there really wasn't anything too exciting that happened that day...except we were worried that we may not get a hotel room, but we finally found one.  We spent the night, and left early the next morning because we still had a long way to go.

So the trip from Boise through the first half of Oregon doesn't have much too look at.  Until you hit the Columbia River, and then there is lots to see.  Here is one of the dams, and then check out the windmills on TOP of the mountain.  Crazy huh?  There were a ton of them.

It was neat to see how quickly the terrain would change:

We never really went into Portland, just passed by it.  But before we got to that point, we jumped off the interstate and went to see Multnomah Falls.  On the way, we saw Horsetail Falls:

And I thought that was a huge waterfall until we saw this up ahead:

The Upper Falls is 542 feet tall. 

And the Lower Falls is 69 feet.

There's a huge rock at the bottom of the Upper Falls.
You could feel the spray on the overlook bridge.

Here's Mom and Dad at Multnomah Falls.
Hopefully someday I can go back, and we can hike to the top. 

So we continued on and headed to Astoria.  The road signs were either tricky to see, or nonexistent...so it took a little longer than it prolly should have, but we pulled into Astoria around 6:30 that night.  When we pulled in to town, we saw this HUGE bridge that crossed the Columbia River over to Washington.  Being easily entertained...the first thing we decided to do was cross it, haha.

The camera couldn't really capture how big it was, but 
this photo of it over top of a four story hotel kinda helps you see.


Then we went up to the Astoria Column.  It is up on a big hill
and lets you view the entire surrounding area.

 To get to the top, you climb up a spiraling staircase with
165 steps.  Here's Mom and Shelby below...

...and Dad and Megan above. (about half way)
 

Mom and I got a little dizzy/sick as we were climbing.
We were sure glad when we made it to the top! haha

Here's a view of the bridge from the top of the Column. 
After a LONG day in the car, this was a beautiful site to end it with.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Another Opportunity, Another Blessing! :)

I've been fencing for the Gentile Valley Cattle Association, and
then anybody else who wanted my help since I got home.
Before I started fencing, I'd filled out an application to work
at Ace Hardware because they were looking for someone to
"start immediately" and I fit that bill perfectly (no job yet).
But then I was blessed to get those fencing jobs.

So I was really surprised when I got a call from Broulim's 
a few days ago, asking me to come in for
an interview.  I guess they liked me, cause
I start work on Saturday! :)


The blessings just never end, and I'm truly thankful!

It was hard to decide whether or not I should take the job.
I had to weigh everything out because it will take gas money,
require spending a few nights in town, and need to be
scheduled with my fencing job(s)....and other things like that.
But in the end, I decided that it will be worth it in the long run.
I know it will be good to gain some experience,
and I'm really excited to start!
So if you ever come shopping in the afternoon:
make sure to come through my line cause I know I'm
going to need lots of practice checking,
and I'd love to say hi to you! :)

Sunday, June 10, 2012

College Girl to Fencer

From full time college girl to full time fencer!
And no, not the kinds with the sword-like 'sticks' and masks,
I mean the kind with a hammer and wire ;)
Simplot didn't hire this year, so I've been fencing and helping
the neighbors with any job I can get.
I've learned a ton in just a few weeks.

Important Lesson #1: do NOT let your fingers get anywhere
near where you cut the wire with your plammers.
It hurts, and takes forever to heal.  But it gave Seth a chuckle
when I told him about it on Mother's Day.

Lesson #2: Sometimes you have to find your way around
or through the snow drifts.

This time we took the option of going around and here's Dad haha :)

and Lesson #3: I would much rather put up drift fences than
build and/or fix fences.

After being stuck in a city and classrooms for 8 months,
I have truly loved working outside all day. (minus the mosquitoes)

You can see Beaver Tail Point on the left, and the
 straight away after West Side Road on the right.

Seeing the wildlife is a great treat as well.
This is the first blue bird I saw this year.

I haven't taken my camera with me since the first day.
But I've seen a ton of elk, deer, baby geese, cranes, and one day
Dad and I saw a brand new baby moose with its momma.
It's been awesome!

Crazy Idaho Weather

Day One: about 3:30 pm

Half an hour later:

10 Minutes later:

The next morning about 10:00

...and the entire time it has been over 75 degrees (even 90) where Seth is at.
Yeah, I'm jealous.  I keep hoping that it will at least stop snowing.
But then I woke up to snow today...crossing my fingers
that it doesn't come back for a few months.

Attracting Creepers, Cheer Competition, and Alien Lights

So in the middle of March the family loaded up and headed to 
Boise to watch Meg in her State Cheerleading Competition.
We also got to watch our genetic half-sister cousin 
Sierra dance in the drill team too.

So I stink at taking actions shots of both drill team and cheerleading
(I just got basketball figured out) but they both
danced great, even if the pictures don't show it.

Here's Meg with Cassie just before they took the floor.

This is prolly the best shot I got haha.  Hopefully I'll be better next
year when she dances with the drill team!
Cardettes: boy will this be an interesting experience. 

So to refer to the title of this post and not leave you hanging, 
there was a lot of gross weird different things that happened while we
 were up to Boise, and on the ride home.
 Mostly this is to warn you of the weirdies in Boise and 
what you might encounter in the dark on your way home, haha.  
So one night, Shelby and I went down to the hotel pool to swim.
After a while, Mom and Dad came down to visit with us.  
There was a knock on the door right behind where they were sitting, 
so (being the nice people that they are) they let a guy in.
The thought didn't even cross our minds that he wasn't a guest at the hotel.

He came into the hot-tub and within 5 minutes I knew something 
wasn't right. I just got that "creeper" look from him, and when
 he 'splashed' me, we quickly got out and into the pool.  
He then proceeded to try and splash me 3 or 4 times
from hot-tub across to the pool.  One more time, and I was going 
to call him out but I just kept ignoring him and that is when all 
the cheerleaders came in. This was good and bad; good for me cause
 I didn't have to  deal with him, but bad because now we had a mess 
on our hands.  We were going to leave to go to a movie, but we
weren't going to leave him there with the girls.  
Well, long story short, we told the front desk and he left because
 he definitely wasn't a guest there.
So be warned! If you see a bald, blue-eyed guy with a 
black earring: run away! haha

So we went to the competition the next day, and then headed home.
As we came close to Rockland and American Falls, we saw these red lights flashing
in the air.  At first there were just a few, and then there were a TON!
It was super creepy, and I know I wasn't the only one that had the 
'alien' thought cross through our minds.
Then it dawned on us:

Pinned Image

They were windmills!
So if you escape scary Boise, know that you are still safe
when you get to American Falls and the aliens aren't attacking ;)

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Neglected

I have seriously neglected this blog.
My 'blog time' has been put toward writing my brother each week.
I always think life will slow down a bit during the summer,
and it never does.
But I hope to get back in the game and catch up a little.
So in the meantime, here's few posts and a question I totally want an answer to haha:

Pinned Image

Institute Graduation


So this one time, I graduated from Institute!
Woohoo! Apparently I took classes that fulfilled 
the graduation requirements, so I kind-of
graduated accidentally on purpose haha.


I wanted to graduate, but I wasn't going to worry about
taking certain classes until later. So when I got a phone call setting
up my 'pre-graduation interview' with the bishop, I was really surprised.
But hooray for Institute! It lifts my spirit every time I go, and I love
learning new things every day. I love the fact that I have the opportunity
to attend daily, and I plan to continue going these next two years.

What happens to a cd in a microwave?

Ever wonder what happens when you put a cd in a microwave?
Well, we had a 'microwave day' in my physics class and it just so happened that
I had a cd that I didn't need anymore.




The cd sparked a little, and so it wasn't a huge explosion or anything.
but it came out all crazy like this.
Then, because I provided a cd, the teacher awarded me with
a symphony chocolate bar! Prolly my favorite day in physics class ;)

Easter 2012

So Easter rolled around and it just felt weird to not dye Easter eggs.
So....

We decided to color eggs!
Alyssa was the only one in her apt, so Heather (Alyssa's sis)
and her fiance husband, Spencer came over and we had a great time!

There were stickers too :)

Alyssa's painted glasses on one of hers...and Spencer
pulled a face in every photo haha

I got a little experimental and my egg turned out with 'veins'

Alyssa is seriously one of my best friends.
She is the sweetest gal you'll ever meet and she heads off
on her mission next month!  She's headed to the Baltic Mission,
speaking Estonian and she is gonna rock it!
I WILL miss her a ton, but I know we have some great
times ahead of us. Good luck Alyssa! You're gonna be AWESOME!