March 2012

Cherry Blossoms! or Cherry BUDS rather!

Katherine Breyfogle, Me, and Maria Bengoechea.
Took a quick trip to DC to visit K. Just a week early for the blossoms.

February 2013

To the SUN!

   

Maui 2013. This is Me, Dawn and Karin. Proof that cold and wind does age a person! The picture on the left was taken at 35,000 feet in the air on our way to the sun. The picture on the right was taken at 10,000 feet at the crater of Haleakala where we waited for the sun to arrive. Yes, those are the comforters we removed from our hotel beds! Yes! it is 28 degrees with a wind chill of 7. I thought my fingers were going to just break off. Thank Heavens for my furry travel socks! If I ever go there again, I will be wearing my winter boots!

A Year in Pictures- January 2012

The Year of the Lillies! January brought our first Lilly. On Ryann's 11th birthday she was able to go to the Ada County Animal Shelter in Boise and pick out her pal. With the help of Mom, we chose Lilly. She is a Siamese-Tabby mix or part racoon as Ryann says. Lilly was prenamed by the shelter. This offered an interesting opportunity for sisterly bonding. As Mallory was expecting a new baby girl to arrive in May, she had already decided that our next little lady was going to be named Lillian. As you know.. people have first dibs on names. Ryann and I decided that we would call Mallory and see if it was ok if we kept Lilly's name or if we needed to pick a new one. When Ryann told Mal about the situation, Mal was so sweet and said "We both get Lillies!". I was so proud of Mal at that moment! Ryann beamed and was thrilled to share something with her big sister (and future niece). And so it began... The tale (no pun intended) of Lilly the 1st.

Archive 2011 Travel Ticker & 2011 Reads

2011 Travel Ticker

January: NYC (David) Las Vegas (David and Charity) February: Phoenix (Charity) Kona HI (Charity) OKC (Charity, Rayce, Porter & Ryann) March: San Jose Del Cabo (David & Charity) Colfax WA (Rayce, Porter & Ryann) April: Las Vegas (Charity, Betsy and Sisters) May: San Francisco (David) Utah (Charity, Rayce, Porter, Ryann) Kona HI (Family) June: Atlanta (David) Utah (Family) New York (David) July: Washington DC (Charity, Porter, Ryann) Camping in Utah (Family) August: Maui (David) Disneyland (Charity)

2011 Reads

Sarah: Women of Genesis: Orson Scott Card

Sing You Home: Jodi Picoult

You Know When the Men Are Gone :(

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: Jamie Ford

Face the Rain: Jennifer DeNaughel

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

Three Weeks With My Brother

The Summer Kitchen: Lisa Wingate :)

Lost Luggage

I was yelled at by a man like I have never been yelled at before!

He was by far worse than the man who insisted on kicking the carousel, long after it had stopped rotating. He was going at it like one would with a high school vending machine.. when you can see your pack of M&M's pinched off by a spiral rod half rotated..  "No sir, kicking the carousel will not make your luggage come out." 

He even beat the Delta Diamond who showed up 12 mins before her departure insisting that her luggage would make her flight only to find herself standing in the baggage claim office in her arrival city long after her flight had landed. Not at all happy that the helpful agent at her departure city had given her the opportunity to run for her flight. Now angry at the insistence that she had to come back to the airport to pick up her luggage. Yet another passenger stomps out of the baggage office. 

I'd love to spend the next paragraph describing the magnitude of this man's tantrum... But every time I begin, eeewwww!  I just have one thing to say. It doesn't really matter if you have your AA Platinum Priority tag attached to your bag, shit happens. 

Martin's Cove 2010

This begins our handcart journey. Technically it began the day before. We put Rayce on the all night bus ride with our ward members while the rest of us (David, Porter, Ryann and I) headed to the airport. Can you believe that renting a car for a week and having it sit in the parking lot at Martin's Cove is cheaper than gas to drive there? It's true. We had no other choice, that's just what we did.

This is us leaving our hotel in Casper WY to meet up with our fellow trekers at the Martin's Cove Visitors center. Casper is about 90 minutes from MC. We donned the pioneer digs and headed out to join our group.

 There's a happy fella. We pulled into the parking lot just as the all night bus arrived. We couldn't wait to see how their trip was. Rayce came off the bus smiling.. Delirious I think. Or maybe anyone would smile when wearing a hat like that. The Bishop had wanted to create an experience that would pull everyone together without the use of technology. The teens were banned from any electronics on the bus. This was a 12 hour ride mind you. By 2am, the kids were going nuts and the adults on board were getting nuttier.. needless to say, Redbox is a great thing. They even have those out in the middle of nowhere. Shhhhhh....what happens on the bus, stays on the bus.

 Martin's Cove or Devil's Gate? Where should we go? Ah, The arrow's are pointing in the same direction.

These two are the roughest toughest pioneers. Moooove 'em out!

I quickly became victim to the sun and the wind. I now appreciate the pictures of the pioneer women who looked like they had been dragged behind their handcarts. Plus add a frumpy shirt and an elastic waistband. It's the new definition of sexy.

This photo captures the beauty of the Father/daughter bond. I love it.

Double rainbow after a micro burst came through and leveled our camp.

Give her some wood and a log and she'll entertain.

Mom, Rayce, Dad, Porter, Ryann

Ryann and Porter climbing Independence Rock. Our journey almost over, we stopped to take a look at this historical place.

Almost home. Porter and I waiting out a tornado in Denver. We had just boarded our flight when the tornado sirens went off. We waited in our seats for over an hour. I did feel bad for the folks around us. This picture was taken on Friday, we had not showered since Monday.. We Stink!

Ground Hog Day

This is a very, very important day! I struggle every year with, hmmmm, well... winter. Cold dark days are hard for me. I accept snow up until January 1st. After that, the holidays are over and its time to move on. Convincing myself that spring is just around the corner, I search the long vacated flower beds for the lofty sprig of the crocus arm to extend from the soil and waive a fine hello. Umm, Nope. To this day, NEVER, have I seen a crocus in January. But every year, I continue to look.

Now It's Ground Hog Day and all my hopes and dreams are placed in the paw of a furry rodent who is taxed with the job of determining the timing of spring. Drum roll pleeeeaassse: "The news from Punxsutawney, Pa., this morning was just what we wanted to hear: Spring will come early this year, thanks to good old Phil predicting the winter, just as he's done for 125 years"  So, It was overcast in Pennsylvania.  Phil didn't see his shadow.  Does it matter that the sun is shining here in Boise, Id? Maybe I'll take Richard out to check for his shadow. Oh boy.. More winter. 

Better make my way to the nearest beach. Kona... Here I come.