Makin' cookies at Grandma's!

My mom has started a thing where she'll take one of my kids for half a day and spends fun "Grandma time" with them. On Elise's day, she got to make cookies! They also went to a craft store where Elise got a new flower clip for her hair. I love how Grandma spoils them!

More Shoshone Falls

A Day to Remember

July 18, 2008

We took a day trip to Shoshone Falls...my dad is a dam engineer (hahaha) and works at that plant sometimes and knows the when the water flow is high enough to make the falls worth seeing. It was so beautiful!! The funny part about the trip was that we drove for two hours to get there, walked around the falls for maybe half an hour, then pretty much turned around and came home. The kids got to watch movies the whole time we traveled, so they didn't mind taking the trip. This picture of Mitch and Elise was taken at the rest stop we stopped at to have lunch.

Still at the rest stop...it was super windy, we had a hard time keeping everything pinned down to keep from blowing away.

My dad got us into the power plant side of the falls (on the other side you have to pay to get in and they have railed in viewing platforms). On the side we were on, there was only a little path with a steep slope on one side, and then where we're standing in this picture, a steep drop off into the river below. It was a little scary, especially with the kids! My dad held Elise and I was holding the boys' hands very tightly!

You Still Have All of Me

I watched Becoming Jane again today, for the zillionth time. I just can't get enough of the movie (and no, it's not because of James McAvoy...)! Anyway, I found the perfect montage on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wq4wSTbeA4&feature=related

My mom's good, she got me out of Twin Falls Idaho

Does anyone remember Built to Spill? I loved this song in high school and I think of it every time I go to Twin Falls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3ONTqm-EgQ

We went to the temple Open House on Friday!! What a great experience it was to take my kids through! I think Mitch was the only one who will remember it though, and draw any kind of significance or future application to it. It was so beautiful inside (and out actually, the landscaping was amazing! Total tangent here, but I love landscaping, it has become a new fascination for me. Ryan's wife Kim is a landscape design major at BYU and I decided a while ago that when I go back to college, my first pursuit will be landscape design. Then nursing, then marriage family human development, then...um...maybe law school.) But anyway, the Twin Falls temple was awesome, I would encourage anyone who hasn't done it yet to go. But if you can't make it there, just go to any temple and enjoy the blessings from that! :)

This has been the summer of catching up with old friends from high school! First my high school reunion, then this last week has been awesome too. My awesomest friend in the whole wide world, Emily Nolte, came into town and we've been able to hang out a few times. I have to say that it has been so good to have her here, this week especially. So then last night was Jeremy Field's wedding reception and there were so many friends there, and it was fun to chat and catch up a little on how everyone is doing. It makes me feel grateful for all the good friends and good times we all had in high school! I've been blessed with so many good people in my life.

And...just for Nikki...I only ran 5.5 miles on Saturday (I seriously thought it was 6! What the heck?!), but it was in 50 minutes. So pretty good. At what point do you consider yourself a runner? Do you have to subscribe to Runner's World magazine or spend a certain dollar amount on fancy running gear, or to have a marathon under your belt to be able consider yourself a runner? I mean, I like to run, but I don't know anything about the sport, so I think I would feel like a poser if I ever tried to label myself as a "runner." (I have no desire to run a marathon...)

I get a notion from the look in your eyes

Yee-haw, I ran 5.7 miles today in 52 minutes! This is the fourth Saturday in a row that I've tried to run 6 miles, but I just keep coming up short! I know what you're probably thinking, this is coming from me who has unabashedly abused running for pleasure in the past, that I've been completely boggled by how people can run and like it! I starting going with some friends because I needed motivation and companionship to make exercising fun and consistent (it was hard to talk myself into it because I had to wake up at 5:45 am), and now almost a year later, I'm completely addicted. I can even go by myself (I used to think the only way I could enjoy it was because of the conversation that distracted me), push the distance and pace, and still enjoy it. I'm so worried that if I somehow get out of the habit, I'll never be able to get to the point where I'm at now. But I guess that's how life always goes, especially with being in shape...

Look how they shine for you

Tonight Elise said the prayer at dinner time--usually someone helps her and she just repeats what they say, but tonight she insisted on saying it by herself. It was a lot of mumbling at first that no one could understand, but then all of the sudden I heard these names (siblings and good friends): Mitch, Luke, Elise, Emma, Lizzy, Brooke, Sam, Camille, Evan (he got mentioned twice...she must like him a lot ;)). It was so cute to hear her naming all of the people she loves. What a blessing to have so many people wonderful and loving people in our lives!