THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH~

We were lucky enough to be able to go on vacation with Tyler's entire family this year to California. I am such a huge fan of Halloween anyway and I was so excited to see that all of "Main Street" at Disney was decked out in Halloween. All the characters were made of 'pumpkins', Mickey was the biggest of course. This picture shows just how short I am. I am standing on the curb, Tyler on the ground and I'm still a head shorter than him..uhgg..oh well..The "Haunted Mansion" was also completely re-done for the season. The story line was that of "Nightmare before Christmas," it was awesome!!

SEA WORLD

We also went to Sea World in San Diego. I hadn't been in years and I forgot just how huge these whales are. It was an incredible show.

I highly recommend also going to California Adventure if you are venturing that way. That park is very well done with something for all of us. The heart-stopping, "Tower of Terror" and eye-watering "Califonia Screamin'" were great for the thrill seekers and the hilarious "Bug's Life" 3-D movie was a hit with everyone! Thanks Victors for letting us have such a fun time with you and your families....until next year!...

ALSO IN IDAHO...

one more reason for me to learn to love Idaho....always so politically correct...

Yes, that is an Indian..riding a Dinosaur. What more is there to say? We just had to take a picture~

On our way back from the our motel in Arco, (Arco was the first community in the world to be lit by nuclear power)...We stopped by Craters of the Moon and also the Shoshone Ice Caves. This fine piece of sculpture is proudly displayed at the entrance to the caves. None of our pictures turned out from the Ice Cave, too dark and cold!

EXPLORE IDAHO...AND LEAVE THE "REST" TO US

When Tyler and his brother have any downtime with work, they take their KLR's and explore all the places between here and there that they can. He is known for saying with a big sigh..."I LOVE Idaho" after he goes to all the beautiful places that so few see as they drive here and only see what is directly off the freeway. I have to agree, he has been some pretty amazing places. So if you've ever thought..."I wonder where that road goes"... here's a sneak peak....

If you look real close, you can see a baby black bear in the center of the shot. This is the 2nd or 3rd time they've come across wildlife like this. Maybe they should also bring some protection with them. You never know where Mamma bear is.

They've also come across countless Ghost Towns. Idaho was once a huge mining state and they explore in and all around these old buildings. They've gone into some of the mines before but turn around before too long. It gets dark in there real quick.

A gorgeous waterfall right in the middle of nowhere. Who else gets to see these places?!

I have to admit, Tyler is making Idaho seem more and more appealing every time he comes home from an adventure so excited about the places they went and the things they saw. Maybe one day I'll learn to love it just as much as he does....

GOODBYE TO A GREAT MAN~

Our “Pappa” passed away late Friday 8/8/08 after fighting his final battle with Alzheimer’s and old age. His life was full and he accomplished much. We’ll remember his smile that could light up your worst day and his signature greeting to all his granddaughters, “Hi, pretty girl.” We’ll remember him and his horses. We’ll remember him and his ‘quarterback’ throws in the yard. We’ll wish we remembered all his stories he so often shared at family dinners and gatherings. He served as a Captain for the U.S. Navy in WWII and in the Korean War. He also played professional football for the Salt Lake Seagulls in 1946-1947. He was involved in starting the Adult and Special Education programs for Davis County schools and was Vice Principle for Mueller Park Jr. High. He also served as bishop, Teachers Quorum Advisor and Manager for the Stake Welfare program. His life was devoted to making a difference in people’s lives. We all know he did. Every time we saw him, he would ask us how we were doing in school, in work, in life. He genuinely cared for everyone’s well-being and stressed the importance to always learn as much as you could and work hard. We promise, we will! We love you Pappa.

GOING GREEN

No, we’re not going “Hippie-Tree Hugger” on you… We planted grass seed a while back and have waited and waited for it to grow. Tyler has fertilized and watered the little sprouts all he could, we even let the grass grow to about 6 inches long, (looked like a green wheat field blowing in the wind) as our Botanist neighbor told us to let the rye grass “seed” and die and then the real blue grass would come up nice and strong under it. Well, looks like it worked! We’ve finally had decent weather here and we are so happy that we don’t look like the white trash family on the street with weeds all over. So here is the before and after shots

AHHH...EDWARD... I CAN HARDLY WAIT

Yes, like most of you I am a Twilight fan. In anticipation of Breaking Dawn coming out in 2 days (mine's been on order for months) and because of utter boredom at work, I clicked onto Stephanie Meyers website and took a little tour. While browsing around I read a bunch of stuff about Forks and the area that the books take place in. Well, lucky for all of you, I was just there over Memorial Day. The previous posts talk about the Hoh Rain forest but it wasn't until today that I realized I had a bunch of pictures from other areas. And so, being the nerd I am, you can now enjoy the views just like I did.

Here is my “Edward” (Tyler) running through the forest. (He may not be what you pictured in your minds but I think he’s pretty dang cute! This is me thinking "mmmm.hmmmm, I like some of that!!)

We took a lot of road-trips around that whole area and I couldn’t help but think as we sped past all the trees at 60 mph that that must be what Bella felt like when they ran through the forest. I was with Tyler’s family, of whom, have not read the books so I just had to look out the window by myself and daydream while we wound through the trees.