Weekend in Idaho

Last Friday we took a trip down to Idaho to visit my family. We got on the road about 4:00 and decided not to take the freeway this time. The scenic route was so beautiful and actually made the drive seem less long and dreadful. Montana and Idaho are really pretty looking states! Here are some wind turbines in Great Falls. I took the picture from the car, so not the best shot.

As we were taking the back roads, we came across this Catholic church that was seriously in the middle of nowhere. I'm really fascinated with church buildings for some reason, and thought this one was picture worthy.

We stopped a few times to let Vessel stretch his legs. Mike took him down to a creek and let him play in the water a bit. His favorite part was throwing rocks off the bridge and watching them splash into the water. There were hundreds of birds living under that bridge and they were all flying around in circles. It was a little spooky at times, just because there were so many of them above our heads. I was paranoid they were going to dive down and peck at us or something! But we survived. I know you're happy about that, right?

Vessel's new thing is showing off his toothy grin. If you ask him to smile, he'll get this almost mean, snarly look on his face while exposing his upper and lower teeth. Grrrrrr!

When we got to Island Park, I was flooded with memories of the summer after I graduated high school. I spent a lot of time in IP back then. It is still so beautiful and I enjoyed driving past Henry's Lake and several other familiar places. We finally got to my dad's house a little after 10:00. My sister Steph came over and spent the night with us, which was nice. I really enjoyed spending time with her. She is such a blessing in my life and I'm glad we are getting closer. After hanging out with everyone for awhile we finally decided to lay Vessel down for the night, but he was having a very difficult time going to sleep in such an unfamiliar place. So I ended up laying with him on the spare bed in the pitch black bedroom. He clutched onto my shirt and snuggled up close to me. Those kind of moments are so sweet to me. Then Mike came in and laid down next to us. Vessel talked to us for a bit in his baby-talk and then decided to fall asleep.

The next morning Vessel woke up at 6:00 (I know, shoot me!) and wouldn't go back to sleep so I ended up getting up with him. Chris was nice enough to get up and take him for a walk so I could sleep a little bit longer. What a nice broad, eh? Although it was the 26th, celebrations for the 24th (Pioneer Day) were going on all around my hometown. The annual parade went down around Horsey Park this year, so Steph, Mike, Vessel and I watched the parade from there. Vessel enjoyed it, I think. He saw big trucks and lots of horses. He especially liked the candy the people on the floats threw out. He was pretty much hyped up on sugar from that time forth. I got to see a few of my old classmates and talk to some of them. Hard to believe I've been out of high school for 8 years! After the parade, dad and Chris babysat Vessel so my sister, Mike and I could float the river. Dad dropped us off at the Silver bridge and we planned on floating to the Sandbar. But the river was so low that we ended up walking a good part of it. I felt bad that the float trip didn't turn out better, but it didn't put us in a bad mood. We still had a good time and laughed about it. Dad and Chris met us at the Sandbar with Vessel. We let him "swim" in the water and float around in his little floating toy. And I took him down the slide with me once. He LOVES the water!

Here's Steph about to go down the ghetto slide.

When Vessel started shivering we let him play in the warm sand for a bit. I think he likes playing in the sand ("dirt") just as much as he likes to play in the water. He likes the sensations of it going through his fingers. After playing at the Sandbar for awhile, we loaded up in Steph's truck and went back to my dad's. Mike and I got dressed and then went uptown to fill up the car with gas and buy S'more stuff for later that night. Before going back to dad's, Mike and I took advantage of not having Vessel with us and we went to Big J's for something to eat. Mike really likes to go to Big J's when we're in St. A, and so do I. They have the best tater-tots!

Later that evening we all went fishing at Bubbleland. It was about 7:00, and the best time to go fishing according to Steph and my dad. It was so beautiful there at that fishing hole. I tried to get a lot of pictures to "capture the moment" but no photo I took can really do justice to how beautiful it was. Maybe if I had a more expensive camera and skills to use it, I could show a glimpse of how amazing everything looked. I just believe that nothing can really compare to the human eye and senses.

Here is the railroad bridge that I thought was so cool.

The fish were biting! Steph caught the first one and Chris caught the second.

Here's Mike with his pole.

Dad, Steph and I walked along the train tracks on the bridge where I got some more photos.

I love how the pink from the clouds were reflecting off the water.

Only 2 fish that night, but it was still an enjoyable evening.

We were going to build a fire out in Bubbleland after fishing, but decided we could build a fire in the backyard just as well. But by the time we got back, nobody wanted to deal with making a fire, so Chris just cooked the hot dogs on the grill. Mike and I really wanted to camp out at Monkey Rock, but changed our minds when we started feeling tired. Then we thought about just camping out under the stars in the backyard. But the laziness in us made us change our minds on that too. I guess it just seemed like too much work to blow up the air mattress, find sleeping bags, and haul out extra blankets just to be uncomfortable and cold all night. :)

The next day we went to my grandma and grandpa's house for the annual Hiner steak-fry. It's like Thanksgiving in July...only with big, juicy steaks instead of turkey. The food was seriously worth the drive from Montana. Thanks grandma and grandpa!

Here is my cousin's darling baby girl Bailey Nicole. So plump and cute, I love it!

Around 4:00 that afternoon we made the trek back to Montana. It was such a beautiful drive. So much better than driving from Idaho to Salt Lake (what we're accustomed to.) No freeway traffic and just gorgeous scenery all around us. As much as I miss Salt Lake and the "big city" environment, driving through Montana and Idaho reminded me why I wanted to live in a rural area in the first place.

Here is Vessel playing around at one of our pit stops.

P.S. I tried to take some "artsy" photos of our trip to Idaho which you can look at by clicking here.

Photos

We recently went on a weekend trip to Idaho and here are some of the pictures we took along the way.

*Black and White*

This Catholic church is located in Montana. It is literally in the middle of nowhere.

Mike and Vessel on a bridge throwing rocks into the water.

Bridge at Bubbleland in Idaho.

Railroad bridge.

Black and white sunset.

*Sepia*

Birds' nest on the bridge.

*Color*

Barbed wire surrounding a pasture in Montana.

Anotha Chop

About 3 weeks ago I got a new hair cut. I went to The Living Room Salon. You guys, I can't tell you how much I love going to a salon to get my hair cut. One of the best feelings for me is to have my hair played with. I really enjoy getting it washed and conditioned and getting a scalp massage with oil. I love getting it combed out and just having fingers through it. It is the most relaxing feeling to me! Anyway, I've still got the A-line going on, but a little shorter and more stacked in the back. Yesterday I bought a hair straightener. I know, I know, they've been around for forever, right? And why should I need a straightener when my hair is straight as a board naturally anyway? Well, it made my hair more sleek and I was able to give it a cute flip that I normally can't achieve with a regular curling iron. So hurray for hair straighteners....or something.

Here are some pictures of me with the new chop. I tried real hard to get a good shot of it, but you know how self taken photos usually end up. My head was actually not cut off in these, so there ya go.

Side profile

Great Falls Farmers Market

I forgot to post these pictures forever ago of our 1st time at the farmer's market here.

Our little family

As you can see, the Raja Belly Dancers were shakin' their thangs. I know you all wanted to see this.

Memory Lane

This game has been making the rounds and I decided to join in! Anyone who looks at my blog is obligated to participate!

1. Add a comment on my blog. Leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! (or feel free to leave a memory of Mike, if you'd rather do that!)

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Thought for the Day

Several months ago someone went off on me about how they could never be a part of my church (or any church) where people only did good things to receive blessings from God. They went on about how we should be good people because it's humane, not because we require something in return. But is it really in our human nature, as this person said, to be good "just because," without the expectation of a reward? Sadly, I don't think that is how the world works for most people. Most people don't have a job because they love to work, but because they want a paycheck in return. Most people don't plant a garden because they like to spend all day planting seeds, but because they expect (and hope) to get food in return. Some people say kind things to you just because they want your vote for a position of power. Some people (teenagers :)) usually aren't nice to their parents just because they love them, but because they want to borrow the car for the night. The world is a place where we don't get something for nothing, and usually nothing for something. Life is all about giving and taking, and unfortunately, many people are more about taking than giving. As humans, I know we are imperfect and we live in an imperfect world. But what makes one person want to be good because they just feel deep down in their heart it's the right thing to do, and another because they want something in return? That's been on my mind for awhile. Anyway, last Sunday the RS lesson was called "When the Lord commands, Do it." How straightforward is that? Just do it. Don't ask questions, don't wonder if you'll be blessed for doing it. Just do it. I was glad I went to RS that day because there was a lady sitting next to me that made a beautiful comment. I know I won't be able to remember it word for word, but she said something to the effect that, it shows a great amount of spiritual maturity when we do good things because we love the Lord and want to obey His commandments, and not because we need/want/expect blessings from Him in return. I really needed to hear that. Then I started asking myself, but what if there was no religion or society to tell us what's wrong or right, or put fear in us to be good people (or else pay the consequence...?) What would stop people from stealing, raping, murdering, etc? Our predisposition to be good? But for that person who doesn't believe in God or a higher power, where did that inborn inclination come from? Who gave it to us? (Really, I'm not asking these questions to tick off anyone who doesn't believe in God, I'm just trying to make sense of this in my mind, ya know?) So I have a hard time believing we came from germs or just appeared or evolved because it makes more sense to me that we were all made in the image of God and born with an inherent tendency to be good. But since we are imperfect mortals and we live in the world, we can be swayed to make wrong decisions. So I guess the question for me is how do we escape that? How do we become spiritually mature, as that lady sitting next to me in church mentioned? Is it just about "putting off the natural man" or is there more to it than that? Are we doing good things because we love the Lord, or because we want blessings in return? I have a hard time believing that anyone in our church is actually that selfish, but who knows? Regardless, it was a good question to ask myself, and it made me re-evaluate my life. So, what are your thoughts?

Mike's Berfday!

My honey turned 26 last Sunday (the 13th.) I know, it's been a few days, but I still wanted to share some photos for the family.

So here's Mike covered in silly string. We sprayed some on the boy child and he was none too pleased. He did not like the way it felt and was eager to get it off and throw it in the garbage. Mike was a good sport though!

Here's the boy child handing gifts to his Daddy. Don'tcha just love our camping chairs?

Cute Mike.

Reading the customary comic book card I put together. We make one for each other every year.

The boy child had a blast helping Daddy open his gifts. He totally grasps the concept of unwrapping presents now!

We hope you had a great berfday, babe! We love you!