Sunday, August 8, 2010
Bells Canyon
July 9 - It was a Saturday evening and nothing much going on. We met Sheri and Shane at the trail head of Bells Canyon. We hiked up. Walked around the lake a little way. Looked down at the valley. Saw some big houses we wouldn't mind living in. Walked back down and called it a night. I love Summer! 
Fourth for Free
I love the 4th of July...always have, always will! The 4th in Provo is the BEST! I love everything about it. The Freedom Run, the parade, the balloon festival and STADIUM OF FIRE!
With my love of Stadium of Fire (S-of-F) in mind, imagine getting to go for FREE! That would be the best, right? Well...
Rewind to July 4, 2009: Todd, Lisa, Geoff and Christopher worked at the Stadium of Fire to help raise money for Geoffrey's yearly concert tour. He's part of the Utah Valley Children's Choir. Their group has a contract with BYU to sell drinks, hot dogs, etc. at different events at Cougar...er...I mean LaVell Edwards Stadium. They called me last year and said that they were done "working" by about 8ish and just get to sit and watch the show/concert/fireworks. I thought, "Wow! Sign me up for that!!"
Fast-forward to this year: They signed me up...and Tyler too! Only thing is, we didn't end up working in the booth selling hot dogs like they did last year. We got assigned to walk the bleachers with huge mugs (that light up...wow!) filled with Sprite and Coke (caffeine-free, of course!), bottled water, ear plugs and 3D glasses (Yes - parents - they are only a dollar and apparently make the fireworks a lot better. As if!) I got nervous at the thought of counting money and giving people correct (or in my case, incorrect!) change, so I told Tyler it would be better if I carried the drinks and he handled the money. Deal.
Well, I got the drinks all loaded in my nifty drink-carrying-case-thing-with-a-strap, seriously...just like you see at sporting events. It was heavy! But that didn't matter, I was just relieved to not have to count money. At 6:30 p.m. Tyler and I headed out as a team to sell drinks and such to the people that actually BOUGHT tickets to S-of-F.
I was laughing so hard that I could barely carry the drinks. (Sheri - you know how I get??!!) Seriously - I just couldn't get a grip...my laughing was paralyzing and walking became very difficult. I stopped. Took a deep breath. Apologized to Tyler for talking him into this. Took one more deep breath...giggled, and then realized it was pointless. I was going to laugh through this entire night. I was sure of it! Heaven forbid anyone I know see me. Um...Brigitte...you're in Provo on the 4th! Who are you kidding, thinking you won't see anyone you know??
After only about 30 minutes of this walking, laughing and attempting to sell ridiculously priced beverages, ($8 for a freaking mug of watered down soda in a mug that lights up. Um...that is just insane. But people bought them, and some bought more than one! Richies!) Tyler guided me under the bleachers and told me that we had to trade. What? NO! He said, YES - we're trading! Apparently he had overheard more than a few people making fun of him for letting ME carry the drinks and struggle to walk up and down the bleachers while HE merely handled the money. Rude people! I understand that this probably looked wrong, but I wanted it this way...even if the stupid strap was digging a huge crevice into the back of my neck!
We traded. My heart raced. I was not excited to handle the money. What if I mess up? I got pretty good at it...after about an hour! And, even though we were sweating like crazy, we seriously had a fun time. I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time!! And, after only three hours of this nonsense, we turned in our BYU Concession visors, aprons and trusty carrying case and enjoyed Carrie Underwood perform...and then we watched the FIREWORKS!!! I love Fireworks!
Oh...just so you know...we ran into a few people we knew, but that happened AFTER my laughing fits and pride had been thrown to the wind! So, Aaron Jenne snapped some pics for us. Thanks, Aaron! (Oh, and Aaron, the girl you brought to S-of-F is a cutie! Just thought you should know.)
Hope you all had a great Independence Day...and laughed a little!
We also ran the 10K in the Freedom Run and went to the parade. Ah...! Gotta love Provo. Gotta love the Freedom Festival. Gotta love this country and all of our FREEDOMS!
With my love of Stadium of Fire (S-of-F) in mind, imagine getting to go for FREE! That would be the best, right? Well...
Rewind to July 4, 2009: Todd, Lisa, Geoff and Christopher worked at the Stadium of Fire to help raise money for Geoffrey's yearly concert tour. He's part of the Utah Valley Children's Choir. Their group has a contract with BYU to sell drinks, hot dogs, etc. at different events at Cougar...er...I mean LaVell Edwards Stadium. They called me last year and said that they were done "working" by about 8ish and just get to sit and watch the show/concert/fireworks. I thought, "Wow! Sign me up for that!!"
Fast-forward to this year: They signed me up...and Tyler too! Only thing is, we didn't end up working in the booth selling hot dogs like they did last year. We got assigned to walk the bleachers with huge mugs (that light up...wow!) filled with Sprite and Coke (caffeine-free, of course!), bottled water, ear plugs and 3D glasses (Yes - parents - they are only a dollar and apparently make the fireworks a lot better. As if!) I got nervous at the thought of counting money and giving people correct (or in my case, incorrect!) change, so I told Tyler it would be better if I carried the drinks and he handled the money. Deal.
Well, I got the drinks all loaded in my nifty drink-carrying-case-thing-with-a-strap, seriously...just like you see at sporting events. It was heavy! But that didn't matter, I was just relieved to not have to count money. At 6:30 p.m. Tyler and I headed out as a team to sell drinks and such to the people that actually BOUGHT tickets to S-of-F.
I was laughing so hard that I could barely carry the drinks. (Sheri - you know how I get??!!) Seriously - I just couldn't get a grip...my laughing was paralyzing and walking became very difficult. I stopped. Took a deep breath. Apologized to Tyler for talking him into this. Took one more deep breath...giggled, and then realized it was pointless. I was going to laugh through this entire night. I was sure of it! Heaven forbid anyone I know see me. Um...Brigitte...you're in Provo on the 4th! Who are you kidding, thinking you won't see anyone you know??
After only about 30 minutes of this walking, laughing and attempting to sell ridiculously priced beverages, ($8 for a freaking mug of watered down soda in a mug that lights up. Um...that is just insane. But people bought them, and some bought more than one! Richies!) Tyler guided me under the bleachers and told me that we had to trade. What? NO! He said, YES - we're trading! Apparently he had overheard more than a few people making fun of him for letting ME carry the drinks and struggle to walk up and down the bleachers while HE merely handled the money. Rude people! I understand that this probably looked wrong, but I wanted it this way...even if the stupid strap was digging a huge crevice into the back of my neck!
We traded. My heart raced. I was not excited to handle the money. What if I mess up? I got pretty good at it...after about an hour! And, even though we were sweating like crazy, we seriously had a fun time. I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time!! And, after only three hours of this nonsense, we turned in our BYU Concession visors, aprons and trusty carrying case and enjoyed Carrie Underwood perform...and then we watched the FIREWORKS!!! I love Fireworks!
Oh...just so you know...we ran into a few people we knew, but that happened AFTER my laughing fits and pride had been thrown to the wind! So, Aaron Jenne snapped some pics for us. Thanks, Aaron! (Oh, and Aaron, the girl you brought to S-of-F is a cutie! Just thought you should know.)
Hope you all had a great Independence Day...and laughed a little!
We also ran the 10K in the Freedom Run and went to the parade. Ah...! Gotta love Provo. Gotta love the Freedom Festival. Gotta love this country and all of our FREEDOMS!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Ninety. Ninety. 90-90-90!
I graduated from Provo High in 1990. I know. Crazy! And, now, 20 (yes...I said, TWENTY) years later, I love who I have become. High school was great. But life has seriously only gotten better!
This reunion was a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to have truly found themselves. Everyone looked old to me. Especially the guys. For sure I couldn't possibly look as old as they do. Hmmm...maybe I do. But, still, life is good. No. Life is GREAT! And
I'm happy to not be in High School. But I'm happy for lessons learned at PHS and for lessons learned since, because of experiences I had while doing my four years as a Bulldog.
Tyler came with me. Such a good sport!
This reunion was a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to have truly found themselves. Everyone looked old to me. Especially the guys. For sure I couldn't possibly look as old as they do. Hmmm...maybe I do. But, still, life is good. No. Life is GREAT! And
I'm happy to not be in High School. But I'm happy for lessons learned at PHS and for lessons learned since, because of experiences I had while doing my four years as a Bulldog.
Tyler came with me. Such a good sport!
Vacay-ucation
Mid-June I went to Texas for two reasons: A vacation to visit my sis and her fam, and to attend the Cooper Institute for some personal training education. It was the best of both worlds! I enjoyed two days before classes started just chilling with Tina, and then when class started, I was in class from 8-4 Monday thru Thursday and then had the evenings to play with my niece and nephews. Friday...we all flew to Utah together. Well, with a little detour. Flights were full to SLC, so Ryan got us all on a flight to Grand Junction where we rented a car and drove three hours to Provo. I dropped them off at the Stimpson's and I drove home to Murray - walked in the door a little after 3 a.m. Tired? Yes. Fun? Double Yes!
Mom & Me. Red & Pink.
My mom joined the Red Hat Society recently. On June 17, they had a mother/daughter night. Mom invited me and crowned me with a PINK hat. Singing, games, prizes, gifts, dessert...and spending time with my mom. Great night!
The red spot on the bridge of my mom's nose is the mark of a champion. She won the contest of jumping up and down the most times with a pedometer straped to her head. See...fun times at the RHS!)
The red spot on the bridge of my mom's nose is the mark of a champion. She won the contest of jumping up and down the most times with a pedometer straped to her head. See...fun times at the RHS!)
Monday, July 12, 2010
Memorial Day is for...
...um...yard work? I know, I know. But that is what we did! We were only in town for the weekend and Tyler's (er...I mean OUR) yard was a bit overgrown. Spring is for cleaning, right?
BEFORE
(Papa Pace and Spencer helped out...thank you!)
AFTER
(At least the tenants smoke OUTSIDE! One guy even showed us how he rolls his own cigarettes. Oh goodie...)
BEFORE
(Papa Pace and Spencer helped out...thank you!)AFTER
(At least the tenants smoke OUTSIDE! One guy even showed us how he rolls his own cigarettes. Oh goodie...) Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Long Road Home
We spent Memorial Day Weekend in Boise with Tyler's family. Instead of making the drive home on Monday a typical 5-hour jaunt on the freeway, Tyler did some research and mapped out a course home that would allow us to stop at five Idaho State Parks.
First Stop: Bruneau Dunes State Park
We paid our $5 (which ended up being good for all of the parks we went to - best-spent $5 ever!) and then hiked to the top of a huge sand dune. We wished at that point that we could just roll down the dune like the little kids were. If only we wouldn't have dreaded driving the rest of the way with sand...everywhere.
On our way to our next stop we saw this cool field of...well...we aren't sure what they are growing, but isn't it pretty? You can see the dunes in the background.
Second Stop: Malad Gorge State Park
This one was a quick stop. You walk along a bridge and are able to look down the seriously deep crevace to see the snake river roaring below. I loved the water fall. While leaning over the edge we talked about how my brother Curtis would probably be crazy enough to try kayaking this portion of the river (not that Curtis is into kayaking...he's just adventurous like that!) and would actually be successful at navigating the huge stones that are wedged sporatically along the river. We also met a couple from Texas who were on their way home from Seattle. The gentleman is a pastor and had been in Seattle to perform the marriage of his niece. Oh, he also told us about a non-profit his church started in 1994 and then said, "So, I've been doing this non-profit since about the time you two were born." Ha ha...do we look 16? Was he kidding or had he simply forgot simple math skills? This pastor also has a brother that lives Flower Mound - the city just next to where my sister, Tina, lives. Such a small world.
Third Stop: Niagara Springs Sate Park
It was beautiful to see the springs - it almost seemed unreal. The smell of a skunk had us hurrying back to get in the car after we snapped a quick photo. There were a lot of people out fishing. I'm sure we could have enjoyed it longer, but we had to rush off to our next, and final stop.
Fourth Stop: City of Rocks
We decided here that if (IF) we were campers this would be a sweet place to come back to. Okay, okay - even though we aren't campers we really want to come back here and do some climbing. It was a very cool place (literally - the temp dropped down to 54, whereas everywhere else was about 79)!
We saw this cool house on our way out of City of Rocks. And, from here is where the REAL journey began! We headed out of the park and read a sign giving us directions to the freeway. We had made our four stops and were ready to get back on the freeway to head home. We decided on the path that headed south, since that is the direction we untimately needed to go. We quickly made a U-turn when we realized the next 84 miles were going to be on a dirt road. We opted for the path that would take us through Elba, ID.
On the way to Elba we were slowed down by cows. They did not want us to pass!
Once we got to Elba, ID we saw this old LDS Relief Society building, built in 1901. Kind of cool!
Once we finally got through Elba and some some construction detours we made it to a town where we could fill up the gas tank. We checked the map and realized we might be a little bit lost. Why? Well, because the road we needed to take said it was a dead end. Ugh!
After reviewing our options with some other lost Utahns at the gas station, we headed for a new path. As we flew down the road we suddenly saw a road veering to the left that we assumed would get us closer to where the "dead end" road was supposed to lead us.
This is what that "road" looked like as we barrelled down it at 65mph. I took the picture with my head poked out of the sunroof and Tyler warned me a few times, "Do not drop the camera."
We laughed as we just kept heading further and further out into the pastures. We joked that perhaps when we would never really find the freeway, or if we ever did there would be no way to actually get on to the freeway, or worse...the road would dead end and we would be forced to head back to where we started. Finally, we could see the freeway and sure enough after winding under and back over the freeway, we were back on I-84 and headed south.
Our tires got a bit dusty!
We had such a great day! Drove for hours, covered lots of miles and now we're wondering what other Idaho parks we can explore next time.
First Stop: Bruneau Dunes State Park
We paid our $5 (which ended up being good for all of the parks we went to - best-spent $5 ever!) and then hiked to the top of a huge sand dune. We wished at that point that we could just roll down the dune like the little kids were. If only we wouldn't have dreaded driving the rest of the way with sand...everywhere.
On our way to our next stop we saw this cool field of...well...we aren't sure what they are growing, but isn't it pretty? You can see the dunes in the background.
Second Stop: Malad Gorge State Park
This one was a quick stop. You walk along a bridge and are able to look down the seriously deep crevace to see the snake river roaring below. I loved the water fall. While leaning over the edge we talked about how my brother Curtis would probably be crazy enough to try kayaking this portion of the river (not that Curtis is into kayaking...he's just adventurous like that!) and would actually be successful at navigating the huge stones that are wedged sporatically along the river. We also met a couple from Texas who were on their way home from Seattle. The gentleman is a pastor and had been in Seattle to perform the marriage of his niece. Oh, he also told us about a non-profit his church started in 1994 and then said, "So, I've been doing this non-profit since about the time you two were born." Ha ha...do we look 16? Was he kidding or had he simply forgot simple math skills? This pastor also has a brother that lives Flower Mound - the city just next to where my sister, Tina, lives. Such a small world.
Third Stop: Niagara Springs Sate ParkIt was beautiful to see the springs - it almost seemed unreal. The smell of a skunk had us hurrying back to get in the car after we snapped a quick photo. There were a lot of people out fishing. I'm sure we could have enjoyed it longer, but we had to rush off to our next, and final stop.
Fourth Stop: City of Rocks
We decided here that if (IF) we were campers this would be a sweet place to come back to. Okay, okay - even though we aren't campers we really want to come back here and do some climbing. It was a very cool place (literally - the temp dropped down to 54, whereas everywhere else was about 79)!
We saw this cool house on our way out of City of Rocks. And, from here is where the REAL journey began! We headed out of the park and read a sign giving us directions to the freeway. We had made our four stops and were ready to get back on the freeway to head home. We decided on the path that headed south, since that is the direction we untimately needed to go. We quickly made a U-turn when we realized the next 84 miles were going to be on a dirt road. We opted for the path that would take us through Elba, ID.
On the way to Elba we were slowed down by cows. They did not want us to pass!
Once we got to Elba, ID we saw this old LDS Relief Society building, built in 1901. Kind of cool!
Once we finally got through Elba and some some construction detours we made it to a town where we could fill up the gas tank. We checked the map and realized we might be a little bit lost. Why? Well, because the road we needed to take said it was a dead end. Ugh!
After reviewing our options with some other lost Utahns at the gas station, we headed for a new path. As we flew down the road we suddenly saw a road veering to the left that we assumed would get us closer to where the "dead end" road was supposed to lead us.
This is what that "road" looked like as we barrelled down it at 65mph. I took the picture with my head poked out of the sunroof and Tyler warned me a few times, "Do not drop the camera."
We laughed as we just kept heading further and further out into the pastures. We joked that perhaps when we would never really find the freeway, or if we ever did there would be no way to actually get on to the freeway, or worse...the road would dead end and we would be forced to head back to where we started. Finally, we could see the freeway and sure enough after winding under and back over the freeway, we were back on I-84 and headed south.Our tires got a bit dusty!
We had such a great day! Drove for hours, covered lots of miles and now we're wondering what other Idaho parks we can explore next time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)