Cousins

We put Elyssa and Brooklyn on the floor together, and got some really cute pictures in return! They are at the age where they are starting to recognize each other and they get really excited. It's so cute! :)

Thanksgiving, Part II

Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had 24 people at my parents' house, and it was a lot of fun! We played games and watched Elf (I love that movie!!), and I helped my cousin Chelsea start her scrapbook. She has to do a scrapbook of her whole life as her junior project for school. Here are a few pictures from the day. I took some family pictures of Arin's family, but they didn't turn out great, so I will be taking some more soon.

Bruneau Dunes, Part II

Here are a couple more pictures from our camping trip. Enjoy!

Winter Is Here

Well, we have had our first sample of winter. Our first inversion of the season is now in it's second week. I had never heard of inversion until I moved here, but I know what it is now! It is a horrible, dense, low fog that lasts for a week or more, day and night. It happens when the cold air gets trapped in the valley and also traps all of the pollution and dirt low to the ground. Then everyone gets sick. The fog is so thick we can barely see the house across the street. Between that and the patches of ice on the road, my commute to work this morning wasn't very fun! We got a tiny bit of snow yesterday afternoon, and there was a little more on the road this morning. Last night, there was frost on the leaves on our tree in the front yard. So it's winter jackets and gloves, hats and scarves for us!

We will be spending Thanksgiving at my parents' house tomorrow, with all the family... except Justin, Jordan & Marci who are in California and couldn't make it. It will be crazy and fun! Saturday we will drive to Twin Falls to have Thanksgiving dinner with Robert's family. Mmmmm, more food! I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving, and be safe if you're traveling!

Bruneau Dunes

This weekend we went camping at Bruneau Dunes State Park. Well, sort of. We had a heated cabin, but the bathrooms were 100 yards away. That qualifies as camping, right? :) The weather was great, and we really had a fun time! Bailey loved the sand dunes. He would run up and down as fast as he could, while we sat at the top and watched. Robert said it was easier for him because he has twice as many legs. :) Robert gave Bailey a little "help" a couple of times. He didn't seem to mind being thrown off the top too much, but I told my husband he was not allowed to do that with the kids in the future. I took some better pictures (I think) with my SLR, so I will post those when I get them developed. Here is a little about the dunes. They are pretty interesting, especially considering the location!

The dunes at Bruneau Dunes State Park are unique in the Western Hemisphere. Others in the Americas form at the edges of natural basins; these form near the center. They include the largest single-structured sand dune in North America, with a peak 470 feet above the lakes.The combination of 1) a source of sand; 2) a relatively constant wind activity; and 3) a natural trap have caused sand to collect in this semicircular basin for about 12,000 years. Unlike most dunes, these do not drift far. The prevailing winds blow from the southeast 28 percent of the time and from the northwest 32 percent of the time, keeping the dunes fairly stable. The two prominent dunes cover about 600 acres.

Happy Birthday Robert!!!

Today is my wonderful husband's 30th birthday! Happy Birthday!

Women's Retreat

This weekend I went to our church's women's retreat up in Cascade. It is so beautiful up there, and, as you can see, they already had snow. It snowed while we were there also. The weekend was great!! We had a really wonderful speaker and just had a really good time (and learned a lot!). Both Arin & Ashlie went also. Elyssa and Brooklyn went too (aren't they cute!!), and they were both so sweet and well-behaved! :) Sorry I didn't get more scenery pictures... I was being lazy.

Craft Show

This weekend, Mom and I participated in our first craft show. We weren't terribly successful, but we did sell a couple of things, and it was fun. We will probably try some more, and maybe get a booth at the farmer's market next summer. I don't have any pictures of the craft show, because I am still trying to get back in the habit of taking my camera everywhere, but here are some scenery pics that I used to make some of the photo cards I sold at the craft show.

Our Honeymoon

We spent a week in Lake Tahoe for our honeymoon. The lake was gorgeous and we (of course) had a GREAT time exploring the area and just relaxing! The resort we stayed at was wonderful (thanks Mom & Dad!). We took a bike ride, as you can see, and enjoyed a picnic one day. We also were able to go on a sunset dinner cruise (thanks Gramps & Grammie!). Unfortunately, we also got the flu, or food poisoning, one day and we were pretty miserable. In sickness and in health right? Overall, it was fantastic! Can't wait until we take our next trip together... we're hoping for Europe next summer!