Balanced Rock

Jed and I went out to explore the Twin Falls area Saturday. I had seen a picture of balanced rock at Shoshone Falls, so we went to check it out. It was a pretty neat place. We hiked up pretty close to the rock and I was excited to have Jed as my photography assistant while I got to use the new lens that he got me for my birthday. We had some fun, then went to get ice cream at a local dairy in Buhl, ID. I look forward to going again in the spring when things will be greening up!

Collective Soul

Jed and I saw Collective Soul in Wendover last weekend. What a great show! We had such great seats and the music was great as well. I would recommend if you get the chance to see these guys live. They are classic.

Big Springs

I've kept meaning to post these pictures. Jed and I went to Big Springs in September and had a great time. It's a lot of fun: we rowed our way down stream and saw some great wildlife while at it. If you look closely, you can see a moose (or two) behind Jed.

Our Trip, Part II

You might just think that all we did when we were in Florida was fish. It may appear that way from my last post. Well, we did other things too. We went to River Street in Savannah, which is a really beautiful city. We also went by Paula Deen's restaurant there too. We spent time on the beach (however, we're both pretty white, and don't dare bare our whiteness there.) Good times!

Amelia Island, FL

Jed and I recently visited Amelia Island, Florida for the annual APAO (Association of Physician Assistants in Oncology) conference. I went along for the ride. Before the conference, we went up to Moncks Corner, SC for some great cat fishing. Then, we spent some time in Savannah, GA - where we met up with one of my old roommates from Ricks College - also, Jed served in Savannah on his mission. In Fernandina Beach, (the city we spent time in on Amelia Island) we did a little bit more fishing - where we each caught some great big fish (Jed caught a huge stingray and I caught a great big shark.) During Jed's conference, I spent some time on the beach, in the historic downtown, and at Fort Clinch State Park. It was a beautiful place to visit and we had a great time there!

My First Airshow

Today, Jed and I went to the Blue Thunder airshow in Idaho Falls. Wow! I've never been to something like this before. The Blue Angels were pretty amazing. They do some insane aerobatics. Here are some fun pictures from the show. Impressive, huh?!

Just Moved In!

We just had a new little friend move in with us! (Well, not really WITH us, but very NEAR us.) Our new little neighbor is of the hummingbird variety. Her nest is just outside our back door above the patio. I've been snapping pictures like crazy. I've never seen a hummingbird nest before and this one is pretty cool - it's built on a hook in the eave of the house out of spiderwebs and egg shells and other goods. I put out two feeders in the hopes that she'll spend more time here. (Hopefully I can get pictures of her eating.) Hopefully we'll see a baby soon. I'm afraid to try to look up in the nest - I don't want to disturb it, you know?

Jed and I went out on our first four-wheeling (two for Jed) adventure. We had a great time! Southeast of Twin Falls are a number of great ATV trails - which we went crazy on! I'm a bit of a wimp, but we made it around a pretty good-sized loop. There were some pretty beautiful views from up there. We have a number of maps for trails in the area, so come on over to visit and we'll take you out.

If you didn't already see them, here they are: Jed's '72 Honda 125 and my Honda Recon. What do you think!?

Pounding the Pavement

It's hard looking for a job. Jed and I have been in Twin Falls for about three weeks now and it's time I get a job. I've been out taking resumes around to all of the dentists in town. I just always feel so vulnerable when putting myself out there like that, you know? Hopefully a great opportunity will come up soon at a fun, easy-going office. I look forward to getting to work!

Fun Purse

Check out this fun purse that I made in Boise with Dani the other day! We spent the afternoon making these super-cute felted wool purses. (As you can see, I was channeling Mary Engelbriet.) Now all I can think about are the many cute little projects that I could do with my new-found skill!

Idaho's Capital

Jed and I have been traveling back and forth to Boise for some training and orientation for his new job at St. Luke's. It's been a lot of fun for me to hang out with Dani (not so much fun for Jed - job shadowing and such.) This last week we went and checked out the Idaho state capital building. (After a great dinner at Spaghetti Factory!)

You bought a WHAT?!

We bought a truck. A little crazy, I know. Jed's been looking for a while for something. We finally found it and got it today. It's a 97 Ford F-250 XLT. It has pretty low miles and runs really well. Now, hopefully we can do some recreational activities - four-wheeling, biking, etc. It should be great!

New Diggs

So, it's been a little over two weeks since we moved to Twin Falls, ID. Here's a picture of the house that we're renting for the time being. So far, it's been pretty good. (It makes wierd sounds at night!) The kitchen is tiny, but it has a lot of natural light (our last rental felt like a cave) and a pretty nice established yard. There is apparently a peach tree and a cherry tree in the back yard. It's always fun moving to a new place a figuring out what all you need and spending $$ on things to get all situated. So far, it's been pretty good. We'll see how the next 5 1/2 months goes. Wish us luck!

The Big Oak

So, when Jed and I went to Thomasville, we visited "the big oak." It is amazing! (I had forgotten that I had pictures of it until I was looking for the pics of Hunter's baptism.) Words cannot describe how huge this thing is. Hopefully I got some perspective on it for you. (The sign gives some info on the tree.) Check it out!

30 Nerdy

The other day, my mom said that soon I'd be in my "thirties." I said "thirty, not thirties!" So, I turned thirty today. I remember turning twenty not so long ago. It was traumatic! But thirty? Wow! It doesn't seem like the biggest deal anymore. What do you do? Another year older. It's just a little bit weird, I guess. Thirty candles is a LOT!

(Hopefully, you can't see all the wrinkles in the pic!)

Sold!

Well, we sold our house! It's a bittersweet feeling. We'd lived there for almost three years and really have loved it. We had a great ward and great neighbors. It's a little bit sad leaving the house empty, but a bit of a relief too. This will allow us to decide where we're going to be and what we're going to do in the future. We feel so blessed that we were able to sell it in this crummy time, but we're really happy for the family that bought it. I'm sure there's another house out there just waiting for us.

So, I couldn't find a picture of the house, but here's a picture of the kitchen - we'll miss that nice big kitchen!

David Gray

Well, last night Jed and I went to the David Gray concert. It was at Kingsbury Hall on the U of U campus. We drove there and back last night. (I think that we both realized just how old we really are now!) It was a great concert. What an entertainer! I would definitely recommend seeing him if you have the chance sometime!

Holy Cutthroat-oly!

Jed, his brother Jason, and I went fishing at Henry's Lake today. On my second cast, I caught a good-sized fish. Kept it. On my fourth cast I caught another good-sized fish (about 2 1/2 lbs.) I considered keeping it, but obviously luck was with me so we tossed it back. We fished for a little but without any luck, so we moved. I cast and caught the humdinger of all fish! Look at this thing! Pictures do NOT do this fish justice. How awesome is this! Needless to say, Jed didn't catch anything, Jason got one, and not another bite the rest of the day. All fish were probably caught within the first hour of our fishing adventure. What a day!

Fresh Garden Tomato, Anyone?

I hope these are as delicious as they look! Of course, I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing, but today's canning experience went a little more smoothly than last time. I felt a little bit more prepared today. I must not have done much of the work when we canned when I was growing up. This takes more organization than anything. I have a TON of tomatoes from the garden than are now ripening up rapidly. It looks like I have a lot of work to do coming up! What a blast!

I Can Can

So I attempted to can something. I always thought that canning was lame, but I have found that it's all the rage in my ward - so of course I have to do it! Well, I heard about something called "dilly beans" - it's a pickled bean. Since I grew about a million beans, I thought that I'd attempt these. (I also froze some, but that picture would be pretty boring.) After the (lengthy) processing, I think it's a success - only I haven't tasted them yet. But they LOOK good, right? I may also do some tomatoes, we'll see if they ripen up enough.