Anna Banana

Yup, I got married

2012-02-09T16:20:00.000-08:00

I am sure you have all heard that I got married.. And I am pretty excited about it.

That is just about all I can post now.. :) More to come..

Weekend in Utah

2011-09-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

Last saturday we took the kids up Provo Canyon to a park (which I don't even remember the name of it).. All I know was that it had a nice lush grassy area for running around and a fast creek to wade in.. We did some hiking up past the creek, found some bugs, climbed some trees, ate some donuts and had good naps in the car..

It was a fun day and I wish we could have stayed up there all day.. Here are a few pics of our time up there..

Michelle and her friend. We put it in a bag to save for later.... and it got squished. Brooke gave it a proper burial in the creek on a leaf.

Exploring the creek

This was Brooke's constant pose "will you hold me?"

The treasure

Relaxing on the grass

Got a little crazy with the powdered donuts.

Found a fort during our hike..

Caught a snooze on the way home...

And they sure love to pose for pictures..

A little break

2011-06-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I haven't blogged in a few days.. I didn't have internet access in London (well free access) and quite frankly, I didn't anytime.. They ran us ragged. I think we saw every London site.. And my feet were crippled by the end of each day.. I will blog about London with pictures over the next few weeks when i get home..

Right now, we are in Leiden, Holland. Ira served part of his mission here.. Today we took the train into Amsterdam and saw the sights, took a boat cruise all over town and stopped off and on at our leisure.. We are taking it easy for the rest of the time.. Sleeping in until 9 am this morning felt so good.. I will post pictures later, I dont' want to go out of synch from our trip.. :)

Jake's night

2011-06-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

Jake did SO good.. I was very partial and took only pictures of Jake dancing.. So here is a sneak peak of a couple of pictures... Over all, all 3 teams did so good tonight.. There were 12 teams competing and the rest of the teams were clearly older than highschool.. I would want to say late 20's on some of the teams.. Some of the men had full black body suits, with low cut fronts, with some guts hanging out. I tried hard to keep my composure.. but I couldn't help it a few times.. I included a picture of one of my favorite black body suited teams.. :) I really liked the short guy in the middle.. And the tall guy on the right was so smiley... He was my favorite too.

Ira, showing us his latest fashion in mens wear..

Here are my favorite black speedo men.. The little guy in the middle is my favorite.. And smiley on the end..

Preston Temple

2011-06-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

Ira is still sleeping.... so I will add some more...

After our Preston tour, our bus went to the Preston Temple to do baptisms. The other group had done them a few hours before us, but I don't think the temple expected us to be coming because there was a lttle bit of a mix up I think. but of course, they weren't going to turn away 40 people to do temple work..

What a great ending to the day. I had no idea how much church history happened here in Preston.. It makes me want to do more research.

The Ballroom dancing.. Wednesday Night

2011-06-03T05:56:00.001-07:00

What an interesting night. The Ballroom dance competition was held at the Winter Gardens in downtown Blackpool, about 3 blocks from our hotel.. It is a HUGE building. Anytime we would walk around, you could always tell where you were because it seemed like all the streets lead to this place.. People were decked out in their formal wear, diamonds, and cleavage was everywhere.. It was so fun to walk into the building and enter into this huge grand ballroom, complete with a stage and a band for the dancers.. But Ira and I soon realized that were so out of place.. Hence, Ira's comment about feeling like hobbit in a James Bond movie.. he probably fit in more than I did, since I wasn't showing every ounce of skin on my body.. The men were in their tight clothes, more flamboant than I, dance couples walking around, going through their routines.. If you have ever seen "Dance with me" with Vanessa Williams, this is exactly what it was like. I just had visions of Vanessa's character walking around saying "I am cramping, I'm cramping.." We didn't stick around to see who won, because it went on until midnight.. There were 5 different heats of couples, all doing 4 dances each.

Tonight Jake's group will dance..

Had to get some action shots.. These people were very good.. We were told that the National champion was there dancing... Ohh, la, la... :)

This pictures just doesn't do justice to some of the costumes of the other ladies. I will try and get some more tonight..

This was about 20 minutes before the dancing started.. Everyone was out in the other ballroom, having coctails.. :)

This was the group that won the group competition.. I think they were from Bejing.. And I gave change to one of them in the store a couple of hours ago..All he had was a 50pound bill and they wouldn't take it, so I jumped in with all my wads of cash and gave him two 20's and a 10.. he was very greatful... That was my good dead for the day.. He then rushed off to the ballroom

This costume was probably one of the most modest ones.. All of the rest of them had deeper, wider neck lines.. I don't know how I managed to get such a good shot of this guy..

Here is Jake and his partner, Talisa.. I think.

I will keep you posted on more ballroom stuff, hoping to get some pictures of jake later this evening..

Preston, England

2011-06-03T05:32:00.000-07:00

On Thursday,we spent part of the day in downtown Preston and then at the temple. We picked up our tour guide,Peter and headed to the old town square. This is the same square that first missionaries in England would preach in.. It's also the same square that President Hinckley has told stories about getting off the train in Preston and walking to the square and preaching for the first time,getting discouraged and writing a letter to his father telling of his frustration. His father in return told him to forget about himself and do the work... Our tour guide was a great historian and new so much about the history of the town, what the old buildings were back in the day, had drawings of what the square used to like and the significant parts of town..We saw where Heber C Kimball and Willard Richards lived. He took us down to a park that had a few places that were dedicated to the LDS faith, and they were not too far from where the first baptism was performed in the Ribble River (I think that is the right spelling).
Preston was a very busy place, people everywhere, cars everywhere, and we were in our dresses and suits/ties walking aroudn the town following this man with a backpack talking about the history of the town.. I loved it..

One of the old prominent neighborhoods away from downtown Preston

One of parks that has some dedicatory stones to the early Mormons that lived in Preston. This rock structure was built back in the 1800's.

The steps of the square that the first missionaries used to preach from as well as President Hinkley. Ira was my model on the stepsl

Looking to downtown. These red brick buildings were built back in the 1800's.

The Ribble River where the first baptism were performed. Our Tour guide told us that this was the spot where they did them.

One of the houses where the missionaries lived..

quotes so far

2011-06-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

I typed a HUGE blog last night, complete with pictures, quotes etc, and something happened and I lost it.. So I think I am going to do little updates in different sections so I don't lose it all.

Nap time is now.. Ira and I walked all over town this morning, checking the city out, stopped at a fruit stand down the road from our place, bought way too much fruit(now we are trying to cleanse our bodies from the grease we have eaten). I just hope it doesn't catch up with us.. I bought strawberries and oranges and Ira bought cherries and peaches.. cross your fingers we dont' have problems.. :)

here are a few quotes so far..

"I have native American Feet" Ira - walking along the sand for the first time

"You are an agate" Ira - as we looked for rocks/shells

"I like women" Jake

"We are on a boat, in England" Anna - said with british delight, cruising around lake Windermere

"I felt like a Hobbit in a James Bond movie.." Ira, referring to how we looked when at the ballroom dance competition.

"It sounds like Jurassic Park in here" Anna - listening to the seagulls,and what ever bird is making the squaking noise at 6 in the morning..

"We've got a renegade driver here" Peter Fagg, the tour guide (who reminded me of mark Bennon)- pictures are coming later - discussing the our rebel bus driver that wouldn't drop us off where we were supposed to be..

I am sure there will be more quotes. I had a few, but forgot to write them down... :)

Day 3 continued

2011-06-02T02:33:00.000-07:00

here are some more pictures of the lake and village around Lake Windermere..

Back to the dancing competition.. Remember the movie "Dance with me" with Vanessa Williams? well the dance competition was just like that. Part of the one that we saw had 5 groups of dancers about 15 couples in each. They did 4 dances (cha cha cha, rumba, tango, pasa doble') I can't remember.. And in between each heat of dancing, the other dancers were spread througout the ballroom, stretching, doing their routines and getting mentally ready.. Most of the costumes were flashy and barely covered anything at all.. I will ad some more pictures later. It is taking too long for my pictures to upload. After the groups finished their dances, they took a break and let the other groups perform the team standard competition. So most everyone left their seats for us common folk could sit down in the front to watch the teams.. It was pretty interesting to watch over all.. It made me really thankful tha my life was pretty simple and not as "exotic" as all these people around me seem to be.. I am totally fine with wearing jeans/tshirt and flip flops every day of my life.. It was also interesting to see how the world views these kind of competitions. For some of the dancers, this is probably their one ticket to fame/freedom. So of course they are going to put all of their energy into it..

Day 2 continued...

2011-06-02T00:46:00.000-07:00

So here is the continuation of day 2..
We spent some time down at the pier (very windy) and bought some fish and chips. walked around down on the beach and looked for seashells (Ira is adding to his plane weight limit).

This is where Jake will be performing. Inside is a HUGE Ballroom. I will post pictures later..

I might was well continue on to Day 3 while the pictures are loading.

We woke up, had breakfast down in the "dining hall" (said with a british accent). We picked a table and that is our assigned table through out our stay here.. Ira and I can't help but talk in an english accent and talk about tea and crumpetts when we are down here (of course, we wait for the waiter to be far away from us when we do it). breakfast consisted of a ham, sausage, egg, tomato, beans and mushrooms.

We got on the bus at around 10 and headed for Preston to pick up the tour guide, his name was Brother Peter Fagg..... another lovely british accent. We drove to the lake district which is an area of England where many huge lakes are located. It was also a place back in the day where people would spend their summers. As we drove there, Brother Fagg gave us some church history background and showed us the house where John Taylor grew up. It was owned by someone else now, but the new owners allowed the church to put a plaque there in memory of John Taylor.
We also drove past the small village where George Washington's ancestors are from.

There was so much information given as we were driving and it was really hard to pay attention because it was so green/lush outside.. We drove through little villages and green fields with sheep grazing all over the mountain side. It's hard to explain. We got to one of the little villages (a very touristy place) and they gave us the option to take a boat cruise around the lake. Jake, Ira and I jumped at the chance, bought our ticket and jumped on the 2nd level of the boat. As we cruised the lake, they pointed out some of the mansions along the lake, and pointed out the village/area where Beatrix Potter lived when she wrote some of her books. Her and her family would rent a different house each summer along the lake. When we got back to the village we walked around and found a museum dedicated to her little characters in her book. We wanted to go in, but the line was so long (also lined with the 70+ age group) and figured we didn't have time, but we took a few pictures. We then hopped back on the bus and continued driving around the lake and eventally back to Blackpool. I think everyone was fading pretty fast on the buses.

That night was the dance competition and I didn't realize how huge it really was.. Dancers decked out in their outfits, spray tans, caked on make up (guys and girls) low cut tops (men and women). I felt a little out of my element, but it was fun to people watch.. I tried to take some pics but everyone was moving so fast.. My pictures just don't do it justice.. It is impossible to post al the pictures on here, so I will probably just download them to a walgreens site for everyone to look at..

Okay, I need to get ready for the day. Blogging this is harder than I thought. I knwo I am leaving out many details.. I started to keep a quote book and so far, Ira is the only contributer.. I will write more later. We are heading to the Preston Temple and to see some more church history sights this afternoon. And then it is Jake's turn for his group to dance..

One of the many mansions along the lake that we saw on our boat tour.
The house that John Taylor grew up in
Our breakfast...

Day 1 and 2, Flying and Blackpool

2011-05-31T11:26:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Blackpool.

The trip started out with a 7:30 flight from Boise to Chicago, a 4 hour layover, then a 2 hour flight to Philadelphia, and then waiting for 2 more hours, finally boarding the plane for Manchester at 10pm (8pm Boise time). We were 1 hour and 30 minutes late leaving (plan technical problems, and then there was miscommunication on the ground and some of the bags almost didnt' get loaded.. But we were off. I decided to buy a head pillow for the long flight. I am glad i did. My seat was not with Ira and Jake to begin with, but there was an extra seat (it had to be fate) next to them, so I switched and moved up with. I sat next to Tracy (from seattle) who is originally from England, but has lived in the US for almost 20 years, she married a guy in the military and so she is stateside mostly.. It was fun to hear her accent. We chatted off and on for the 6 hr flight. Around 11:30 pm, they fed us dinner and then it was sleepy time. I got about 4 hours of sleep and then it was time to land. Went through customs and then met part of the group at the baggage claim. The other group had already gotten there a few hours earlier so they were already in Manchester.. The 2nd bus was waiting for us and so we got on, and it was an hour ride to Blackpool.. Got settled and took a 4 hour nap.. We then hit the town, found the ATM and went and found the "best fish and chips" in the world, (the guy on the street told us so). Walked along the pier with our food and then found our way down to the beach and walked along the beach, looking at all the sealife..

Blackpool isn't what I expected.. I was thinking "resort town" but I guess you have to remember that it is a very OLD city and so it is going to look old. But i love it.. The streets are tiny and curve around the buildings. The hotel/flat we are staying in is 200 years old and is a few blocks from the ocean on a small little street. I can hear the seagulls from our open window. As we walk down the street, I keep having visions of "colonial times" People in petty coats, horse and buggy and just the hustle and bustle of a little town village. Most of the buildings are the originals, with reconstruction inside of different stores.. I wanted to take a picture down every street..

The group we are in has the whole flat (5 floors). Very unique looking.. Picture below.. Jenny, the front desk woman, was very nice (loved the accent) and very personable.. Overall, there are 80 people on the trip, parents and kids.

The Preston Temple from the "motor way"

As we left the airport, one of the bus doors below wasn't shut and we lost some luggage. Luckily, someone saw it and we were able to turn around and go get the luggage..

Our bus driver. I can't remember his name, but he had some fun music playing as we boarded.. Anytime I hear "Stay'in Alive" I will always remember driving through Manchester.

Our hotel/flat. 200 years old.

We made it.. Finally, a bed to sleep on.

I was going to post more pictures, but my camera battery just died..Maybe tomorrow.

baby, baby, baby, ohhhhh

2011-05-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

36 hours and counting

2011-05-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

Look, it is 36 hours before my flight and I am already packed. This is so not like me..

Rylan and Maddy goofing around. This is what I get when i ask them to smile.

Little Lizzy, isn't she a doll?

what have I been up to?

2011-05-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

This is Kevin.. Isn't he handsome? He is my brother in law's coworker in Utah.. It's been a fun few months... I am sure this post will get a good response..

Besides Kevin, it has been a busy few months. My whole family (minus margaret) was here this last weekend to go to Wicked.. I was able to get tickets a YEAR early through a friend, so everyone jumped at the chance to go.. Trying to direct 19 people to the Morrison Center was no easy task.. But we made it and it was fun.. AND I get to see Wicked in London in a few weeks.. :) I think 3 times in the last 2 years will be enough for me.. :)

So I am hoping that I can blog from London to keep everyone posted on the days events.. Wish me luck.

Here are a few pics of my fav people..

Time flies

2011-01-29T14:51:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been 8 months since my last post. Let's just say 2010 was a year of racing to the finish line, and it was a successful finish I must say.. A lot has happened since then. My friend/roomate/partner in crime - Lindsey- got married in June. July, I spent a lot of time on the road to and from Twin Falls for work, and also an occassional trip to Rexburg or Utah to see my family. August was "THE Trek" to Martin's Cove in Wyoming with the youthgroup of my stake.. I would post pictures, but I am pretty sure all those that are reading this have seen them repeatly on Facebok from others. September was a huge month. I have been traveling to Twin Falls on a regular basis to prepare all the staff and paperwork or the Magic Valley Hospital's American College of Surgeons Accreditation Survey..Basically, ths is the accreditation that keeps the cancer center in business.. After hours of documentation, traveling, and eating at Cafe Rio in Twin Falls, the Cancer center there passed with flying colors.. A huge relief and success.
The rest of the year was a blur, getting back to normal, and getting used to not having anyone at my house. I had been traveling so much, it really didn't hit me until about September.. Now, I love it.. I has spread out into ALL the rooms, and I have really gotten attached to this place.. A few home improvements (a new light above my table, track lighting in the kitchen, a few new rugs, shelves, and a kitchen table and chairs) i am feeling right at home.. I am stopping the home improvement for awhile..

I was feeling that October was going to be an easy month. Not so, I was given new responsibilty in my stake and called as a counselor in the Stake Young Women's Presidency. It was an overwelming moment, but then I realized that I was meant to have it for a reason and I just needed to figure out why..So I have been getting to know the teenage girls in our stake and so far, it has been a fun experience. I am working with 3 great women that are so amazing.

Thanksgiving was spent here in Boise. My parents were going to come visit, but the weather was terrible so I didn't want them to risk their lives for a turkey.. :) I spent the holiday with my neighbor Maureen and her husband, 2 year old and hubby's grandma.. My friend Brian also joined us and we had quite the feast..I must say, we are all good cooks.

Christmas - I spent it down in Layton, UT with my sister,Leah, (see her blog for the complete report and pictures) She was just about 9 month pregnant, so we decided to bring the party to her.. I also spent sometime with my sister Margaret in Provo and her growing family.. Elizabeth was born October 3rd and is such a cutie.. Leah had her little boy Ian 1-11-11.

January is here and the goals have started.. I joined a running group through Boise Run Walk and have been training for a 10K with my neighbor Maureen.. It is probably the most disciplined I have been with running in a while, trying to build up my endurance.. Home makeover's (chandeler, track lighting, new table/chairs, rugs etc.) and it is only January..

My goal this year is to slow down a bit, enjoy what is going on around me a litle bit more and strengthen the relationship I have and hopefully have some new relationships. I am hoping to use this blog a little more often to share my experiences with you all (maybe the 5 people that read it.. :)

SO here is to 2011 - I just mailed off my passport renewal paperwork. I am tagging along with my nephew and brother, Ira, to London for my nephew's Idaho Ballroom competition.. And then hopefully to the the Netherlands so my brother can visit some friends from his mission.. In the meantime, I hope to use this blog as a fun way to show off my life and all of he crazy, interesting, comical things that happen to me.

Here are a few if my fav pics from the last few months.

Camping in Cascade - Maddy was always on the go

My trek family -

Lizzy giggling and smiling

Ben and Maddy - I made them hold hands. They are actually starting to be friends.

On the Boise Capital steps in December..

More pictures to come..

Texas and Beach to Bay Relay

2010-05-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

I flew down to San Antonio to visit my friend Brenda and to also run the beach to bay relay marathon with her and some of her friends from church in Corpus Christi. I have't seen Brenda since her wedding in November so it was a fun reunion. We went to lunch at a yummy mexican Resturant for lunch and then packed up the kids and drove down to the coast for the relay. The weather was very "Texas like". Thunder, lightening, rainstorm in the morning, and then clear skies in the afternoon. (I still can't get the hang of this blogging thing, so I apologize for everything being out of order.. :)

The morning of race day from our hotel

Waiting for our leg to start. It was just starting to rain again when it was go time. We had to run under the bridge, loop around and run on the bridge across the bay.. I have never been in a rain storm like that before. I think I had my eyes closed half the time because I couldn't see with all the rain. And the bridge was starting to swell with water so it was like running in puddles. Every child's dream.

This was Brenda's first Marathon relay and she did awesome. I decided not to post the picture of her in her "garbage bag". We asked for garbage bags at the hotel so we cold put them over us so we wouldn't get wet.. Well, 5 drops of rain and we would have been drenched anyway.. I kept my jacket on because it was covering my i pod and camera.. Every 5 minutes I would ring out the bottom of my jacket so that it wouldn't weigh me down as I ran..

By the time we finished our leg, it had stopped raining.. We sacrificed our lives on that bridge while it it was thundering/lightening.. but it was worth it.!

We had 2 teams and one "cheerleader" that cheered on various sections of the relay.

Both teams finished in under 5 hours.. We actually would have finished earlier if we were really serious about it. Each person waited for the other person on the team most of the time and ran together.. Brenda took off about 15 minutes before me, but I caught up with her on mile 2.

We were able to spend time after the relay on the beach on Padre Island on the coast. Put on sunscreen, but not enough and ended up with a little burn on my back.

a

We drove into downtown San Antonio to visit the Alamo on sunday afternoon and walked around downtown and visited the River Walk.

Here are a few pictures of the buildings in
downtown San Antonio.

Brenda and her husband Jeremy and his children, Jalon and Diantha.

The river walk in downtown San Antonio

I decided to retire my running shoes. They were still wet on monday morning and smelled of seaweed..

February visit/April visit

2010-04-09T18:46:00.001-07:00

So I am a little behind in my travels.
The end of February, I took a trip down to Utah to see my sisters and their families. Now that I work some in Twin Falls, I take advantage of being halfway to my family. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

I drove to Layton first and spent a day with Leah and her crew..

Madelyn is quite the eater.. Her snacks are her snacks. Don't mess with her snacks.

I had to take many pictures of Maddy to get one of her smiling..

Now she is picking up the art of posing..

Rylan, on his way to school

On my way to Provo, we stopped in Sandy and went to my cousin's baby shower. She is expecting twin girls in June, but will probably have them in May. She was cute to watch as she held up tiny outfits and would deep breath and say "Oh I am scared" with a smile.

I think this is the most recent picture from a few weeks ago. Doesn't she look great?

I then drove to Provo to see Margaet and her clan

I thought this picture was pretty funny. it was so bright and sunny, Erica was getting mad at the sun..

No sun in this picture

Ben had just woken up from his nap

In motion.....

glued to the TV

It was a quick weekend, but worth it..

The first part of April, i was, again, working in Twin Falls so I drove to Rexburg for the easter/conference weekend.. Leah and and her family drove up from Layton and my brother Jared and his family stayed in Rexburg for the weekend so I was able to see more of my family...

My mom made yummy food and even hid easter eggs around the house.. On saturday morning the "Spring bunny" paid a visit. I shared a room with Rylan and at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, Rylan wakes me up and says "Anna, I think I hear the Spring bunny out the family room".. Turns out it was my mother hiding easter eggs around the house.. I informed him it was grandma... and he said "oh" and then went back to bed, well sort of.. If you count laying in your bed staring up at the ceiling.. :)

And... I inherited a flat screen TV. I must say, it fits perfectly in my home.. Now I want to watch TV all of the time.. :) but who has time??

bathroom makeover

2010-03-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to tiling the bathroom and painting the bathroom. Here are the before and after pictures..

Before

No more purple walls.. and purple carpet..

After

Garage shelves

2010-01-25T21:29:00.000-08:00

I finally was able to mark something off my list.. Putting up shelves in the garage.. There were a couple shelves in the corner (for those of you that have seen my garage). One of them fell about 6 months ago.. I forgot to take a before shot, but here is a picture of the old shelves in the back of the truck going to the dump. :) This is phase one.. Hopefully I can put up another shelf on the other side..

Aren't they pretty?

Christmas 2009

2010-01-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

The month of December was quite a blur. I tried to get most of my Christmas shopping early and I suceeded in that, but the earlier I started, the more gifts I kept buying.. So it was a fun Christmas. I spent 5 days in Rexburg at my parents house. Both of my brothers live with a 2 mile radius so we were able to spend a lot of time together. My sister Leah from Layton was there. The only people we were missing were Margaret's family. They ended up coming down for New Years Eve, but had to go back to Boise for work.. Here are a few pics showing the highlights of the week.

All the stockings hung......

I bought Rylan and Scott matching BSU shirts

Leah and I bought the same pajamas... without knowing that the other one bought the same pair. I bought mine in Boise, she bought her's in Layton.. Sisters- we think alike

Rylan had been waiting all year to "dress up" in the shepard costume...

Grace, Rylan and M'Lynn putting together the gingerbread houses

We all got together for lunch for my birthday..Homemade eggrolls, sweet and sour chicken and fried rice. Yummy.

This was the only decent picture I could get of Maddy looking a the camera.. She is a quick mover..

Maddy got a stroller for Christmas and she thought that the handle was candy, like a candy cane.

My nephews Porter and Jake checking out the train.. They have grown up so fast..

The wedding and IKEA

2009-10-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, my cousin Sierra was married in the Salt Lake Temple. I drove down Wednesday evening and joined the festivities. Thursday was the wedding, and then Friday I met my sisters at IKEA for lunch.

Lance and Sierra Sundloff

Kira, M'lynn, Carson, my brother Jared and Porter
Doesn't she look like an angel???

It was a little chilly and windy, but overall it was a fun day..

This woman was taking her wedding pictures and I couldn't resist taking a picture.... of the big feather in her hair... !! classic

Some of Sierra's friends, sisters, sis in law
My cousin,(the father of the bride) my uncle, and my other cousin.. The Kikkert men

Sierra and her mom, Emily.

I had to take a picture of my niece Grace and her outfit. Polka dots and stripes.. If only I could get away with wearing things like this...

gotta love a drama queen

my dad and his sister JoAnn

I love this pic below.. no one is even remotely ready to take a picture.. Classic

It was so freezing outside that most of the people stayed inside.. Not us Youngs, we all took a turn on the dance floor..

The dinner/party was at a country club south of SLC.. This picture doesn't do justice to just how pretty it was out there...

Saturday morning before I headed back to Boise, I was able to go to Rylan's soccer game.. It was pretty could that morning..

We met for lunch at IKEA and did a little shopping. Tera and M'lynn joined us as well. I can never get out of there without spending more than 100 dollars.. Well I did buy a monstrous picture (that wouldn't even fit in the back of my car) and I had an order from a coworker of mine.. Over all, I think I got out of there with out ruining my bank account.. Hopefully my picture will arrive someday in one piece (when ever my parents decide to drive back through Boise to Lewiston..)

look who came to visit

2009-09-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

Leah and her family stopped for the night on their way to Grangeville this past weekend.. Maddy is a crazy girl. I don't think she sat down once (well she sat down to eat). And Rylan is growing up so quickly. Anytime he comes to my house, he claims his spot on the bar stool.. I think the only time the barstools get used is when Rylan comes to visit..

Madelyn loves purses and her duck Ming, Ming. She has slept with the duct since she was born.

Rylan and I always try and take pictures together. 90% of the time they turn out. My head just looks big in this picture..

Family campout 2009

2009-08-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

This year, my family rented a cabin about 10 miles outside of Ashton in the forest.. It was heavenly.. We went hiking, rode bikes, huckleberry picking, sat around the campfire, and watched the new additions to the family walk around..

Cave falls, in Yellowstone National Park

My brother Ira, Teralyn, Jake and M'lynn

Margie, Jeff, Erica and Ben

My nephews : Carson, Jake, Porter and Rylan

Sheep Falls

My sister Leah and I

My brother Jared, Heater, Porter, Carson, Grace

We had a dutch oven competition: Spare ribs, chilli with sweet potatoes, potatoes and brocolli, and potatoes and bacon... Our desert was peach/blueberry cobbler, cornbread.. Let's just say I couldn't sleep that night.. too full.

Down by the fire with FLARA and FIRA..

Jeff decided to bike back down to Sheep Falls and back.

This is was Rylan's request for his birthday dinner.

A Young gathering wouldn't be complete with out a dance off.. WITH Solos.. This was Rylan's solo.

I wanted to run through the fields.. Didn't realize that there would be so many stickers and bumps. Not as graceful as I thought it would be..

July 17th more camping

2009-08-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

In July, Lindsey's branch went camping up at Pine flats so I decided to tag along. I can't give up an opportunity to camp, and to take pictures of people that do not have access to a mirror, a comb, or make up.. :) Rather than pack up the tent, Lindsey borrowed her sisters mini van and we slept in the back... It's the only way to go camping now..

Lando

The council

Tyler after a good nights sleep in the back of his truck.

Morning time..

Mmm, cheese, my favorite

We had to take Bogus, Dara's dog, home and drop him off to his backyard.. I have to say he was the best travel companion. He sat in the back of the van either on the floor, or sat inbetween us, looking out the front window.

Forgot one, Memorial day hike

2009-08-23T19:09:00.001-07:00

For Memorial day, I went hiking with a few friends down at Celebration Park. We hiked along the Snake River and then hiked up to a waterfall and played around.. Climbed some sand dunes, saw some snakes, ran from then.. :)

Bryan Johnson

Scott and Stephanie

Crystal, Stephanie, Tiffany and my big head. :)

The reunion July 23, 2009

2009-08-23T18:02:00.001-07:00

A few months ago, I went to a funeral of a former bishop of mine that I had in college.. I made some good friends back then and still keep in touch with them. We decided to all get together and have a BBQ reunion.. Thank goodness for Facebook. It took 5 minutes to send a message to all of my friends that I knew back then, and then they sent the word on to others.. We all met at Municiple park (a park we frequented alot back then) and brought food, children etc.. It was fun to catch up with old friends... My sister Margaret flew into town for the event and then we drove to Lewiston the next day to visit my parents.

Most of us lived in what we called "the mormon ghetto". It was an apartment complex on the corner of Denver and Belmont, that still stands today. I am suprised it hasn't been condemmed. We were always in and out of each other's apartments at all hours of the day..

Tim and Karen Waite

Elaine and her clan

Shane and Bea Shimada

Jaymie and Jeremy Clayton's kids Reece and Jonas

Laura Bueler and family

The Sisters.. Elaine, Brenda, Anna and Margaret.

My good friend Amy with my nephew Ben

Brother Max Nelson. He was in the bishopric back then.

Amy Heath's kids, Abryn, Austin and Amiah

Candice Waite and her kids Jackson, Lizzy, and Michela (in the back left)

Tangi Winters - one of my roommates

Me, Brenda Rupp and Jaymie

Tangi and her daughters, Sara and Rebecca

My favorite roomie Nici and her boy Ezra

Shane and Dean.. holding my nehew Ben.. This is a sight I never thought I would see..

Ward Campout

2009-08-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

June 19th-20th was my ward campout to Hot Springs, Idaho. I didn't want to go alone, so I brought my friend Brenda along with me. And good thing I did, she brough her dad's truck, along with some good dutch oven cooking.. :) I made a salad and we at like royalty. It rained in the evening and I think that discouraged some people from coming, but we had fun. There were about 30 people from the ward. Saturday morning, we went for a hike up over looking the Garden Valley area. On the way home, we stopped at a diner in Horseshoe bend and had a burger (what I always crave when I go camping).

It was raining outside, so we ate our gourmet meal inside the truck..

Mmm,

Mmmm

Yummy

The Redfords and the Parkers

down by the river hotsprings

Kia Peterson

Madalon and Morgan Pishl

I had to take this picture.. Zatara and Annie were having a discussion about all the deer poop they were finding.

Our campsite was below the ridge on the other side of that log.

Teton Dam Marathon

2009-08-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

June 13th was the annual Teton Dam Marathon in Rexburg. My brother Ira got a team together of some people in his ward to run the Marathon Relay.. Each person took about 4-5 miles of the marathon. Tera drove our team van and got us to our transfer stations of where we would hand off the baton. Overall, we finished 8th in the relay teams overall, and finished 5th in the co-ed division. Not to far behind the 3rd and 4th place finishes.. I admit, I had to stop once to walk for about a minute.. It may have cost us the gold.. :)

6 am, waiting for the first wave or runners

It's not everyday i am up this early.

Our driver, Tera and "the van". .

Ira with the neighbor, Jake Powell, our "secret weapon"

I have never seen someone sprint up a hill as fast as he did.

At the finish line, Tera, me, Ira, Tasha, Jake and Mike.

May 2008

2009-08-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

The month of May started off sad.. My grandma Erma has been very health her whole life. She walked everywhere (never drove) and was a health as a horse. The past couple years she has had a few bypass surgeries, but always recovered.. The first part of May she wasn't feeling well, went to the Dr and was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer that had spread to her liver.. They gave her a few weeks to live.. Luckily my Dad and his siblings were all able to be there with her a few days before she died.. below are a few pictures of my grandma and of some of my cousins after the funeral. I am going to miss her house in Logan.

Her living room (a little messy)

The canal behind her house

My brother Ira and our cousin Jeff from Preston

Rylan sitting on Grandma's porch, eating a creamy. Everyone's favorite thing to do at grandma's.

The stairs of death

This pictures was of Grandma holdling Madelyn (Leah's) at Thanksgiving time.

My summer

2009-08-23T15:51:00.000-07:00

The Summer of 2009 has been a busy one.. So sit back, relax and enjoy what I am about to share. The picture to the left is a little preview of my summer.. Sitting in a cabin, reading national geographic.. Jake (wide eyed) is almost 15, Porter in the striped shirt is almost 16 and Carson (hiding) is 13... I can't believe my nephews have grown up so fast.. I will always remeber the day when Jake and Porter were staying at my house and there were around age 8 or 9. My mom was taking them to Lewiston for the week. My roommate told me of the conversation she over heard.. One of them had some money and the other one said "Wow, that's a lot of money, you can buy a lot of candy with that.." And the other one (not sure who) said " Well I can't spend it all, because what if we have to bail grandma out of jail". Not sure where they got the idea that they had to grandma out of jail.. maybe it was because of her fast driving.. :)

Look who came to visit...

2009-04-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

My brother and his family were in Lewiston for the weekend visiting my parents. We met for lunch at Mongolian BBQ for lunch on monday on their way back to Rexburg. Thought I would take a picture of the event.

This is their dog.. Cowboy Bob Young, isn't he cute?

Conference Weekend

2009-04-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I decided to go to Utah to visit my sisters. I caught a ride down with A and M Tyczka's and they dropped me off at Leah's... On our drive down, we took a detour in Glenns Ferry. Mia had to take care of some business.. :) While driving through town, we saw the "Redford Motels". Angie and Adam didn't tell us they monopolized the motel business in this thriving town... :) We had to take a picture to prove it..

The blanket below is the one I made for Madelyn. I forgot to take a picture of it when I finished it..

I got to Leah's Thursday evening and spent the night with them.. Friday morning, we packed up and drove to Provo to spend the day with Margie and Ben. As you can see from the picture below, Madelyn was very excited to go.

We spent the day working on projects and watching Ben and Maddy talk to each other.

I couldn't tell if this was a laugh or cry from Madelyn, now I know it was a cry..

Rylan, doing what he does best, playing the DS without his shirt on. (he spilled milk on it)

Jared and his family were in the area visiting Heather's grandma, so Jared and the kids stopped by for a visit. (still couldn't manage to get any adults in the picture)

On saturday night, we decided to meet up at the Cheesefactory for dinner with the kids. The men went to the priesthood session. As you can see from the picture, Erica was upset at something.. I decided to take a picture to document this wonderful moment, and Rylan decided to jump into the picture and "be sad" too..

No sadness here on Madelyn's side of the table. She was so excited to be at the Cheesecake Factory. She could talk as loud as she wanted and blended right in with all the noise.

I ordered the Burrito Grande. I have had it before, but I don't remember it being this big..

Finally, here is the lone adult on this post. Rlyan loves his Uncle Jeff. Margaret and Jeff came up Sunday morning to watch Conference in Layton with the rest of the clan.

And last but not least, a storm trooper decided to come visit for General Conference..

Oh wait.. it's just Rylan.. I was a little scared there.

Megan.. my old 9th ward friend

2009-03-07T11:49:00.001-08:00

Megan,
I see you read my blog last night.. how do I get to your blog??? I am new at this so I am a little blog retarted..

Making Pizza

2009-03-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

For our activity on wednesday for Young Women's, we had a highschool exchange student from Rome, Italy come teach us how to make italian pizza. My friend Angie helps place exchange students with host families here in Boise. His name was Gulio ( I think that's how it spelled)

Suprisingly, all the girls were on time... (who wouldn't be with a cute italian boy cooking for them?)

It was fun to watch him roll, stretch, push, pull the dough to make it flat as possible. Next he heated up tomato sauce and fresh basil leaves for the sauce.. My family grew up making pizza, but we used tomato paste with oregano, garlic as the seasonings. I think from now I am going to use tomato sauce and basil. it was so good.. Another thing, he asked us not to cook the sausage because they put it on the pizza raw over there and it cooks in the oven with the rest of the cheese and dough. I was a little paranoid (as was Angie) about it being raw so we "thawed" it a bit in the frying pan. I think he caught on to what we were doing and just laughed.. He wants to be a chef and would love to go to chef school somewhere in the U.S. He wasn't sure if there was a cooking school in New York. We assured him that there was one (if BSU has a culinary arts school, I am sure New York as SOMETHING.

I asked Gulio if he liked Idaho and he said he did, but that it was different, but good. I asked him one difference and he said "The streets, fast food, fast food, fast food, winco, fast food, fast food.". I guess Boise does have a lot of fastfood resturants.. Having been over to Italy, I am sure it was a major shock compared to the cobblestone streets in Rome with little cafe's/deli's around every corner.

Over all, a fun evening... I should have taken a picture of my kitchen when it was all finished. Flour, sauce, cheese scattered here and there.. But it was well worth it..

This weekend

2009-02-24T22:05:00.000-08:00

I just typed up a HUGE post and some how I lost it..
So here is the summary..
Went to Rexburg for my niece's baptism
Visited with my friend Matt.
Sat around and watched Babies...
here are some pictures.

I met my friend Matt for dinner on friday evening. We went to a Thai resturant just down the street from my brother's house. We were sitting in the front of the resturant by the front window. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see something bobbing up an down in the window. When I turned to look i saw someone run away, and then I saw my nephew Porter. When I got home, I heard the rest of the story.. Apparently Jake and Porter wanted to "spy" on us, so they followed us to the resturant.. Jake was wearing a black ski mask and sunglasses. Porter had a trench coat on.. Hmm, that doesn't look suspicious does it. I guess I should be flattered that they thought we were cool enough to spy on.

After dinner we went back to Ira's house. Matt had some "jeans" that he needed some advice on. Ira wanted to get in on the fun too. And we thew in some cowboy boots as well

Rylan and Cowboy, chillin, and Madelyn posing

My sisters Margaret and Leah

My brother Ira was trying to get Maddie and Ben to laugh.. This is the only reaction he got from them..

Aunt Tera with Ben

No weekend would be complete without Rylan trying to wrestle with someone.

The siblings (Carson, Grace and Porter)

Eric and Grace

Aunt Leah and Grace

Uncle Ira and Gracie..

Madelyn loves Ben's cheeks

The boys. My brother Ira, nephew Jake and Ben

Grandma Young and Grace

Rylan and Grace

What we do for entertainment. Watch Rylan and Ira fight.

And last but not least, crazy Madelyn at night.

The Toe

2009-01-26T21:40:00.001-08:00

So I have had a few requests for a picture of the toe.. These pictures are a day after I stubbed it, and the flash was out of control, I couldn't get a "perfect" picture. But you can see the purplish tint to it.. enjoy..

2009-01-25T21:44:00.000-08:00

I saw this on a friend's blog.. The highlighted ones are the ones that I have done..
kinda fun..

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (does a jr high jazz band count?)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland or Disneyworld
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run32. Been on a cruise33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Olde Faithful Geyser Erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie or on a TV show
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Had an encounter with a wild animal
59. Visited Russia60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person80. Published a book
81.Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a Jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Taken a martial arts class

Broken toe

2009-01-24T21:39:00.000-08:00

2009 is turning out to be a great year........ Ha, Ha. Joke's on me. It started off with a week of being sick... and now.. a possible broken toe.. I have no idea how it happened.. Well I guess I should pick up my feet when I walk.. The toe is purple.. need I say more...

the new year

2009-01-03T09:10:00.001-08:00

Well the New Year hasn't started out like I wanted.. I woke up the 31st with a sore throat. I tried to stop it with zinc and airborne. no such luck. By the evening time, i was stuffy.. Still lingering on.. I guess my new year's goals of exercising more will have to be put off for a few more days.. Happy New year everyone..

Christmas Morning

2008-12-25T11:40:00.001-08:00

Christmas morning was very relaxing.. I slept until about 8:30. It was snowing pretty heavily outside, but later stopped. Checked out the stockings (a few mini cookbooks, chocolate orange sticks, yummy lindor balls and some yummy lip gloss. ) Our family loves chocolate, so we may have gone a little overboard.. Made some breakfast, and then slowly opened some presents.. Called the rest of the family inbetween presents and just enjoyed the morning.. The favorite moment of the day was watching my mother open a present.. The picture is below.

Dad in his element

the aftermath

getting ready to make gingerbread pancakes (yes that is what my hair looks like in the morning.)

Breakfast consisted of gingerbread chocolate chip pancakes, eggs and sausage..

Getting some tools... which I need for my house.

A new DS game for Dad

Mom's reaction to opening a gift.. It was a David Foster "Hitman" CD.

more Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T11:28:00.001-08:00

A few more pictures..

Testing some of the treats.

Wouldn't be complete with out "Anna's"

Dad enjoying the music a little too much

I love my banister....

..... and my tree

Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T10:54:00.001-08:00

The day started off with a trip to the mall around 9 a.m. to do a little speed walking with the parents. We figured we would be eating a ton, so we decided to get a head start in the exercise. After a stop at Walmart and Winco we were home by noon, stocked up and ready to spend the day at home, waiting for the snow.. We spent the afternoon putting together a Christmas puzzle, listening to Christmas music, watching the Polar express, a little bit of Elf and getting ready for the evening. Here are a few pictures from the evening..

A few friends dropped off some goodies.

The traditional cheese fondue with bread, beef stick, and cauliflower with shrimp cocktail/cream cheese/crackers and sparkling cider.

Mom making the shrimp cocktail.

Putting the puzzle together..

My birthday

2008-12-23T16:46:00.000-08:00

Today was my birthday.. I won't share how old I am (many of you already know).. I woke up around 8:30 to fresh snow outside. It has snowed 4 inches during the night.=. I love it when it snows.. I put my boots on and went outside to shovel my driveway.. Yes I still had my pajama's on.. :) My parents are here for Christmas for the week and so they greeted me with a Happy Birthday as I came down the stairs.. Had some scones for breakfast and then we headed off to the mall to do some mall walking (too icy outside). After some fun walking and shopping, we headed home.. I took a quick shower and met my friend Nici, her husband Darrell and another friend Mary for lunch.. Nici brought her little baby Ezra.. What a cutie.. We took a few pictures at my house after lunch..

Here are a few pictures..

Bundling up for the car ride home..

What a fun afternoon... It was a good birthday..

My visitors...

2008-12-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

My sister Leah and kids (Scott, Rylan and Madelyn) stopped in Boise on friday night on their way to Grangeville for Christmas.. We went to Goodwood for my birthday dinner (thanks Leah) and just relaxed. We played a few games (Guess who) and played with Madelyn..

Which one are you?

2008-12-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

happy b day a few days early

2008-12-06T10:59:00.000-08:00

Guess who will be 27 years old on December 9th??

Happy Birthday Leah.

My Christmas tree

2008-12-06T10:15:00.001-08:00

Okay, let me explain this pictures. So I came home from Utah last saturday, and here was this doll on the neighbor's doorstep. I just assumed someone left it there and the neighbors hadn't seen it yet...... It is now a week later, and the doll is STILL there and the neighbors have walked in and out of the front door multiple times.. I haven't quite gotten to know my neighbors yet....
Hmm, now I am intrigued.. Time to take over some christmas cookies to them..

This year, my parents are coming to Boise for Christmas.. This will be the first Christmas where there will be no little children around. I am sad not to see the excitement of my neices and nephews as they walk into the room Christmas morning. But it will be nice to have a peaceful morning.. Here are few pics of my living room and the tree. Sorry for the blurriness.

Since my parents weren't going to be in Lewiston for Christmas, my mom brought her favorite santa ornaments.(which are my favorite too). That way it will be a little bit of their Lewiston home in my home..

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

So I started this blog 6 months ago when I bought my house, and haven't updated it since. It seems like everyone has a blog these days (and that is usually how I figure out what is going on in my friends/families lives, so i thought I would give it one more try... For Thankgiving, I drove down to Layton, Utah to my siser Leah's house. My parents drove up from Lewiston and my sister from Provo drove from Provo for a couple days. We had a great time. Each of us had assignments (my yearly assignment of mashed potatoes). Everyone felt the need to bring some sort of desert, so we ended up with about 5 pies and a pumpkin cream cheese roll. Let's just say we ate pretty well that day. My dad drove to Logan to pick up my grandma. She will be 90 yrs old in January. What a trooper.. I hope I get her genes.. :) Scott's Uncle and wife also were there for the afternoon. Poor Rylan caught a cold and was quarentined to his room with a TV and snacks.. So for the first time ever, i didn't take any pictures of Rylan.. But I did take some pics of Madelyn and Ben.. Enjoy..

of course I couldn't leave Rylan out of this blog, so here is a picture from Thanksgiving when he was 2 years old..

Jeff taking a nap

talking to Grandpa

We tried to take a group picture... not a good angle..

Madelyn 11 weeks 10 lbs

Ben 7 weeks, 13 lbs

I bought a house

2008-07-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

So I decided after 15 years of living in Boise, that it was time to buy a house. Change is hard for me, so what did I do? I bought a town house, .3miles from where I am renting from, AND it is across the street from my friend's townhouse.. babystep changes is what I do best..
here are some pictures of the house inside.

Bamboo flooring...

my first blog ever

2008-07-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog ever... wish me luck