Our Visitor

This past week my best friend, Tirzah, came all the way down from Eagle River, Alaska, to visit. We hadn't seen each other since 2003...that's six years ago!!

Here's a little history about the two of us. Back in 1996-1998 we were basketball rivals. Tirzah played for UVSC, now known as Utah Valley University, while I played at the College of Eastern Utah. I remember hearing all about Tirzah, that we needed to stop her from shooting the ball. We were the top two leading scorers in the SWAC. (She has always been better than me of course!) Then, we both went on to the University of Alaska Anchorage to play as teammates.

Tirzah's visit was too short for me and probably too long for her. One of the things we were able to do was head up to Spokane on Saturday to shop. Before heading home, we stopped at Gonzaga University and walked around. I love when family and friends visit, but I don't like the aftermath. The house seems a little bit lonelier for a few days. However, maybe this could work out for me...if I mope around all week...just maybe Jason will give in and buy us tickets to Alaska! We miss you, Tirzah!!

Birthday Girl

I love this girl!! Every single morning Lauren comes into our room and says, "I want to get dressed." The only thing on her mind are her adidas (a=all, d=day, i=I, d=dream, a=about, s=shorts) shorts. All day, everyday, you will find Lauren in these shorts with a matching or a nonmatching shirt. Luckily, she'll go out on the town with pants on, but right when we get home it's back in these shorts she goes. And, luckily, she doesn't want to wear these shoes everyday. It was Lauren's birthday on October 21st. I was once again in the kitchen nonstop, but it was worth it. We made pizzas the night of her birthday. It was so fun to involve her this way. I'm usually too busy to let her "help" out. I need to do it more often.

We had a small party with family like we do each year.

I made a banner, a "purse" cake, and a lemon torte pie for the celebration. I'm not much of a decorator, but they were all easy.



Lauren is officially three years old!!

Pumpkin Picking

Last weekend we...




...went pumpkin picking down in Caldwell at Grandma and Grandpa Brown's house. We had plenty to pick from. Lauren loved riding in the wagon. Jason loved driving the tractor. What did I love? I guess I was just there for the ride. Thanks for the good time G and G Brown!!

tWo yEaR oLd PiCs

I've been meaning to put these on my blog for several months. These were taken around the beginning of the summer I think.

A Weekend of Fun and Football

What a fantastic weekend we had! My parents and sister came up to visit. We spent a great deal of time relaxing, shopping, and eating goodies from the Country Mercantile. We, also, drove up to Ellensburg for a football game...Central Washington University vs. Dixie State College (St. George, Utah).
My nephew Grant plays for Dixie, so we headed up to watch. It turned out to be a perfect day for a football game.

Here we are amongst the Dixie cheering section:


No, Lauren is not sleeping. She just didn't want to get her picture taken at the moment.

These two guys weren't willing to get their pictures taken either. They were too busy watching the game.

Here's Grant, #88:


It was fun cheering Grant on. We were so glad that we had the chance to go up and watch him and his team play.
We wish Grant the best of luck for the rest of the season!

Quick Road Trip

We took a quick trip this past weekend. We headed up to Cheney, WA, for the night and stayed in this Holiday Inn Express. I took a picture of the hotel because it has Oakley Stone on the outside and throughout the inside. I'm always proud to see Oakley Stone because it comes from my hometown.
The next day we drove north of Coeur d' Alene to see our nephew, Joel, run in a cross country meet for the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies.
GO JOEL!

We even got a wave and smile!


We're so glad we went up to watch. It was a great weekend. The whole time we were there Lauren didn't say hi or anything to Joel. In this picture she is holding on to me because of Joel. So on the way home, we asked Lauren why she wouldn't say hi. Her response was, "I'm too shy."

Great! My daughter is taking after me.

Hot Dog Roast

Lauren and I headed down to Oakley a few weeks ago to see my parents. One of the many fun things we did was head up to the hills to roast some hot dogs.


Back in 1991, I carved my initials in this Aspen tree. I was thirteen years old and at Girl's Camp. I can't believe it has been that long ago. It was fun to see after all these years.

Pioneer Days Celebration 2009

Another Oakley Pioneer Days Celebration has come and gone. One wouldn't know that my family was celebrating the pioneers because we headed out to the water...
On jet skis...
And more...

We had a blast! Surprisingly, our fun didn't end there.

One went biking...
Others played on the playground equipment...



Many watched morning cartoons...
Another chose to work...
Two ran a 1 mile race... One finished and the other one wearing the yellow shorts stopped halfway. Good thing the route goes right by our house because that is where we ended and jumped on the trampoline instead.

All went to the parade...
Until next year...