Anticipating the holidays!

Okay, so I promised my roommates I wouldn't put up my Christmas tree until mid-November. But it's going to be hard to keep that promise!!!! It's cold and wintery and I just want it to be Christmas.

On the other hand, it's still pretty exciting seeing all the Halloween and Fall stuff everywhere! We found a jack-o-lantern tablecloth in our closet, and we freaked out. Hooray for being festive! The only real problem is... I don't know what will I be for Halloween! =]

Last night Zach and I went to the Spirit Week rodeo. Sooo fun. We brought apple cider in a thermos, and ate homemade fried burritos on the way there. Delish. We both agreed we were jealous of the riders' skills, especially the five year old in the barrel racing competition. =] It was kind of funny though, they didn't play country music in the background! It was Black Eyed Peas, Jimmy Eat World, etc. lol. College town.

I decided I love kids books a lot. I've been reading a bunch of young adult books from the Jr. High library as part of my internship hours (I know, awesome, right???), and they are so much fun. I was rolling my eyes a lot at first, but... come on. Who can resist slipping back to the hope and innocence of being 13?

Armageddon Summer, by Jane Yolen & Bruce Coville

"Did we do wrong in believing, Marina?" Mom asked suddenly.

"Never in believing, Mom," I said. "Just in what we believed."

Half Moon Investigations, by Eoin Colfer

"All eyes were on me again, and not in a nice Oh, look at that handsome young man in the shiny shoes, I wonder if he's single kind of way. It was more of a nasty If he doesn't come up with the goods in ten seconds, let's lynch him kind of way."

Once Upon a Marigold, by Jean Ferris

"Whose idea is this?" she demanded. "In the first place, I don't care if Christian is royalty; I'd marry him if he were a goatherd. And in the second place, he hasn't asked me. And in the third place, I'll not have him railroaded into something he doesn't want to do. Where's Mother? I'll tell her myself that there's going to be no wedding today."

"But I want one," Christian said, trying to get out from under the pile of dogs. "The only thing I want in all the world is for you to be my wife. We can sort out the rest of the stuff later."

"Oh," Marigold said.

Her sisters grabbed her and dragged her off to get dressed.

Adventures in Idaho!

I have explored Eastern Idaho this weekend! Friday, Gary took me to South Butte for the first time ever. It was absolutely beautiful. We saw a snake, lots of butterflies, flowers, seagulls that looked like penguins, and the first dragonflies of the season! Plus, we had a little fan club of bugs that followed us over our heads (I think they wanted some of his tootsie rolls), and a pretty dog that followed us back to the car. Then of course there was the view of the entire valley that we had from the top! It was so much fun, we ended up staying for about four hours without even realizing it. Hooray! Oh, and I played about two bars from Come Come Ye Saints on the harmonica. I think I've found my newest hobby!

On Saturday, my roommate Jenny, her sister Kayla, her cousin Josslin, and I went on a family history road trip! We drove over to Aberdeen and took pictures of her ancestor's gravesites. I also happened to find some graves that I think fit into my family somewhere! (A whole little family section with the last name Savage. Coincidence? I think not! Only PAF will tell. lol)

By Monday, only two of my roommates were still in town. Rather than going camping, we decided to go on a hike! Megan's from around here, and took us to one of her favorite trails, in Driggs, Idaho. It was be-awesome! Here are some amazing pics for you: (Megan gave me batteries, so my camera finally worked again! Tragically, they died before we got home. lol.)


Jenny, Megan, and me at the trailhead.


Halfway there!


I love these girls!

We got to the top of the trail, and decided we wanted a better view. So we climbed UP the side of a mountain. It was pretty steep though, so after lunch we had to slide down it!! It was X-treme Sledding, minus the sled! lol


Here's me trying to slow down before going over a rock... Yeah, that didn't work. I went right over it, and Jenny's convinced I even got some air. Go me! haha. Luckily I was numb.


After sliding the first half, and bracing ourselves for the longer stretch (Jenny wisely decided to navigate the rock patch on foot, rather than... posterior).


The victors! (And their dirty pants...)


On the way back, we were pumped full of energy (adrenaline?) and decided to make a little snowman while we were already numb from all of our "Butt Slaloming," as Jenny called it. Ta-da!


It was a beautiful day, our feet were muddy, and the creek looked falsely alluring. It was FREEZING, but we got clean! (Jenny and I called it quits on our who-can-stay-in-the-longest contest after about 40 seconds.)

Now we're getting ready to make popcorn and watch an old movie, so we can rest our tired bones. =]

But the most amazing news of all: I have not been sunburned ONCE this weekend, even though I've spent quite a bit of time outdoors. Ohhhhh snap. Tomorrow's agenda: hit the books. Homework time!