It's a small world, after all...

This is a picture taken yesterday at the Madison XC meet. It was held in Rexburg at the golf course. The girls in this picture are Brianne Garner and Madison Hull. They just recently renewed their acquaintance in the past few weeks. The Garner's lived in our ward in Boise for a few years when these girls were a lot younger. They moved to Arizona, and then to Rexburg. Brad is teaching at BYU-I now.

When we moved to Rigby, we called up the Garners to say "Hi!" A few months later, I saw Carrie at a crosscountry meet in Idaho Falls. A couple weeks after that we got a phone call from Brad inviting us over for FHE. When John hung up the phone, Madi came out of her room and said, "Guess what! At the meet today I ran right next to this girl from Madison the whole time, and when we were through I looked over and it was that girl that used to be in our ward in Boise!"

Their paces seem to be about the same. So here they are again, friends in arch-rival uniforms. It can be like that in crosscountry, and I really like that.

Girl's Road Trip!

Since school was out a couple of extra days last week, Taylor, Madi and I climbed in the car and headed to Hailey. We arrived around noon on Friday, did a little shopping with our cousins and then had a great dinner at Nathan and Elise's. We even roasted marshmallows and made smores on their patio! Then we headed to the condo and had a slumber party! We did all of the girl's hair the same and watched "Pride and Prejudice," and ate popcorn and drank rootbeer. The next morning we had a yummy breakfast and then watched the first session of conference together.

On the way home, we stopped in Arco for gasoline and a hamburger. We ate at Pickle's Place, home of the Atomic Burger. They have great fries (cut them fresh daily!)! They also make the world famous "John's Seasoning" (you can't grill with out it!) at Pickle's. I'm thinking about driving back and purchasing everyone a "Pickle's Place" t-shirt and a bottle of "John's Seasoning" for Christmas. What do you think?

October begins the holiday season # :-)

If you don't already know, I love holidays. This is why I changed my blog background. I am always ready for fall, and what comes quickly after: CHRISTMAS TIME! When we were first married, I played Christmas music all year round. This bothered some people in my family, so now the rule that I try to obey is no holiday music until October. I do have a cd entitled "Ancient Noels" that I can play any time of the year and those who reside with me don't seem to catch on. I have to do this every once in a while just to get a little of that "Christmas rush" that helps me make it until October 1.

The holiday season officially begins the first day of October, when it is not socially unacceptable to have pumpkins and ghosts on your front step. It continues until about the second week of January, when John finally tells me that he is embarrassed to come home from work to find our outside Christmas lights on when everyone else has taken theirs down.

I put the Halloween decorations up the day I took John's birthday decorations down--so I only cheated a little bit this year (and I have only listened to one Christmas song so far!). I couldn't believe how much better I felt after I got them up. It was like this house just became home! Halloween decorations are the first official step of the holiday season. And today I am making applesauce. Tomorrow is supposed to be turning a little cooler. The leaves are beginning to turn orange and yellow. It is potato harvest time! Life is great!

Happy Birthday, John!

Today John is 44 years old.

We had his party last night so we could go

on a drift boat ride today.We floated down the Snake from

the Lorenzo Bridge to Menan.
The trees are beginning to turn to their fall colors--

it was really beautiful!

The day was perfect.
Not a cloud in the sky and in the mid-70's.
Just a slight breeze...and the fishing wasn't too bad either!

P.S. This is a sample of the other wildlife that we saw today! (We do notice more than just the aquatic creatures! I took the picture below today,and played with it on the computer a little bit tonight!) One more thing--Madi beat her time by 2 minutes today at the cross country meet in Blackfoot!Happy Birthday, John!!!

Off and running...

Autumn is in the air, and it is time for cross country!

Madi is giving it a shot this year...

and we are proud to cheer for Rigby High!!!

Go Madi Go!

Just the 2 of us...

John's parents came for Labor Day weekend so we could go off on a little excursion. The girls had already started school, and Seth had a frisbee tournament in Boise. We went up into Yellowstone Park, camped a night, and then continued up on the Beartooth Hwy. It was amazing! Usually we have had to backpack up a few thousand feet to get to this kind of country. Beautiful alpine lakes and meadows were everywhere. We loved it there!

THANKS MOM AND DAD FOR CROSSING THE STATE TO WATCH OUR KIDLETS!

A friendly reminder...Above Island LakeI think he has one on!Beartooth PassIn the park...Yellowstone LakeFishing Cone, West Thumb Geyser Basin

We love Yellowstone! (We are now proud annual pass holders!)

One last summer hurrah!

We had a little family reunion. John's parents (John and Jean) and his sisters' families (Julie, C.J., Cameron, & Juliana--Chris couldn't make it; Terri Daniel, Kelda & Corbin) all went camping at Cliff Lake, MT, and then did a quick Yellowstone tour. It was a fantastic time! We played with the inflatable kayaks and other floaty toys, and spent time on the rope swing across the lake. The food and company were unbeatable. It is hard to believe summer is gone!

all the Hull cousins...

making a funny face...

and being pirates!

(Bethany brought Brian, an extra adopted grandkid for the weekend, with her from BYU--actually, he brought her up in his car, which was much appreciated!)

a turn on the rope swing!

Summer storms...

Last night there was a terrific summer storm to the west of us. It stretched across the entire horizon. We climbed into the back of the pick-up to have some shelter while we watched. I went inside when the wind started to rock the vehicle. The rain came down in sheets. Taylor's screen was ripped out of her window before it was through. I think more storms are forcasted for this weekend.

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We ran down and met Bethany in Salt Lake on Tuesday. We had a lot of fun seeing the sights. We headed down to Provo and I made dinner in Bethany's apt. while the girls swam in the pool. After dinner we left Bethany in Provo and drove to Lehi to stay the night with Tom, Denise and Clark Bench. It was fun to visit with them, and it was very nice of them to let us stay.

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The next day we spent looking around Provo. We went to the temple, volunteered at the MTC for a couple of hours as "investigators", and walked around BYU's campus. We ate lunch at the restaurant Bethany works at, Pastorero. Then of course we swam again.

(The word “Pastorero” in Mexico comes from Tacos al Pastor and is used to describe the artist who prepares and carves the Tacos al Pastor. In Spanish the term has also come to describe the loyal consumers of this style of tacos that has become so popular. As one of the originating chains of these unique flavors in the United States, PASTORERO™ Taco Grill was named after the Pastoreros throughout Mexico who inspire our effort and diligently please the hearts and stomachs of visitors from around the world.)

On the way home we stopped at the church historical museum--which was really great (if you have little kids, the new "I Am A Child of God" exhibit is really fun!), and then headed north, out of the traffic to our home, in much quieter, Rigby ID.

And now it is August...want to try a service berry tart?

This post really starts out in July. We took a little trip to Island Park and camped in the Box Canyon Campground. Taylor cut the tip of her thumb off while carving on a stick, and then caught her shirt on fire while sitting around the campfire toasting marshmallows. The next day we floated through Box Canyon on the Henry's Fork down to Last Chance before you get to Harriman Ranch. Taylor said it was one of the best camping trip she has ever been on.

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There has been a count-down to August 2nd going on at our house. Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the Twilight series came out at 12:01 am. Madi and 2 friends, Allie and Whitney, joined hundreds of other kids at the Barnes and Noble in Idaho Falls to get their copies. The theme of the gathering was Twilight Prom. Just for your information, these three are on team Edward, not on team Jacob. Their t-shirts read: TEAM EDWARD--1. because he sparkles, 2. because Jacob doesn't write lullabies, and 3. because only a vampire can love you forever...

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(Edward is a vampire, and Jacob is a werewolf.)

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Getting ready to go--have to have the red glittery nail polish!

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The damage...(it cleaned up fine!)
.Ready to Party! The Charlie's Angels pose...

Yesterday after church we climbed in the car for a Sunday drive. We ended up at Mesa Falls. It is one of my favorite places--I love water falls!
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John pointed out the service berries to the girls, and they decided to take a chance and try them out. They ended up filling a water bottle with them to take home to Seth. They are hoping for a service berry tart from the master pastry chef of our house.
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P.S. When we came home from our drive last night, a hot, home-made apple pie was waiting for us--what a life!