2009 Christmas Party

Last weekend Jeff and I had a small Christmas party at our house with some friends. I had a blast, and hope everyone else did too! It is a busy time of year, so a lot of people I invited couldn't come, but the group we had was great. The picture below is missing two people that came later.















A couple of my friends got hold of Jeff's camera and became the party photographers.

















We had a white elephant ornament exchange.











We also played some really fun group games, Electronic Catch Phrase and Rock Band.









Overall, it was a great night and definitely one of the highlights of my Christmas season so far!

2009 Winter Garden-A-Glow

I decided to post this year's pictures of the Garden-A-Glow because it is so fun to see Holland in them! Last year, Jeff and I went to the light show at the Botanical Gardens with my sister Ashley and her husband Rick. Holland was there too, but she couldn't see the lights because she was still in Ashley's belly. :)

This year, Ashley and Rick wanted Holland (almost 6 months old already!) to see the lights, and so we went together again. Unfortunately, Jeff had a cold and decided to stay home. Holland was actually very quiet while we were there - maybe she liked all the colors!

Florida trip

The last week of October, Jeff and I went on a very fun trip to Florida. Neither of us had either been there before, and we loved it! The weather was great too - upper 80s the whole time we were there and we got lucky with it never raining on us.

Our first stop was Daytona Beach.

The next day, we went to Florida's oldest state park, Myakka River State Park. It was beautiful, and we saw tons of wildlife, including alligators and lots of different birds.





Later that day we went to the absolutely gorgeous Siesta Beach in Siesta Key. This beach has been ranked as one of the best in the United States, and it was easy to see why. The sand was the consistency of brown sugar, and the water was warm and wonderful to swim in. What a relaxing place!


The next day we went to Busch Gardens in Tampa, which was a lot of fun. There were some great roller coasters and a large wildlife area where you got to see lots of animals.




The next morning we went to Hollywood Studios at Disney World. I loved it so much! I had never been to Disneyland or Disney World, and was absolutely blown away by the details and the special effects on the rides. Disney World really is a magical place.

Hollywood Studios had some GREAT rides - including Rock'N Roller Coaster, a roller coaster in the dark with lit-up signs to make it look like you were driving in CA and music playing by Aerosmith, Tower of Terror with some astounding special effects, and Toy Story which was a really cute ride that included 3-D games for the riders to play. We also went to the Indiana Jones show.

Jeff and I went to Epcot that same afternoon. We got lucky while we were there and were able to catch a free concert from Boyz II Men. We also watched Illuminations that night, which is Epcot's fireworks/laser show. We were very impressed with the World Showcase at Epcot, which had villages set up to look like different countries. While we were there they were having the International Food Festival, so we were able to try some samples of foods from other countries, and it was delicious!


The next day was Sea World, which was also a blast. Sea World had some great roller coasters, including Jeff's favorite "Manta", which put your body horizontal so it felt like you were flying. I loved the "Believe" show featuring the killer whales so much that it brought tears to my eyes, so Jeff bought the DVD for us to take home so we can relive the show whenever we want.

Here are some pictures from the Whale & Dolphin Show:

And "Believe":



At Sea World we decided to pay a little extra and take part in feeding the dolphins, which was really neat. After you fed them the fish you put your hand in the water and they would come up to you let you pet them.



That night we were able to attend "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party". This was held at Magic Kingdom, and the park was open to party-goers from 7 PM to midnight. We had a great time at this also, and loved Magic Kingdom - including some of the rides that were meant for kids, like Peter Pan! Pirates of the Caribbean and It's A Small World were also great rides - so much detail that it was just amazing.

The next day we were going home. Our flight didn't leave until 5:00 though, so for the first part of the day we went to a great waterpark in Orlando called Wet 'N Wild. Can you believe we were at a waterpark on October 30?

Getting Involved

I recently joined a group called Junior League. It is a national women's organization with a branch here in Boise. Its mission is to promote voluntarism, develop women, and improve the community. I am not an official member yet - they have a nine-month "provisional" program that I am currently part of. Fortunately, I can still participate in volunteer projects. A couple weekends ago I went and helped clean The Learning Lab building. The Learning Lab is a non-profit organization that helps illiterate and non-English speaking adults learn to read and write, and can even help them get their GED! The Learning Lab was actually started by the Junior League years ago, and now has grown and separated into its own non-profit corporation. Anyway, it had been TOO long since I'd participated in a volunteer activity, and it felt great!



I think Junior League will be a great fit for me, and I'm excited to learn more about it. A lot of its members work, so everything is on evenings and weekends, and there are a lot of people around my age. Also, I'll be getting involved in the community and have the opportunity to increase my leadership and organization skills. I just hope I stick with it because I think it could be a great experience for me.

Notre Dame Trip

A few weeks ago I flew out to Chicago with my friend Jeff Stiles to watch a football game between the Washington Huskies and Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend, Indiana. Although we were primarily going to watch the game, we were sure to also see and experience some of the sights in the area. We arrived in Chicago on Friday morning around 12:30am and quickly made our way towards the hotel room to get a few hours of sleep so we could be energized for our 6:50am tee time.

Below are some of the pictures that were taken during our golf outing at Cog Hill Golf Club. This course was a lot of fun but Jeff Stiles dominated me again as usual...




Next we were on our way to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The game itself was pretty lopsided as the Diamondback batters continually teed off on Cubs pitchers but it was really neat to see a game in such an intimate setting……things like manual scoreboards, ivy laced fences, and the proximity of seats to the field all made this experience worthwhile.

Below are a few pictures that were taken during the baseball game, I am really glad that are seats were undercover...people scattered pretty quickly when it started to rain.




After watching the game we went down to Lincoln Park so I could get a look at Lake Michigan...it is a lot bigger than I expected, basically looks like an ocean.













On the right there is a picture of me coming up the ladder after touching Lake Michigan.

After the park, we worked up our appetite to the point where we thought we were ready to take on some old fashioned Chicago style pizza. All I have to say is WOW...this pizza was really good but EXTREMELY dense..we could only two pieces...I can’t remember the last time two pieces of pizza shut me down...pretty sad!!! Now humbled by the pizza, we waddled to the car and headed back to our hotel.
















The next morning we got up early and started our two hour drive to South Bend, Indiana. Our first stop was the College Football Hall of Fame, this stop was a lot of fun for me and I really wish we could have spent more time here. This museum had all kinds of interesting memorabilia, facts, and interactive centers all designed around one thing and one thing only...COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!



Below are some more pictures that we took while inside/outside of the museum. I really enjoyed seeing Boise State’s banner up at number 5 in the associated presses top 25. There is also a picture of me posing on a field goal post after Jeff Stiles told me I couldn’t get up there...maybe someday I will get the opportunity to bring one of these down when Boise State wins a National Championship!!!




After the museum, we quickly made our way over to Notre Dame’s campus and stadium a couple hours before kickoff. The campus grounds, buildings, and stadium were amazing……everything was older but really well kept up, you could tell that Notre Dame has a lot of money and is all about their tradition.

















Below are more pictures taken in and around the stadium area.



As you enter the stadium you are greeted by their seven Heisman Trophy winners followed by approximately 100 of their consensus All Americans...it's really quiet an impressive sight to see!!!



Although Washington lost the game, 37 to 30 in overtime…..the atmosphere was a lot of fun to be apart of...hopefully Boise State can schedule a home game against an opponent with the history of a Notre Dame...I can’t wait to do something like this again!!!!

Trip to Moab!!

Earlier this month Jeff and I went on a trip to Moab, UT to see Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. I was very excited about it because I've been wanting to go to Arches for years. I was definitely not disappointed - what a beautiful place! I felt like I could have taken a picture every 2 minutes, it was so scenic.





We did a lot of hiking, of course. I did learn that I'm not a very good hiker in the heat. It was over 90 while we were hiking with no shade, and even though I tried to drink a lot of water, I still lost energy quickly.





















The arches and other rock formations were amazing! I learned that not only does Arches National Park have the highest concentration of natural arches in the world, but there are over 2,000 in the park. Wow!


















The arch below is named "Washer Woman Arch" - can you see why?

















I decided to be creative on a couple pictures.















The one (small) downside of the trip was a guided raft trip down the Colorado River. When we signed up for it, the description online indicated that there would be class 2 and 3 rapids. However, they didn't tell you that late in the summer, the water gets so low that the rapids all but disappear. This made for a very mellow rafting trip - the Boise River is more exciting. Oh well - we couldn't complain about the scenery.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip! Jeff and I were sad when it was over - just like all vacations, the time went by way too fast.

Mout Borah, Idaho

Mt. Borah, Idaho
Elevation: 12,662 feet
Mileage: 7.0 miles
Vertical Gain: 5,262 feet
Route: Chicken-out Ridge
Average Round Trip: 10-12 hours

I have been preparing to hike Mount Borah this year but weather and other factors have prevented me from going. After three failed attempts, I finally was in a position to hike Mount Borah last weekend and the weather finally looked like it was going to cooperate. My friend Kevin was making the final arrangements with his family or so I thought, Thursday morning Kevin informed me that he couldn’t find anyone to watch his kids so if I was going to hike Mount Borah, I would have to go at it alone. Still determined to summit the mountain this year, I booked a cheap hotel in Arco, Idaho on Friday morning, threw my hiking gear in the car after work, and was on the road by 6pm Friday night.

The next morning I got up at 4:50am to start my hour long drive to the trailhead and the entire way there I was freaking myself out about hiking solo. I am not sure why it was bothering me so much but I guess hearing about people getting lost on top of the mountain and having to navigate over class three rock scrambles did the trick. Once I got to the trailhead all my worries subsided as I saw vehicles parked everywhere. It was so crowded that all of the normal parking spots were gone and cars were lined up down the roadway with people everywhere.



*The pictures above were taking while hiking up the trail.

After seeing all the people getting ready to hike, I decided that I would try piggy backing off another group and follow them up the mountain to be safe. I was just beginning the hike when I started talking to an attorney from Boise named Judd; he had done the hike before but was doing it again with a large group. At first the large group of 16 was trying to stay together but before you knew it people were falling further and further behind. Jud asked me if I would take a small group to the top and he would meet us at the top with the rest of his group. I happily agreed, now the smaller group consisted of Judd’s wife, Molly Clark from Seattle, WA and Lance Doby from Bellevue, ID.

Our group was really motivated to get to the top as quickly as possible but the terrain was so steep that many of them had to stop and catch their breath.



*Here are a few pictures that were taken about half way up the trail.

Just before we got to Chicken out Ridge (a class three rock scramble) some of the group members started to get a little nervous so we opted to go through a snow field instead.



*Above are a few pictures taken just over the ridge from the snow field, it was a great place to stop and catch your breath. After we crossed the snow field, the top of Mount Borah was in sight and would involve navigating over loose dirt and rock the rest of the way.

The last stretch of trail went by relatively quickly and after three hours and fifty-five minutes we were standing on the highest point in Idaho!





*Here are some pictures taken while on the top of Mount Borah.

After about an hour of relaxing, socializing, eating, taking photos, and waiting for the rest of Judd’s group we were on our way back down the trail. While we were hiking down, Lance and I decided to split off from the rest of the group and climb Chicken out Ridge.



*Here is a picture taken while climbing Chicken out Ridge.

Overall, this was a great trip and a wonderful way to be introduced into the world of a high pointer, one down…….forty-nine more to go!

Time Event
6:42 am Start
10:37 am Summit
11:42 am Start down
3:15 pm Done