Friday, August 31, 2007

Themeless



Yeah that is a grasshopper...it probably seems silly to take a picture of a grasshopper for the blog, but there are SO many here, and I thought this picture turned out good.

I wanted to thank everyone for the comments, it means alot to me because I like to know that people are reading the blogs, and get feedback on what you thought :) Things have been fairly uneventful lately, the Expo is still in the shop. We were told we would probably be able to get it back Wednesday (two days ago), but apparently in Wyoming time at the start of hunting season, that means next Tuesday if we are lucky, haha. We like our mechanic though, even if he is leaving us without a vehicle so that he can go on a hunting trip. We are starting to get a bit desperate for it though, we need to take a trip into Idaho Falls so we can get some clothes for Elijah and some shoes for me. I want some hiking-type shoes, because I need something other than flip flops (I'd forgotten there were other kinds of shoes! haha) and I'm not so much a cowboy-boot kind of gal. Not yet! I also need to look for work, and Elijah is definitely wanting some social connections, he is used to having Micah around for that. I hope I can find a daycare provider/preschool that I like and trust, there aren't many choices around here. At this point I would almost prefer a mom with other kids that wants to do some babysitting.

Tonight Jay is leaving to go spend his first night at camp...he is guiding a hunt at low camp, his first hunt at high camp (High camp is like a 3-4 hour ride on horseback into the mountains) is going to be on the 8th. When he is up at high camp, I might not see him for like 6 days at a time. Right now though, he is going to be gone at low camp for a five day hunt, but he will probably come home one or two nights during that time. It's hard though, but I know it would be alot harder if I were thousands of miles away.

We are planning on taking a trip to Billings, Montana for a day soon...I happened to talk to a midwife there who started a midwifery school recently and is currently taking applicants for her apprenticeship program. She convinced me to come talk to her before I go to Oregon. That doesn't mean that we are not going to Oregon, but I'd like to know all my options, so I am going to check it out.

The leaves are starting to turn. When I look up to the hills, everywhere there are fiery little patches, I can't wait to see the colors in all their glory. I will try to get some pictures, of course...though I think it's yet another thing here that the pictures won't do justice to.

Here are some pictures I took of Elijah at the community playground up the road, and there are more on the flickr page.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

My Friends

I was uploading some pictures, and I came across some that I forgot I had promised to email to Gretchen (Sorry Gretch...I'm doing it right after this, I promise!). Anyway, it's from the last night the five of us got together in California. We always have so much fun together, I miss you guys!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Update

Sorry for the long wait between blogs...the processor fan on our computer came unseated but now all is well and I am back for more blogging, ha ha. Got lots of new pics too! Jay took me and Elijah up in the canyon on the quad (which is ginormous and can easily fit the three of us). It was so beautiful up there, there was a little stream and wildflowers everywhere. This picture is of the boys checking out some kind of water bug. I was happy to keep my distance under the guise of snapping pics, heehee.

Here is one that I took of the view from where we were. It overlooks Star Valley where we live.

Some pics of Eli :)


And this is a picture I took of the wild choke cherries. The boys picked a ton of them awhile back as I mentioned in a previous blog (well actually they've got out picking them several times). Jack took those berries and made a choke cherry syrup which he gave to us. Last week we made pancakes and ate them with the syrup and it was Delicious. I've been commissioned to try and make jam out of them which I have not the slightest idea how to do. If Google does not fail me and I can figure it out, I'm hoping I can make enough to send some jars out to everyone...we'll see!
Not much else to report at the moment. The Expedition is still in the shop, and I have yet to see much interesting wildlife. We took Jacks truck into Jackson the other day (to get the stuff to fix our computer) and I saw some mountain goats up on the cliffs, but to be honest they didn't look like much because they were so far up, it just looked like bright white spots on the cliffs. I've seen a few deer and a bald eagle's nest but no eagle. Jay saw a mom and baby moose on the drive home from work the other day, and a big bull moose that same morning but so far I have not seen one. If I do I hope I can get a picture of it.

Oh, I do have a request though. If people are reading this, leave me comments! I want to know if you guys are reading these or not...if you dont know how, you just go to the very bottom of the post you want to comment on and it will say in small green letters '0 comments' - click on that :)

Miss and love you all!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Cowboy Up!


Yesterday Elijah went out with Jay to go try and catch that mare again (apparently it was a real rodeo) and Jay taught Elijah how to oil a saddle and he got to play with the ranch dog and watch all the commotion. When they got home, this is what Elijah was wearing. I guess Jay figured he was teaching him to be a cowboy so he may as well look like one, so he took him out and bought him a cowboy hat and boots in the spirit of things. Out here though, the hat and boots do have a purpose. He's spending most of his time outdoors these days, and he can't do much in his flip flops. Gotta love the cowboy boot/spiderman undies combo, it can't be beat. Haha.


Saturday, August 18, 2007

Home on the Range


Sorry it has taken me so long to post, I wanted to get some good pictures of home in this blog but it's been raining for the past two days, so it's been difficult to get any good ones.

We got home Thursday night at about Midnight so I didn't get to see anything of my new home until the next morning. When I did, I opened up the door and was struck by bright sunshine, clean air, trees everywhere and about a bazillion grasshoppers. For some reason or other, there are grasshoppers everywhere right now, I mean literally thousands. They aren't really bothersome at all and they don't seem interested in invading the house, but you definitely notice their presence. Elijah of course was delighted, especially upon remembering that Auntie Sierra had just bought him a new bug catcher. After searching box upon badly packed box, we located the above mentioned bug catcher and he set right to work catching and accidentally mutilating grasshoppers.

After awhile we decided to "go into town" to get a bite to eat. Halfway there the unthinkable happened. The Expedition died. It stopped going into gear, making it obvious that it was the transmission. Our transmission was officially toast. We were shocked and stressed, but pretty thankful all in all that we didn't get stranded in Nowhereville, Idaho. While we waited for Jack to tow us home (it's pretty amazing what an F250 can pull) we got out of the car and said hi to the friendly neighborhood sheep we were conveniently stranded next too. We then strolled the street to say hi to some of "Jimmy's" horses after picking and eating some roadside raspberries. About four different people (two Jay knew and two he didn't) stopped to see if they could help and shoot the breeze a bit. I have to say it was the nicest stranded-on-the-side-of-the-road experience I have ever had.

Later that day we went out for a ride on the golf cart (everyone rides them around the ranch here) and rode around the golf course located near the house and creek just up the road. There are wildflowers everywhere, they are so pretty!

The next day Jack towed us to one of the local mechanics (whose shop is nicely located in the barn in back of his house and guarded by his fierce-looking tow headed tricycle riding four year old and about 8 assorted cats) to find out he could have it fixed in about a week for only $2100. Since that was a reasonable price compared to some of the other estimates we got, and since Jack has apparently "heard good word about him in town" we decided to stick with 'Freedom' Automotive.

Here's some Pictures I took on the drive over to the mechanic:

National Forest

You cant really see it but this field is covered in tiny purple and white wildflowers.

Jay took Elijah out for a ride on the quad and they found some wild choke cherries which they picked and brought back to me.

Elijah has been going with Jay and "Papa Jack" to try and catch an unruly mare that Jack bought and is trying to transport to camp with some other horses in hopes of getting her acclimated apparently. Anyway, Elijah got to ride a horse named "rony (Wony)", so he thinks he's a cowboy now.

We are really settling into things here, it's kind of hard not to. It's such a beautiful, peaceful place and I already feel at home here. I miss everyone already though.


View from the house on a cloudy morning

The inside of our apartment, as viewed from our doorway looking in. I've got more Pics of the house on the Flickr page I created (check it out on the right of the page) .

Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Road

We set out Wednesday morning at about 7:30, a little later than we originally planned. I woke up with a cold that got progressively worse as the day drug on, and in fact right now I am surrounded by tissues as I type this. Our trip was pretty uneventful for the most part, Elijah was so good we couldnt believe it. I think Jay and I complained more than he did, and he never even asked to stop to go potty or anything. Thank goodness (and Aunt Amanda) for portable DVD players, haha.

This is a picture of Southern Utah, right after we crossed the state line. Thank goodness, I was getting pretty bored of the Nevada scenery.


More pics of Utah, it was soooo much better than Nevada. Southern Utah is still mostly desert, but there is actually some green going on the more north you get. We spent alot of our trip going through Utah...as you can see.

Below are a couple pics of Idaho, it was just getting dark.



Here's some of the three of us around hour 9 of driving...


(Eli was multitasking...playing with his new pirate ship and watching a movie)
Jay after a giant starbucks coffee....he perked right up.

Me, upon discovering that I had missed the 'Welcome to Idaho' sign - I'd wanted to take a picture of it. I found out a few minutes later that I hadn't missed it at all and was much happier.

We got to Wyoming around 11:30, so it was too dark for me to see anything.

I woke up this morning and stepped outside wanting to take pictures of my first glimpses of Wyoming, but the batteries were dead in the camera, so I will have to wait untill tomorrow for that. I'll post all about the adventures we have had so far here, and let me tell you, there have already been some. I will say that this place is much more beautiful than I could have imagined, and I think we are going to be really happy while we are here. Elijah is beside himself with the freedom and all the new things he is seeing and learning.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Wyoming or BUST!

As promised, I've started a blog to share our adventures as we enter the uncharted waters of familydom. The wedding is over, and we are all set to begin the journey.
We leave tomorrow for Wyoming.


Bright and early we will set out, driving from Lake Havasu City, AZ through Vegas, up through the barren deserts of Utah to Idaho and finally home. Approximately 772.5 arduous miles.

I'll admit that my excitement at conquering a new world has given way to a small, albeit potent amount of fear. Let's face it, this is going to be way different from anything I have ever experienced. The excitement is still there, it's just fear of the unexpected is also with me.


We've had so much fun over the last week, with our marriage and the time we were able to spend with family. Thanks to everyone's generosity we have been able to have a truly worry-free time, which we've been so greatful for. We've been having lots of fun in Lake Havasu, spending most of our time in the pool sipping drinks and playing with Elijah.

Here's some pictures

The Beginning...

I thought this was funny...the boys playing light sabers before the ceremony...typical.

and one of our unorthodox wedding party...

I'll post more later, but everyone who knows me and Jay knows how bad we hate pictures of ourselves, so I'm not promising anything. There are a few taken at the wedding that I plan on posting, but I have to wait untill I can scan them in.

So this is the beginning. I will post when we make it to Wyoming and we can set up our computer.