End of August already?

This week has been an amazing one. It began with a coworker losing her house completely to a brush fire in the east end of town. The entire city watched rapt with attention as the story unfolded of a brush fire that swept up the ridge and burned 7 houses to the ground, damaging the whole neighborhood. The office rallied around this coworker and it was heartwarming to see. Her family is now in temporary housing and working with the insurance company to rebuild on the same spot.
This was Jordan's first week of School and she has taken it on with zeal so hopefully that will be reflected in her work as the year goes on.
On Friday Cobi and I attended the Shakespeare production of Macbeth at the festival down by the river. It was a beautifully done production. The festival has been hard hit though the last couple of weeks with an old member passing away and then the lead of Macbeth being replaced by an understudy after succumbing to back trouble. But even with all these troubles the show was a great success.
Saturday we took it easy,

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lounged around the house and did some chores, tried to keep it mellow. We did have to run an errand and ended up driving by the burned neighborhood. It was a morbid awakening and I'm sorry to say that we didn't take the camera with us as it was a sight unspeakable with words. The houses are simply gone and in their place are a small pile of charred black rubbel. It truly is so very sad. Thank you to those of you who have supported us in helping my coworker and her family get back on their feet. I will be passing on your support to her on Tuesday when we are back at work. Thank you!
Sunday we did some yard work in preparation for fall. Finally finished with the rock out front. Now only a few plants and some more bark and we can declare the front yard DONE! :)

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Monday was mellow again as we needed some rest. Hung out around the house and then went to a BBQ at our friend's Mark and Jodi's house. Was a blustery cool day here in Idaho, fall is trying to find it's way in.

Summer comes to a close

Well, the week saw us very busy at getting things tied up for the school year. We gathered the mammoth list of what an eight grader is supposed to have, although I really did think that tissue would drop off the list soon after kindergarten, it's still on there!
I finally received a diagnosis on my shoulder this past monday and the great news is it's nothing a little physical therapy and cortisone can't heal. Wish me luck in not having to wear a sling!! I told my orthop. it simply wasn't an option and he's trying to work with me.
A scentsy party near the end of the week rounded out a great ending for the spring/summer catalog. The new fall one is out and available beginning september 1!
This past week Jordan attended a theatre camp through Fort Boise. On Friday they put on a great performance for all the parents and friends who could attend. Jordan was 'Keating' in a scene from The Dead Poets Society and she did a great job.


On Saturday we went to Roaring Springs! Talk about feeling like a kid again, Cobi and I rode every ride (except the super scary one, Jordan went on that with me) and we rode many of them over and over again. We arrived at 11am, when the park opened and left at 7:30 when they were getting ready to close~ we had so much fun!
Sunday we took it easy in the morning. Went to gather a book bag and some essentials for Jordan's school year. Then met some friends at the new Famous Dave's restaraunt for dinner. We had eaten at this restaraunt in Illinois while visiting my grandparents a couple years ago and were thrilled to see one going in very close to our house here. They are just as yummy in Idaho Gram and Gramp!
So this week has come to a close and although we don't have many photos to prove our fun, there is the news from Idaho.
(all the kids except CeeCee and Jay's rat Sasha)

Mother Daughter campout

This weekend Jordan and I took off for the woods. We left Friday right after work and met up with a group of fun ladies: Ashley (Daughter~whom I work with) and Lynette (Mother); Laura (Daughter) and Barb (Mother); Karen (Mother) and Katie (Daughter).
Saturday morning we woke up late, had a great breakfast and spent time in camp and lounging around the creek.



Eventually we all got together and went on a long hike up Stanley creek and to a waterfall.

{From left to right: Lynette, Ash, Laura, Barb, Katie, Karen, Jordan, Kyme, in front: Cooper, Ceecee}


Huckleberries on our hike!!

After getting back from our hike we all took a much needed swim in Stanley Lake.
Katie and Jordan took our inflatable kayak out on the lake.

CeeCee took her first swim! She was a little nervous but made it out and was so freakin cute!

The plan was to have a fire that night at the lakeshore and eat our dinner there. We brought our chairs from the campsite and a table. The main course was baked potatoes that were wrapped in foil and buried in the sand with hot coals from the fire. They were so yummy! After dinner and sunset, we all sat at the fire and read poetry.

Then after much giggling and laughing there was an episode of skinnydipping by full moon in the lake. :D Finally, a much needed sleep.
We woke up late on Sunday morning. Breakfast was mellow and Karen and Katie took off to get home early. Jordan and I took a swim in the lake and laid in the sun for awhile. Then Lynette, Ash, Laura, Barb, Jay and I all headed to Redfish Lake. Jordan and I took off a little earlier and did some geocaching on our way there. We arrived at the lake lodge which was reminiscant of a 1920s mountain resort. Imagine being out in the mountains with very little civilization about then arriving at a lodge with music, a big BBQ and lots of people of all nationalities playing in the pristine lake. It was really neat.
After a few hours lounging by the lake, it was time for Jordan and I to head home. The drive was very nice and we truly enjoyed this first annual Mother~Daughter campout!

Going places!

This past week we finally began to move forward on the landscaping again after our water issues delay. So we're working now on finishing up the front yard and getting that area looking good. We have moved and transplanted many plants around the yard and as we do a little work now and then, things are getting there.
We were super busy this week as well getting ready for our road trip to SLC to see Greg Brown. Lisa, Cobi and I were all ready to go with the car packed on Friday night when at 3am Saturday I stretched and heard a pop, then excruciating pain. I was up and hurting with horrible neck pains. (You may know already I've been having some serious shoulder troubles lately too and figured this was caused by that.) So we delayed our departure long enough to visit the chiropractor on the way out of town. I'm still hurting but was not going to cancel this trip!
We left Boise around 11am and made pretty good time. Stopped at Antelope Island on our way into town. It is an island in the Salt Lake that you can drive to. There is a visitor's center telling all about the Great Salt Lake and as you drive around the island you can see many of the local inhabitants including antelope and buffalo.

We took some time to wade out into the water which is sort of eerie and creepie. It is super shallow and warm with nothing but brine shrimp swimming in the entire lake. Weird huh? We walked out very far and it only remotely began to deepen and cool off a bit.
This is Lisa and I wading in the Great Salt Lake

After checking into the hotel we walked downtown for dinner at the New Yorker Grill. Dinner was nice and we were caught in a beautiful summer rain on our way back to the hotel where we crashed hard to rest for Sunday's adventures.
Sunday morning we got up slow which was nice! Ate some breaky in our hotel room and went to the art museum, UMFA which had a visiting exhibit of Monet to Picasso. It was so beautiful and amazing to get to see this exhibit while in SLC.

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After that we grabbed a couple of geocaches in the area. We then rested at the hotel, watched some Olympics and ate some lunch. Then off to the botanical gardens for the concert!
All we can say is WOW!! The concert was so awesome. There was a huge thunderstorm that was booming against the hills as we waited in line to enter the ampitheatre and chatted with the locals. Then, all of a sudden, the doors opened and the storm went away. The sun came out and the music filled the air. Greg didn't come onto the stage until the sun had set but prior to that his daughter, Pieta Brown and her husband, Bo Ramsey did a set, then Greg's wife, Iris Dement sang a set as well. Finally, the man himself came out and put on a great show. Oh~ and I did get to say 'hi' to him again as he walked through the ampitheatre. I put in a big plug for him to come to Idaho soon, he said he'd give it a try. The finale was amazing as the whole family, Bo, Pieta, Greg, Iris and their adopted daughter came onto the stage and sang Amazing Grace.
Greg and Bo Ramsey:

Finale with the whole fam:


The next morning we woke up slowly and took our time sinking our teeth into the final day of our roadtrip. My neck was feeling much better by Sunday am too! Cobi, Lis and I took the morning to wander around Red Butte Botanical gardens. It was a lovely way to start the day and early enough we had the gardens to ourselves.

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Then loaded into the car and started out toward home. Did a little geocaching along the way and conformed Lisa into a cacher. Stopped at the most amazing site, the Bonneville Salt flats and took some time to gape in awe at the remarkable openness and foreigness of the landscape.

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Finally satiated, Cobi drove while Lisa and I dozed through the wonderfully entertaining landscape scenery of Nevada. Once back in Idaho we stopped in Twin for a burger and made it home safe and sound late Monday night.
What a ride! :D

Weddings, Company Picnics and Watermain Fixing Oh My!

Wow, where to start, with the beginning of the week. Ok, it was boring in comparison like usual. Just seems like our weeks are big boulders rolling down a hill, they start slow, mellow and predictable then get rolling and boy do they go!
Thursday and Friday I went to Scentsy convention. This was an amazing event and I'm kicking myself for not taking a camera with me. There was a remarkable key note speaker, Susan Ershler, who was more than motivating, she was inspiring. The thing I think impressed me most during convention was that the company President and his wife were there speaking, doing the announcements and just chatting with the 900+ attendees. The whole message of the company wasn't 'sell, sell, sell' it was 'give more than you take' and to believe in yourself, believe in those around you and live the best you know how. It made me so proud to be involved in a company like Scentsy. On top of all that, the new products are so great. There are 11 new warmers and 20 new scents which are just yummy! I'm so excited and plan on having an open house near the end of August.

So, as if I wasn't having enough fun, during general assembly on Friday I received a call from the Bird Center, then another so I assumed it was something urgent. I snuck out of the general assembly area and returned the call to find out that someone has spotted a hawk 'walking down the sidewalk' at a busy intersection that just happened to be behind the convention center where I was! So I walked over and no hawk but when I turned the corner on my way back to the center, there he was surrounded by two business men and a homeless person. I called the Bird Center back and told Kellan it was an adult Peregrine Falcon and there is no way I'm going near it (those things have huge talons and very sharp pointy beaks!). One of the business men overheard my phone call and said that he was from the building where they nest, nearby and he had called the raptor person from the Peregrine Fund group. I was SO thankful. Unfortunately though, right then the homeless man took it upon himself to run at the hawk in an attempt to 'scare' it away so it would fly and leave (????). The three of us watching rushed at him urging him to stop it and leave the bird alone. This made him terribly irate (he wasn't in his right mind to begin with) and he began yelling and cursing loudly at one of the business men about how this was downtown and he didn't own this land he had no right, etc.... He was so angry I thought for sure there was something that might escalate and before I could think...I stepped between them. The one man was still yelling very loud but I took a step toward him with literally six inches between us and it worked, he started walking backwards as I slowly took steps forwards. The business man was intelligent enough to see what I was doing and took steps in cadance in the opposite direction as I was walking the other man backwards. He yelled and cursed for a whole block (!) but then turned and went away. I walked back shaking like a leaf to the other two who just laughed and looked at me with wide eyes. After a few deep breathes, I asked them if they were ok and willing to stay with the bird because I, had a convention to return to. :D

So after convention on Friday I went home early, (had to skip the fancy awards banquet but that's ok, not really my style) to bake cakes for a friend's wedding on Saturday morning.
Saturday came and we were at the park at 9am to set up and decorate a wedding cake!
It turned out very beautiful and the ceremony was lovely as well.



Directly after the wedding, we ran home and changed then headed to a different park for my company picnic. I'm on the social committee so there was a bunch of decorating and set up before everyone else arrived. We had worked very hard to insure that everyone had a great time and it was a very nice afternoon.

After a full day of park events, we headed over to our good friend James' house to spend a little down time playing Wii and just hanging out.
Sunday we thought would be a little more relaxing but no, not really. We woke early as Maggie gets worried when we sleep in it seems. Then Cobi went right to work digging a big hole to find our other water issue! If you've followed our blogs you know that we already had fixed one but still showed a leak in the system. We had a professional out on Friday afternoon to show us exactly where the leak is. [Gram, this is when I was on the phone with you, leak guy in the house, Jordan wanting to ask me something and baking cakes all at the same time! :)]
We do have great friends and James showed up shortly after Cobi had started digging to help. I was working on the rock in the front and those two dug and dug and dug. Finally, about 4' down they hit mud then quickly thereafter, water!

The best news is, after a trip to the local hardware store, they also fixed the leak for a mere $2 in parts!!! What a relief!
So, this weekend has been something else again. I will be sending out fall catalogs to everyone this coming week so keep an eye out in the mail and if you don't get one but want one, let me know and I'll make it happen.
Hope this week brings joy and contentment to you all.