SuMmEr vAcaTiOn 2011

School's out for summer!!!! Spent the first half of my vacation just relaxing and watching a lot of Netflix and going to the gym. I was ready to get the heck out of here and yet again I decided that I was going to be driving back to Idaho.  I left on the 9th of July and made my first stop in Boise. It was an extremely long drive but after 10-11hrs. of driving I finally made it. When I got there I stopped at gram's house because mom and Teresa we already there waiting for me.  So I spent the evening visiting with them and catching up.  Of course when I go to Boise I always stay at Mama Jo's house, so after I was done visiting I made my way over there. 

On Sunday morning I went back over to gram's house and ended up watching the women's world cup.  I really got into the women's world cup this year.  When the game went into extra time, we decided to leave and go and have breakfast at IHOP (wished I didn't leave b/c the woman ended up winning that game in penatly kicks).  After IHOP, mom and Teresa left to go back home. 

The next day, I went out to LaFever and had lunch with Sandy and visited with her. It was really nice to see her since it's been a while. Later on that evening, I went back to get Mama Jo and met up with my friend Erin down at Old Chicago for dinner.  It's so nice to be back and see old friends that I haven't seen in a while. 

The following day, I spent the morning watching the women's soccer game again.  After the game was over, I went over to Jill's house because she just had a baby.  It was good to see Jill but weird to see her with a kid. That's something that I'm gonna have to get used too.

I made another trip out to Meridian to visit with Sandy at her house.  She made dinner as well.  Her son Ryan was there with his kids too, so I got a chance to visit with him and play with his kids as well.  Later that night I went over to Home Court in Meridian to watch Terriel and Tirrell play in a basketball league.  I wasn't there for long until Tirrell hurt his knee (later found out he tore his ACL and had surgery).  I swear I'm bad luck when I watch him play.  He hurt himself last time I watched him play as well.  Its always nice to visit with my boys.  I also went and had dinner at the Olive Garden with Sto and Terriel as well.  I had a really enjoyable time visiting with them. 

On Saturday I left Boise and drove to Twin Falls to stay the night with Allison and Ryan.  They finally moved back to Idaho which is nice to know that I have someone to go and visit besides family.  Ryan is an ER doctor at the new St. Lukes hospital.  I got the grand tour of her new home, which is big and beautiful.  We had dinner that night and visited.  I sure have missed both of them, and I'm glad their back, even though I'm not.  Its just hard to find good friends and I can honestly say I've found some good friends.  On Sunday morning, Ryan made cinammon twists for breakfast which is something we had for breakfast when we used to live together; brought back some memories.  Logan, Jordan, Kaden and I then went upstairs to play super mario brothers on the Wii, and had a good laugh and good time playing with them.  Watched the first half of the world cup soccer before I left to head to Burley to see Teresa and John.

Teresa and John moved to Burley in April and they are expecting their first baby in August.  I'm so excited to see both of them.  They too have a big and beautiful home as well.  When I got there, we ended up leaving again to drive to Pocatello to have dinner at grandma's because Linda and Charlie were there.  All I have been doing is driving so after eating dinner and visiting with everyone, I fell asleep on the couch.  I went back to Burley to spend a few days with Teresa and John and just hang out with my sista.  We didn't do much since there is not much to do in Burley so we went to Twin and had dinner and also went to the movies.  AFter all the fun in Burley I was goin to have more fun in Blackfoot.

Got to Blackfoot on Tuesday and didn't do much of anything but chill and hang out with the parents.    Helped mow the lawn, saw myself a snake while mowing and about freaked out.  It's a good thing I was on the riding lawn mower, cause I would have run away screaming.  Went to Idaho Falls almost everyday, either with mom or goin to meet my other friend Erin for dinner. Tammy, Craig and Colt came up on Saturday in preparing for our family vacation to Island Park (in another post).

This trip has been very eventful with visiting family and friends.  Usally 3 weeks is too long for me but I have truly been enjoying every minute it. 

bObbLeHeAd dAy

I called to ask Julie if she would like to make a trip down here to go to an A's game and plus there was a free give away, a Rickey Henderson bobblehead. So Julie decided to come down for the weekend to get herself a bobblehead.  He is the all-time leader is bases stolen and he also threw out the first pitch of the game as well. We rode the BART down to the stadium and when we got there, the line was a mile long, who knows it could have been longer.  I for sure thought, there is no way we are going to get us a bobblehead.  The line started to move pretty quick and luckily enough we got one.  Doug and some of his friends were supposed to meet us there to get one as well but they showed up late and I wasn't for sure if they were going to get one.  Even though they showed up late, they too also got themselves a bobblehead. It was a perfect day for baseball because the weather was beautiful.  Thanks for comin Jules.

spRinG bReAk pArT 2 -- Phoenix

So the second half my spring break included a stop in Phoenix to visit my BFF Julia and Mo.  When I got there we had to make a stop at Chick Fli-A since we were both hungry as well as Ethan. 

We sat and visited until Mo got home and then we went to the park with her kids so Ethan could run all his energy out.  We also drove by some houses that they were looking into buying.  Later on we went to a resturaunt that Julia had been wanting to try and plus they had custard for dessert.  This resturaunt reminded me a lot of Arctic Circle back home, which I also love. After that we couldn't pass up the custard, so we ordered that to go.

The next morning my former boss Ron, who also lives in Phoenix for the winter came to pick me up and we had breakfast and Cafe Mimi's.  It was nice to visit with him as well. Later on that morning, Julia and I took the kids to the Phoenix zoo. This should be interesting because all Ethan wants to do is be a big boy and run around all by himself.  When we got there talk about millons of parents with strollers bathman, they were everywhere and we were adding to it.  The weather was great, however a little warm but it was a nice day to spend it at the zoo.  We walked up to the monkey exhibit and this monkey came right up to the window and Ethan was pretty excited. We found the petting zoo for kids, so Julia took Ethan in there to feed the goats and to get him out of his stroller to run around.  He also played in the playground area and had a fit when it was time to leave. 

Later on that night, we went to dinner at this Mexican resturaunt that I had been telling Julia about that I went to the last time I was in Phoenix.  However we didn't really get to enjoy it at the resturaunt because Ethan was tired and fussy after a long day at the zoo and no nap in between.  So after ordering our food, we had to ask for a to-go box and eat it at home.  Oh well, we tried, but it was still good to me no matter where I would have ate it. 

On Friday, I decided that I would spend the first half of the day enjoying the Phoenix heat and lay out by the pool and read a book.  It was so relaxing that I could have probably stayed there all day. I even saw me a lizard run across the hot rocks trying to find itself some shade. Later that night, Julia got a babysitter for Ethan so we could go to the Diamondbacks game against the non-other S.F. Giants.  We had great seats along the first baseline. That stadium is pretty sweet itself with a retracable roof, but the weather was so nice that night it was open.  The Diamondback ended up losing but after the game was over they had a firework show, so we stayed to watch.

I really enjoy Phoenix and could really see myself living there at some point in my life.  I left on Saturday afternoon and really enjoyed visiting with Julia and Mo, as well as Ethan and Austin, even though Ethan tuckered me out.  Thanks again Julia and Mo for letting me stay at your home. Until next time....

SpRinG bReaK pArT 1 -- Las Vegas

Well, it's been a while since I've last posted so I thought I take the time before school starts to update my blog. 

In April, I flew down to Las Vegas to visit Tammy and Craig for a little rest and relaxation. Colt also drove to down to Vegas to spend some quality time with us.  I was hoping that the weather would be nice but when I got there it was raining, (I just left the rain), but it didn't last long as the nice weather of Vegas came out in full force. 

When I first landed, I insisted that we find a Jimmy John's sandwich shop, since my mother has been telling me how great it is and besides they don't have one up here in the Bay Area. So I saw that Vegas had one so we drove to tim buck to and back to have myself a Jimmy John's sandwich, mission accomplished and now I love me some Jimmy John's. 

The next day we took Colt down to a craft fair, thinking we could find some cool trinkets but we didn't find too many.  We then roamed over to the outlet malls and wander around in the blasted heat and didn't find too much there either.  So we headed back home but first we had to make a stop at Costco to get us some stuff for dinner that night, we had BBQ steaks, baked potatoes and salad.  It was some good lovin stuff.

We also made a visit to our Aunt Linda's and uncle Charlie's condo that they bought to live in during the winter.  It was nice to visit with them since we don't get to see them very often. We also spent some time at another craft store with them and found some good trinkets there.

Being in Vegas I couldn't miss out on spending a little money on the slot machines.  I spent most of my time (ok the whole time) on my favorite slot machine, which is "WHEEL OF FORTUNE".  I did great on the first machine with winning me some cash, but then over time I got greedy and sticky fingers hoping that I can hit it big, but instead I lost it.  DAMN!!!  And secondly, you can't leave Vegas without going to the buffet, so we stuffed ourselves full there only to wind down by going to the movies later on that night. 

I had a really great time spending it with my family that I don't see too often and hopefully can do it again sometime soon.  Now it's off to Phoenix.

31

 I remember when I was younger, I'd always say I can't wait till I'm this age, well now that I'm at that age, I wish I was young again.  This year I celebrated my 31st, and the thought of getting older just freaks me out.  My birthday was nice and relaxing, I took the day off from work cause who wants to spend the day with their students. Not me anyways!!!  I got to sleep in which was nice.  Doug and I went to breakfast and then headed over to the bowling alley to knock down a few pins.  I beat him one game and he beat me the other game.  After bowling, we went to Baskin Robins and got some icecream, and I got myself an icecream cake for later.  Came home and relaxed until later that evening and then went had my birthday dinner at the Texas Roadhouse.  At the end of the day I had a really nice birthday and want to thank everyone who sent me birthday wishes.

gOoDbYe 2010, HeLLo 2011

I know it's been a while, but 2010 is behind me and 2011 has already begun. I spent the last few weeks of 2010 in Idaho. I always like to spend a few days in Boise so my first few days of my 2 week vacation were spent there visiting with old friends. Then I headed home to spend it with the family.  It was really nice going back home because we were all home for Christmas. 

In January, I made a trip up to Monterey to see an old friend from back home.  Since I've been here, I've been wanting to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and finally got the chance to check it out.  It was pretty awesome and have to say the marine life soothes my mind. My favorite exhibit had to be the jellyfish and the coral reef.

Growing up I've always been a Jazz fan, and since I've known Doug he's always talked about how his Warriors are better.  So I got the opportunity to watch them play against the none other Warriors.  We had great seats that we got for cheap off a stub hub.

In February, I had another opportunity to see the Boston Celtics play.  I've always been a fan of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.  I also enjoy watching Rondo play as well. The seats to this game weren't that great but it was a sold out game.  The Warriors played well for the first 3 quarters but then the Celtics took over and won the game. 

 I took another trip up to Monterey to see Julie again and ended up doing the 17 mile drive along the coast and up to Pebble Beach, where the professional golfers play.  The weather was windy and rainy but it was awesome seeing the waves crashing up against the rocks.  The power of the ocean is just amazing to watch.  Watching those waves made me think of the tsunami that hit Japan eariler in the month.  On our way out from the drive, there were several surfers gearing up to take on those "Heavy" waves.  It was pretty sweet to see them actually get up and ride the waves. 

BSU vs. San Jose State

 It's always nice to know that once every other year BSU comes out to play San Jose State.  A couple of years ago I went with Doug and Sandy but this year I went with a guy I used to work with.  The weather was nice an cool and breezy, cool enough to have a hot chocolate. I knew the game was probably going to be a blow out but it is always nice to see my Alma mater play and come out victoriously.  There were a lot of BSU fans there and I wasn't sure if the fans of San Jose were there for their team or just to see BSU.  I only ask this because even though it was a blowout the San Jose fans didn't seem to really get into the game.  There were only a few plays were you'd hear them cheer. 

GO ORANGE, GO BIG BLUE, FIGHT, FIGHT BSU!!!!!