We ELFed Ourselves!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1121261562

My All-Time Favorite!

So, it's Christmastime again, and again I have an excuse to share some of my very favorite things! Hey, if Oprah does it why can't I? December (the upcoming month) is my FAVORITE month of the year, not only is it my birthday month, but we also get to remember those that died in Pearl Harbor, celebrate the birth of our Savior, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the beginning of a new year (did I forget anything?). I shouldn't admit this, but when I was growing up I really enjoyed celebrating my birthday, because it felt like everyone was putting up lights and trees for me! Now, I know that is not the case, but a part of me just loves all of the excitment that goes on during this time of year.

I thought I would kick off this Christmastime by sharing a tiny clip from my very favorite movie of all-time, which also happens to have a Christmas theme. For some reason I can watch this movie all year long. I'm not quite sure how I came to love it, but I think that if Rob and I could end up anything like George and Mary Bailey we would truly have the most "Wonderful Life"!

Thankful

Thanksgiving has been so wonderful. The food has been really delicious and last night we really took time to remember how much we have to be thankful for. I wanted to share the lyrics to one of our favorite songs. It kindof helps put life into perspective...

JASON MRAZ LYRICS

"Life Is Wonderful"

It takes a crane to build a crane
It takes two floors to make a story
It takes an egg to make a hen
It takes a hen to make an egg
There is no end to what I'm saying

It takes a thought to make a word
And it takes some words to make an action
It takes some work to make it work
It takes some good to make it hurt
It takes some bad for satisfaction

La la la la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la la la life goes full circle
Ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
Al la la la la

It takes a night to make it dawn
And it takes a day to make you yawn brother
And it takes some old to make you young
It takes some cold to know the sun
It takes the one to have the other

And it takes no time to fall in love
But it takes you years to know what love is
It takes some fears to make you trust
It takes those tears to make it rust
It takes the dust to have it polished

Ha la la la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la la la life goes full circle
Ah la la la la la la life is so full of
Ah la la la la la la life is so rough
Ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la la la life goes full circle
Ah la la la la la la life is our love
Ah la la la la la

It takes some silence to make sound
It takes a loss before you found it
And it takes a road to go nowhere
It takes a toll to make you care
It takes a hole to make a mountain

Ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la la la life goes full circle
Ha la la la la la life is wonderful
Ha la la la la la life is meaningful
Ha la la la la la life is wonderful
Ha la la la la la life it is...so... wonderful
It is so meaningful
It is so wonderful
It is meaningful
It is wonderful
It is meaningful
It goes full circle
Wonderful
Meaningful
Full circle
Wonderful

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Holy War!!

I have lived in Utah all my life and have enjoyed every game this rivalry has offered. This Saturday's game is going to be one of the best. For the first time, I believe, each team is coming into the game riding a 7-game winning streak. With that type of momentum, the unthinkable is possible. Amanda and I are looking forward to watching yet another magnificent, heart pounding game. To those of you who are cheering for the Utes, I wish you the best of luck and hopefully the best team will come out on top!! GO COUGARS!!!!!

As for Thanksgiving, we hope all is well with everyone and that you all have a great Thanksgiving feast.

The Heart of the Matter

Well, Rob filled you in on Alaska, but alot has been going on lately, so I might as well fill in some of the holes.

It is almost December, and you know what that means... Rob graduates! It is really exciting, and pretty amazing that we have already been in Pocatello for over a year. We are actually getting used to it here. It will be hard to leave, believe it or not, mostly because we have made such amazing friends here and we have really enjoyed ISU. It is funny, because it seemed kind of strange to us that we even picked Pocatello amidst some of the other offers we were considering. It just proves that someone is watching over all of us, because out of something kinda random came something wonderful!

Currently I am working with Cardiologists and really enjoying it. I am getting much better at reading EKGs and I am getting way more familiar with medications, and there are SO many. The heart is so amazing! Beyond all the interesting medical stuff I am learning I am also really learning the importance of living an active and healthy life. Alot of the patients that come into the office have many of the same factors working against them. So many are addicted to tobacco, alcohol, and food (all the wrong foods). Also, alot of them aren't active. I hope that Rob and I can continue to make living healthy and balanced lives one of our major goals!

As for Alaska... well, we are still trying to decide what to do. It is actually a really exciting opportunity. If we do decide to go up there I am very excited at the job opportunities that will be available for me up there as well.

Well, we will see what happens!

My trip to Alaska

Here is a slide show of my trip this last weekend to Alaska. KPMG, an accounting firm, flew me up there for the weekend for a second round office interview. I had a great time visiting all the sights in and around Anchorage. The day after I got back, I received a call from KPMG offering me a job with them at their Anchorage office. So, right now Amanda and I are deciding whether or not to take the job and move to Alaska. So far it sounds like a really good adventure for both of us as well as a great investment in our future careers.

Halloween 2007

We had a great time Halloween! Although we only had two trick-or-treaters our evening was spook-tacular! We started out by going to Annie and Jason's to see their family in their costumes and show off our creative endeavors. After that we headed back for our traditional Halloween meal and watch Charlie Brown & "Dial M for Murder". We had a great time. This year definitely made up for last year, when Rob had to go out of town.

It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

A True Halloween Classic!

A Halloween Treat to Get You in the Mood!

I am a huge Wade Robson fan! Rob and I really like the first clip. It is kinda spooky and it gets you into the Halloween Spirit with the dancing zombies and all. I love the second clip a little more than Rob does, but I think they both can help get you in the Halloweeen spirit!

Pinewood Derby

I hope I am not jinxing the ISU-MBA before it's big race, but I had to give our parents sneak peak. Rob spent all weekendend two weekends ago getting it ready for the ward Pinewood Derby. All the Elders in the ward are putting cars together to have their own shot at winning the Derby. Rob carved this beauty from hand. I helped a little with making sure the racing stripes were just right. I think it will be ready for the big day!

Caramel Corn 2

So, here is the finished product of the delightful treat we made on Friday night. It lasted all weekend and it was so gooey and yummy. We are getting really excited for Halloween. We started getting things together this last week for our costumes. We are excited to watch the Charlie Brown Halloween special and wait for "The Great Pumpkin" on Wednesday night. We are going to rent another suspenseful classic and sit and wait for little goblins to ring our doorbell so we can give them a Snickers treat (my personal favorite).

We even have the Halloween Menu Planned:

Mummy Dogs (hot dogs wrapped in scored Pillsbury crescent rolls)

Zombie Brains (Kraft Mac & Cheese with green food coloring mixed in)

Witches' Brew (homemade apple cider - apple juice, brown sugar, cloves, & cinnamon)

Goblin Boogers (homemade caramel corn with Brach's autumn mix)

Last Halloween I was by myself, because Rob had to fly to Seattle for an interview on Halloween. This year we are looking forward to being together to enjoy all of the festivities!

Amanda

A Spooky Night at Home

Last night was so fun! Rob and I planned to do something fun to start getting into the Halloween spirit. So, we called my mom and got her recipe for Caramel Corn. I remember as a kid, sometimes on Sunday nights my mom would make it for us while we watched The Wonderful World of Disney. It was always a treat!

We went to the store and got the ingredients and we also rented "Wait Until Dark", with Audrey Hepburn. If you know me you know I love ALL Audrey Hepburn movies, but beside that we wanted to watch a spooky movie. This movie is one of my favorites, because it is so suspenseful. It is an Alfred Hitchcock classic. I remember once I saw it at the Varsity Theatre at BYU for the midnight movie they used to show. It is a great movie to see in a theater, because there are parts that are perfect if you are watching it in a completely dark place.

Anyway we had great fun watching the movie and it was just as good as I remembered it. The caramel corn was also just as delicious as I remembered it to be, thanks mom! I will post a picture of the final caramel corn product so you can see how it turned out and here is the recipe:

Cheryl's Famous Caramel Corn

2 cups Light Brown Sugar
1 cup Butter
1/2 cup Light Corn Syrup
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
5 quarts Plain Popped Popcorn

Combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a pot on the stove. Heat it carefully until boiling. Stir constantly for 5 minutes, being careful not to burn mixture. Take pot off burner and mix in baking soda. Spray nonstick cooking spray inside a roasting pan. Fill Roasting pan with popped popcorn. Drizzle sugar mixture over popcorn, and mix carefully together.

For Gooey Corn: Transfer mixture straight to bowls that are coated with nonstick cooking spray.

For Crispier Corn: Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Transfer roasting pan into the oven. Bake for 1 hour, tossing mixture every fifteen minutes.

For Added Halloween Fun: Toss in Brach's Autumn Mix (candy corn and pumpkins) in with the caramel corn.

If you wanted a smaller batch: Half the recipe and mix the sugar mixture with one bag of Jiffy Pop Plain White Microwave Popcorn.

Enjoy!

Amanda

Today Was A Stinky Day!

Literally today was stinky! I went to the clinic today and we were only about an hour into seeing patients and then an OB patient came and complained that the room was flooding! Well, it turns out that all of the exam rooms on one side of the hall had overflowing toilets and sinks. We aren't quite sure why, but it creates quite a stink! The whole hallway had a terrible smell. It was so terrible that the Docs cancelled clinic for the day. I was supposed to have one of the faculty members from school come to visit me at the site for an evaluation. I had to call her and explain what was going on. The great part is that instead of her visiting the clinic she invited me out to lunch with her and we had the evaluation there. So, all's well that ends well.

Amanda

Another Perfect Day

Sometime ago Rob and I wrote a list of all of the things we wanted to do before leaving Pocatello. We have very few weeks left here, so we decided we needed to work on finishing off our list. I have never been to Yellowstone, so Rob and I decided to take a day trip last Saturday. We woke up early and we drove out there. The weather turned out to be perfect!

We stopped in West Yellowstone and got sandwiches from Tubby's Bakery to take for our picnic lunch. Then we went in and did the lower loop of the park. I got to fulfill a longstanding dream of seeing Old Faithful in action!

We saw elk, moose, bison, and many more little animals all over the place. I think that Yellowstone must be one of the most beautiful places in the entire world! We had such a wonderful day!

On the way back we stopped in IF to see Sean and Becky's new home. We met Annie, Jason, and Amy there and ate Olive Garden take-out. Then the guys went in to watch some football and the four gals swapped clinical rotation stories as well as what has been up in our lives since we last saw each other. Then we all got together and played games for hours!

We have been so blessed to have such wonderful friends here. I am getting sad because we are going to be moving away soon and it will be harder and harder for us to get together. So, it is important for us to make these memories now!

Amanda

Our Trip to Yellowstone

What We Are Up To...

So, life has been pretty busy for Rob and I lately. I know we have neglected to write for some time. Rob has been busy with job interviews, school, and his assistantship. He has been working really hard, and has been under a lot of stress lately. He has had some cool opportunities recently though. He has had several accounting firms take him out to dinner (I even got to go to one), and he had one accounting firm ask him to interview for one of their jobs in Anchorage, AK. We had never thought about Alaska before, but it would be cool for Rob to fly up there and check it out. So, he has a lot of decisions ahead of him and more resumes to send out.

I remember when we were deciding between Philly, Palm Springs, and Pocatello. That was a very stressful and exciting time. I know we made the right decision, eventhough some of our offers seemed a little more exciting on paper. Now we are getting back into the decision making, what a process!

As for me, I am in my second rotation. I am working with an OB/Gyn. She is two years out of residency and she is a great teacher! She works so hard and practically lives at the hospital. I have seen vaginal D&C, vaginal deliveries, and C-sections. I am getting better and better at paps, breast exams, bimanual palpation, measuring fundal height, and finding fetal heart tones. I didn’t know if I would like OB that much, but it is really interesting.

So far I love my clinical year and I know I will really enjoy being a PA. I love all of the hands-on learning we do. We studied insanely hard last year and so it is so fun to already be out there practicing and doing so much.

Amanda

BEST PLAY OF ALL TIME!!

Long Time No See!

Saturday night we went over to our friend's, Shawna & Marshall's, house for a little PA get together. There were just a couple of couples that were able to come. I hadn't seen my buddies in quite a while, so it was really fun to compare stories and catch up. So many exciting things are all ready starting to happen since we have been away from each other. One couple is pregnant, and another is getting ready to close on their first home! These kind of things just remind me us how exciting life is and how great it is to have good friends. It is fun to share in their successes. We had spent so much time together last year that is feels like they are family.

Oh, one funny story... one of my good buddies, I won't mention the name to protect this person from further embarrassment, well on their first day they had to do a digital rectal exam on a lady who thought she had a hemorrhoid... talk about awkward! Well, I love to hear the stories and I am excited to hear more as the year goes on.

Amanda

Late Night In the ER

So, it is late night in the ER. I am in my third week of my first clinical rotation. I am in Rupert, ID, a small town an hour west of Pocatello. It happens to be where all four or Roberts grandparents reside, and where Rob's parents grew up. I work three days a week here. I work a 32 hr shift followed by an 8 hr shift the next day. So, I got here at 8 am this morning and worked in the clinic til 5, then I headed over to the ER at the hospital here. I have a little sleep room and when patient's come in my preceptor calls me on the phone and I get to rush down to the ER to see what all the fuss is about.

I have really enjoyed my time so far. I have gotten to see so many things. I have seen dislocated shoulders, circumcisions, cerumen impactions (aka major ear wax), coughs, rocks in ears, rashes, coughs, alzheimers, impetigo, coughs, fungi, kidney stones, coughs, a vasectomy, diabetes, hypertension, warts, oh... and did I mention coughs? I get to see alot, and I get to do alot. I really like trying to figure out what is going on with each patient and what to do to help them out. Oh and I am getting REALLY good at freezing off warts!

I am having a great time. I miss Rob on Thursday nights because I have to stay at the hospital, but at least I am kept busy. Last week we had kidney stones to attend to at 3 am. I sat there for 2 hours waiting for a guy in a ton of pain to pee. I felt sorry for the guy. I hope none of you ever have a kidney stone, it looks TERRIBLY painful.

I am excited for tomorrow night though. I get off work at 5, then Rob is coming over here and we are going to visit with his grandparents. We visited with them last week and had such a great time. I love hearing their stories and helping them out. Not to mention that his grandma stuffs us full of delicious food. She just keeps passing the food our way.

Well, that is it for now. I better get some sleep before the phone rings again.

Amanda

Labor Day Weekend

So, school started on August 27th. I am in Rupert, ID for the first five weeks and I worked Mon, Tues, and Wed of the first week. Then the next week I worked Thurs, Fri, and Sat. So, I had a long weekend! Rob doesn't have school on Fridays, so we went down to Utah for a long Labor Day weekend. We left Thurs afternoon and got down there and just relaxed with Rob's family. On Friday we relaxed a little more and that afternoon we went golfing with Rob's Mom and Dad.

I have started golfing and this was my fifth time going. Rob's Mom and Dad were really fun to go golf with. They were very patient with me, and they made it alot of fun. We golfed Swan Lakes, Rob used to work there before his mission. It is a beautiful little course with lots of water. Luckily i didn't lose my ball in the water on that day. Rob is a really great teacher and I think I am actually getting a bit better. On the ninth hole I had a drive that landed just right of the green and even with the pin, that was very exciting! My last hole always seems to be the best. Everyone did really well, we had alot of fun, and the weather was beautiful! We celebrated with some clam chowder. Then we all took a trip to Just Desserts in Kaysville. Rob and I shared a Cookie Monster Sundae and it was delicious!

On Saturday morning we needed to take a trip out to the mall, because Tuesday was Rob's birthday. I needed to get some shopping done. We had to hurry, because we were going to the BYU game with Rob's parents that afternoon. We made down to Provo with some extra time, and we stopped by the bookstore. I bought some candy corn (one of my very favorites) at the candy counter, and Rob found a really nice hat. We even ran into our old buddy Steven Rucker, it was good to see we could still run into some good friends down there.

We made it to the sold out game in great time and we had great seats! The game was terrific, BYU did so well! I LOVE BYU football games! When I was a kid I was a HUGE Washington Huskies fan. Then when WSU was doing well I was a WSU fan too. When I went to college I switched to BYU, but I do still have a special place in my heart for UW. So, the game was really fun, with the exception of empty water bottles that kept falling on me. By the end of the game I must have had 6 empty water bottles surrounding my feet, and NONE of them were ours, AMAZING!

After the game we went to Red Robin for dinner. I LOVE Red Robin steak fries dipped in their delicious honey mustard sauce. While we were there we ran into Brad Randall! It turns out he was meeting his friend Katie who was in town for a visit. As it turns out HIS friend Katie was actually one of MY friends too! She was in my ward at Belmont and her and her sister Mallory were just some of the greatest people I have ever met, so fun, talented, and REALLY nice! Mallory even married my best guy friend (before I met Rob of course) Ryan. Anyway... Small world! So, we talked to them for a while and it was so great to catch up.

On Monday we all went and hiked Adam's Canyon. It is a really fun hike, because it only takes like 3 hrs, but it has a little bit of everything. It has some switchbacks, beautiful views, shady trails, a babbling brook, rocky spots, and a fabulous waterfall at the end! It was the perfect morning for a hike.

Later that afternoon we went to see Hairspray, which was such a fun movie. We were entertained the whole time. Finally, we had a BBQ on Monday night. Jenny, Josh, and the Muffins came over, and we all had a great dinner. For dessert Rob had requested a double layer cake (so he could scrape and eat the crumbs off the waxed paper). It was a chocolate cake with Nutella in the middle (that was Debra's idea), carmel frosting, and reese's peanut butter cups on top. The cake was over the top! It was so good.

Needless to say, the weekend was so wonderful. It was really relaxing and just so fun! I love 4 day weekends!

Amanda

How We Spent Our Summer Vacation!

Our Vacation We had three weeks off this August. Rob went to Chicago for a conference while I finished up my last couple days of school. On the last day of school my class had a big party and reality began to set in. I wouldn't be sitting in a classroom like this ever again, unless my life takes a strange turn of events. And I wouldn't be seeing these people as much as I had this past year. They had become like my family. I am really going to miss seeing my friends. However, I know that I will keep the friendships I have made, and that is the best part. Coming to Idaho State was the best decision we could have made.

In Seattle we spent alot of time with my family. We had BBQ's outside on my parent's deck, we went to the Pike Place Market, we went swimming at Klahaya, we explored the Eastside, and just relaxed. Before Rob arrived in Seattle I even swam in the adult swim meet they have every year for the Seattle Summer Swim League. This was my first year swimming in the meet, I have never been in town to do it before. I represented Klahaya along with my brother, Schuyler, Brent, Alex, and a bunch of other friends from the past. I had so much fun, I even got 1st place in all three of my races. It was so fun, my mom and Danielle even came to cheer us on. I know if Rob would have been in town he would have done an excellent job too, maybe next year.

Rob and I even went down and spent a weekend in Portland with Matt and Lisa. The showed us some more of their favorite places in Portland. I really love Portland, it is such a beautiful city. I used to always tease Matt about being from Portland, but I can really see why he loves it, and Rob and I love it too.

They took us to Oba! in the Pearl District for dinner. I had the BEST seafood tamales there I have ever had! We explored downtown and then went to 23rd for dessert at Papa Haydn's, that too was delicious! Rob and I ordered the Baked Alaska, which was excellent. Rob and I made a baked Alaska for our anniversary, but that is the first time we had had it. This won was much better than ours though.

The next day we went to the Lake Oswego Farmer's Market. The four of us love to discover farmer's markets, so we all had such a great time tasting the fresh produce and other delightful treats. We even bought some groceries for our dinner that evening. Then we headed out to Matt's Family's beach house in Lincoln City.

We spent the weekend playing games, watching movies, and relaxing. Jack came too. I tried to teach him how to shake, but I think that trick is going to take some time for him to master. We had a great time just relaxing at the beach.On the way back to Portland we stopped in Forest Grove to see Stacie and Dan. They were visiting Stacie's grandparents there. The little towns on the Oregon Countryside are so beautiful! We had a great visit with them. When it was time to leave we really didn't want to go, but at least we had a little more vacation ahead of us in Seattle.

Time filled up quickly though. I at least got to see some of my girlfriends from high school that I hadn't seen in a very long time. It was really neat to meet up at Red Robin and hear about all of their accomplishments. It was also fun to spend a little extra time with my buddy Jen Mac. She is one of my closest friends and I just love being around her, we have such a fun time laughing. It was great for Rob to get to know her a bit better as well. Unfortunately I didn't get to see Jenny, Jill, Kelley, or Leigh Anne because time just ran out.

We did however find time to go golfing with my dad three times. Rob has been teaching me how to golf and I am having a great time learning. My dad just picked up the sport again after 37 years of not playing. He is doing really well for not having played all that time.Well, now it is back to real life. We got back to Poky on Sunday. We are settling back in our apartment and things are getting busy really fast. We will continue to keep you posted.

Amanda

Check out my Slide Show!

Back to School

Okay,

So Amanda and I are back in Pocatello after a great vacation.

The vacation started out with a trip for me to Chicago for a national conference of an accounting organization called Beta Alpha Psi. I was there for 4 days and really enjoyed eating deep dish pizza, visiting the sites of Chicago and seeing B-rad Randall. Oh yeah, and I also attended some great seminars.

Amanda finished up her last 2 days of school then flew to Seattle to be with her parents. After Chicago I then flew to Seattle where Amanda and I stayed and vacationed for the next 2 and a half weeks. During that time we got to visit the temple, go to a mariners game (which was so amazing), and go to Portland and hang out with our friends who currently live there. Overall we had an excellent vacation and now are ready for our last few months here in Pocatello until I graduate in December. After I graduate we will move back home to Kaysville while I work a tax season down there and Amanda finishes up some rotations in Seattle and in Utah.

We hope everyone is doing well and GO COUGARS!!

Rob

PA Party Time!

Last Friday Rob and I went up to Idaho Falls for a PA party at the program director's house. It was the BEST party! John, the program director, and his partner Mike made all the food, and it was delicious. Not everyone made it, we have almost 30, but we did get some pictures of who was there. My friend Angela took these pictures and she emailed them on to us. I will need to add the pictures that I took as well. I just included a couple of Angela's pictures, but hopefully I will get some more up here.

We all had a great time. We drank Italian sodas and they were so good! Mike made this really good seafood stew and John made some really yummy gnocchi, those are two of my favorite dishes. John and Mike travel all over so we took a little art tour of their house with was very interesting.

We sat next to our friends Annie, who is one of classbuds, and her husband Jason. They are both in our ward and they are just a kick in the pants! they told us the most AMAZING story about their last trip to Lake Powell. Oh my gosh, it was just like one of those movies like "Meet The Parents", or "Without A Paddle", you know, where everything that can go wrong does... and more... including their son getting bit by a monkey. It would make a pretty hilarious movie, I must admit.

It was great to spend time with all of my classmates and their families. I am really going to miss my classmates, we really got along very well. We are together all of the time it will be strange to not have that anymore. I truly think PA school at ISU was one of the best decisions I have ever made!

And here is Mr. Dave Martin! I am glad that Angela got a picture of him. He is one of our professors and he is just awesome! You can really tell that all of our instructors really care about us alot. Dave is one that has really helped me out this year, he has been very encouraging and he knows how to have a fun time in class as well. Last week we learned how to do IO injections on chicken legs. Then Dave BBQ'd the legs and we had a little party, I mean, talk about creative!

So yeah, I have began to reflect on my first year in PA school and I am getting a little sentimental. It really has gone by fast, but we have made some great memories while we have been here!

Amanda

PS: 5 more school days til the end of year 1!

Jess's Wedding

Last weekend I got the opportunity to go up to Seattle for the wedding of one of my very best friends. I wish I had the pictures from the wedding, but I didn't take my camera, darn it! Jessy looked gorgeous! She looked like a glamorous movie star. And Jenny, Jessy's sister and one of my other best friends, was the maid of honor and she looked sensational! She was wearing this orangy red dress and it looked beautiful with her skin tone. The reception was in the Roger's yard, they have the most beautiful grounds around their house. The cocktail hour was next to their rose garden, which I remember helping weed when I was a kid, and we just mingled with people we hadn't seen in years. Then the party moved up to the field across from their house. They had it in a tent. There was a band and a wonderful buffet dinner complete with salmon, clams, and mussels. They had a dance floor and everyone was getting out there on the floor to dance, and I mean everyone young and old. Unfortunately Rob wasn't able to go up with me. I wished he could have been there because he would have danced up a storm with me, but I did have a good time watching all the action. It was a really fun night and just beautifully done.
I did get to spend a little bit of time with my parents and that was really fun. The weather was perfect the entire time I was there. We ate at one of my favorite cafe's while there. It is right by the water and we sat outside and just had a really good time together.
Here I am with my mom.

We walked down to the beach and the water was so shimmery. So many people were out having picnics and just enjoying the day. It was a quick trip, but Rob and I will both be up there in just three weeks! It will be so fun to have a little bit of a break from school. We will be up there for most of the month. The summer time is the best time to be in Seattle. There is no place better when the weather is like what it was last weekend! Well, back to real life.

Amanda

Happy 4th of July!

This year we celebrated the 4th Rupert style. We joined Rob's family in Rupert, ID for a three day Bradshaw celebration. It started with bowling and pizza on Tuesday night. Then We all went to the Rupert town square to watch the Twin Falls Municipal Band play patriotic songs. They have been playing together for 102 years (well not the same people of course), now that is impressive! Here we are at the town square with Grandma and Grandpa Tanner. It is neat, because all four of Rob's grandparents are still living in Rupert. So, eventhough we were joining the Bradshaw celebration we still got to spend a little bit of time with the Tanners too!
We made sure to get a Shaved Ice, because it was SO hot (flashback to my childhood)! We had Tiger's Blood/Root Beer, we mixed my favorite with Rob's favorite and WA LA... delicious! Oh, we strategically took a picture in front of the Syringa wireless sign. Their slogan is "Ring Me", well in Rupert it is "Illamenme", kinda funny.

After the concert in the square we went to Grandma and Grandpa Tanner's house. You see, they feel that Rob has gotten too skinny. And so, Rob's grandma always makes him his favorite treats, eggnog pie and Krispy Kritters. It is always "Grandma Tanner made ROB an eggnog pie", I love it though, because we always get to have some too!

We stayed at the Best Western with all of Rob's cousins. It was really fun. They had a really nice big pool, perfect for the hot weather! Rob's dad has four brother and two sisters (Gary, Terry, Jim, Steve, Linda, and Barbara), and all of them made it to the celebration along with most of their kids, and most of their kids.

On the 4th we went to Grandma and Grandpa Bradshaw's house for a big pancake breakfast. We rode the four wheeler and petted the horses and just had a really fun time. Then we headed off to the Ruper parade. It was a nice small town parade, perfect for the 4th of July! They threw candy and I was really excited to get some. I ran into the street to get a tootsie roll that was out there and I could see this kid walking up to me in my peripheral vision. I picked up the roll, turned around, and I saw these little eyes staring up at me longingly. Eventhough tootsie rolls are my VERY favority candy, and I was REALLY looking forward to catching parade candy, I gave the little one my tootsie roll. Rob got thrown an Otter Pop, his very favorite. He really lucked out.
After the parade we went to Rob's Aunt Barbara's for a huge BBQ. It was so fun, we sat out under the shade of their big trees and just spent hours together eating and talking. We had burgers and homemade ice cream! Then we went back to the BW for a swim in the beautiful pool. Finally, we went to Rob's Uncle Steve's for some fireworks and brownies. What a great 4th it was! I had to get back to class today, but Rob went golfing with everyone this morning, the finally activity of the Bradshaw extravaganza. Hope you guys all had a terrific fourth as well!

Amanda

Baby Luke

Here he is, the newest addition to the Bradshaw clan! Almost two weeks ago, Rob's sister Jenny had her baby! Luke Tanner Foukas was born two weeks ago this Sunday. He is SO cute! Jackson is pretty excited to have a brother named Luke, he and Ethan are HUGE Star Wars fans! (I guess Kate wanted to name him "Boy", so cute!)

Amanda

Newport Beach

Now, this dog had the right idea! Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, and boy, our Newport Beach trip was just that! So, without further ado... Here are our pictures from Newport Beach (Memorial Day Week 2007)! I know this might be just as exciting as taking a look at someone's cruise pictures, but hopefully if you skim you can find at least a couple that will give you some giggles (because you know giggling helps you live longer, so this exercise is clearly good for you health if nothing else).

One of Rob's fav's. We ate at In and Out in Las Vegas on the drive down. We drove down with Kim and Mike (Rob's sister and her husband), it was really fun!
Their fries are delicious! I had never been to an In and Out before, and I don't really like hamburgers and fries that much, but I gave it a try. I must say, the fries taste really nice and fresh!
Oh and I recommend the "protein style" burger on the "secret menu", which isn't really a secret at all. It was Yum-O in the words of Rachel Ray.
Now, I am not quite sure why I was making this face, but they gave us free hats cuz we asked.

We made a trip to Disneyland, which was so fun! I haven't been there since I was like 7 or 8. I made sure to ride this particular coaster while I was there. Last time I rode this ride it was because my mom wanted me to go with her. I closed my eyes the whole time cuz that dang snow monster scared the livin' daylights out of me. This time I am proud to say I stared that snow monster right in the eyes and conquered his mountain! This picture is for my mom! Last time we were at Disneyland Jeffrey had to ride the rocket ride. He was crazy steering that thing. My mom and I rode with him and at points we didn't know if we would make it out alive!
Here we are at the entrance to Disneyland, "Let the fun begin!"
We spent alot of time at the beach. I love the beach. I think if Rob and I lived by the beach we would seriosly be beach bums. We love boogie boarding. I haven't advanced to surfing yet, but I can feel it is coming. I think that is my next big goal, become a bit of a surfer. I have always wanted to do it, but I have been too busy perfecting my boogie boarding. So, be watching for me in Blue Crush 2, hee hee.
We stopped by the Newport Beach Temple on the Sunday when we were there. Rob served his mission in this part of California. He was Spanish-speaking. He hadn't seen this temple completed, so it was really fun for him to see. It is a really neat temple, because it is kindof a sandy color, it fits in so well with the landscape. It is really beautiful. It was fun for Rob to show us parts of where he served, like where he ate cactus and what streets not to go down, and all that kinda stuff.

Yes, we did meet Captain Jack Sparrow while we were there. He was kind enough to let us take his picture.
We went on the Jungle cruise and saw some CRAZY hippos...
And elephants...

Then we saw pirates! (This pictures is also for my mom, she LOVES pirates!)

Ahh, what a day! We even ran into a guy that gave us dream fast passes to get to the front of the lines on all the major rides we wanted to ride at Disneyland and California Adventure! Dreams really do come true at Disneyland!
Oh my gosh, here we are with our snazzy 3-D glasses at the "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" attraction.
This part of California Adventure is really cool. It looks like a studio backlot. It is right by the Tower of Terror, not my favorite ride, I think I almost wet my pants on that one.
But I did LOVE the California Screamin' roller coaster, it is X-treme! It had it all!


We ate lunch at the ESPN zone. They have TV's in the bathrooms there!

A California sunset.
We ate at the Crab Cooker. Rob had gone there on his mission. It is so good! I had soft shell crabs for the first time (I had always wanted to try them, but never had the opportunity, I love regular crab). Rob and I LOVE seafood, and crab particularly. We even introduced Rob's family to sushi while in Newport, which we love as well. It was quite the culinary adventure! Rob and I also rented beach Cruisers it was the ultimate way to travel. They are all the rage down there.Where did Ethan's body go?
This gal is dressed to kill! Kate is definitely a beach princess.

Just another lazy sunset.
Here we are at the wedge...
Where the best surfer's like to catch the big ones.
Everywhere we turned we saw beautiful views.
See, I'm not lying.

Ethan, Jackon, and Rob show off their fabulous sand castle, an architectural wonder.
K, I don't know what that look is for if you notice my eyes look strangely hyponotized by Charlie's Chili. Rob looks great though. We are just enjoying a bowl of chili, or in Rob's case, a chili cheese omelet (supposedly the best around, eventhough I have never even heard of anywhere else that serves a chili cheese omelet).
Here they are again, those rascals Eefy and Jackson to give you one last smile from Newport Beach. We had an awesome vacation. It was a great break from the daily grind. We made lots of memories and we hope to visit again soon!

Amanda