All right, I confess. I have become horrible at updating our blog. In my own defense, when I started this I had much more free time on my hands, and that's not such the case anymore. However, I know you all crave knowledge of our happenings, so I will once again plop myself down in front of my magical computer screen and wow you with tales of our lives.
Perhaps the most exciting thing to happen since the last post is that we took a trip (albeit a short one) to visit my grandparents at the end of September. Anthony's never met most of my family, so I was extremely excited for the interactions as well as seeing my dear grandparents. There were some bumps along the way in regards to my job, but everything smoothed out just in time for us to run to the airport and settle in for a week's worth of travel.
For those of you who don't know, I have a set of grandparents in Ohio and another in Tennessee. When we get the chance to visit (typically every other year or every two years), we usually fly into Ohio, stay there for a few days, then drive down to Tennessee, stay a few days, and then drive back up to Ohio for a day or two before flying back home. Bouncing back and forth can sometimes be exhausting, but so worthwhile. Oh yes, and we usually visiting during the 4th of July, so it's scorching hot and humid like you wouldn't believe. Most of the time I have to spend indoors because the heat and humidity make me so sick. This was the first trip we've taken since I was little that wasn't in the middle of the summer. This is the first east coast Fall that I can remember, and it was wonderful! A bit chilly at times, but the changing leaves and refreshing breezes were fantastic.
While we were in Tennessee, we did something that we've never done before. In nearby North Carolina there is a privately owned mountain called Grandfather Mountain. The brochure talks of wild animals that roam the area and of a mile high swinging bridge. The bridge is what caught our attention, and of course, it was decided that we MUST go. So up the mountain we went in search of bears, mountain lions, and a mile high rope swinging bridge. Imagine our surprise when reaching the first stop on the mountain we found paved walking trails, a nature museum, and a parking lot. We all shrugged and decided to stretch our legs for a bit and headed down the "hiking" trails. Not far along a sign sprung up in front of us. "Cougar exhibit to the right. Otter exhibit to the left." I'm going to assume you're all intelligent people and know that Otters do not live on mountains. Our curiosity peaked and off to the otters we went. Turns out that the "wild life" roaming the area is actually a very small zoo placed in the side of Grandfather mountain. You can even feed the bears, and they do tricks for their treats! Although a bit disappointing, we still enjoyed the animal area. But then it was off to the mighty swinging bridge where we would all face certain death. We drove up to the very top of the mountain (a steep a windy road), piled out of the Pimp-Mobile (did I mention we were rolling in a baby blue Lincoln Continental? Oh yeah. That's how we roll.), and began the climb to the bridge. The view was breath-taking. You could see almost the whole of the Smoky Mountains, and learned they weren't called that without reason. The family stopped for a quick photo-op out on some rocks, and while Anthony and I were doing our own pictures, everyone else decided to tempt their fate upon the bridge. Now when you think of a swinging bridge, you imagine an Indiana Jones-type bridge right? Made of rope, sags in the middle, only enough room for people to cross single-file. I was so incredibly disappointed to find that our death-defying bridge was actually a walking suspension bridge made of metal. It barely even swayed! Coming as far as we had, we decided to complete our adventure by crossing the bridge and traversing across rock to the tip of the mountain for an unobscured view of the valley.
Not long after that, we set our sights on Ohio. It was my Papa's 80th birthday this year, and my grandma Pat had been planning a big celebration for months. A good portion of the family came into town for the festivities, and we bunked up at a little bed and breakfast for a few nights to clear out rooms for Uncle Bob and cousin Nan. The house we stayed in was built by Pat's brother (hope I got that right) and was really cute, with a wrap-around porch and a Chapel built just off the house. The couple who bought it had decided to retire, but loved the area so much that they wanted to share it with other people. So they dug out a huge chuck of ground behind the house and made a pond that looks out to the fields behind it. The weather was too cold for us to go sit out there, but just looking at the pond from our window there was a sense of peace that overtook you. Unfortunately, the house is fairly old, as are the pipes, and the water coming out of the faucets reeked of sulfur. Anthony and I learned the hard way to open our window when someone was taking a shower so that our room didn't start to stink. But the people were incredibly sweet and we sincerely appreciated their hospitality. I actually felt kind of bad that they had gone to so much trouble and all we did was sleep there. We were out the door as soon as we woke up and only came back at the end of the day.
One of the things that I had to show Anthony was Eerie Lake. So we all bundled up against the wind and made our way down to the deserted shore. One a good day, you can occasionally see Canada on the other side of the lake, or a big liner cruising along the horizon. There weren't any ships out that day, but we spent a long time strolling along the shore, shouting stories to each other and examining the types of debris we could find. Anthony made a collection of golf balls at one point. A whole arm-full! One of our traditions is to walk along the shore collecting any seashells that we can find. At one point we did run across a group of birdwatchers, braving the cold and the spray from the waves. Even though it was freezing, it was so nice to visit "our" lake, especially since we had the whole beach to ourselves. Usually the beach is overrun with people and seagulls.
For Papa's party, a local firehouse was rented and we spent a few days getting everything ready for the party. The day of the party, everyone went to the hall first thing in the morning to set up the tables and chairs, and then returned later in the afternoon to get the food ready and blow up all the balloons. My aunt got helium tanks for the balloons, and Anthony, Nan and a few others decided to experiment with putting balloons inside of balloons. Eventually they wound up having far too much fun with the helium and we had to remove them from their inflation post. ;)
The party was such a good time! I saw more family in those few hours than I have in about 12 years...not even joking. All the brothers made the trip for the party, as well as several cousins, Pat's family and friends from church. And the food! Oh the food! There was so much of it! And we had to make a table just for the pies! I'm not much of a pie person, but even I was drooling obscenely over that particular table. At the end of the night we had a balloon releasing party for the hundreds (literally) of balloons we had inflated. Everyone piled out of the hall to cheer the balloons on their journey into the night sky.
Even our trip home wasn't without incident/excitement. Not many of you know, but I have an intense love of Cheddar popcorn. Normally the only time of year I can get it is around Christmas, when Walmart has those tins of popcorn. So while Strolling through the Cincinnati airport the aroma of popcorn wafted into our nostrils. Idle curiosity and hunger drove us to the stand and I was beyond elated to discover the stand not only sold Cheddar popcorn, but it was the BEST Cheddarcorn I've ever tasted. I quickly bought the biggest bag they had and smuggled it onto the rest of the flights home with me. My kind of souvenir!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Fair Time 2009
So I promised you all a fun (or at least a non-depressing) post this time, and here we go.
Every year at the beginning of September the Idaho State Fair comes to town, and it is possibly our favorite "holiday" ever! It's a ridiculously huge event, and everyone from towns all over South East Idaho come at some point during the week that it's open. There is a petting zoo for the kids, tractor displays (of course), art exhibits, sales barns, 4-H demonstrations, horse shows, comedy and hypnotist acts, a demolition derby, etc., etc. The best part, however, is the FOOD!!! Anthony and I will go two to three times every year just so we can sample all the food we want. There is a massive food court in the dead center of the fair with hundreds (literally) of food stands. Most of the food you can only get during the fair, and everyone has their favorites. One classic that EVERYONE loves are Tigers Ears; giant scones sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and slathered in honey butter. I'm drooling just thinking about it...
This year our dear dear friend Messina came for a visit right around fair time and brought our little neicey Bailey with her. So on a Saturday morning we loaded up the Suburban with Jared, our friend Ross, Messina, Bailey, Anthony and myself to take our long awaited trip to the fair...
After taking an afternoon siesta, we went back to the fair that evening sans Ross, adding my parents. We went to the early hypnotist show (which was pretty good, I have to admit, if not a bit tame because of the audience), and after wards hit up the food stands before touring the art exhibits.
Mixed berry funnel cake. Well worth the 30 minute wait.
This is the grand champion cake. That's right, this is an actual cake. You can smell the fondant.
Bailey reeeally wanted to talk to Pop Pop Mike about something and decided to climb over the table.
This is a mostly eaten Tigers Ear.
Every year at the beginning of September the Idaho State Fair comes to town, and it is possibly our favorite "holiday" ever! It's a ridiculously huge event, and everyone from towns all over South East Idaho come at some point during the week that it's open. There is a petting zoo for the kids, tractor displays (of course), art exhibits, sales barns, 4-H demonstrations, horse shows, comedy and hypnotist acts, a demolition derby, etc., etc. The best part, however, is the FOOD!!! Anthony and I will go two to three times every year just so we can sample all the food we want. There is a massive food court in the dead center of the fair with hundreds (literally) of food stands. Most of the food you can only get during the fair, and everyone has their favorites. One classic that EVERYONE loves are Tigers Ears; giant scones sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and slathered in honey butter. I'm drooling just thinking about it...
This year our dear dear friend Messina came for a visit right around fair time and brought our little neicey Bailey with her. So on a Saturday morning we loaded up the Suburban with Jared, our friend Ross, Messina, Bailey, Anthony and myself to take our long awaited trip to the fair...
After taking an afternoon siesta, we went back to the fair that evening sans Ross, adding my parents. We went to the early hypnotist show (which was pretty good, I have to admit, if not a bit tame because of the audience), and after wards hit up the food stands before touring the art exhibits.
Mixed berry funnel cake. Well worth the 30 minute wait.
This is the grand champion cake. That's right, this is an actual cake. You can smell the fondant.
Bailey reeeally wanted to talk to Pop Pop Mike about something and decided to climb over the table.
This is a mostly eaten Tigers Ear.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The Inevitable Truth
It is quite incredible how time can get away from you. I am amazed at how the days will drag, but the weeks and months fly by. At this point in time, Anthony and I are giddy with excitement that the Idaho State Fair opens next weekend, and that means one thing. Food, food and more food. I am in fact so excited that I had a full blown fantasy about tearing into a behemoth roasted turkey leg one of the fair booths provides to the hungry fair-goers. Rest assured, once we enter the fair grounds and lay our hands on one of these mouth watering creations, another post and picture will come along.
Truth be told, I have been dreading this post, and have been finding any possible excuse to postpone the inevitable. This year has been a bit rough for Anthony and I, and no one wants to be a downer, but I've had many requests for an update, so here goes.
In December, the timing belt on my car went bad while it was sitting in the driveway and managed to cause all sorts of damage. In fact, the damage caused was so bad that we've been rebuilding the engine since Christmas time, and are still working on it. Anthony is amazing and knows how to work on VW's, so he's been the one doing all the work, while I've been paying for the parts and anxiously awaiting the return of my car. My parents have been incredibly generous and have let me drive one of their cars this entire time so that we didn't have to pay for a rental. Anthony's got the engine completely rebuilt, but the engine has been making a mirade of noises ever since, and it's working out those little kinks that's been taking so long. Hopefully we've figured out what's been causing the latest ticking, and once that's fixed I'll have my Jetta back. Keep your fingers crossed!
One of the other things that happened to me personally is that I've had to job-hop since November of last year, and it's been extremely difficult for me. I was working for a property management company at the beginning of the year and I adored everything about the job. My co-workers, my bosses, the hours, the work, the office...everything. At the end of January, the owners announced that they were selling the business and would be closing their doors at the end of the month. It gave my co-worker and I approximately two weeks to find new jobs. This was difficult for me because I was going to be out of town at the beginning of February, and who is going to hire someone who has to take time off immediately? It pained me to say good-bye to the job, and I still wonder what might have happened had they stayed in business.
I decided to wait to find a job until we'd come back from Florida, partly because I had a tentative job offer. It came as no surprise to me when the job offer fell through, and I began hunting for a job. It took me just over a month to find a job at a company called Qwest Communications. I was working at an in-bound call center as a Customer Service and Sales Associate, which is something I'd never done before. The job paid extremely well, came with benefits and we had weekends off, so I figured I could tough it out until August, when we would be moving. We were required to take 10 weeks of training, at the end of which we were evaluated and either cut loose or offered a job on the floor.
Training was incredibly boring at first. Much like being back in Junior High where the teacher lectures for hours on end and then you're given busy work and homework. Except I was getting paid, of course. It took a few weeks for the group to get comfortable with each other, but once we all opened up it was a blast! Our class got along ridiculously well and I looked forward to work each and every day, and was a bit sad to leave every night. As much as I loved my co-workers and the office however, I could not handle being on the phones all day.
At first, I had no problem. Talking to people has always come naturally to me, so striking up conversations with people who called in was a real treat for me. I would come home with crazy stories for Anthony every night, and I spent a vast majority of my day laughing. One lady I talked to was the first operator in the U.S.! She had incredible story on top of incredible story. (One of them involved Arsinio Hall) Another gentleman entertained me for two hours with Irish folk stories and recommendations on books to read. My trouble started two weeks after I started on the phones, I won't go into details, but suddenly I was having a serious internal struggle with working for the company. My breaking point came when a lady called with a major problem that hadn't been handled properly, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help her. Being yelled at for an hour straight first thing in the morning isn't the best or easiest way to start your day. After that, it was all downhill, and I began desperately looking for another job.
Thankfully I did find another job and was able to quit Qwest. I'm now working as a data entry specialist for a records company. The work is dull beyond belief and requires no active brain function, but at least it's a job. Technically this is a temporary position, so I've been searching for a job for months with no luck. I'm praying something will pop up in the very near future.
On top of all my job problems, Anthony's been having troubles too. His company hasn't had any work until about three weeks ago, and there has been talk of closing the business. In the meantime, Anthony's been claiming unemployment, but because it's taken so long for the company to start working again, his unemployment for the year has run out. Now we're panicing about what will happen this winter when the company doesn't have work yet again, and Anthony doesn't have unemployment and I'm working a job that couldn't support someone living with their parents and not paying rent. The scooter shop Anthony was working at as a second job closed down a few months ago, so his alternative source of income has run dry. Our hearts go out to our friends who owned the shop, but our concerns are beginning to mount.
And finally, to the news I'm most ashamed to tell. Anthony and I were supposed to be moving to Massachusetts right about now so that I could attend the Hallmark Institute of Photography. All year I've been talking with the financial advisor and filling out mountains of paperwork in an attempt to get as much financial aid as I could for school. When it came time to get the loans I needed, I found out I would need a co-signer other than Anthony in order to get the loans. We talked to my parents for a long time about the school and the loans and asked if they could co-sign. After checking on a few things, my folks weren't able to co-sign on a loan of any amount because of the business. I was (and am) absolutely devestated. I've been looking forward to this adventure for 10 months or more, and suddenly we're staying exactly where we've been for the last two years. It's taken me a long time to get through the mourning process, but I haven't given up hope. My goal is to attend the 2011-2012 school year, and until then I'm trying to get a job or an internship with a local photographer. There is a girl who just graduated from Hallmark, who is an incredible person and has been helping me from afar with my photography and giving me priceless advice. Check her out at www.sararenee.com. She is truly amazing!
I apologize for being such a downer, but like I said, I've had requests for an update, so it had to be done. I promise that the next post will be an upbeat one with lots of pictures!
Truth be told, I have been dreading this post, and have been finding any possible excuse to postpone the inevitable. This year has been a bit rough for Anthony and I, and no one wants to be a downer, but I've had many requests for an update, so here goes.
In December, the timing belt on my car went bad while it was sitting in the driveway and managed to cause all sorts of damage. In fact, the damage caused was so bad that we've been rebuilding the engine since Christmas time, and are still working on it. Anthony is amazing and knows how to work on VW's, so he's been the one doing all the work, while I've been paying for the parts and anxiously awaiting the return of my car. My parents have been incredibly generous and have let me drive one of their cars this entire time so that we didn't have to pay for a rental. Anthony's got the engine completely rebuilt, but the engine has been making a mirade of noises ever since, and it's working out those little kinks that's been taking so long. Hopefully we've figured out what's been causing the latest ticking, and once that's fixed I'll have my Jetta back. Keep your fingers crossed!
One of the other things that happened to me personally is that I've had to job-hop since November of last year, and it's been extremely difficult for me. I was working for a property management company at the beginning of the year and I adored everything about the job. My co-workers, my bosses, the hours, the work, the office...everything. At the end of January, the owners announced that they were selling the business and would be closing their doors at the end of the month. It gave my co-worker and I approximately two weeks to find new jobs. This was difficult for me because I was going to be out of town at the beginning of February, and who is going to hire someone who has to take time off immediately? It pained me to say good-bye to the job, and I still wonder what might have happened had they stayed in business.
I decided to wait to find a job until we'd come back from Florida, partly because I had a tentative job offer. It came as no surprise to me when the job offer fell through, and I began hunting for a job. It took me just over a month to find a job at a company called Qwest Communications. I was working at an in-bound call center as a Customer Service and Sales Associate, which is something I'd never done before. The job paid extremely well, came with benefits and we had weekends off, so I figured I could tough it out until August, when we would be moving. We were required to take 10 weeks of training, at the end of which we were evaluated and either cut loose or offered a job on the floor.
Training was incredibly boring at first. Much like being back in Junior High where the teacher lectures for hours on end and then you're given busy work and homework. Except I was getting paid, of course. It took a few weeks for the group to get comfortable with each other, but once we all opened up it was a blast! Our class got along ridiculously well and I looked forward to work each and every day, and was a bit sad to leave every night. As much as I loved my co-workers and the office however, I could not handle being on the phones all day.
At first, I had no problem. Talking to people has always come naturally to me, so striking up conversations with people who called in was a real treat for me. I would come home with crazy stories for Anthony every night, and I spent a vast majority of my day laughing. One lady I talked to was the first operator in the U.S.! She had incredible story on top of incredible story. (One of them involved Arsinio Hall) Another gentleman entertained me for two hours with Irish folk stories and recommendations on books to read. My trouble started two weeks after I started on the phones, I won't go into details, but suddenly I was having a serious internal struggle with working for the company. My breaking point came when a lady called with a major problem that hadn't been handled properly, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help her. Being yelled at for an hour straight first thing in the morning isn't the best or easiest way to start your day. After that, it was all downhill, and I began desperately looking for another job.
Thankfully I did find another job and was able to quit Qwest. I'm now working as a data entry specialist for a records company. The work is dull beyond belief and requires no active brain function, but at least it's a job. Technically this is a temporary position, so I've been searching for a job for months with no luck. I'm praying something will pop up in the very near future.
On top of all my job problems, Anthony's been having troubles too. His company hasn't had any work until about three weeks ago, and there has been talk of closing the business. In the meantime, Anthony's been claiming unemployment, but because it's taken so long for the company to start working again, his unemployment for the year has run out. Now we're panicing about what will happen this winter when the company doesn't have work yet again, and Anthony doesn't have unemployment and I'm working a job that couldn't support someone living with their parents and not paying rent. The scooter shop Anthony was working at as a second job closed down a few months ago, so his alternative source of income has run dry. Our hearts go out to our friends who owned the shop, but our concerns are beginning to mount.
And finally, to the news I'm most ashamed to tell. Anthony and I were supposed to be moving to Massachusetts right about now so that I could attend the Hallmark Institute of Photography. All year I've been talking with the financial advisor and filling out mountains of paperwork in an attempt to get as much financial aid as I could for school. When it came time to get the loans I needed, I found out I would need a co-signer other than Anthony in order to get the loans. We talked to my parents for a long time about the school and the loans and asked if they could co-sign. After checking on a few things, my folks weren't able to co-sign on a loan of any amount because of the business. I was (and am) absolutely devestated. I've been looking forward to this adventure for 10 months or more, and suddenly we're staying exactly where we've been for the last two years. It's taken me a long time to get through the mourning process, but I haven't given up hope. My goal is to attend the 2011-2012 school year, and until then I'm trying to get a job or an internship with a local photographer. There is a girl who just graduated from Hallmark, who is an incredible person and has been helping me from afar with my photography and giving me priceless advice. Check her out at www.sararenee.com. She is truly amazing!
I apologize for being such a downer, but like I said, I've had requests for an update, so it had to be done. I promise that the next post will be an upbeat one with lots of pictures!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
4th of July
We had such a busy 4th this year! Most years we take it easy in the morning and most of the afternoon, and then wander down towards the river as it gets dark to watch the fireworks. This year, we were up before the sun was.
At 4:45 we were up and getting ready for a big morning, which turned out to be a big day. At 5:45 we left the house packing a couple cameras and a video camera, and walked to Tauphaus Park, which is about 6 or so blocks away. This little outing is something that I'm fairly used to, but Anthony was not enjoying the fact that we were up so early on his day off. At the edge of the park, there was a marathon getting ready to start, and further into the park was our destination. I was a genius and had decided to wear a new pair of sandals, even though I knew what we would be getting into. Once we hit the dew-riddled grass, I rolled up my pants and off came the sandals. Five steps in my feet were no longer attached to my body and I was seriously rethinking my decision. I got alot of grief for going barefoot through the park at 6 a.m., that's for sure. On the plus side, I figured out that if I stood still long enough, my feet quit hurting and warmed up enough for me to stop thinking about them. Surprisingly, there was a group of people already crowing around the van and trailer that I was headed for. You see, every year my dad's office launches a hot air balloon from Tauphaus the morning of the fourth. Last year they had problems finding people who wanted to take a ride. This year they had so many people they launched the balloon 3 times, giving 3 or four rides each launch. This morning, Anthony and I were to experience the extraordinary treat of a ride in the balloon. It took about 30 minutes or so to get the balloon completely inflated, and for the first riders to get in the basket and take off. For anyone who's never seen a balloon launch, it is one of the coolest things! You would never think that such a giant balloon would fit into a tiny bag, let alone carry you!
For the first launch, we were part of the balloon chasers. There wasn't much of a breeze that morning, so it took a little while for the balloon to go anywhere. Darren, the driver, finally set the balloon down in a cul-de-sac of houses.
One of the home owners came ambling out of her house to watch the commotion, but rather than looking amused or awe-struck, she just looked pissed. Which none of us could figure out. From this point, Anthony and I ran to get in the basket, threw ourselves in, and off we went! The feeling that washes over you up in the air is incredibly peaceful. All the noises of the city disappear (with the exception of a few barking dogs who thought we were the end of the world) and you experience a view of the world that is completely unique. When you're on a plane, yes you get to overlook the city (for the most part), but there's all that background noise of the plane and people coughing, babies crying...in the balloon, there was an undisturbed 360 degree view and it was so quiet we didn't want to speak. Because there still wasn't much of a breeze, Anthony and I got the longest ride. We were floating south of the city, which is all farm land, and just happened to be an area the chasers couldn't get to us, so we had to stay up in the air. After about 10 minutes or so, we caught a slight southernly wind, and the first place we could see to land was behind the Corona plant (yes, Corona as in beer). We watched from 100 feet up as the chasers pulled into the drive and were abruptley stopped. Our radio crackled and we heard, "Hey Darren, there's a security guard here." Silence. "Yeah. He says we can't go back there." Darren replied, "Tell him you have to get the balloon." Silence. "He says nobody goes back there. I don't see a gun though, so I think we could over power him."
We decided not to get the guard fired, and we wound up landing in somebody's front yard and switching riders/chasers. It was about 9 a.m. by the time we got home, and seeing as we'd had such an eventful morning, we treated ourselves to breakfast at Smitty's (a local diner known for it's coffee and breakfasts), followed by a stroll through the farmers market where we stumbled upon some mouthwatering raspberries and strawberries. Naturally, they came home with us.
On the way home, our friends called to see if we'd like to check out the parade with them. We figured, we live just down the street, why not? So once home it was off to the parade. We haven't been in a few years, but not much has changed since our childhood. We were most amused by the...ahem..."dueling" club, decked out in their finest Renaissance gear and toting plastic swords around. One guy even had a bow and arrow, which he continually shot the dueling fiends with.
By the time the parade ended, Anthony and I were a bit worn out, but Anthony's brother Brady had just come back from a month in California, and they wanted to spend some time together. So Brady, Brady's girlfriend, Ross and Kevin appeared at our house not long after we'd come home and we meandered over to the neighborhood park to play a bit of ultimate frisbee. Unfortunately for us, the 4th was the first truly warm day of the year, and it wasn't long before we were all dripping sweat and desperate for a cool down.
Off to the sand dunes we went, piled on scooters, in order to play in the canal that runs along one of the borders. Anthony had set up a tree swing a few days earlier, and was dead set on getting his brother to jump out of the tree and into the canal. The thing about the sand dunes...there are horse flies. Everywhere. Some years are worse than others, but Brady and I started getting eaten alive the instant we got to the dunes. Needless to say, the two hours spent at the canal were less than thrilling for me. The last of my bites is just now disappearing. Sad, huh?
I was I could say that Anthony and I just kept on trucking and made it down to the falls to watch Idaho Falls' spectacular fireworks show. Alas, the day in the sun had taken it's toll. I rented my scooter out to Jared for the evening, and was in bed at 9:15. Anthony wasn't far behind.
Despite conking out early, it was the most enjoyable 4th we've had in many years. We did something we've never done, spent the entire day with friends and family, and had actual activities to participate in.
For anyone who's interested, here's the video from the balloon ride/launch that morning.
At 4:45 we were up and getting ready for a big morning, which turned out to be a big day. At 5:45 we left the house packing a couple cameras and a video camera, and walked to Tauphaus Park, which is about 6 or so blocks away. This little outing is something that I'm fairly used to, but Anthony was not enjoying the fact that we were up so early on his day off. At the edge of the park, there was a marathon getting ready to start, and further into the park was our destination. I was a genius and had decided to wear a new pair of sandals, even though I knew what we would be getting into. Once we hit the dew-riddled grass, I rolled up my pants and off came the sandals. Five steps in my feet were no longer attached to my body and I was seriously rethinking my decision. I got alot of grief for going barefoot through the park at 6 a.m., that's for sure. On the plus side, I figured out that if I stood still long enough, my feet quit hurting and warmed up enough for me to stop thinking about them. Surprisingly, there was a group of people already crowing around the van and trailer that I was headed for. You see, every year my dad's office launches a hot air balloon from Tauphaus the morning of the fourth. Last year they had problems finding people who wanted to take a ride. This year they had so many people they launched the balloon 3 times, giving 3 or four rides each launch. This morning, Anthony and I were to experience the extraordinary treat of a ride in the balloon. It took about 30 minutes or so to get the balloon completely inflated, and for the first riders to get in the basket and take off. For anyone who's never seen a balloon launch, it is one of the coolest things! You would never think that such a giant balloon would fit into a tiny bag, let alone carry you!
For the first launch, we were part of the balloon chasers. There wasn't much of a breeze that morning, so it took a little while for the balloon to go anywhere. Darren, the driver, finally set the balloon down in a cul-de-sac of houses.
One of the home owners came ambling out of her house to watch the commotion, but rather than looking amused or awe-struck, she just looked pissed. Which none of us could figure out. From this point, Anthony and I ran to get in the basket, threw ourselves in, and off we went! The feeling that washes over you up in the air is incredibly peaceful. All the noises of the city disappear (with the exception of a few barking dogs who thought we were the end of the world) and you experience a view of the world that is completely unique. When you're on a plane, yes you get to overlook the city (for the most part), but there's all that background noise of the plane and people coughing, babies crying...in the balloon, there was an undisturbed 360 degree view and it was so quiet we didn't want to speak. Because there still wasn't much of a breeze, Anthony and I got the longest ride. We were floating south of the city, which is all farm land, and just happened to be an area the chasers couldn't get to us, so we had to stay up in the air. After about 10 minutes or so, we caught a slight southernly wind, and the first place we could see to land was behind the Corona plant (yes, Corona as in beer). We watched from 100 feet up as the chasers pulled into the drive and were abruptley stopped. Our radio crackled and we heard, "Hey Darren, there's a security guard here." Silence. "Yeah. He says we can't go back there." Darren replied, "Tell him you have to get the balloon." Silence. "He says nobody goes back there. I don't see a gun though, so I think we could over power him."
We decided not to get the guard fired, and we wound up landing in somebody's front yard and switching riders/chasers. It was about 9 a.m. by the time we got home, and seeing as we'd had such an eventful morning, we treated ourselves to breakfast at Smitty's (a local diner known for it's coffee and breakfasts), followed by a stroll through the farmers market where we stumbled upon some mouthwatering raspberries and strawberries. Naturally, they came home with us.
On the way home, our friends called to see if we'd like to check out the parade with them. We figured, we live just down the street, why not? So once home it was off to the parade. We haven't been in a few years, but not much has changed since our childhood. We were most amused by the...ahem..."dueling" club, decked out in their finest Renaissance gear and toting plastic swords around. One guy even had a bow and arrow, which he continually shot the dueling fiends with.
By the time the parade ended, Anthony and I were a bit worn out, but Anthony's brother Brady had just come back from a month in California, and they wanted to spend some time together. So Brady, Brady's girlfriend, Ross and Kevin appeared at our house not long after we'd come home and we meandered over to the neighborhood park to play a bit of ultimate frisbee. Unfortunately for us, the 4th was the first truly warm day of the year, and it wasn't long before we were all dripping sweat and desperate for a cool down.
Off to the sand dunes we went, piled on scooters, in order to play in the canal that runs along one of the borders. Anthony had set up a tree swing a few days earlier, and was dead set on getting his brother to jump out of the tree and into the canal. The thing about the sand dunes...there are horse flies. Everywhere. Some years are worse than others, but Brady and I started getting eaten alive the instant we got to the dunes. Needless to say, the two hours spent at the canal were less than thrilling for me. The last of my bites is just now disappearing. Sad, huh?
I was I could say that Anthony and I just kept on trucking and made it down to the falls to watch Idaho Falls' spectacular fireworks show. Alas, the day in the sun had taken it's toll. I rented my scooter out to Jared for the evening, and was in bed at 9:15. Anthony wasn't far behind.
Despite conking out early, it was the most enjoyable 4th we've had in many years. We did something we've never done, spent the entire day with friends and family, and had actual activities to participate in.
For anyone who's interested, here's the video from the balloon ride/launch that morning.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Disney World Adventures
Last year Mom turned to Anthony and me and said, "Would you guys rather go to Costa Rica, or Disney World?" so last February, it was off to Costa Rica for 10 days of adventure in the "wild". Mom's compromise was to hit up Disney World THIS February.
So on February 3rd, we arrived in Orlando to explore the "wilds" of Disney mania.
Our airport experience was definitely interesting. Our instructions were to go to the B-side of the terminal and find the Disney transport center. Once we figured out the terminal in question wasn't the area we were currently in (which wasn't what our Disney map told us), it was onto the train and into the main terminal. We were good little sheep and followed the crowds (baahing the whole way) all the way down to the parking garage. Hm. No Disney inside, no buses outside. Back into the airport, up a floor and back outside. Buses! Hooray! Standing in line for one of the many MANY Disney buses lined up, the driver tells us we have to go back inside to check in with Disney. Back inside we trudge. All six of us. Dragging our luggage. And feet. Finally, the Disney resort check-in is discovered! (Is that a Mickey glove on that guy's hand? He must use it to lure all the innocent children over..) We follow the perceived "lines" towards the awaiting buses..only to hit a dead end before we reach the magical doors leading outside. The *ahem* "friendly" Disney workers shove us back behind the ropes, order us to wait, and refuse to answer any questions we may have. We finally make it onto the bus, and it's onto the "Magical World of Disney".
Now, for those of you who have never had the pleasure of navigating through a Disney park, let me clarify. Wilds is NOT an understatement. People are EVERYWHERE. Children running away from their parents, parents screaming at their children to "get back here or we're not going to see Mickey!" while dragging a stroller and their other child behind them to fetch the run-away, people posing in the middle of the street (or sidewalk) for a nice Kodak moment, and tourists. Lots and lots of tourists. You can usually spot them from a mile away. Their the ones who are roaming around the park decked out in Disney from head to toe. We even saw one guy (had to have been at least 50) walking around in a LEATHER Disney jacket.
Despite all the mayhem, we had a really good time. We stayed at the Disney Polynesian Resort, and had easy access to all the Kingdoms while we were there. Not to mention food. Lots and lots of food! Checking into the hotel was torture. Dinner was served right above our heads, and the luscious smell of cooked pork wafted into our nostrils.
We headed right into the Magic Kingdom once we were settled (after stuffing ourselves with pork of course!).
And now for the pictures!
We tried soda from countries around the world. China and Mozembique were the best.
Mom and Dad starring in their own video game.
Eating dinner in Japan just before Cirque du Soleil.
The boys spent an afternoon driving race cars.
Our last day there we headed to Blizzard Beach.
We saw Giraffes while on safari in the Animal Kingdom.
The incredible wall of swords.
Had fun playing with Segways in Epcot.
Froze while waiting for the Tower of Terror (which Mom went on).
Just doing my thing.
Wandering through the streets of New York. Or was that San Francisco?
So on February 3rd, we arrived in Orlando to explore the "wilds" of Disney mania.
Our airport experience was definitely interesting. Our instructions were to go to the B-side of the terminal and find the Disney transport center. Once we figured out the terminal in question wasn't the area we were currently in (which wasn't what our Disney map told us), it was onto the train and into the main terminal. We were good little sheep and followed the crowds (baahing the whole way) all the way down to the parking garage. Hm. No Disney inside, no buses outside. Back into the airport, up a floor and back outside. Buses! Hooray! Standing in line for one of the many MANY Disney buses lined up, the driver tells us we have to go back inside to check in with Disney. Back inside we trudge. All six of us. Dragging our luggage. And feet. Finally, the Disney resort check-in is discovered! (Is that a Mickey glove on that guy's hand? He must use it to lure all the innocent children over..) We follow the perceived "lines" towards the awaiting buses..only to hit a dead end before we reach the magical doors leading outside. The *ahem* "friendly" Disney workers shove us back behind the ropes, order us to wait, and refuse to answer any questions we may have. We finally make it onto the bus, and it's onto the "Magical World of Disney".
Now, for those of you who have never had the pleasure of navigating through a Disney park, let me clarify. Wilds is NOT an understatement. People are EVERYWHERE. Children running away from their parents, parents screaming at their children to "get back here or we're not going to see Mickey!" while dragging a stroller and their other child behind them to fetch the run-away, people posing in the middle of the street (or sidewalk) for a nice Kodak moment, and tourists. Lots and lots of tourists. You can usually spot them from a mile away. Their the ones who are roaming around the park decked out in Disney from head to toe. We even saw one guy (had to have been at least 50) walking around in a LEATHER Disney jacket.
Despite all the mayhem, we had a really good time. We stayed at the Disney Polynesian Resort, and had easy access to all the Kingdoms while we were there. Not to mention food. Lots and lots of food! Checking into the hotel was torture. Dinner was served right above our heads, and the luscious smell of cooked pork wafted into our nostrils.
We headed right into the Magic Kingdom once we were settled (after stuffing ourselves with pork of course!).
And now for the pictures!
Our arrival at the Magic Kingdom
Mom actually went on all the rides this year!
We tried soda from countries around the world. China and Mozembique were the best.
Mom and Dad starring in their own video game.
Eating dinner in Japan just before Cirque du Soleil.
The boys spent an afternoon driving race cars.
Our last day there we headed to Blizzard Beach.
We saw Giraffes while on safari in the Animal Kingdom.
The incredible wall of swords.
Had fun playing with Segways in Epcot.
Froze while waiting for the Tower of Terror (which Mom went on).
Look at the size of those Koi fish!
Me and the old man in Italy.
Mom and Dad in Epcot.
Brady's pretty good at amusing himself.
Just doing my thing.
Waiting in line for the much dreaded Expedition Everest.
Checking out the Zebras before dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Wandering through the streets of New York. Or was that San Francisco?
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