Malad- Where Idaho begins

A couple weekends ago we went with some friends and stayed in Malad to go four wheeling and just hang out and play. Malad is a place I don't frequent very often, not beceause I have anything against it, I just have to reason to go; now maybe I do. We had dinner Friday night at Me n' Lou's where I ate the best scone ever, and later that night we went for a little night ride and back to the house for some catch phrase. Of course it was girls against guys and the girls were on a hot streak winning 3-0 but the boys came back and tied so we had to go for a game seven. The girls were victorious and claimed the title of "Malad Catch Phrase Champs 2010".
The next morning after breakfast we got our game faces on again and took to the hills for some four wheeling. We were exposed to all four seasons (it's Idaho why wouldn't we) we had sun, snow, rain, and chilly breezes but it was well worth it.

We worked up an appetite and recharged with some PB&J sandwiches and then it was off to the shooting range, or the hills behind the house same thing. I will certainly be the first to tell you, I look completely unnatural shooting or holding a gun; I was much better at throwing the clay dics so I stuck to doing that most of the time.

We had a great time and it was so much fun to spend time with friends, play and relax in Malad where, as the sign on the freeway indicates; where Idaho begins.

It's pronounced "mill-e-wah-que" which is Algonquin for "the good land."

For Rafe's birthday we went to Phoenix to see the Brewers take on the Arizona Diamondbacks, we left at 6am Friday morning and arrived in the warm weather around 4:00 that afternoon. I was so happy to get out of the car and not have to put on a jacket or be in a constant downpour, since Salt Lake doesn't seem to know what it means to have any sort of spring or warm weather. We went to the first game Friday night and sat in the upper deck, Chase Field is really cool, and it was nice enough to have the roof open for the game. The Brewers won the game 3 to 2, it was a really exciting game and afterwards there were fireworks. Saturday was so nice and we were able to lay out by the pool and swim for a little while before heading to the game that evening. My uncle we nice enough to let us have his tickets for Saturday's game, we were in the front row past the first base line. Thanks Lee! I was actually thinking we would be one of few Brewers fan's at the games but there were actually a lot of people in Milwaukee apparel; there was a couple that sat behind us Saturday that flew from Wisconsin.

The Brewers won that night too I think it was 17 to 3,one of the Brewers players even hit for the cycle, (which means he hit a single, double, triple, and a home run in one game, I had no idea what that even was before) so I consider our trip a complete success. We made it back to Salt Lake Sunday night with little excitement, except for the small matter of car sickness that I got while driving through some winding roads. We had a great time and hated coming back to rain and cold days.

Here's to you

I recently purchased a new car (well new to me) back in October and I swore to this cute, helpless little car that I would keep it looking shiny and new. I would never let anyone eat inside the car and it would get washed and detailed to keep it neat and clean, plus weekly rinses in the winter to keep the salt off. This was my intent I promise, and for the first couple of months or so I did just that. I regularly vacuumed and washed my car inside and out, I would make sure trash was disposed of and any jackets, sweaters, etc. or other miscellaneous items were never left inside. Passengers were basically patted down to ensure nothing could spill from their pockets or food could be sneaked inside before they were even allowed to buckle their seat belt. Then little by little the washes became more infrequent, I and would justify this by saying to myself, meh it’s just going to rain later this week anyway. After that only certain people would have the privilege of having food inside the car only if accompanied by a napkin and the food item was held up near their mouth so no crumb could escape while eating. Over time I just became lax in my rules, and while before I would wait until I got to my destination before eating, I found myself sneaking in a fry or two from the drive thru until one day the bag was open in the seat next to me and I would have the McDonald value fry finished while greasy, salty finger tips gripped the steering wheel before I even pulled into the driveway. My discipline over keeping the beauty of my car intact was falling apart. Side note to those about to judge me, it’s not like there was old food in between the seats and console or the outside looked as if I had just come down from the mountains digging around in the mud, nonetheless it was dirty.

This brings me to my point; I would like to apologize to you, my car, the one who gets me from point A to B in such a speedy and reliable manner. You are the one who kept me warm during those long winter months with your seat warmers, Laura and I especially got use of you driving in more than one snowstorm either through Logan Canyon or white out conditions on our trek to Idaho. You are the one who can change my mood when I open the sun roof on bright days or when I push the gas peddle and you easily accelerate past that old man driving his Dodge pickup while pulling a horse trailer in the fast lane on the freeway when he should clearly be the other side. Thank you for being who you are and taking care of me and my needs. Thank you for keeping me going while my gas light has been on for at least the last 20 miles. I cannot promise I will keep you spic and span but I will promise to always rotate your tires and change your oil on a regular basis, your windshield washer fluid will never run dry and if any light ever goes out it will be promptly changed. I hope that we will have a long and lasting relationship. Thank you car, you have been a good friend to me.

Did this really just happen?

For a long time my sister Laura has been telling me that I should have a blog, I put off this suggestion because I thought what in the world would I even say. A friend of mine has a blog and each time I read it I think, wow she is such a good writer and her stories are always entertaining. I felt a lot of pressure to be funny, interesting and whitty; can I interest you in a sarcastic comment or a sassy comeback because thats right up my alley, but posting stories that people will actually want to read, thats something totally different. After much thought I decided to go for it, I mean whats the worst that could happen? So I guess this is actually happening, I am writing a blog. How well I will keep up on it I haven't the slightest, fingers crossed I guess because I have no clue what I'm doing.