Muckin About

I started work last week. Yay. Back to the Sawdust Festival. I sure do love having sawdust in every imaginable crevace. Oh, and I can't forget how great it feels to hack up a lung or sneeze every hour because I breathe in tiny wood particles for eight hours a day, five days a week. Love it.

The holiday weekend was fun! Saturday I went up to Meacham area with Randy. His best friend Steven's grandpa (Bob) has a cabin up there. We spent the day four wheelin' and shooting. It rained on us, but it was still a great time. I was able to see the mountain from places I never had. It was absolutely beautiful.

I also shot Steven's new Smithinweson 40 caliber handgun. It was such fun to shoot, such power! I have decided that I love shooting handguns and pistols the most. I kind of want a tiny .22 for my birthday, maybe I will buy one when I finally get paid!

Sunday was also a nice day. I taught the lesson in Relief Society on "Good, Better, and Best." The lesson went pretty well. That evening I went up mushroom hunting with my mom, Zoey, Riley, and Eli. We got rained on as is tradition. We found enough calfbrains and morels for a decent meal, but couldn't leave until lil' Zoey finally found a mushroom. Which she did, after about an hour, and it was a tiny little thing, but she sure was proud.

Today is my mom's 47th (yep I told the world Ma) birthday! I love her a bunch and appreciate all she does for her family. I love her little eccentricities, too. Like her love of HGTV (Home and Gardent channel), her love for Toby Keith, and the way she wishes every old and cool house was hers. You can find her thoughts on growing old and crippled at sandraleavitt.blogspot.com. Love ya Maj!

Once Upon a Saturday

I just wanted to quickly post about the weekend.

Saturday was a ton of fun. I woke up a bit early and ran some errands in the morning, including securing a mother's day gift for my mom. That afternoon the branch had an activity up in Haines at Brad Feik's parents' house. It was the same activity we had last May. Shooting skeet, riding horses, driving four wheelers and a dirt bike. It was so much fun! I had invited this guy I met a couple weeks ago, Randy, to come along. So he, Crystal Kevan (who is back for the summer), and Kara all rode in my car. We spoke in hick accents all the way to Brad's.

I shot Randy's 12 gage shot gun a few times, but that was enough for me. I love to shoot, just not the big guns that throw out your shoulder, plus I actually hit a clay pigeon about one in six times, so I feel bad wasting them. Then Kara drove Crystal and I around on the fourwheeler. It was so funny! We actually rode two seperate times, going over bumps and "catching air." People were watching because we were laughing and screaming so loud.

Randy also took me on an extended drive on the four wheeler, I guess he's quite the ATVer, so that was fun. I also rode a horse, for about 15 minutes, but I'm still feeling it!! After rounding up the afternoon with homemade cheesecake (Thanks Morg!) and a jump on the trampoline we headed back home.

Randy took me out to dinner at Golden Harvest. I hadn't been in years. We ordered for eachother, I ordered him curry and he orderd me this pineapple/cocount chicken. We shared and both were delicious. Afterwards we went back out to Union where we met up with Kara. She was on the phone so Randy and I took to assualting one another, with fists, feet, pillows and brooms. It was pretty intense.

We then proceeded to break some laws. We climbed up the Union water tower. Shhhh, don't tell people, especially my Grandma. It was exhilirating! It was good that Randy was there to hoist us up to the ladder and to catch us when we had to drop down from the ladder. Once on top we watched lightning over the hills above La Grande. It was super windy though, and chilly, so we didn't last long. We did attempt to carve our initials at the top with Randy's keys. It was a blast, but my shoulders are still recovering from the climb, it took more strength than I thought!

It's been a full couple of weeks since school ended. I start work sometime this week, probably Tuesday night. I am going to Pendleton/Hermiston to hang out with Randy and play some human foosball. Kara left today to go back to Provo for the summer. I am really going to miss that girl! She is so funny and has been such a great friend.

West Coast Trip

I know it's been a spell since my last post. Two reasons for this. The first being that the internet isn't as accessible to me as it was in Provo. My Grandma doesn't have the internet, and I don't get much time to just surf the net while at my mom's house. The second reason is that I've just been so busy. I can't really innumerate what I've been doing, but I've been busy.

My trip to the west side of Oregon was not quite what I hoped. It was a trip full of lows with a few highs mixed in. I got into Eugene Thursday night, had dinner at Olive Garden with Ryan, the next morning he had a midterm to take so I stayed at the house and got ready to take off to the coast. An officer came and knocked on the door to tell me my car had been broken into. Actually she told one of Ryan's roommates then left, so helpful, right? It's the back side window that got smashed in. Of all things that could of been stolen, the thief took my scriptures! It probably looked like a purse sitting on my back seat, sheesh! It was pretty frustrating. My insurance only pays for things after $500, so I have to find the cash to replace my stupid window. My scriptures were priceless. I mean, the actual book, leather bound and all was probably worth somewhere around 80 bucks. But, I've had those for ten years! They've carried me through all my adolescent angsts and growth. They'd become a friend and a comfort, and also like a second journal. Also in my tote were a hymn book my grandma had gotten me for a Christmas a few years ago, a cute little notebook my aunt Steph had just sent to me in Provo, cute drawings from Riley and Eli, my Patriarchal Blessing, and my temple reccommend. It's all so frustrating. I just hope they weren't dumped in a garbage and someone somewhere will benefit from them. The thought of them in a garbage is crushing.

To make things better Ryan was moody and quiet the whole time I was with him. It was like sitting in awkward silence for three days, or just talking to yourself. Terrible. I left him a little early, Saturday night, and went to Portland to stay with my good friend Teresa at Lewis and Clark College.

Sparing many details, these were the highs of my trip:

The beautiful bloom of spring! The whole area was green, with trees and flowers blooming.

Putting my feet in the ocean! I hadn't done that in years. Plus we ate at Mo's and got saltwater taffy.

Seeing Teresa! That girl makes me smile and laugh. I've known her since the seventh grade, so there is just that comfort you find in people who've known you forever.

Sparky's Pizza in Sandy! Delicious. Some of the best pizza I've ever had.

Hanging out with our friends Brenton and Alan before they left for their respective missions. Brenton left last week and will serve in New Mexico, Alan leaves here soon for Ohio.

Tillamook! We toured the cheese factory, ate lots of free samples, agonized over which ice cream to eat, bought some curds, and took pictures of happy cows.

Going to the Portland Temple! It is a peaceful place in a world of chaos and hecticity (I think I made that word up). You find peace, comfort, answers, and perspective.

The drive home! We left Portland around 1 am and got back into LG around 5:15am. We were so tired, but it was good to spend time together singing off key and playing terrible games to stay awake.