Our Christmas Tree Hunt

To get in the Christmas spirit, Steve & I decided to go in the mountains above Idaho City Sunday, to hunt for OUR FIRST Christmas tree.



Steve spots the Christmas Tree, pulls his gun out and SHOOTS...



After reminding him that hunting a Christmas tree doesn't involve using guns, he runs to capture our "uniquely, perfect, bizarre, BONZAI" Christmas tree.




I begin the cutting down of our tree... although after a few tiring seconds, my tough mountain man finishes...



And single handedly DRAGS the tree down the mountain. This was the funniest thing to witness... Steve RUNNING down the steep mountain with this horribly shaped Christmas tree behind him. I was dying of laughter!



But he successfully made it down to the road! Triumphantly!



I'm not sure how we got this beast shoved into the truck, but we should have realized then that it was going to be WAY TOO big for the house.



OUR TREE! After cutting 2 feet off the truck and a struggle getting the tree upright, here it is!
Just like we pictured... UNIQUE!



We spent another hour or MORE shaping this tree into our o-so-perfect Bonzai Christmas Tree. Why go with the traditional shape?



Proud and exhausted Steve. Lights are on, it's looking better!



So here it is... The Steve & Shay Family Bonzai Christmas Tree!!
Although i have to say the more we decorated it, the uglier it got. Maybe this one looked best in the mountains. But the experience was memorable!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Home Sweet Home

Here's a preview of how much fun i had in Bancroft over the holidays!



Us "kids" out playing kickball, dodge ball, jumping on the trampoline, and running around enjoying the beautiful Thanksgiving Day weather!



Sweet little Ivy... Just adorable!



Just falling out of the sky, not a big deal...



Steve, kick punching the clouds... As he falls out of the sky!



Me, happy between my future husband and Pa! During our mountain adventure.



Steve & I tearing up the mountains... Braappp, Brrrraaap!



Mom & I making our family famous noodles for Thanksgiving dinner... I was a natural, it's the Swiss in me!

It was great to see everyone... I'm so happy Steve & I could come home for the holidays!

No School & Holiday Joy

The semester is almost over!
The holidays are just around the corner!
I couldn't be happier!!



Me & my girls enjoying our happiness...



Steve & I get to go to Bancroft for Thanksgiving...
No worky-work Tuesday-Thursday!
We're so excited to see everyone, and cant wait to meet little Ivy and Parker!

Happy Thanksgiving, and CHEERS to a week off of school!

My Boise State Update

Since i decided to be in the oh-so-cool health promotion major, i have to take a class in order to graduate that is solely in charge of planning a health fair. After months of planning, Today we completed the 12th annual REACH Health Fair at Boise State, with about 60 vendors and over 1000 participants. It's kinda a big deal, and it's defiantly a lot of work! But it turned out to be a huge success!! I'm lucky all of my classmates are oh-so-cool themselves, which made it fun!



No pictures of the health fair (too busy working), but I'm posting some from last weekends football game against Utah State. My last football game I'll attend as a student, kinda sad, but it also means I'm close to GRADUATING!!! (not excited about that, now am i?!)



Shan & I keeping warm!



We had great seats! :)

Happy Halloween!

Halloween has always been one of my favorites... when else can you dress up as something totally random?!!

Like Paul Bunyan & Babe, the Blue Ox!

Or Zach & Kelly from Saved by the Bell... Shan & Trev!

Or the wide variety of beautiful women!

What a fun night!

Happy Oktoberfest! Happy Wedding Dress!!

Not much to report these days... the weather's getting cooler, it's getting too dark too early, and school's still consuming my time.

Good news though, I found a Wedding Dress!!!!

It was a totally spontaneous shopping trip that Shanah convinced me to go on. We picked out 8 dresses and #4 was the winner!! I never knew it would be that easy to find a dress. I'm so glad that THAT part of the wedding equation in complete, and i LOVE my dress!! I'd post a picture but i cant find one... you'll have to wait to see me in it on my wedding day!

Here are a few pictures from a little Oktoberfest party Karen, Steve, & I threw this past weekend... it was a fun night. It's always fun getting together with friends!

A book to motivate... or stress me out!

Lina sent me this book, a fun little read about a bride-to-be planning her wedding. I think Lina's worried I'm not serious about getting started on my wedding plans... which I'm not! The book's been really fun and eye opening, but it's also making me realize how much i have to get done, already!

I'M GETTING MARRIED!! It still feels surreal, but I'm also starting to get excited about planning for the big day! I'm stressing Steve out... reading the checklist and telling him to commit to honeymoon plans that change everyday. I think that's what I'm really excited for, the honeymoon!

We're thinking we have a date picked out... June 20th. Still tentative though!

That's an update for ya, here's to a nice rainy weekend... filled with homework, and a mountain bike ride if weather permits!

I'm ENGAGED!!!

Yep you heard it..... I'M ENGAGED!

A weekend in McCall & a wedding

Steve's good friends from U of I got married Saturday in McCall. They had a beautiful ceremony overlooking the Payette lake. It was a very casual wedding, with the bride and groom both jumping in the lake afterwards. It was a lot of dancing, and lots of fun getting to meet and spend time with his old college buddies.

Before the wedding we went on a really pretty mountain bike ride up to Goose Creek Falls. There were tons of these little bridges we got to cross that went over streams and small creeks... it was fun! It was so much fun that those were the only pictures we really took all weekend, except this picture of Steve's and I's excitement before the wedding. Haha!

Alley Cat Race

I just realized i haven't blogged since school started, partially cause all I've been doing is school... but this weekend i finally did something to blog about.



So meet Dara, my beautiful friend. Through her, i have met some other friends, namely Seth & Ray, who put on this Alley Cat race Saturday night. Wikipedia it if your clueless like i was prior to the race.



So Steve & Dara & I met up at Katherine Albertson Park to register our bikes and obtain a sheet telling us our locations to ride. The locations were all over town... the train depo out to lucky 13 to downtown and around campus. The trick to doing well was organizing your stops so that you didnt have to back track to a location. Its a lot like an adult scavanger hunt. It ended up being a long treck around Boise, overall i think the milage ended up being about 20 miles.



Steve, Eric, Dara, and I stuck together and through the near crashes, flat tires, free throw misses, and near collisions with cars, somehow we survived and finished in at least the top half.
Granted there were some 80 people that road and some serious ones at that. I'm no pro, but had a blast! When else is it okay to wrecklessly tear around Boise on your bike. And they say this stuff should be "illegal". Ha!

Bend Oregon...Beautiful!

I think i may have discovered a town worth living in... Bend Oregon. Steve and I went there this past weekend with our bikes and climbing gear to meet up with Landon and Lina. We spent Friday touring the town on our bikes, stopping by shops, and hanging out at camp.




We woke up Saturday to embark on an epic mountain bike ride... 24 miles around Mt Bachelor, it was beautiful with forested terrain. Around mile 14 we road along Lava Lake and took a break to jump in and swim...it ended up being a very long day, but also very rewarding! I have some bruises and small cuts from a little wreck to prove my enjoyment.




Despite still be exhausted from our long ride, Sunday we headed to Smith Rock, one of the most popular places for sport climbers. We geared up and climbed a few routes... good thing Steve has many years of experience to lead a route. Smith Rock is such an amazing place, and the views from atop a climb are even more spectacular!




Last and not least, on our way back to Boise late last night... rushing to get home for me to start school today... we had to stop at Trader Joe's!! I LOVE that place... another reason to maybe move to Bend! It was a great trip to end my even greater summer... now it's time to hit the books! Again...

A Little Visit....Lots of Fun!

Landon & Lina came through Boise on their tour of the beautiful northwest!




We played several hours of heated doubles ping pong, after the battles and dramatic points we all walked away as friends. It got pretty intense!



We went out to the local reservoir, Lucky Peak, and swam around, laid out on the dock, and practiced kayak rolls... only to use them the next day on the South Fork of the Payette, a stretch called swirly canyon. Lina and I paddled an IK while Landon & Steve mobbed down in hard shells. It was a perfect day!

Steve and I are meeting back up on their tour in Bend Oregon next weekend to do some mountain biking, if foot permits, and rock climbing at Smith Rock. See ya soon you two!

Home Improvements

Being unable to be active forces you to find other projects and hobbies... so this weekend i was the slave driver and Steve and I gave his kitchen and dining area a face lift.

It all started with him installing a new garbage disposal... and then it ended with us painting his kitchen bright ORANGE! The cool thing about his house is that it has funky angles and kind of a retro, modern, 70's feel... so we decided to embrace it and add to it. He has these baby blue counter tops and we thought orange would complement... after a few days deciding if it was too bold, we decided to just go with it. It bright and kinda funky, but fun!

Another HUGE project i started was curtain making... never have i sewn a curtain, and it was much harder than i thought! Steve's mom loaned me her sewing machine and i bought this outdoor canvas fabric paired with burlap for the top section. I really like how they turned out, for my first try! Then i refinished the kitchen chairs a solid black color, before they were a red country pattern that didn't really go with the new style of kitchen... it was fun using the staple gun, and a fairly easy project to do.

So that was my weekend, painting and sewing! I know the pictures wont do it justice, but here's a glance!

How I Hurt My Foot... And Destroyed My River Career!

Ok, so the title is dramatic... but i thought it'd be fun to post the pictures from the Sawtooth Music Festival.... and of Brian, who is wearing the girl glasses in the picture surrounded by all the girls (he's one of Steve's good friends from RedFish) who was the one dancing with me when i broke the foot. Although now that it's been a few weeks of healing, I'm not so sure it's broken, maybe a bad sprain? The Doc never really told me for sure... annoying!

In the first picture it's pre-foot accident , me and Steve happy... then its documentation of the damaged foot! Enjoy! Haha!