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!

My Summer So Far...

HERE'S TO MY FIRST OFFICIAL BLOG!!!

So i'm giving you a random selection of pictures from my summer... So far it's been awesome and full of adventure. When i havent been working as a guide on the river, i've been meeting Steve in Stanley to bike and visit RedFish. If we're not there we've been going to Amy's wedding where i got to see my Mom & Sister, and heading to Bancroft for a few days. Our latest adventure was the Sawtooths to dance at a music festival (which ended up being a bad thing... and result in a fractured foot). Just when i thought Steve's femur break was healing and we'd be able to have an active life together again, i go and hurt myself. Guess we didnt learn enough the first go-around! But hopefully i'll heal fast and head back to guide a couple more trips before school starts.... So here's to summer! I LOVE IT! It's nice being back in Boise too... Salmon ID can be a drag!