fugitive

So this Thanksgiving will be forever ingrained in my memory. Don't let this innocent face fool you-he escaped from a high security facility and while on the run committed 4 misdemeanors and a federal offense!! Namely: walking without a leash, jaywalking, trespassing, evading police officers and running all over government property! He was missing this blessed morning at 9:00 a.m. His temporary guard began searching the area immediately. Phone calls to neighbors, knocking doors, circling the neighborhood in car and on foot were all unsuccessful. But the last door knocked had a good lead. The homeowner (Scrogums) reported seeing the missing dog on Pancheri and Bellin Rd. The guard jumped in her squad car and went searching. The Scrogums were gracious enough to come and help her with the search. It was proving unsuccessful when the guard was contacted by another neighbor (Kellys)who reported seeing the fugitive near the soccer complex play ground. They had apparently tried to catch him, but he fled. Eventually he desperately crossed federal lines and ran out ONTO the Airport runway to escape. What he didn't realize however was that this runway was fenced in all directions, and in the meantime the guard had squad cars posted at each gate waiting for him to escape. Animal control was contacted but surprisingly closed for the holiday. The Idaho Falls Police Dept had been contacted and they immediately called the Airport security who came racing out to the runway while dodging an incoming jet!! They had seen the dog, but he ran away from them as well. He had actually escaped the runway fence and was seen headed toward Reinhart Park. This was close to 12:30 p.m. and authorities were trying to close in on him. Between a lot of phone calls, partial sightings, and running and chasing- the fugitive was finally cornered in someone's backyard and his guard was able to arrest him and take him back to his confinement. This was a VERY exciting morning! The actual details? Jen was watching her friends dog and he escaped out the back yard under the fence while on a potty break. I'm just glad we found him, and that we caught him!! I owe so many people favors!! Thanks to the Scrogums, the Kellys, the Campbells, John Seward!!, the Wasias and all my other neighbors for keeping an eye out!! God does answer prayers- this story proves that!

Bryce + Zions

We had the opportunity to go to Bryce Canyon and Zions Nat'l Park in June. Abe, my bro Caleb, and I headed down to southern Utah for a few days of camping and hiking around these wonders of nature. It was so amazing to see the uniqueness of these 2 places. When we got there, the first place we saw was the bryce amphitheater at dusk- we had no idea how huge it was going to be. In fact, Abe tells me that he had no idea what we were even going to southern utah for. (?) Umm.. he was just "coming along to make me happy" even though he wasn't very excited, and had no idea how cool these parks were going to be! So I guess he was pleasantly surprised. :) The feeling when the first view of that amphitheater became clear was kinda like that first time I went to Yellowstone as a kid. How amazing and strange that place was- but even better. I didn't know I could still feel that way as an adult. And it just got better as we went into Zions the next day. It was HUGE! I have never felt so small and awe inspired. There is so much in this world that is beautiful and unique if you can just take to time to find it. Anyways, out of hundreds of pictures, here are a few to see where we were.

Abe & I at the top of Bryce Canyon. Elevation: 9,000 feet!!

A Titanic moment.

Navajo Loop Trail hike. It was deep. It was kinda steep.



The famous Stellar's Jay found throughout Bryce Canyon. Sweet shot huh?

Crazy OLD tree.

Bryce Amphitheater around dusk. It was truly breathtaking.


ZIONS
We drove through a mountain...

...and this was on the other side.

First was a shuttle ride to the water hike!

This little river is what made Zions over thousands of years. It was a shallow river, but a DEEP canyon.

I really need a wide angle lens for these kinds of trips, Caleb's glasses kinda showed more than my lens could.

Weeping Rock.


Tasty-dactyl. These little lizards were everywhere.

Court of the Patriarchs.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.

Abe with the towering mount Abraham behind him. That's a name to live up to!

This was on the way home. The shoe tree? That is art.

Happy Father's Day

Folsom

One last part of California- we stayed in Folsom where Abe's aunt Robin, uncle Corey and cousins live. Folsom is a quaint little town with restored old buildings and fabulous little shops and restaraunts all within walking distance of Robin & Corey's house. (It reminds me a lot of Jackson) Their house is kind of in a historic district, like the homes in the Crow's addition in I.F. So they are older - but older to me = beautiful and charming :) I like these houses because of their history and the fact that antique pieces look SO good in them. Even in the garden. I loved this tea cup planter in Robin's garden. She had a few of them, and beautiful fruit trees and flowers. I grabbed a few quick shots. And of course one of the fam.
Folsom is famous for it's prison (as mentioned by Johnny Cash.) So we made our last stop at the prison on the way OUT of town. It is fully operating too. We went to the museum and saw misc prisoner's weapons, "Sam" the model prisoner, and outside- real live 2008 prisoners loading into a van. It was a pretty special experience...we were free to go after buying our souvenir T-shirts!

California

So basically the rest of our trip to california consisted of the Winchester Mystery House and a theme park called Great America. I took the camera to the Winchester house and not Great America because I thought I might be on a roller coaster and the camera would fly out of my hands and shatter into a hundred pieces! The Winchester House was this crazy place that made no sense. Stairways to a ceiling, windows and doors to no where, 13 everywhere, massive, maze, old. But way cool. We took a tour of most of the 160 room house and then a behind the scenes tour into the basement to see how innovative that mansion was for it's day! The woman who owned it, Sarah Winchester, loved the number 13, spiderwebs, seyances, and had very expensive taste. There were probably hundreds of Tiffany glass windows, wood floors, hand carved wood trim, fireplaces, multiple kitchens... on and on. Check out the website or google her for more info. It's fascinating! There were some other kooky things to see as well like the gingerbread version of the house made in like 1993 and was featured in BHG magazine. And also the famous Winchester Rifle Museum too. It may sound strange, but this was a place I had wanted to visit for a long time so thanks to the Campbell's for making my wish come true! :)

aaron + jen

We just got back from Folsom, CA with the Campbell family. We went for Abe's cousin Aaron & his high school sweetheart Jen's wedding. :) The day of the wedding it was like 115 degrees and up in the Newcastle countryside along very narrow and windy roads. I was carsick and dizzy so I tried to close my eyes and go to my happy place, but I couldn't fool myself so it didn't work. It was worth it when we got there. It was at Jen's aunt & uncle's home which looks out over a sloping back yard with a pond resting at the base of a beautiful vineyard. It truly was breathtaking. It reminded me of that movie, A Walk in the Clouds. The wedding theme was wine so the colors were deep purple and wine red and the decorations were grapes and large wine glasses and each table was named for a specific type of wine. Despite the stifling heat, Aaron and Jen couldn't seem to keep those ear to ear grins off their giddy faces. They were SO excited to get married! We are so happy for them! Congrats you guys- you are going to love it! The ceremony was followed by a delicious dinner and the best part: yummy yummy cake. Some of these shots are from the ceremony right by the vineyard, and the grooms parents, Abe's aunt Robin and uncle Corey, and Abe's other cousin - Josh! We spent a few days there after the wedding, so more pics will be coming later....

meet: trinly

nothing new since the birds. but i thought i would post about my little practice model, trinly. she is our neighbors jake & abra's little girl . she is so adorable! i would adopt her in a second if i had to :) in the meantime, she lets me take pictures of her. we did some for halloween, and then these for her 1 year birthday in february. tell me you don't just love her!?! if i were psychic i'd say she'll definitely be a heartbreaker someday.