I-fly and Flow rider

Last year for our anniversary, I gave Al two pass to I-fly, Flow rider and the rock climbing facility.  One for him and one for me (obviously).  So almost a year later (and a couple weeks before our next anniversary), we finally used the passes.  It was SOOO much fun!  

I fly simulates jumping out of an airplane.  You get two times in the wind tunnel and get to fly.  We have a video, but blogger won't recognize it....which sucks because it is AWESOME!  And I have to say, I did the best in the class.  That's what I think anyway.  Al says I'm way too competitive...  :)

As soon as we got home, I started looking into how much it would cost to jump out of an airplane...but I think we may have to paraglide first.  It's all about working through the bucket list right??  

Maybe I did so good because the suit was 3 times too big...creating a lot of surface area.  :)

We thought we would "rock" the flow rider because we wake surf so much, but we were wrong.  We biffed it right and left.  And when I say biff, I mean total wipe-outs.  I wiped out so many times that I now have to see a chiropractor b/c I aggravated an old work shoulder injury. That being said, we had a GREAT time and laughed for an entire hour.  We totally lucked out b/c the place has two sides to ride in and the facility books up to 20 people at a time (10 on one side and 10 on the other).  We showed up and there were only 6 people (including us).  We got a lot more time to mess around.  Half way through two other people left and that left us on one side and some kids on the other side.  The next group after us was PACKED!  We totally lucked out.  

Al caught on better than me.  I, sadly, didn't quite get the hang of it.  The group after us had some people that come EVERY week.  They rocked.  I wish we could have seen them before just to give us an idea of what to do.  

Here are two of our best rides:

Looks like we may need a little practice.  :)

More pictures and videos from the cabin

Here are some more pictures and videos from the cabin.  Not sure why the previous post was giving me issues.  

Oh well...here you go:

Zachary wake surfing

Chris Surfing it up!

So excited!  

Austin Wake Surfing!  I love this picture!

Al practicing his ninja moves on the surf board.

Al on the Air Chair.  The air chair is a little crazy!

Me skiing.  This was about 1/2 way through my 2nd run for the morning and my hands were just about numb from holding on.  I wish I could water ski every morning...maybe I'd get a little bit better form.  Oh well...I'll love it up while I can.  :)

More of Al getting worked by the air chair.  :)

Family Summer Cabin Trip 2011

Ahh...the cabin.  How I would love to live here year round.  

So calming and BEAUTIFUL!  Each time I come here, I spent a good amount of time trying to scheme a way to just stay.  This time was no different.  Al and I were in desperate need of a vacation and this was the perfect get away.  A week of boating, skiing, surfing, fishing, jet skiing, reading, napping, eating, laughing, and more laughing.  


Some highlights:

 Most of the kids are getting old enough to really enjoy the boat and trying new activities.  Zachary and Austin both got up on the surf board by themselves this year!  I need to get those pictures from Anne because they are GREAT!

 We took a day and went into Yellowstone to see the falls.  They were really amazing this year due to the high water volume.  

Zachary and Micah.  Micah was on one that day...it cracked me up.  Every time I tried to take a picture, he would hit a random pose or pull an odd face.  

I usually suck at taking pictures, but this one of the falls is not too shabby.

Great picture of Grandma and a few of her boys.

The best dog! I love dogs, specifically big ones.  This is my Dad's third Rottweiler, Rocky.  He is such a good natured dog and technically he is still a puppy.  I want a Rotti so bad...I really would have taken him home.  He would go on walks with me daily and actually follow me.  I didn't have to nag or leash him up to keep him with me.  He is just a gorgeous dog!  Perfect shiny coat and floppy ears.  

Alan and I took Rocky on a Rhino ride up in the mountain.  He loved it and we laughed a lot (as evidence from the pictures).  Rocky stayed in the back bed while we were moving (mouth open and tongue flapping in the wind), but as soon as I stopped, he would try to climb over the seat and into my lap.

 

Playing keep away with Rocky

I am a HUGE fan of slalom water skiing (thanks to my Dad's personal love of the sport).  Each morning and night I would check the water and run out for a pull while the water was glassy. I would go as many times as my arms would allow me. Dad and Alan would humor me and run out to catch the best slalom water of the day.   

One morning, the air temp was 40 degrees. I didn't care.  I just wanted a pull.  The water was a lot warmer so it wasn't too bad until I got pulled out of the water and started doing 32 miles per hour in the 40 degree air.  I  swear I had ice sickles in my nose!!

Dad Surfing

Dad was so excited to use his new water ski that he had gotten for Father's Day.  But he unfortunately pulled his hamstring on his second run.  I felt so bad...he loves to water ski as much if not more than I do.  He wasn't able to ski the rest of the trip.  

I love how Al is always taking self portraits.

Marshmallow Roasts:

Craigy B. being pensive... :)

Look at this gorgeous sunset!  This picture is taken right off the marina by the cabin.  

I have some more videos that are having difficulty loading (skiing, surfing, and air chair)...so I will post those later.  

Old, blind, deaf and delusional

So most of you know I work with veterans.  They crack me up.  Some are mean and crass, but most are sweet and very cute.  (Those are the ones that remind me of my grandpa).  

This one guy never fails to make me laugh.  I try to picture him younger and I think he is the guy who had HORRIBLE pick-up lines.   (Currently in his 80's, is going deaf, and is a wee bit forgetful.)  He can however, remember my name and compliment me each and every day.  

Most of you know that I am not the primping type.  I value my sleep.  I value it SO much that I will shower at night, set my clothes out on the floor next to the bed, make my lunch, and set out my keys by my purse.  This is not an OCD thing...it is a SURVIVAL tactic.  I despise mornings and when the alarm goes off at 4:40 AM I always think bad words and snooze AT LEAST once.  I literally roll out of bed (with my eyes closed), grab clothes off the floor, stumble into the bathroom and turn on the smallest light possible.  From there, I dress with my eyes closed and proceed to get ready.  It takes me less than 10 minutes most mornings and that is mostly because I stumble around in the bathroom half a sleep.  Some days I've put my scrubs on inside out (some of my scrubs are not reversible) and it is very obvious to others that I did not look in the mirror before leaving the house.  

So when this cute 80 something year old says things like, "you are so beautiful" and "your husband is a lucky man".  I have a hard time not laughing out loud.  Tuesday this week was his best/worst comment to date.  He said, "God sure must have known what he was doing when he made you."  Part of me thought:  CREEPY.  The other part of me took over and just laughed out loud!  I laughed so hard that I started to cry and almost wet my pants (because I had already drank my morning Diet Mt. Dew and a protein shake).  So as I continued to laugh (while everyone else in the unit is staring) the cute old man just looks at me like I've lost my mind and proceeds to reassure me that I am in fact beautiful.  

Isn't it nice to be old, blind, deaf, and delusional??

No wonder "church ball" gets a bad rap

So along with the normal sports our church offers (i.e. basketball, volleyball, baseball), our stake also has coed dodgeball.  


The sign-ups went around a couple weeks ago.  I thought it sounded really fun and a great way for us to get to know our neighbors a little better.  Plus an added bonus, you could play on the same team as your spouse.  So I signed us up.  


Let me preface this with the following:  I am VERY competitive when I know I'm good at something.  However, when I know I suck...I really don't care.  It's the way my mind has to operate to make it okay to loose.  :)  I planned on going and just LAUGHING.  Winning is great, but really??  Me and dodgeball?  Eye hand coordination is not my forte.  


Alan thought I was little mean signing us up to play when his still kind-of gimpy.  Post shoulder, knee, and wrist surgery.  LOL!  


So, I'm sure many of you have seen the movie Dodgeball, right?  Well if not, it is all about a competition surrounding dodgeball.  The people in the movie eat, breath, and live dodgeball.  My favorite quote, "if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball."  

Ben Stiller in "Dodgeball".

  
Well, we arrived at our first game and heard the LONG spill about the "rules".  Right.  The whistle blows and we begin.  Our team has never practiced before nor had we even met some of the people on our team.  The OTHER team reminds me of the movie Dodgeball...eat, breath, live the game.  I swear they had regular practices.  Lame. 


Anywho, the game proceeds and we suck.  However, being a "church" function, we expect the other team to go out when they are hit.  Call it ethics.  Well, that didn't happen.  Also, it seemed that the other team found joy in throwing the ball as hard and as fast as they could at people.  I got slammed in the face with one ball...so did many others.  


So at the end of one of the games (best 2 out of 3), one of our team members starts talking a little trash to the other team.  Someone else talks back.  And then it happens.  The guy from our team, (let's just call him Mike), rolls his shoulders back, puffs out his chest, and struts up to the "line".  Words were said regarding their lack of ethics and sportsmanship.  AND WHABAM!  Mike straight arm shoves the punk on the other team.  (Did I mention the bishop of our ward is on our team???)  All the guys from our team are instantly swarming Mike and the guy from the other guy.  (Al said he flanked Mike's back to make sure no one "jumped" him from the back.  LOL!)  


Needless to say, our team got a technical foul and Mike was thrown out of the game.  Bishop was a little frazzled.  He had to be pulled out of the next game to be talked to by the lady in charge (who was the ref for our game and a MEMBER of the team we were playing...conflict of interest???  I think so.)  


Anyway, sheer drama.  I loved it and laughed SO hard!!  No wonder church ball gets such a bad rap.  

I can see clearly now...

I had laser eye surgery (PRK) on January 6th.  I was sick of wearing glasses and contacts.  So I went for it!  I only had one eye done.  


The first couple days hurt like crazy.  I had to wear this awesome guard so I wouldn't rub my eye.  Admit it...I look pretty sweet.  

I'm just glad that I can see and that the painful part is OVER!  It is awesome to just get up and go to work without having to find my glasses (which I always lost).  My glasses looked like they had been through a war with all the scratches and splatters (don't ask of what).   


I think I may have to reward myself with a new pair of Oakley sunglasses.  :)

High Powered Math

Snowmobiles

+

Deep Powder

+

Me

=

Damage

This is the damage I did to myself over Christmas break.  I went snowmobiling at the cabin with my family and rode one of my dad's machines.  There was TONS of new heavy snow and we were side hilling it and I couldn't keep the machine from heading towards a fence.  I decided to jump really hard on the right running board with both feet and "try" to pull the machine on it's side.  On about the second jump, I missed the running board and slammed my thigh on the the metal teeth of the board.  Being the ever so bright girl that I am, I continued to hold onto the machine b/c I didn't want to wreck it.  Needless to say it hurt and this picture is actually a week old.  


I successfully avoided hitting the fence...my dad said to me "why didn't you just let go??"  Well, now, that would have been smart....