Can you say: "Big Sky!"

Yes it is time of year for the eventful Ski/Snowboard trip with willing friends and family! We once again went to Big Sky, Montana from December 16-19. All in attendance: Derek and his girlfriend Jen, Jordan, Blake, and I.
The top picture is of our hotel room in the Huntley Lodge. There are two queens on the first floor and the stairs lead to another bed upstairs. There is also a little couch area/ eating area with a huge window view of the ski slope. The Huntley Lodge is at the base of the ski lifts, so we just walk right out the doors to the lifts.

Now let me remind you that Big Sky is the largest resort in America. It is huge and there are more than 19 different lifts with more than 3,812 acres! It is a skiers dream come true!

This is the view from our window!

Blake is so HOT!

It is so beautiful here! As we were driving to Big Sky, temperatures reached negative 19 degrees in Island Park. It was a pretty cold week but Blake has prepared me for the cold weather. There are lots of pictures so be prepared.

More Big Sky Love

The mass load of stuff we had! (The pictures are out of order, sorry)
This is outside the hotel. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?!!

This picture of Blake cracks me up!

Jen and I are CRAZY!

Blake and I by the main fire place in the Hotel. Also, very romantic. When I wasn't boarding I was reading or cross-stitching. Ha... I love this picture... Derek reminds me of Derek Zoolander

The crew eating at Chet's Bar and Grill. We were there for the end of the crazy Austrian brother's performance. Good times!

Jen was so kind to make me a surprise chocolate crock pot cake for my birthday! How sweet is that?!

This is Blake and I at the restaurant. This was the cheapest place we could find to eat. We made sandwiches for all the lunches and we made dinners for the first two nights. It was scrum-didly-umscious.

We all got to ski for three days while relaxing at night, playing games, and watching movies (courtesy of Events Services).
The snow was pretty good with powder stashes to find.

Of course we had to hot tub it up as much as we could. Being out on the slopes, we got sore and tired.

This is Blake and I on top of Lone Peak Triple Lift. I am so glad I have been taking snowboarding lessons so that I can stay up with Blake. Blake got a new get up for tele-ing and the skis worked out great.

We also took a ride up in the Lobe Peak Tram but we didn't have our camera with us. We only looked around at the top. There is no way I could ski the top of Lone Peak (its super rocky, double blacks). Blake, Derek, and Jordan can ski down it but I still value my life.

Thursday morning Blake, Derek, and I were out on the slopes. We decided to go farther east to some other lifts. We were going to meet at the bottom of Challenger from the run we were currently at. Derrek got ahead of us and was not in our eye sight. Blake and I got to the bottom of Challenger and waited 20 minutes for Derek because we thought he might have made a wrong turn. We talked to the ski lifty and he told us were our friend might have gone. Blake and I took off toward Moonlight Basin (a joint ski resort with Big Sky) to see if Derek went down there. The trail down to the Pony Express lift (in Moonlight Basin) was a pretty flat cat-trail so I had to skate my way down (definitely a negative for snowboarding). When we got there, Derek was not there and we realize that the lift is not open. A guy walks out from a building right by the lift and asks us if we were meant to come down this way. Well, to make a long story short, they got a shuttle to come pick us up to take us back to Big Sky. Blake and I thought we coud hike it but it is a 4 mile hike back to the base area... we were on the other side of the mountain.
We got to Big Sky probabely 45 minutes later and still no call from Derek. Blake had his phone but Derek didn't. Blake and I hit the trails hoping we would run into Derek. But as big as the resort is we knew we had little chance of running into him. Come to find out later that Derek had gone back to the Base Area but went back to where he thought we were at. It was pretty funny.

Graham Cracker Houses

Making gingerbread houses is one of my favorite traditions to do every year. It's not just the fact that there is a ton of different candy to eat (it's like a second halloween) but that I can become as creative as I want to be. Brett, Liz, and little Avery (almost 2 months) came over for the extravaganza.
I made a cathedral with a bell tower.

Brett made... a real big house thingy with lots of rooms. Pretty cool wreath huh?

Blake always makes the most creative house. He made a barn with a rooster, a lion, and a horse. That is pretty dang sweet!

Baby Avery is so stinkin CUTE!

Liz made a cute house with a bow tied-wreath. Now that is pretty creative!

Mullet Man

Mullet Man stopped by my house tonight for a surprise visit.

His hair was like "business in the front and a party in the back." I was super impressed.

(This was the before shot of his hair before mullet man appeared. The length of his hair kept him warm while working outside all day in the freezing cold.)

The Departure of Mullet Man

I am so sad to see him go... Goodbye my one true love...

22 Birthday Fun!

Thanksgiving Week!

1. 

More pictures to come soon...

Stockmans Restaurant

Daris and Lorraine took Blake and I out on Friday night for a little pre-Birthday dinner. We had awesome stake and salmon! It is amazing food!

HOwdy Doody

Well school is still going and there are only three more weeks left of it! I cannot believe how fast it has gone! I am so busy with school assignments, being a wife, callings, ect. Everyday just zooms by so quick. I wish I had more time to blog but I find myself extremely tired by the end of the day.

I only have one more core semester of classes before I student teach! I am so excited to be a biology (and/or possibly a health) teacher. I know that sounds nerdy, but let's face it, I am a nerd bomber. I am going to be a crazy, weird science teacher that is going to make school fun everyday.

The other day Blake was registering for winter semester classes. We were looking at the required classes he needs to take for his mechanical engineering major. Well, he has 2-3 years of attending BYU-I to get his undergrade. He is doing so well in school and I am very proud of him. He is still working at the Cenntennial Grain Elevator and comes home a very dirty man from his hard labor job. He is extremely ready to come back to school and study hard.

This last Friday we went to the Warren Miller film at Westwood Theatre to watch "Children of Winter." Boy was it good! That movie makes me wanna jump on board and go riding. I am excited for the snow to come. We are going skiing/snowboarding in one more month.

On Saturday, we meet up with our friends Joe and Jacque for dinner and a movie. Blake and I hardly ever go to a new released movie, we are way too poor ro fork out that kind of dough. We saw "Quantum of Solace." The movie fufilled all James Bond's expectations for adventure and love. Daniel Craig is by far my favorite actor for James Bond; he is very talented.

I hope you are all having a wonderful joyous Sabbath.

Romantic

This is Saturday evening where I took Blake on a surprise date. We went on a carriage ride (through a business class at BYUI) around town and by the temple at sunset. Ya it was pretty romantic...This is the carriage ride. I managed to close my eyes at the right moment for the one picture we took in front of it.

Halloween Weekend

I only took one picture during Halloween! It's at our ward party. I am a Japanese girl and Blake is Steve the Ski Patrol guy. We are with Scott and Christine Garrison. After the ward party we had our own party in the lounge with a bunch of our friends. Lots of food, fog machines, black lights, loud music, dancing, Rock Band, and lots of other games were played.





The Halloween post party consisted of a bunch of us going to Warm Slough and having ice bombs thrown n the river (you can do those kinds of things in Idaho). Later on a Sheriff came and told us there was a compliant but he said he really couldn't tell us not to shoot... LOL

Marriage is Between a Man and a Woman

In Church we have been called to read up about Proposition 8. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is supporting Propsition 8 in California. Proposition 8 is about changing 14 words in the California Constitution to be : "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California."

We all know that when laws start passing in states (especially California) that other states will want to pass the same laws. Please go to the following websites to find out why this is such an important law to pass.

whatisprop8.com

protectmarriage.com

lds.org (newsroom)

Our children and our families are at stake. Marriage is between a MAN and a WOMAN.

If the vote fails these are some of the consequences (whatisprop8.com)

1.) Children in public schools will have to be taught that same-sex marriage is just as good as traditional marriage.

2.) Churches may be sued over their tax exempt status if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings open to the public. Ask whether your pastor, priest, minister, bishop, or rabbi is ready to perform such marriages in your chapels and sanctuaries.

3.)Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston already closed its doors in Massachusetts because courts legalized same-sex marriage there.

4.) Religions that sponsor private schools with married student housing may be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if counter to church doctrine, or risk lawsuits over tax exemptions and related benefits.

5.) Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages may be sued for hate speech and risk government fines. It already happened in Canada, a country that legalized gay marriage. A recent California court held that municipal employees may not say: "traditional marriage," or "family values" because, after the same-sex marriage case, it is "hate speech."

6.) It will cost you money. This change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits, including some already lost (e.g., photographers cannot now refuse to photograph gay marriages; doctors cannot now refuse to perform artificial insemination of gays even given other willing doctors). Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today's activist judges), think of the money – your money – that will be spent on such legal battles.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints issued this Proclamation in 1995 about Families. This document sums up my testimony of families.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Please check this out and the other sites about Proposition 8. We need to protect what God has ordained as sacred- marriage.

Global Warming

I was super surprised when Al Gore got the Nobel Peace prize for his power point presentation. I think that was a sad day in history (listen to Glen Beck about it).
None the less...
It has been unbelievably warm here in Rexburg. It is almost October and it is in the 80's today! That is unheard of! I am not complaining. In fact Rexburg, Idaho is all for global warming. Bring it on!

Blogging

Looking through this blog there seems to be a one theme event: the outdoors. I am not a creative writer on this blog. In fact, I am anything but creative or well-spoken on any event that I publish on this site. I am sorry for the lameness of my written communication. I just slap on pictures and write the bare minimum with no excitement.

I really do write better than this...

I think I might consider myself as a red-neck now.

Something in the trees...

Blake and I went out with our friends Tyson and Amy to Warm Slough (it's out by Hibbard). Amy 's friend Susan came with us and brought her two kids who are 12 and 11 years old. We found our perfect spot by the Snake River and went out in search of wood to gather or to chop up. Blake found a perfect tree to chop (I call him the lumber boy). Tyson and Blake started chopping up the perfect tree and we heard a rustle in the bushes.

The little 11 year old boy (Jake) yelled and ask if someone was there. There was no reply but a continuance of the shaking of trees. I knew that a person or persons could not make that kind of noise but a big hoofed animal. Blake and I look at each other and said, "It's a moose!" We made everyone get out of the trees and brush immediately because moose are super aggressive and defensive.
The little boy Jake was totally freaked out about the moose (it was kinda funny). We heard a snort as we left the brush. We were not able to cut down the rest of the tree (the first picture is right before the moose came). Blake and Tyson left to go get another tree.
Twenty minutes later I see a Blake driving back with a huge log tied on to the back of his Rover. LOL. I got the fire started and we started cutting up the log. It was a cottonwood log and as hard as a rock. My hands were sore.
Earlier today we had bought our first axe from CAL Ranch. Blake was chopping up the wood and all of a sudden the wooden handle of the axe split apart! Haha Cheap axe.

I was hoping to see the moose but it was to dark to see it. I love moose.