Brock's Birthday Bash!

HAPPY 30th BROCK!

Brock celebrated his 30th Birthday this last week! For his Birthday I threw him a "semi-surprise party". I knew he'd never let me invite people over for a party, so I did it with out him knowing. I think he finally caught on when people just kept coming to the house!

One of Brock's surprises was a new grill that his c0-workers from Wells bought him. We had it delivered to the house while Brock was gone hanging out with my dad, so Brock was really surprised to see it when he got home. It was awesome because we were able to use it for the party!

The party turned out really great and I couldn't have pulled it off with out the help of our awesome friends and family! We all had a super fun time and it was a fabulous birthday!

I made Brock this fish cake because he loves to fish, I think it turned out okay considering that I have never made a fancy cake and had to hand cut it!Our friends Casey and Erin surprised Brock by coming up from Idaho for the party. Brock had no idea that they were coming to our house or why they randomly showed up. ( I think he finally figured it out once everyone was here to party) It was so fun to have them here, it made Brock's day! Casey & Erin's cute girls

Alicia & Payten

After dinner we set up Brock's new Ladderball game and everyone had a really good competitive time.

Casey, Conor & Dusty

Jason, Mike, Brock

Carla, Brock, Clancy

Carla & Clancy took it upon themselves to cook for us on the new grill! How nice huh? We have some of the best people in our lives! Thanks you two! Brindey, my Mom & Matt
Good Old Kyle
Corbett had a blast!Jen & Bart Dusty, Conor, Daniel & Kristen

A special thanks to everyone who came and everyone helped me with the big bash!

While I was scrambling to get everything done for the party, my dad and Brock spent a day out on the town. The went to see B-17 Bomber, looked at the new cameros, explored pawn shops, spent time at the Harley D store, went to lunch and what ever else my dear father could come up with to keep Brock away! THANKS DAD!!!!

Here are some pics of the B-17 Bomber

It was so nice to have my parents here to spend some time with us. They were such lifesavers for me with the whole party thing! Mom worked her butt off helping with food and shopping. After the party we got to hang out and do fun things too. I wish they'd just move to Montana so we could have them close by and never have to leave Bozeman!

We weren't the only ones happy to have them here! Boog loves them, and I think he has been a little depressed since they left. My parents spoil him!

Our picnic at the Madison River.

Brock forgot a jacket and it was a little breezy, so I made him wear mine. He felt really stupid but I thought it was funny.

Memorial Day Weekend on Henry's Lake

For Memorial Day weekend, Brock planned a fishing trip for us on Henry's Lake in Idaho. Brock and I rented a little "beater" of a fishing boat to cruise around the lake to fish. We caught a bunch of fish over the weekend and had a lot of fun!

Brock caught Boog in the middle of a yawn so he looks funny in this pic.

We thought these birds were cool to look at.

Here's a funny story about our rental boat: Early in the morning we headed out on the lake to start our fishing excursion and found a spot to stop and fish. After fishing about 30 mins, we decided to pull up the anchor and try another place to fish. Brock started the boat but we couldn't move. After a few minutes of frustration, he noticed that the prop had fallen off in the lake! So we were stranded out in the middle of the lake and Brock had to row us back in. I felt so embarressed rowing between really nice fishing boats full of people, I'm sure that enjoyed the entertainment. Luckily they got us all fixed up and we were out fishing again!

Here fishie....

Brock got me a new fly rod for my birthday and I got to break it in out on the lake with this huge fish I caught. Don't I look excited.....and little scared too?

Boog was a good sport, although we don't think he had a very good time. We also found out that he's not a good swimmer.....I guess too much body and not big enough legs.

We camped outside Island Park and it was so peaceful!We also went and checked out Mesa Falls.

This is how Boog rode home from camping, we think he was sad to leave the woods.

House Rock

We drove by the Gallatin River on our way home and we were really amazed by how fast the river is flowing. House Rock Boulder is usually completely out of the water when the river is flowing normal. Crazy....

Where The Wild Things Are

Brock and I have made numerous trips into Yellowstone but have never seen any Bears and we've been feeling a little ripped off. So we decided to make a special trip to Lamar Valley ( the north part of the park) in hope to find some bears. So here's the scoop from our day!

We left home at 4:30am to get to the park to catch the early action of the animals. On our way we got to drive through Paradise Valley (aka: animal kingdom) and we saw thousands of Elk migrating back to Yellowstone. Paradise Valley is suppose to have the largest migration around, so it was pretty neat to see it in action. We also saw a lot of mule deer, whitetail deer and antelope. Brock was on "cloud 9".

I love Gardiner Mt this time of year. It's a small town located between paradise valley and the north entrance of the park and a natural path for the animals migrate through. I think it's so funny to see elk and buffalo wandering the streets!

We started our trek through the park towards Lamar Valley. On our way we saw our first bear of the day at 8:30am. He was just along the side of the road about 30 yards away from our car. Rangers came along and made us move up a little further to give the bear adequate space.

Grizzly #1

After the first grizzly we head up the road about5 miles and saw our 2nd bear. He was pretty far way on a mountain and could only be spotted through binoculars so we don't have any pictures of him.

Grizzly #3

We spotted him out in the middle of this field not too far away. (not crazy close but good enough for pics) He played for a little bit and then went to sleep.

Grizzly #4

We spotted this bear while we were looking for a black bear that was suppose to be near by eating some kill. We wonder if this grizzly stole the black bear's meal because he seemed to be feasting while we were watching him.

Our favorite Bear

This black bear was our favorite bear of the day. He was so active and fun to watch. He was definitely on the move the whole time. Brock watched him jump into a pond and swim to the other side and we also got some up close video when he crossed the road.

Brock followed the bear to this pond and watched him swim, I wasn't too happy that he did that but he got a good picture and some cool video out of it.

We ate lunch at this overlook, pretty sweet...huh!

Can't forget the cute baby buffalo. I think buffalo are hideous creatures but their babies are pretty cute.





......and last but not least our wild little beast, our "freak on a leash", Boog. He loves the outdoors and it was killing him that he couldn't get out and chase everything. However, if he could talk, I'm sure he'd thank us for an amazing day out!

p.s. I think this is a funny picture of him.....his head looks abnormally huge!



Madison River

Comic Relief through funnies

You've probably noticed that a lot of the news lately is quite unsettling. Brock and I have found comic relief through our local police reports. It's quite hilarious to see what our police department here has to deal with. However, I am glad that we live in a very safe community and don't have a lot of really crazy stuff going on.

I will occasionally post some of our favorite reports for your entertainment!

Enjoy!!!

A man called 911 from a restaurant to ask when the snow was going to stop.

There was a report of a stolen vehicle on North Eighth Avenue. The officers found the vehicle on the other side of the parking lot.

A woman called concerned about her husband going "off the deep end" after she found him "making potions".

A woman reported someone had broken into her trailer and her turkey-pastrami was missing.

A man called emergency personnel asking if he had been involved in a hit and run during the weekend. He hadn't.

A woman called around 8 p.m., saying she was tired and wanted someone to pick her up.

Big Horn Sheep in Big Sky

We came across these Big Horn Sheep a few weeks ago on one of our drives up the mountain.

Here's what we did for Easter...

We went to Church...

Ate dinner.........

Enjoyed a nice walk in the sunshine....

Went to Aaron and Kirsten's for dessert and a movie...........

All while....Booger enjoyed an Easter Carrot!

HaPpY eAsTeR

I am so grateful for Easter time to reflect on our living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I am thankful for his life and sacrifice for us all so that we could live eternally with him and our families.

You should read John 20 in the Bible "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name". John 20:31

Happy Anniversary

EXPO TIME....AGAIN!

It's that wonderful time of year again.....Scrapbooking Expo Time!

Last weekend was the scrapbooking expo in SLC, so I made a trip down to scrapbook with my mom and my sisters. We partied from 7am-1am and were all spent by the time we got home.

I got tons of awesome deals on supplies, paper, BAGS, and tools. I took in an empty bag in the morning just so I would have something to haul all of my stuff out later that night! ( I will have to take a picture of all my new toys and post it so you can understand my excitement more fully).

Oh....so much fun, I can't wait for next time!

p.s. Don't worry....Brock had his fun too, he spent the weekend on the Salmon River in Idaho with his friend Casey.

This is the side of the Expo that we were on.

(The vendors are lined up along the outside walls and down the middle).

These are our shopping bags with all of our "LOOT", it's so much better than Christmas!

Me and Nette around 9pm, 12hrs into scrapbooking, totally Killn' It!

(don't we look as happy as can be)?

Now if you are reading this and thinking I'm nuts....you obviously have never participated in such an event so DON'T JUDGE ME!

Day Trip to Mammoth

Once again, we had a super random weekend here in Monataner. (last weekend, the 7th) Brock and I decided we were sick and tired of LAME weekends, so we decided that we needed to do something outside. Early Saturday morning we decided to make a day trip into Yellowstone to Cross Country Ski. We got all our "crap" together and picked up our friend Conor on the way out of town and headed for a day of skiing around the park.

Sounds good, right?.......Well, if you know my husband at all you know that he doesn't plan very well and "flies by the seat of his pants". (that's what my mom always says about the way we do things...hahah) Anyway, we get to Gardiner, (which is the town right outside the park), to rent our gear and the shop was closed for the day. Brock was shock and annoyed but I wasn't too shocked because after all.... it is kinda the off season for the town.

So we realized that there would be NO skiing around the park, but we figured we had made the drive and to make the most of it. So, we headed into the park and walked some trails around Mammoth and drove around in search for animals. Of course we saw lots of Buffalo, Elk, and Coyotes. It was fun and nice to get out but it was a lot of driving for one day.

I guess it wasn't completely lame, but a little lamish that we couldn't ski.

Mammoth Hot SpringsConorOkay, so this might sound really weird but one of my MOST favorite things to look at in Yellowstone is the bacterias that grow in the geysers and springs. They look so neat! Brock teases me and made me take a picture by them, so yeah that's what I'm doing.

(Thanks Ally, for making me my hat, it kept me really warm all day)

Here's a close up on what I was looking at, maybe you can appreciate it too? I thought it was neat that some of it was frozen.

Doesn't this look like something you'd see in a horror film....just imagine it dark and you hear footsteps behind you on the boardwalk. Ohhhh...how spooky, I'm freaking myself out!

That's all

Good Thoughts

Explosion in Downtown Bozeman

We had an explosion here in Downtown Bozeman this morning at a local restaurant/bar (Boodles). People that I know who work nearby said that they felt the force of the explosion at their workplaces. Many surrounding buildings and parked vehicles had their windows blown out by the force.

They think the explosion was caused by a gas leak. Which after the explosions cause a few fires in neighboring business. They say 5 business and a complete block of downtown Bozeman has been destroyed.

I'm unsure if there was any injuries or deaths, they haven't been able to get into the building or go through the ruble due to the fires. I think they've said 1 person is missing, I guess we'll find out more soon.

It's such a sad thing to have happen but it's kinda a blessing that it happened early in the morning before many business were open. (less traffic and less people around)

I posted some pictures but you can check out these news links to get a better description of what happened if you want to. http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2009/03/05/news/00downtownexplosion.txt
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,505163,00.html

____________________________________________________________________

Here's a picture of the explosion area from January 09'

Boodles is the greenish building on the far left where the explosion started.

These pictures were taken after the explosion at Boodles.