Clear Skies & Ice Cream Towers

Last night was the first night in a long time that wasn't overcast or raining or something so i grabbed my camera and ran out to the country in an attempt to take a picture that i have been waiting TWO WEEKS to take. I know, my life is SO hard. haha I took about 40 pics, maybe 5 of which i actually liked. I didn't get the "shot" that i had envisioned, but i got a few pretty ones nonetheless.(coolest word ever right there)

From there i ran over to the Ice Cream Co and met up with a bunch of friends and we tackled the La La Palooza (no idea how its spelled). What a mess! From there was a party of the "what if" game, followed by big booty, followed by ninja, followed by signs. Then a SECOND party of pictionary (boys won). Busy, fun night!

In case there may be those wondering why i just blogged about this, its to satiate the demands of those who feel that i have not been keeping up to date with current events. Enjoy!

Friday Morning Adventure

Today I went on an adventure with a friend in spite of the gloomy weather forecast. We headed out to Knights Ferry and went for a hike. After a failed attempt to locate a geo cache we just started hiking along the river. We passed up the beach that the parentals and I went to the year previous and went to the very end of navigable trail. We made a pretty cool discovery: the Stanislaus river has one pretty wicked rapid right above Knights Ferry. One slip and a bruise later (not me, surprisingly) we started to head back. In fact we pretty much went off roading for a bit while trying to make it back up the bank to the trail. As we made it to the top of the hill the rain hit. HARD. I had brought my rain jacket and an umbrella for just this occasion but after about 2 minutes, it stopped. I was glad it stopped but im not sure that 2 minutes of rain made lugging around that jacket for an hour really worth it. Oh well! The rain held off until I made it home, and is now pitter-pattering against the window. Had a really fun time and didn't die so today goes down in my book as a success.

The Journey Continues

This past weekend was a lot of fun, and eventful. I turned a whopping 23 and have officially become the oldest bachelor out of the Slade boys. Don't panic, the ratio of girls to guys at BYU-I is something like 2-1 so im BOUND to find someone who might like old men. On Friday the momma and the poppa and i went down to Riverside to visit Adam and Liz and the boys. We relaxed from our 6 hour drive by hiking Mt. Rubidox and getting a pretty panorama of the city. It was a lot of fun and Liz and Mom blazed the trail while the boys tried to prevent Jake from jumping.

Saturday was a trip to the train museum and then napping in the afternoon to try to catch up on lost sleep. That evening Adam and I went out of the city to a somewhat dark spot of land to play with our cameras. Adam's Canon 7D proved to be ridiculously cool but even my humble Canon Rebel xs took some pretty cool shots. Long exposure shots are pretty fun! (see middle)

Sunday we blessed Samuel Joseph Slade with Dad and I participating and i have to admit that it was a tender experience getting to do that with a child that is part of my eternal family. I imagine that when i finally get to do that with a child of my own, I probably will have trouble keeping back the tears. Sunday dinner was a 3 course meal prepared by dad and adam for their sweethearts which turned out quite nice. The evening was spent walking around some lakes and then sitting on swings and talking with a good friend who happened to be in a neighboring city that weekend. Good times. Monday rolled around and the nice little vacation came to an end. It was a lot of fun and it was good to see another chunk of family. Next on the list is the SFSs!

There and back again

So this past weekend was a whirlwind of activity involving lots and lots of driving and some fun times with family and friends. After arriving in Salt Lake on Thursday, i commandeered Holly's saturn for a quick 3.5 hour drive up north to rexburg. Had a bit of a birthday party at Lorraine's apartment and caught up with old friends while making some new ones. I met my future roomates and I look forward to moving in with them in about two months. Spent the night at Cameron's and toured the campus the next day while attempting to find employment and some counseling. A yummy lunch later and i was out the door for another 3.5 hour drive through a bit of snow but nothing that slowed me down below 83 mph...oops? The trip was well worth it and now i am no longer as apprehensive about school, so mission accomplished. Dinner with the family was fun when i got back to Salt Lake except that Idaho had imparted a gift to me while i was there: a slight sprained ankle from a spectacular fall on the ice. So i was a bit gimpish but hey, when am i not? A poor nights sleep later and we were back on the road to home. We managed to avoid all the woes the forecasters had predicted and we arrived back to a rainy Modesto and warm beds. Gotta love it!