Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Choke Cherry Deer

These are pictures from our old house on Choke Cherry. We lived way up on the mountain, about as high as you can go and still have a house on the East Bench. It was a beautiful view, but we have both decided that we can do without the proverbial "house on the hill" for the rest of our lives. Besides the view, another perk of living way up there was the wildlife that was so frequently seen. Unfortunately, we did not get more pictures of the deer, but there were many that came around in the short period of time that we lived there. Here is one that was just sitting in the snow, before it noticed me and my camera.One morning, while we were mildly awake at 4am, we started hearing creepy noises from the house. That is saying something, because, although the house was built in the 1960's, it NEVER makes noises! So of course we stayed under the covers and discussed the possibility of purchasing a baseball bat, in case we needed to fight off any enemies. The next morning, however, we heard the same noises at around the same time. I suggested that we look outside to see if there were any deer around. S got up and looked out the glass door...and saw no less than FORTY deer, all in our backyard (which is a big deal, since the backyard was very little and had almost no grass)!! There were even a few 5 point bucks! We watched them in awe, and figured that their combined weight must have been making the foundation of the house creek. We didn't get any pictures, since it was dark and going outside would have caused a stampede, possibly at the expense of our lives. Needless to say, in spite of the fact that we have no desire to live on the side of a mountain again, we have some really cool memories.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Idaho Falls Vacation

I loves to go on vacation. To me, any trip that requires one or more hours in the car (or plane, etc) is a vacation. S does not consider going to Idaho Falls a "vacation," but it makes it all the more exciting for him that I do! So, I soak up every possible invitation to go on "vacation," and S, of course, goes along for the ride. These are pictures of our trip to Idaho Falls this January. We went so I could play my flute in Stake Conference in S's parents ward, thus helping out the stake choir. I don't seem to get very many performance opportunities these days, so I was thrilled to be invited, and of course, go on vacation.

Here is S. See what a helper he is!This was also a special chance for us to see Grandma and Grandpa T (S's maternal grandparents).