An Unprecedented Two Days Off...

Chris and I had a great time last week with two days off at the same time. I really was thankful for the time we had together. We decided to go out and enjoy the town a little more and started off the Kiel and Amanda way (Kiel and Amanda are two friends who moved to Oregon by bike...). Here are our bike :)

We went to the zoo and they had a repeat Hoogle Zoo drinking fountain.

These are just a few of the animals at the zoo. They had lions, tigers, zebras :), tortoises, and lots of monkeys. This guy just wanted to show some skin. Maybe he was trying to prostitute himself out to the other monkeys.

Next we found a shady area in a park and made out for awhile.
We enjoyed a dinner at Snake River Restaurant. The food was good, but I wouldn't go back again... but we did find a random treat. Apparently the newspaper up here puts on an event called "Live After 5". Every Wednesday they have tents to buy beer and live music. The jazz was pretty good, but they decided upon the smallest courtyard rather than a large park (that's Idaho Falls for you).

House of Sand and Fog

I've had this book sitting on my bookshelf for a very long time, but after reading Harry Potter again I decided to give it a shot. I was surprised by just how emotional of a book it was (for me at least). The author does an amazing job juxtaposing the culture and attitude of a wealthy Iranian family with the attitude of a recovering cocaine addict American. I know the two cultures seem to be on the complete opposite sides of the spectrum, but there were a lot of similarities in the aims and desires the two units had. The story was made into a film a while ago, but I have yet to see it. I was intrigued by the book because of the Iranian aspect. Although the family is represented mostly by the father's point of view I learned a lot about the expectations that culture places on reputation and honor. I also realized that I connected with the attitude of the American more easily (something that is not that positive). I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to read an interesting story, or who is interested in the differences of culture. However, the book was rather sexual when the point of view was in the American protagonist Kathy Nicolo.

1 Year Anniversary in Yellowstone

This is an example of the lovely people visiting Yellowstone when we were. The caption says "The idiots who thought they could take on a buffalo...we saw them everywhere."

These are the Grand Tetons at sunset. They are gorgeous mountains and we only wish we could have gone on a couple of hikes before we went back to our slave labor.

This is the canyon where the Yellowstone River falls over two cliffs, its is breathtaking.

Chris and the emerald green water. It was like standing on top of the waterfall.

Another picture of the canyon that is described as the Yellowstone Grand Canyon.

This is us in front of Morning Glory. Chris can tell you a really funny joke that is inappropriate for all eyes to read. I think Wyoming has a fetish.

This is the runoff from a geyser and the Lodge behind it.

Us in front of a lake in the Grand Teton National Park. The clouds are covering the mountains behind us.

And finally this is a picture at the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum in Jackson, Wyoming. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids react. And this is the worlds largest belt buckle collection... just for Liz.

We had so much fun on our little weekend getaway celebrating our one year. I can't believe the time has flown by. I have never seen the wonders of Yellowstone and was thrilled by everything. Chris enjoyed a break from his endless work, and we enjoyed a break from the everyday lull of Idaho.

Frisbee Golf

We went down to Blackfoot to play some Frisbee golf before we tested the odds at bingo. It was a lot of fun and the park (maybe its the John Grover park??) is a beautiful area with a beach and reservoir. There were so many families in the water but oddly none were playing Frisbee golf. I almost hit a runner with one bad throw and Chris did amazingly.

This picture truly shows my awkward form compared to the unbelievable form Chris has.

Idaho Falls

We've been in Idaho for about a month now and its starting to feel like home. These pictures are by the falls. They are gorgeous and apparently you can swim in the Snake River above the falls (like a mile or so).

These are some pictures of our apartment... the best thing about Idaho. Its nice to actually have tall ceilings and room to spread our legs. I look back at the old apartment and can't believe I lived there so long. Since we had enough room we purchased a table at Ikea, and we even invested in our future and bought a high efficiency washer and dryer.

David's Graduation

David graduated from the U of U this year and it was a ton of fun to go and see him walk. The morning was an interesting start.. I drove down from Idaho Falls and barely made it home before my mom left, but we ended up waiting for my brother to get dressed for about ten minutes. It was funny sitting in that car listening to my mom.

My dad and uncle Abbas were both able to come for the graduation and it was a lot of fun seeing them.

Easter

For Easter we were able to drive down and spend the day with my mom. It was fun coloring the eggs, but since we waited to buy the coloring packs the day of we didn't have any masterpieces to show off.