Carpinteria and Walnut Creek, Ca

This summer we were able to go to the Bird's family reunion in Carpinteria, Ca which is a beautiful beach town with the feel of carefree living. I have never been able to go, but really enjoyed experiencing the many traditions like the Psalms restaurant, swimming to the docks, and of course watching the Heil's run-a-muck on the beach. The funniest thing about this trip was watching Jack follow strangers on the beach and start playing with everything in site. Some parents were okay with letting Jack enjoy their toys but other were regular douche bags and would sternly look around for his parents. I also enjoyed walking along the beach with Jack- a traditional form of birth control. I sadly fell in love with him more and want kids all the same.

In front of the Psalms (left to right): LaRasha, Ami, Corinn, Laura, and Liz. (Second row): Cathy and me.

This is Dan... isn't he a lovely man? I laughed when I looked over the pictures.

We flew up to Walnut Creek, Ca to visit my dad. We got to see the work my dad has done on his house, visit the Market of course, and enjoy some relaxing mornings filled with nothing but sleep. We were also able to visit with a lot of family. We met Gila's in-laws from Canada, and were able to visit with my cousin's family and my uncle Abbas' family. Overall I enjoyed just relaxing and trying to drive a stick shift. Oh and my dad's girlfriend Karoline was also pretty fun to talk with.

We went bowling on our last full night in Ca. I didn't know my dad was such a lover of the sport, but I was able to see how badly he beat Chris' butt. It was funny in a way. This is a overall funny pictures because I tried getting a professional looking picture of both Chris and my dad bowling... this was the best. Oh well I'll never be pro I guess :)

Return From Tomorrow

I finished this interesting novel a day ago and was impressed by the story itself and manner by which it was told. The author, Dr. George G. Ritchie, tells of an amazing out of body experience when he dies at the age of 20 from influenza during WWII. I read it because of the advice of my mom and I'm glad I did. The descriptions of the Dr's experiences after death are very similar to the details taught by the LDS church. It just gave me a better understanding of what is awaiting us and it even made me think about a few things. Who knows... maybe next I'll go to church someday.

Why I Love My Mother

I love my mom so much for the simple conversation I just had with her. She called me and asked in a frantic voice how to get a DVD playing. I asked her if it was connected to the TV and on. The answer was yes to both, then I directed her to hit the input button. At this point our progress stopped, and she got frustrated. Her next statement was, "I'll just call the cable company and ask them." I almost laughed out loud, but controlled it and said, "They wont be able to help you because it's your TV." We got it working with the input button in the end. Our call ended with the DVD player screen on the TV, and I started blogging about it (bored at home with nothing but a computer and homework to entertain me). But alas, I just got another call from my mom asking me how to choose a certain chapter. My first question was, "Do you have the DVD controller?" She pauses and says, "Can't I use this one?" At this point I started laughing. I love my mom for her lack of understanding about TVs, computers, and anything else termed technological. I only have a tiny bit more understanding, but these stories still make me laugh. Thankfully I have a mother who can laugh along with me. Maybe I'll get her one of these for Christmas :)

4th of July

The 4th of July came and went, and Chris and I had work. So we decided to celebrate on the 5th. We bought a few fireworks from the one of the thousands of stands among the parking lots. Its funny because Walmart would have 2 in its parking lot, while Smiths and Winco had 5 (I'm not joking either). Anyways, we started the night with a barbecue and spent an hour setting some fireworks off in our apartment's parking lot. It was small but a lot of fun.

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon is an interesting park to visit. You wouldn't assume that Idaho was the home of lava fields and tubes, but alas Utah history doesn't teach children about their neighbors. This is on top of a crater. The rocks were gorgeous because they shimmered with metallic tones. It was a windy day, but that just added to the fun.

This is the Snow Cone. It apparently always has snow in it. This type of volcano is a spatter cone.. there were a a lot near the Snow Cone.

This is inside the Indian Tunnel which is a giant lava tube. It was the only cave you could walk through without a flashlight which we unfortunately forgot. There is a Dewdrop Cave that connects to the Boyscout Cave both of which were super low and dark. I want to go back someday and try both of them out. Hopefully Larry and Roxy will come up for a double date sometime... wink, wink.

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.