Thursday, July 26, 2012

Blanchard Idaho

The panhandle of Idaho is an odd place. I have learned that a lot of people forget that its even there. But thats where we spent last weekend.

Haliakas Wedding was on July 24th so I took a few days off and we headed up to ol' Blanchard a few days early and met my parents and Nicole there.

I got off early on Friday and we headed northward. We didn't get in until late, and it was really foggy... which made it seem later.

Saturday we headed to Priest Lake, a huge lake known for its beautiful ocean-like beaches. But for some reason we couldn't find the dang thing and when we did we couldn't find a place to sit our butts. It took us about 4 times longer to get there than planned.
The backseat started to go a little crazy

And the parents started to doubt their navigational abilities

But once we got there it was almost worth the trek



We headed back to the resort for some crazy games of tether-ball and to check out a free concert they were having in the park... which ended up being the sweetest thing EVER.

Some call me trashy, redneck, uncultured or otherwise for my love of such activities. But ya throw an old guy on the golf course with a few dancing retirees... and I couldn't be happier.

Sweet hubs gave me a dance even though I looked like a boy.
Check out our fellow dancers.

The parents too. Presh right?

That night we discovered Tennis. Or at least the Smith version of it. No out of bounds, no limits to the number of bounces, and play off anything. Matt decided that tennis was his sport... but I fear he has a tainted vision of it.

On Sunday we went to church and then decided to play some shuffle board. 
We get there and the front desk lady directs us towards this...


Not exactly what we were expecting. But it was neat.

We spent the rest of the night playing a variety of games...

like giant checkers...


and get Nicole to the top of a rock...

Monday morning we headed to the Hiawatha Bike Trail. Its a 13 mile trail through tunnels (one was 2 miles long!) and over bridges. It was sooo gorgeous. I loved it.








Then, just in case we had burned a calorie, we went to Texas Roadhouse (drool).

We had a mini birthday party for mom, and then went out into the middle of the Idaho nowhere and lit off some crazy fireworks, giving all who were involved a serious case of the giggles.

And then Tuesday came... Haliaka's Wedding!

During our freshman year Haliaka and I stayed up late one night and came up with our perfect men. And drew them in great detail. Below, our masterpiece:

Needless to say, Haliaka and I have spend countless hours together talking about what our husbands would look like, talk like, act like... we covered it all. We also made a pact that we would live in a duplex and make dinners together every night. Naturally, they would grown to be best friends. We should have guessed that our future husbands would have the same name...

It was so amazing to be there and see them get sealed- such an amazing blessing. It gave me tingles to see my best friend so happy.


I hope our Matt's are ok with the duplex plan.

Dahl Family Reunion

This is my first summer having a "real job". I do not suggest it. To top it off about half of the finance department was either fired or quit within 2 weeks, of our busiest season. So work has been busy. But we have found time for a few fun family festivities.

Two weekends ago Matts mom and Ryder came down with Matts Aunt and 2 of his cousins for a family reunion. As stated earlier- I am a sucker for a family reunion. Perhaps it is my love for people watching that does it. There were some crazy stories about Matts family, and his mom knew a TON about everyone, no matter how far back.

It was far past time that we get out of Provo for a while, and to be able to spend time with Matts mom and talk with her. Since we got married our time with our families has been short, with a lot crammed in, so it was awesome to be able to have some time to just sit and visit with her.

We had a blast hanging out with Ryder. Within just a few minutes of seeing him he explained to us how he needed some Lowry cousins... and that we are his only hope. We played the "riddle game" for 3 days straight. He is hilarious, and just the sweetest kid ever. The whole "Aunt Tiffany" thing is still very new, and I love it.


At the hotel, working on good dental hygiene


After I nice long game of "sharks", what is better than a few handfuls of bacon

On Sunday we found some relatives at the cemetery. And a big ol' snake.