New Camera ~ Nikon Coolpix S200

I got a new camera last week! Finally after all these years I've bought myself a digital camera and I couldn't be happier. I haven't been able to get out and just spend a day shooting and playing around with it yet, but so far I think I found me a good one. I really like the size of it, it's so small and thin and easy to carry around. The pictures that I have taken so far have come out really clear and the color looks great. It has 7.1 megapixels which is awesome and a bunch of other really cool features. Here are a few of the pictures I've taken so far with it.


This is the outside patio of Joe's Crabshack, right next to the river.







Boise Train Depot








The Capital building from the Train Depot. This camera has a pretty amazing zoom, considering how far away from the capital I really was.






My roommate Sheena
"Beans" with some beans.







Friendly horse at our singles activity on Saturday. Although it doesn't look very happy here with it's ears back.

Hello? Is anyone out there?

So who would have thought that a quick little bathroom break would turn into such a big deal. I had a little adventure today while using the bathroom at work. When I was finished using the bathroom, I unlocked the door, turned the handle and pulled on the door. However, to my unbelief, the door would not open. It was kind of a shock because my brain is saying why won't the door open, it's unlocked, it should open. The other part of me was thinking, great, now what am I going to do? So I stood there by the door trying to call Stacy, another assistant who was with a patient just across from the bathroom. I had to call her a few times to get her to respond. I thought that she couldn't hear me, but it turns out that she was just ignoring me. She thought that I was calling from around the hall and she was getting frustrated cause she was busy working. Finally though she answered me and I said, "I'm stuck in the bathroom!" Amid laughing she tried to jiggle on the handle to see if she could get the door open, then I hear the patients dad that she was working on come jiggle the handle. Then I start hearing more and more voices outside the door trying to figure out how to get the door open. Credit cards were being slipped through, screw drivers were trying to be pushed through the bottom of the door, there was discussion of whether or not the ceiling in the bathroom had panels, and if it did then they could crawl up there and pass me something to get the hinges lifted off the door. None of these solutions worked though, the credit card wasn't strong enough, the crack under the door wasn't big enough to get a screw driver through, and alas, the ceiling was sheet rock, not a panel in sight. The problem with the door, which I could see clearly through the crack of the door, was that the cirle part around the bolt had slid out when I locked the door and had gotten caught in the hole where the bolt goes. Therefore trapping me in the bathroom and making it very difficult for anyone to get me out. Eventually they called a locksmith to come and open the door and I was getting quite frustrated with him because he kept trying to unlock the door, I could hear him fiddling with a tool in the lock hole. I kept telling him, the doors not locked it's stuck. Finally after about 20 minutes or so they decided to remove the trim that is around the door, just on the side where the handle is and they were able to break me free. It really was very funny I have to admit, but I'm glad that it didn't take longer for them to break me out of there.

Harry Potter Book 7

It's finally here! I'm so excited that the last book is finally here and I can't wait to read it. Unfortunately I have to finish the 6th book first before I can start the 7th. About a week ago I realized that I did not remember anything that I had read in the 6th book. Which is kind of understandable because I only read it once two years ago when it came out. So I am trying to quickly get through the 6th book to refresh my memory so I'm not lost when I start the 7th book. I love these books and it just amazes me the imagination that J.K. Rowling has to come up with a story that has so much detail and twists and turns. It amazes me more that she has been able to stretch it out for 7 books and they just keep getting better and better!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Extreme Makeover Home Edition has come to Idaho to give one deserving family a complete makeover of their home. Who would have ever thought that little Middleton, Idaho would have the opportunity to have such an awesome experience as this. The family is a young couple, both 26, and they have four kids that all have the same rare disease where the children are not able to digest their food properly. Sheena and I were in Middleton having dinner with her family Saturday night so we decided we would swing by and check things out. They have the whole street blocked off and we had to park and walk about 1/4 to 1/2 a mile to the house. It's just amazing to me how quickly they have put the house up. They demolished the old house on Friday and this is what it looked like Saturday evening around
8:30 p.m. It looks like it's going to be a pretty nice house, aren't they always, and you can't see it from the picture, but the house actually extends farther back. It would be so exciting to be there next week when the family comes home to see their new house, unfortunately it's right in the middle of work. However, I won't miss being in the huge crowd which I'm sure will be there. A friend told me that they will start bussing people to the spectator section at 9 a.m. And since things like this don't happen very often in Idaho, especially in Middleton, I can only imagine that the crowd will be quite large.

Fun filled week

So I had some good times this past week. First of all my parents brought my nephew Topher home with them on their way back from Portland which was great because we don't get to spent very much time with the little munchkin. We had a 3rd of July party Tuesday night and my parents and Topher came over for dinner and fireworks. Topher could not wait to light those things and kept asking if it was dark enough to set them off. We had to keep finding things to do to distract him. He and I went out and played some croquet in the back yard, but the grass was a little long and we couldn't hit the balls very well. So I had the idea to get the tennis racket out and toss him the ball like baseball. He had a great time doing that and he actually hit it hard enough to get it across the yard and stuck in the chain link fence. He was quite proud of that accomplishment. Finally it was dark enough to like off the fireworks and I must say that little goober is quite the pyromaniac and had no fear about lighting those fireworks. His Auntie Heather had some old bottle rockets so she was lighting those off and he decided that he should be able to do it as well. So he went over and grabbed a few bottle rockets, jabbed them into the ground and lit them off. My brother wasn't too happy about that, but we all got a kick out of it. Wednesday we went and floated the Boise River which was madness because there were so many people there. We had quite a large group as well and some where along the line some people got lost and so we were waiting forever for the whole group to be there before we left. Not very much fun when it is over 100 degrees outside. Finally we got into the water and it felt so good. It was actually quite cold, but with it being so hot outside it felt nice to just put my hands in every once in a while. Sheena, Heather and I all have our own one man rafts so we used those and it was just perfect because you can lay out and you don't have to freeze your bum off because it's not hanging down in the water. The only problem was when we went over the rapids and the raft just filled with water. I tried for a little bit to bail the water with my water bottle, but that just wasn't getting the job done. So we had to pull over and dump them out. Overall it was a good time floating, but I actually prefer floating around in the pond because I can just lay there and relax and not worry about water getting in my raft, or constantly having to paddle to stay out of the trees. I did get a nice little tan out of it though which always makes me happy. :) Later that evening we walked to Ann Morrison Park to watch the fireworks, first time back in the park since the River Festival back in '03. They were awesome and we had a great spot with nice open sky above us and the fireworks were going off right over our heads. I LOVE FIREWORKS! I love the sound they make when they go off, I love the smell of them and I love how big and sparkly they are. Thursday Topher came over to have a sleep over at our house and we had a blast. We went out in Stuart's canoe and swam in the pond. Topher is a little fish and was just having a great time swimming in circles. As you can see from the picture below he had a little floating suit which worked quite well. He almost didn't want to get out of the water. Then we came back and did some science experiments and I must say that my nephew is getting to be a smart little whipper snapper, it just amazes me how much he knows already. He really enjoyed making the slime and enjoyed playing with it even more. Friday I got to have some me and Topher time while everyone else was at work. We went to the Discovery Center and he had a great time there touching everything and running around to all the exhibits. We went to Heather's work and had lunch with her and then went back to the house and played with slime. We went for another swim in the pond that evening which wasn't quite as nice as the night before because the water was a little colder than it was Thursday night. It was fun though and I can't say enough how much I love where we live. I love having a pond that we can go swim in and the greenbelt and river so close, I wouldn't trade our location for anything. Saturday we had our Denney Family reunion which was fun. Some of my cousins that I haven't seen in a long time were there which was great because I love getting together with them especially since we don't get to do it too often. We had some good food, played in the pool for a little bit, and had some good conversations. Later that evening my cousin and her husband, their three kids, her younger brother and sister, my aunt, Mike, Sarah, Topher and my parents all came over for a bbq and movie. We took my cousins three boys down to the pond and they had a great time throwing rocks, and it would have been nice to get some fresh air except for the stupid smokers that had to come along and pollute the air. :( Then we watched Happy Feet and said our good byes. Sunday I got up super early, especially for a Sunday morning and went to my parents ward that started at 9:00. It was good, but the ward is so different now since the ward split and I felt like I didn't know anyone there anymore. I did see an old boyfriend that is married now and living in my parents ward. It was nice to talk to him, mostly because I had the confirmation once again that I was very grateful that I did not decide to marry him, even though I did "give up my eternal exaltation" because I didn't marry him. (This is for those that have heard the story and hopefully you're having a good laugh right now as I am.) The weekend flew by too fast and Monday came and I had to go back to work. Good thing I get Friday off again so I can relax and have some fun! Sorry the post is so long, but I had a lot to put into it. :)


Having some fun at the Discovery Center!


Making a spiderweb out of the slime.


Playing with the finished product. He loved this stuff!


Science experiment! Making SLIME! (Topher specifically requested the color aqua)


Suited up and ready for swimming in the pond!


3rd of July fireworks show! My nephew the little pyromaniac!


Beautiful sunset on the walk back from the pond.


Mikey getting some rock throwing lessons from his dad.


Throwing rocks in the pond and having a great time doing it.


Cousins bonding over play station soccer. (my cousin Michelle's boys Donovan and David and my nephew Topher)


Grosse Pappi and Topher gettin some pool time in at the Denney family reunion.

Heather and I with our Grandma and Grandpa Barrus. Aren't they so cute?! We had so many cameras on us we didn't know where to look, that's why we're all looking in different directions.