Feeling A Bit Blue...

For some reason I have a new-found infatuation with the color blue. This is a first because I have never been a blue person. My mom likes blue. My brother loves blue. But me? Greens, reds and golds any day. That was until HGTV came along. When we finally caved in and decided to get cable, Lauren and I became addicted to decorating shows. I was appalled whenever we would see a designer paint a room blue. I would gasp and say, "Oh my gosh, why would they paint the room THAT color?" Lauren would wholeheartedly agree. Then something began to change inside me. I began to notice blue everywhere I went. And I began to like it! I'm becoming drawn to it. It has actually made it's way into my new blog design! Well, I guess I am now officially out of the closet...(solemnly) My name is Kasey, and I like the color blue.

I'm Back!

I can't believe it has been so long since my last blog entry. I don't know what got into me. I will try to get back to posting more regularly.

Last weekend we took an overnight trip and went all the way to...Boise. I know that seems ridiculous because it's only forty five minutes away. We stayed the night at the hotel we stayed in when we first visited Idaho. The hotel is decorated in a "lodge" theme which we love. Very cozy. They serve fresh baked cookies and milk in the evening and a great continental breakfast in the morning. But most important of all, it has a nice heated indoor pool and jacuzzi. It was fun to hang out, relax and swim. We got lots of shopping done in Boise that we've been needing to do but kept putting off because of the long drive. We also visited the Old Idaho State Penitentiary. It was built in the 1860's and then added to over time. Of course, it's not in use today but you can take self-guided tours there and learn about the criminal history of Idaho. It's really a bit creepy.

Event of the Day

Yesterday afternoon Lauren and I were at the Library and witnessesd a little bit of drama. Through the double glass doors we could see a baby (about 2 years old) crossing the street wearing nothing but a diaper (it was chilly yesterday) and there was no parent to be found. It was shocking to see this little boy all alone and have no idea where he came from or who he belonged to. A couple of ladies brought him into the library, found a sweatshirt for him to wear and the librarian called the police. Not long after the police showed up, the boy's frantic mother came running down the street and scooped him up into her arms. If I had seen this take place a few years ago, before I was a mother myself, my thoughts would have been solely, "What kind of mother lets her baby wander away like that? He could have been hit by a car! He had no clothes on and it was cold outside! His poor little feet didn't even have shoes on! Some people just shouldn't be parents!". Though I have to admit that these thoughts did initially pop into my head they were quickly replaced by the feelings of horror his mother must be feeling. What can be more terrifying than not knowing where your child has disappeared to? It is impossible to keep your eye on your child every second. A friend of mine has a child that would just leave the house and take off into the neighborhood as soon as her back was turned. She tried locking the doors but he figured out how to unlock them. I'm hoping something like that is what happened yesterday and it wasn't just the result of neglectful parenting.

A Night at the Cinema

Tonight Aaron came home and suggested that he and I go see a movie. We are entering the busy season with work now so we have to squeeze in a date night whenever a window of time opens up. We went to our theater here in Emmett which is an experience in itself. It is REALLY old and hasn't been updated in oh, several decades or so. It only shows one movie once a day so it makes it really easy to decide what you are going to see. Tonight they were showing Ghostrider. No, it was not good! I would complain about the money we wasted on seeing this movie but it only costs about four or five dollars to get in and 75 cents for a candy bar. Considering that a trip to the movies in Boise costs about 30 bucks (tickets, popcorn, candy) plus gas, seeing a bad movie at the Emmett Frontier Cinema is not too much to complain about.

Blah Week for Blogging

Obviously, this has been a bad week for blogging. The week itself wasn't necessarily bad, just boring. Nothing much happened worth writing about. The only significant thing that happened was that for 5 days straight I managed to work out for half an hour in the morning and run a mile and a half in the evening. I'm working on that healthier living goal I made on my birthday. I really hope I can keep it up. Amanda bought an "ipod shuffle" this week and was nice enough to let me use it when I went running. Boy does the time go by faster when you have music to listen to!

Grand View of Emmett

I remember the first time we drove in to Emmett. We were cruising through the gently rolling hills, admiring the occasional farms that you see as you leave Boise and head out into the country. Suddenly the hills closed in tightly against the road and we drove through a short "canyon". Unexpectedly, the canyon ended and we found ourselves on the top of a hill overlooking the valley of Emmett. It absolutely took our breath away. It was then and there that we knew that we'd found our new home. This is the view we get to see every time we leave and return home (click on the pictures for a closer look). I love to look out and see the farmland and a few of the last remaining orchards.
This view is what you see just to the right of the view above. Last summer we did a lot of swimming in the water canal you see snaking through the middle of this photo.
The mountain you see in the background is called "the Butte" and it is beautiful covered in snow. On the right you can see the road that takes us down "freezeout hill" into the valley. The purpose of this post is really to remind myself of the wonder I felt seeing it for the first time. I hope to never forget that.

A Bit of Prevention

One downfall to living in our area is that there is apparently quite a bit of methamphetamine drugs floating around. A good thing though is that our community tries to do a lot to make people aware of this fact. Last week they held a meeting to discuss a new form of meth that is being pushed at grade school children. It is strawberry flavored and made to look like the little Valentine heart candies with the little sayings on them. Doesn't that just make you sick! We weren't able to attend that meeting but over 300 people did, which I think is an impressive turnout. Our local theater agreed to play the movie they showed that night, free of charge, every Thursday night until nobody comes anymore. I took the kids to see it tonight and it definitely left a deep impression on them. It was very powerful , very blunt, and a bit disturbing. Austin especially seemed effected by it, probably because he understood the most. We talked a lot afterward and I explained to him that although watching this movie made him feel a bit "icky", the knowledge it gave him would help protect him. Now he knows the facts and nobody will be able to convince him that it's harmless. He knows now that meth will put holes in your brain the first time you try it and that 95% of people become addicted at first use. There's nothing appealing about it when you know that! This is one aspect of parenthood that I don't really care for. I don't like having to teach my kids about the evils in the world. I wish they didn't have to know about drugs and child molesters and kidnappers and all those unpleasant things. I've learned though that as much as you want to, you shouldn't hide these things from your children. These threats are everywhere, even in Tiny Town, USA. By knowing about them they can become educated on how to keep themselves safe.

Birth Announcement!

Shortly after we bought Lauren's guinea pig, Violet, we discovered that she was expecting piglets! All of the ones we already had are females so we know she was already pregnant when we bought her. We've been watching her grow fatter and fatter these past few weeks and yesterday we thought she wouldn't fit through the doorway of her house if she got much bigger! This morning I peeked into her house to check on her and was surprised to see she was not alone. She had two tiny little babies sometime during the night. They are absolutely adorable! Everyone seems partial to the little brown one whose hair is wavy instead of smooth.They are already running around the cage and following Violet around. If we pick them up Violet shrieks until we give them back. We would like to keep them both but I think they may both be little boys. It's kind of hard to tell right now.

Heading Off to Explore...

I've decided to just start posting some of the pictures I've taken when I really don't have much to say. I'll start with these.