Two Questions... Two Answers

This is going to seem like the world's most random post.... and that is because it is. I was just thinking about those questions. You know the ones. The ones that EVERYBODY can answer. The questions like, "Where were you when _____________________ happened?" (Insert important event.)

I remember my mom saying once that everyone in her generation can answer the question, "Where were you/what were you doing when you heard that JFK was assassinated?"

Obviously I can't answer that question, but I do have a couple questions like it that I can answer. Two of them, to be specific:

1. Where were you/what were you doing during the attack on 9/11/01? 
2. Where were you/ what were you doing when the Boise State Broncos beat the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl?

I know. Two very different, very unrelated, complete opposite emotional spectrum questions. But I will always, ALWAYS remember the answer to those questions. So, in this blog post, I am going to answer those questions for you! 

First of all.... 9/11/01. I was 11 years old. 

I woke up that morning to my mom talking to someone on the telephone. Whoever it was (I think it was my aunt) told her to turn on the news. I remember my mom watching and listening to the news, staring at the tv with her jaw dropped. I remember her telling me that this was bad. Very bad. She told me that someone had attacked our country. Whoever it was that attacked us flew an airplane into a building in New York. We were watching the news when suddenly another plane flew in the the second twin tower. I remember my mom started to cry. I don't think at that point I completely understood what was going on. 

I had an orthodontist appointment that morning. I distinctly remember sitting in a chair, leaned back with an assistant's hands in my mouth.... the hands weren't moving. The assistant's eyes weren't on me. They were on the TV. Everyone's eyes were on the TV. And nobody wanted to believe what they were seeing or hearing. 

Later that day, I went back to school. I was sitting in Mr. Olivaria's computer class when all the sudden over the PA system we hear "LOCK DOWN!" So, we turn off our computer monitors and quietly crawl under our computer desks. We were all really scared. We didn't know what was going on. We knew that there had been a terrorist attack that morning in New York, and we were all sure that the next target was Lowell Scott Middle School in Boise, Idaho. It turns out that someone was just guarding a cell tower, and was holding a gun, which is why we had the lock down. 

Anyway, on the bus ride home, I stared out the window, still trying to comprehend what exactly had happened that day. As I peered out the window, I noticed something different. I noticed something beautiful. There was not a single home between that did not have an American flag up somewhere outside their home. It was definitely a site I had never witnessed before. That is my memory of 9/11.

Second: 2007 Fiesta Bowl. I was 17 years old. 

On a more lighthearted note, this was a very exciting experience. Boise State had been doing well in football that year and in the previous few years. All eyes were on our Boise State Broncos. Although they were considered EXTREME underdogs going into the Fiesta Bowl against the Oklahoma Sooners, there was still quite a lot of excitement going on in the city of Boise. There wasn't a single person in Boise who wasn't planning on watching the big game. 

I was at Stuart Carson's home with a bunch of my friends. All I can say is that I don't think that I have ever seen a more exciting, more intense, more happy game of football in my life. Or any other sport, for that matter, really. I felt like we won it, then we lost it, then we won it, then we lost it, then we won it again... all in one game. I pretty much had a heart attack. 

OK. I can't explain it myself. You just have to watch this clip. You know you want to relive it too. Just sayin. 

Rock Climbing

Bryce and I were so lucky to get rock climbing stuff for Christmas from our parents. We went rock climbing today (Bryce's first time... pretty much). We had a blast! We don't really have pictures of us climbing, because when one of us was climbing the other was belaying... so we couldn't really snap too many pictures of the actual climbing part... but here are some other pictures we took of the event!

This is what we climbed up:

Bryce's first figure 8 follow through!:

Just taught Bryce how to belay.... he's thinking, "Do you really trust me with this, honey?"

Little itty bitty rock climbing feet:

Bryce prepping for his first climb:

We had a blast!:

Power Surge and Rescue

So the other day I was sitting on the couch, minding my own business, when all the sudden we had this HUGE ol' power surge. I never witnessed one of those before, but it was kinda scary. I thought our whole apartment was going to blow up. Anyway, it is a miracle my laptop lived through the whole thing, considering it was plugged in at the time. The power surge blew our surge protector, and it also ruined our speaker system. It blew something in the amp. Now, we got our speaker system for free from PC recyclers back when Bryce worked there... but this is a really nice system that is worth $300 new. Needless to say, even though we weren't really out much since it was free, we were still bummed.

Anyway, Bryce took the amp apart, looked over it, and found a piece that he could replace. It looked like this. He thought it was a capacitor, but it is actually a varistor. Varistors are pretty much there to blow up when there is a power surge to save the rest of your circuit. SO ya! It did its job!

So we biked over to Radio Shack, bought a new $2.50 varistor, and saved our speaker system! Yay! Here is Bryce fixing it.

And if you can see that small blue circular piece in there... that is our new varistor that saved our speaker system! Technology is super cool.... especially when you have a husband that knows all about it :) 

Mountain Biking

Okay so I have to admit something to all my many readers you. I don't really like Rexburg. Or much of Eastern Idaho for that matter. It's okay, and not a terrible place to live or anything.... But it's cold and windy in the winter and it is still usually coldish and super windy in the summer. And in my opinion, there aren't very many pretty places around Rexburg. HOWEVER.... there are some great, beautiful days. Days that make you happy just because the sun is shining and you can feel its warmth on your skin. Today was one of those days. We went mountain biking today with some people. And oh my goodness... we discovered a place that made Eastern Idaho spike in the polls of my own personal location popularity book.

We biked down to this beautiful area with a cool log bridge and a waterfall running underneath it. I didn't ever want to leave that place. It was gorgeous. (Not to mention we would have to bike uphill to get out of there...thank you, bike trip, for reminding me how out of shape I am...)

These are the people we went with.... Spencer and some of his friends.  It was great fun! 

Just check out this view... stunning. 

Anyway, I just love the days that remind me how beautiful this world really is... even in the tundra of Eastern Idaho.