Victory is Sweet

Actually, it tastes more like steak...

Because it's next to impossible for me to be short and concise with my personal narratives, I'll be giving you the whole story. (Get comfortable.)

3 months ago (back in the days when I was still in the IF 1st branch), we did a pinewood derby for FHE. Our branch is divided into "families" who ended up being our teams for the aforementioned race. When it came time to actually making the cars, it was me and Josh vs. Brooke and Matt. (There were other teams as well.) Anyhoo...Josh and Matt are roommates, and Brooke and I are roommates, so a little competition ensued.

I'm not gonna lie to you-I have no idea what I'm doing with tools, and making a derby car ain't exactly up my alley, if you catch my drift. But Josh and I got to work and laughed until we cried. (At one very low point, our car resembled a woman's slipper. We did what we could to fix it...)

Josh made the mistake of showing Matthew our "car" and then Matt told Brooke something along the lines of, "I don't care if we lose to everyone else, but we can't lose to Gina and Josh." How's that supposed to make me feel when Brooke passed along that information? (Of course she's gonna tell me what he said; Brooke likes a good competition as much as the next person!)

And so a bet was laid on the table: the losers would provide the winners with dinner and dessert.

So...the long-awaited day arrived, and I was nothing but nerves. Typically I'm NOT a betting gal; and if, by chance, I'm goaded into taking a bet, you better believe I don't accept unless I know I'm going to WIN! -Such was not the case this time...I had NO CLUE how this bet was going to play out.

Our...ah...creations.
Purple team=Josh and Gina
Red team=Brooke and Matt

Truth be told, neither car was goin' real fast. Both cars were in the "losers" bracket. And then...it was time. We set our cars on the track and let loose.

Now this isn't just to make the story better; our cars really were neck and neck, up until the very end. (Which took a while, because our cars were NOT fast.) Red car pulled ahead. And then at the last possible second, purple car won! It's true!

We did best of 3. I think. We switched lanes and did at least one more race, of that I'm certain. All I know for sure is that Josh and I WON!

The victor: Joshua!
Oh yeah, we won a bag of chocolate kisses too.
Not sure what happened to them...

And now (3 MONTHS LATER) Brooke and Matt have finally paid up. Matthew grilled us some delish steaks, and Brookey made her tasty homemade steak fries.

Yummy, yummy!
This steak is Josh's. He likes his steaks to bleed...

I like to win!

Bancroft/Lava Hot Springs

Two weekends ago (Feb 23, I think it was) we had a branch activity. Some went to Pebble Creek to ski, and the rest of us went to Bancroft to ride some horses and chill. Then we all met up at Lava Hot Springs to relax our muscles in the hot pools, and then dined at Pizza Hut. It was pretty fun.

In Bancroft, we started off with a sleigh ride, then made our way to an indoor arena (not sure what term is used for where horses run, sorry). Now I've been on a horse before, but I was 3, and the horse was pretty old; Ringo was his name-o, matter of fact, and my dad was right there beside me, guiding the horse around. So...fast forward to 22 years later, and here I sit on an entirely different horse (Ringo is long gone, I'm quite certain). I got on the horse like a pro (I'm sure it has something to do with my long legs), but once I was there I didn't quite know what to do. I took the reigns and told my horse (Misty, I think?) to "go." (All the people who've ridden horses laughed at me for that one. GEEZ! It's not like anybody gave me a run-through on what to do! And as far as I can tell, horses don't speak English, so does it really matter what I tell the horse in my native tongue? Apparently it does, in fact, matter). Anyway...I got my horse to go, although I had a hard time directing it in specific directions. And then she started to trot. Mm-kay, for you cowboys out there, you probably don't think this is as scary as it was for me...but when horses trot, they pretty much bounce you around, especially when you've not a clue what you're doing. So I bounced around and told my horse to stop, which, of course, she didn't. So I pulled on the reigns and it worked! Shortly thereafter, I got off the horse; I'd had my fill for the day. I realize that the rider is supposed to be in charge of the horse, and such was not the case with me...and I'm pretty sure that the horse picked up on that. I think she liked being "in charge" of this stupid human on her back. Maybe I'll try again sometime...?

Anyway...here are some pictures of the day's events...

Me and Heidi on the sleigh ride.

Here we have Jeremethius!
(Jeremy knighted himself a Greek God, which inspired the Greek spin on his name.)

This Clydesdale was prancing around,
showing off for us while we were on our sleigh ride.

Yours truly on the horse that wouldn't go
(initially, at least)...

I skipped taking pictures at Lava (on purpose. Most people aren't a fan of having their pictures taken while in their swim suits. Especially since it's winter and lots of us were pasty white and not as in-shape as we typically are in, say, the summer). But I took some pictures of friends at Pizza Hut, just for fun.

Jeremethius, acting all "thug"

Jason and his 90's...ah...troll hair?
I liked it and touched it...
It was very soft and stand-uppy.

And here we have Paul, also known as "MacAdoo."

Lisa enjoying her salad...yum!
Oh, and that's Jessa right next to her.

And here's a salad-eating Brookey!

Branch Christmas Party!!!

So we had our branch Christmas party last night, and it was awesome! It was a formal affair...mostly. There was a spectrum of "formal" which is just fine by me. Everybody looked lovely. Everybody, that is, except my "friends" who showed up with the facial hair I hate most: mustaches. Ew. Jason and Cameron have been sporting beards/gotees ever since they found out how I feel about mustaches, so I pretty much knew that the facial hair would be reduced to a mustache sometime...I just didn't know when. Honestly, I was banking on it over our upcoming trip to Colorado. (Funny, I had just been having a conversation with Brooke about it the night before.) Anyway...the first person I saw when I entered the Rose Shop was Cameron, wearing a big smile and a handlebar mustache. Oi...I really can't tell you what my reaction was exactly; I'm pretty sure it involved rolling my eyes and walking away...there's a 50/50 chance that there was a smile on my face; I'll have to ask Cameron. Anyway, once I saw Cameron and his nasty facial hair, I was planning on Jason showing up with less than a beard as well. And I was right to assume such. He had a mustache and mutton chops. Geez. Later on, Jayson showed up with a mustache (which I was not planning on). Scott showed up with a mustache as well. I was surrounded by mustaches all night!

So as obnoxious as my friends are, I laughed at it. I figured the joke was over.

Oh, how wrong I was.

After the fellas had finished eating, they showed up with bananas. That's right. They pealed and ate them right there in front of me. Cameron even mushed it into his mustache all over his face, just for the nasty affect of my least favorite food stuck in my least favorite form of facial hair. Ew. A lot.

Besides all this, though, the evening was lovely. Jamie sang us a tune and President Baird read a poem in his...uh...special attire. Then we had a white elephant gift exchange, watched the Nativity (Luke 2), and gave a personal gift to Christ. It was lovely note to end on.

Here are some pix of the night's events...

Me and my cute roommates, all decked out.


Jason, Gina, Cameron...and their mustaches.
This was before the banana prank.

Kattie enjoying her prime rib dinner.
Yum-o!

Here is the banana attack.
Jayson, Scott, me, Cameron and Jason.

Cameron with banana mushed all over his face.
He and Jason think they are so funny.

It's kind of funny; at some point, I closed my eyes and plugged my ears for I don't know how long. When I opened my eyes, I saw about a dozen of my friends from the branch snapping pictures, which is something I was not expecting.

Our wonderful branch presidency:
Bro. Buell, Pres. Baird, Bro. Kocsis, and Bro. Stevenson.
I love these men!

Linda and Melinda.

Jennifer, Tish and KaTrina

Patrick and Jamie

President Baird (aka PB) reading us an original poem:
" 'Twas One Week Until Christmas"
by Clement Clarke Moore, adapted by Gina Orgill for Pres. Mike Baird

More of the wonderful people in the branch:
Sam, Chelsie, Kelsey, Sheila, Hayley, Mark

And now I give you: BROCK HIGHAM!!!
This fella moved to AZ to get educated, and nobody knew
he'd be back for our party. What a great surprise!

***************************************
'Twas One Before Until Christmas
by Clement Clarke Moore, adapted by Gina Orgill for Pres. Mike Baird

‘twas a week until Christmas and all through the branch
Carols were playing, which made Chris want to dance.
The Harshbargers prepared such a wonderful meal—
No bananas were used, which for Gina was a big deal!
The children were nestled ‘round the tables on chairs
Awaiting PB’s poem read in his long underwear.
Sister Baird, looking lovely, and I—dressed like this—
Snuck under the mistletoe for a sweet Christmas kiss!
When out in the parking lot arose such a clatter
We sprang from our seats to see what was the matter.
Someone was attempting to steal the skis
Of Cameron and Jason—they took him down with great ease.
Katie and Sheila attended to his wounds
Because they’re so smart, and that’s what they do…
The moon cast dark shadows and Missy got scared
So Briant led her back inside ‘cause he cared.
When what to our wondering eyes had appeared
But dessert on the tables, and each of us cheered.
With presents beside them—white elephant gifts;
Brianne got excited, and our spirits did lift.
More rapid than eagles the packages were unwrapped
The happy jubilation awoke Brooke from her nap.
Now Jamie and Patrick, plus Hayley and Mark
Snuck off to smooch under the mistletoe in the dark.
Then Linda sang us a beautiful tune—
It sounded so lovely that Matthew did swoon.
Then all twinkling and cute Jennifer, too, sang
In the hearts of David and Kandyce, melodies rang.
As our hands clapped together, we all cheered for more;
Brother Stevenson sounds just like Bing Crosby for sure!
We were dressed to impress; we looked good, it’s no doubt…
“This party is rockin’!” KaTrina did shout.
It all came together with planning and care
The fellows looked handsome and the maidens were fair.
Shalene had sewn pretty jackets for girls
To make dresses modest and look good with their pearls.
Megan and Kayla, so cute on their own,
Lent their services too—pretty hair do’s were shown.
Our eyes-how they sparkled like the lights on a tree;
We’re so glad for new friends from the Virlow branch, don’t you see?!
The 1^st branch is spectacular—we make each other smile…
In planning activities, Kattie goes the extra mile.
Jess posts the bulletins. Matt Svedin ain’t no geek.
And coming up soon Melinda marries Ryan Weeks!
Kelly likes to bake, and she’s good at it too!
Speaking of cooking—Tracie makes a good stew.
A wink of the eye from Billy can really make us worry;
But we’ll just call on Tish; she calms him down in a hurry.
We don’t need to say how we love one another;
It’s obvious in the way we treat all as sisters and brothers.
Lisa and Callie are both organized and so darn cute;
The Kocsises travel to Colorado with boots.
The Buells are noted for all of their fame;
They’re constantly going to all sorts of games.
The poem was ending, and PB did state:
“You all are amazing, and I think you should date!
Hold to the rod and be faithful and true.
Happy Christmas to each and every one of you!”

Here we come a caroling...

So tonight for FHE, we went caroling on a hay ride. It was great fun, I must say, as well as super freaking cold. For real. Riding on the back of a truck with the ferociously cold wind whipping 'round us made me wonder if I'd ever be warm again! -But we had a good time, I think. Then it was back to the church for hot chocolate and pizza (provided by the Buells...yum-o!).

Here are some pix of tonight's events...

This was my side of the truck...
Sister Kocsis, Kelly, Jayson, Tracie, Jennifer
Gina, Cameron, Brooke

More of our carolers...

And even more...

And more still...
(there were about 40 of us in all!)

Thawing out!
Gina, Brooke, Lisa

Caroling is a tradition for the Idaho Falls 1st Branch. We did it last year (and nearly froze then too!) It really is a terrific time, even if we did nearly freeze to deaths. Oh how I heart Christmas!

General Conference...

Friday/Saturday, 5 & 6

October Several people from the branch went up to Island Park to watch General Conference for the Saturday sessions. We headed up on Friday to party and stay the night in Cameron's family's cabins and it was great fun! We watched movies, played games, and visited. The next morning, we woke up to a tasty breakfast (made by Jamie, Chris and Kattie...thanks, girls!) and then we watched conference. Oh wait...I forgot to mention a very important factor: it snowed all night. We woke up to a heave blanket of wet snow. There was, of course, fun to be had in this early snowfall; I took some pictures of that as well. Anyway...during the first session of conference, there was a newsflash along the bottom of the TV screen, talking about dangerous road conditions...we were afraid we might have to stay another night...however, the roads weren't as bad as we had heard, and so we were able to head back to Idaho Falls following the afternoon session of Conference. It was a lovely time. Here are some pics:

Melanie, Gina, Briant, Brooke
watching Princess Bride.

Kattie lounging by the fire, trying desperately to get (and stay) warm.
Isn't she cute?

A Winter Wonderland...in early October!


Brooke and Lisa take on the incredible Kattie!


A few of the girls falling asleep during the first session...

Because things were up in the air and we weren't sure what was going to happen, Cameron said to me (jokingly, I think) that maybe I should write a poem about the situation. So I did. I wrote this poem between sessions of Saturday's conference. Kind of fun...

GENERAL CONFERENCE GETAWAY:
General Conference time is here--we're gathered in Island Park!
We arrived safely as the snow fell, and herald angels sang "Hark!"
We watched some flicks and played some games to pass our time Friday night...
Then off to bed we all did go...and woke up to a world of white!
Because of the snow that fell that night, we broke out Christmas tunes;
Snow in October is NOT okay--the happy music lightened the mood.
Breakfast was tasty as could be; THANKS, Jamie, Kattie and Chris!
'cept for the bananas--WHO needs those?! They're something I'd rather miss.
This morning's session started up; we learned of the apostle brand new:
Welcome, Elder Quentin Cook, and Eyring's counselor number two.
The talks this morning were spiritual and focussed on being HAPPY.
(I'm working on tolerating the snow 'cause in October it makes me feel crappy.)
But I kept listening, it's true; General Conference is something I love...
Words from apostles and prophets dear; revelation from God above.
During the broadcast, and newsflash appeared at the bottom of the screen:
DANGEROUS road conditions outside; this much snow in October's OBSCENE!
We learned through phone calls and the likes that roads are being closed...
So perhaps there's a chance we won't go home tonight; at the cabin we might have to doze.
To think that Cameron was worried that something might go wrong!
It's just a little snow, my friend--although it hasn't stopped for long.
But it's okay--it really is! We're all in great company!
In case you didn't hear my OTHER poem, I love you all, don't you see?
Although this lovely GETAWAY might last longer than we thought,
We're having fun and enjoying each other; friendships like this can't be bought!

how many people...?

After our fun-filled evening of Iron Chef, Chris got to talking about how, when she was in high school, she got 12 people to fit into her trunk. By the way, she drives a Ford Focus...a rather small car. I called her bull as soon as I heard the fib. But Matt wanted to try it out...so we grabbed about a dozen or so people to try to squish in there. PS: IT DIDN'T WORK! After 3 people, there really was no more room. (3 people fit in there and we could shut the trunk; after that, it was just too full). I wonder...if this story is really true, how miniature are Chris's high school friends? Just something to think about... PS again: Don't get mad, Chris...

Three people:
Missy, Gregorie, Matt

Here we have Kelly and Dave hanging on...
That makes 5.

And it's now complete with a Cameron on top...

Iron Chef...

Tonight for FHE we did our own rendition of Iron Chef. We were put into groups and then drew a number which correlated with a certain ingredient. My group's ingredient was plantains. (What are the odds that I would draw the only ingredient that in any way resembles a banana!?!) We came up with the idea to make sugar cookies and then caramelized the plantains and put 'em on the cookies, drizzled with caramel sauce. It looked pretty, and I heard it didn't taste too bad. (Yeehaw!) Here are some pics...

Our group:
Michelle, Brooke, David

I actually licked the plantain.
(Don't worry, I cut that part off and threw it away.)

Caramelizing the plantains...

David showing off the finished product!

It was a LOT of fun. The other groups got pretty creative too. The winner was lime bars...the special ingredient? LIMES. For the love of Pete, I didn't think that was quite fair...I could've come up with LOTS of yummy recipes with a lime. What on earth can you do with a plantain?! But it's really okay...it was lots of fun, and I'm pretty proud of our creativity.

RS Retreat...

August 3-4

Friday evening (Aug. 3) our Relief Society had a retreat. We went to Jamie's aunt's house in Iona to set up tents and party in her large back yard. It was a good time! We lit a rather large bonfire, ate all sorts of good food, and enjoyed some good company. Here are some pics of the evening and the next morning...

Here are some of the girls singing tbe Baby Bumblebee song...
This is them "licking up my baby bumblebee."


Kattie, Brookey, Gina

Lisa and me enjoying cinnamon bears.
(YUM! We love this wonderful confection!)

Tracie was stylin' this night...
the flip flops over the white socks is always sexy!

"Do I have something in my teeth?"

Jamie looks like she's praying...or something...
but she's really just trying to pop some corn
while protecting herself from the elements.

This was Chris's first time ever sleeping in a tent!

June 22; Manti Pageant...

After hiking Angel's Landing, we drove to Tracie's parent's house in Fayette to meet up with the branch. There, those of us who went on the hike cleaned up at the house and then we had a BBQ with our friends from the branch. (PS That shower was so nice! We were all so smelly and sweaty, and I was so ready to be clean!) After the BBQ, we headed to Manti and saved us a spot near the center, then walked around till we found a spot in the shade where we could stand and visit (while eating snow cones to keep ourselves cool). Once our snow cones were gone, we went back to the Temple grounds and some of our group made a fortress with the blankets and chairs in order to nap out of the sun; the rest of us sat and visited. The pageant started at dark, when several of us promptly fell asleep. (We were so sleepy from such a long day on such little sleep!!!)

THE MANTI PAGEANT
June 22, 2007

The Manti Temple

Napping...

The napping fort...

Getting ready for a nap!

Jason waking up from his nap...

The Temple at sunset...

Tracie, Callie and Gina

The crew...
Lisa, Brooke, Jeff, Tracie, Callie, Gina, Cameron

After the pageant, we made our way back to our car and made our way (as quickly as traffic would allow) back to Fayette to sleep at the Church there. We actually got to sleep in until 7-ish the next morning! So nice! After we got up and ready, we made our way to SLC to Welfare Square for a tour with the branch. Then we made our way back to home sweet home...Idaho Falls, ID! Overall, a pretty terrific road trip. It was awesome seeing Janell and it's just a crying shame that we didn't get to spend more time with her!