I love husband number 2

Me: "How sexy is it to roll over to snuggle your wife, only to discover that she's just had night sweats and is covered in slime?"

David: "I don't mind. It's better than sleeping alone!"

How sweet is he?


*Check my "Road to the Marathon" update at left. This next weekend we get to run 11 miles!

The hills are aliiiiive...

While we were in Boise last weekend, Anna and I spent a lot of time exploring around my mom's new house. She lives up in the Boise foothills now, which I could not possibly love more, because you can literally walk out her back door and you've got access to the endless hiking/mountain biking trails that Boise has become famous for.

There are many horse-ranches in the area, and of course we had to visit all of them!

Near one pasture, we saw a killdeer doing its "broken wing" trick. I explained to Anna why killdeer do this and we looked around for her nest. Turns out, killdeer aren't exactly brilliant when it comes to finding stealthy hiding spots in which to protect their eggs.

In the photo above, you can see her sitting on her nest just below and to the right of that fence post (and about 5 feet away from Anna). Look how well the eggs are camouflaged though:

Once she realized we were more interested in the horses than in making an omelet from her eggs, she settled down on her nest and let us get right up next to her.

View of my mom's house from the ridge up above.
The day after the party, Anna and I went for a hike. It was a really windy day and the higher we climbed, we could hear this really weird, almost creepy noise. It sounded almost like "AAAaaaaAAAaaHHHH"...like a VERY enthusiastic crowd cheering at a baseball game. But I knew we were too far away and it was too consistent. I said "It almost sounds like sheep", but Anna thought it was much more likely to be aliens. She was beginning to freak herself out and I could tell she wanted to head for the comfort of grandma's house, but I reminded her that there had to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for it, and no, that explanation did NOT involve aliens.

Finally we got up to the top of the ridge and as we gazed across the Boise foothills, waaaay off in the distance, we saw this:

It looked like the entire hillside was moving, and it was sheep! Lots and lots of sheep! Anna was SO excited; we stood and watched as they got closer...
and closer....
and closer....

until they were literally in the exact field in which we were standing! The sound of approximately 300 sheep BBBAAAAAAAAing is almost deafening.

This baby was my favorite. Don't you want to just pinch his little cheeks? Something tells me mama wasn't going to let that happen.

You can see the Basque sheepherders down below. I'm sure they thought we were nuts for taking a million pictures of SHEEP. But I am so glad I happened to have my camera.

This was such an incredible experience for Anna. I had told her about how, when I was her age, we lived in a cabin in Garden Valley. Every spring and fall, the sheep would be moved from their winter grazing pasture to their summer grazing pasture, and back again. We would be outside playing or whatever, and one of us would hear the tell-tale bbaaaaa-ing of sheep and the ringing of cowbells and we'd yell "They're coming! THEY'RE COMING!!!! " and everyone in the family would stop whatever we were doing and race down the long gravel driveway so that we could stand and watch as hundreds of sheep filed down the road, followed by a couple of Basque sheepherders and a couple of Border Collies. It was magical. Once we moved to the city, I didn't think I'd ever get to see that again.

That I got to, and with Anna? Just made the entire trip for me.

::hillbilly party::

I had SO much fun in Boise this past weekend! My family hosted our first annual Hillbilly Gathering. There were games, great food, great music and lots of, um, memorable fun that shall never be discussed in public. Let's just say that I LOVE MY CRAZY HILLBILLY FAMILY....and we'll leave it at that.

My sister hung up clothes lines with "big girl panties" and other hillbilly items.



There was a couple who showed up whom none of us knew; they live in Hidden Springs and had come across an invitation. They showed up in full Hillbilly costume and were almost more enthusiastic about the whole thing than we were! They said it was their weddin' day, and brought a bottle of moonshine and were even kind enough to share their weddin' cake, made of Ding Dongs and Ho Ho's and other white-trash snacks. They were so funny; he said "It'd come down to her or her sister, so I made 'em wrestle to decide which one I'd marry", and she chimed in "I lost!"

That's them in the middle; they brought some of their kin folk too.


My brother-in-law Elmer (not his real name, but it should be) roasted an entire pig.



My brother wore his best top-hat. The thing is, he was NOT in costume. This is how he looks every day of his life, whether he's going to work as a logger or going to a wedding. I love my brother.

My mom, my brother and me.

The best part is that my sister raised a good chunk of money to benefit the Casting for Recovery program for surivors of breast-cancer. Next year's party is already being planned. I can't wait!

Later in the week I'll share photos of THE NEW BABY in the family (who was born the day before Anna and I got to town and ohmygod is she adorable!) and a cool experience Anna and I had during a hike in the Boise foothills.

Actual footage of Octomom giving birth

I hope you don't have a weak stomach; this is kind of gory, but fascinating.

new poll

Please take a moment to answer the important question posed at left. David is SOOOO gonna lose this one.

Some people really will do anything to win the Most-Authentic Hillbilly award at the party next week

I was just out on the second half of my 8 mile run...it's a gorgeous, warm day and I was "in the zone". I had my headphones on and, for the first time ever, I was wearing a baseball cap. My hair has been bugging me when I run, getting in my face but not long enough to pull back. So today I pulled on one of David's hats to help control my hair and also to keep that pesky sun out of my eyes. Once I started running, I realized that the brim of the hat severely limited my visability; running with my head slightly down, as I do, meant that I could only see about 5 feet in front of me, which, I decided, I liked. That way I wasn't looking a block or two or three ahead and thinking "Uuggh, I still have a long way to go."

So there I am, in my zone, watching the ground a few feet ahead of me. Every now and then, of course, I'd look around. Anyway, I'm running along and feel something fall away from me. I had on a waist-pack with my water-bottle and I-pod in it, so I instinctively turned around to make sure it wasn't something important. I turned back around and

BAM!!!

I ran smack into a parked car.

Oh yes, I did.

I fell to the ground, hitting my face HARD on the pavement.

I now have a very fat lip and a CHIPPED TOOTH.

I am TOTALLY leaving it this way until after the Hillbilly Hoedown party in Boise next week.

If this doesn't make your day, you have a hole where your heart is supposed to be

Knowing my unfailing devotion to Sound of Music, lots of people have sent this to me, and it's going around the internet like wildfire. I can't tell you how much I love everything about this. I LOVE how surprised and delighted the spectators are. And I love how the performers are just dressed in regular clothes, backpacks and all, as if it were completely spontaneous. You must watch it all the way through.



My friend Sarah, who shares my love of Sound of Music, is putting together a group of people to DO THIS in Spokane, probably in the middle of our big downtown shopping mall. How frickin cool will that be??? If anyone wants to participate, let me know. Everyone welcome, including kids. She has a friend "in the business" who is going to help produce it and film it.