Entertaining weekend

We have already had some good times this weekend. Yesterday, Cindy and I went to Idaho Falls to get some shopping done and had a good time. We went to Red Robin and picked up both CARS and WALL-E at Target. (both cheaper than advertised at Wal-Mart.) We had been meaning to get them to add to our collection and now feel like our Disney shelf of DVD's is much more complete than before.

Today we got to be in the Rexburg Parade for Cindy's work. We handed out fans with snoopy on them for metlife to spectators as we walked down mainstreet. We weren't exactly looking forward to being FORCED into staying in town for the 4th of July, but it was better than we were expecting. It was actually pretty fun.

After the parade we went to go see Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. It was AMAZING! I liked the first one well enough. It had cool cars and explosions to keep anyone's interest. But the new one was soooo much better! It had a much deeper storyline and really had some twists and turns you don't expect going into it. I feel like the characters get a lot more fleshed out and a lot more things make sense. There are some plot whole's but still a very satisfying movie.

Since we went to Thunder over Louisville we knew we wouldn't be impressed with any fireworks Idaho Falls had to offer. So now we are making S'mores and going to watch Independence Day.

Group Co-operation

So, for somewhat of an update, IBC is going.... OK... Just OK.

You have 20 guys, that all get together doing what they each individually think is best. I'm sure if nothing else, this will give me good practice for dealing with similar issues in the real world.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow...

The weather has been getting really nice lately (or at least warmer). Since we moved, there has been a whole new neighborhood for us to explore. It has been nice to walk around the roads on another side of town. We try to go at least a few times a week on walks in the summertime.

Friday night I wanted to go on a walk, despite the fact it was looking like rain was about to fall. We had not gone on a walk all week so Alex agreed we'd head out. Alex went out in shorts, and I was wearing dress pants, haha. When Alex and I left it was raining, but because of the wind, we didn't feel the rain as much as what we could see coming down. When we crossed the busier street, (Viking Drive for those who are familiar with Rexburg) the rain was coming harder and harder and then it started hailing. We were having so much fun getting all wet and noticed we were the only ones outside. As we started walking down the street, a car pulled over to ask us if we wanted a ride. We told her, "actually we are just walking to enjoy the rain." She said, "You're crazy, it's supposed to get a lot worse, but okay!"

We had so much fun playing in the rain and we encourage everyone who reads this to play in the rain the next time there is a chance. It makes you feel like a kid again!

Anybody want a churro?

I am currently in what is referred to here at BYU-Idaho as the "Integrated Business Core" or IBC.  It is a group of classes that every business student here has to take together which consist of Organizational Behavior, Finance, Supply Chain Management, and Marketing.  Throughout the entire semester we are grouped up into Companies (of around 20) and then into Teams (of 4 to 5), which are used for group assignments and project etc.  

As a company we are also responsible for running a business during the semester.  The original idea that my company was going to do was "The first annual Rexburg Film Festival" which was going to include entries from anyone that wanted to participate, and be an all around fun filled event.  But long story short, it got shot down about 24 hours before we needed to make our pitch to our "investors" to get our loan to run our business.  So in that short time, the best idea we could come up with was "Sweet Stix" Churro company!

Which is how I came to become a Churro Salesman this semester!  It has been a learning experience, but very fun.  You never know what team exercises like this or going to involve until you're already waist deep into it.  

Anyway, if any of you happen to find yourself in Rexburg on a weekday between the hours of 11 and 3, come find our booth between the Library and the Smith building and buy a churro!  It'll take you back to the good 'ol days of Disneyland!

Nice weather on Memorial Day!

Memorial Day weekend has come and gone already. Can't believe it's already almost June. We are certainly enjoying warm days. A park close by recently opened a little water park for kids (for free) and it's been fun watching them. That would have been a child's dream to be so close to one of those.

We decided to take a visit to Pocatello on Saturday to visit my cousins Carrie, Zach, and their family. It was fun spending time with them, having hotdogs/hamburgers and playing a few games. I actually played Settlers of Cataan! Carrie's oldest, Makayla, had very loose front teeth that she refused to pull out. We kept trying to coax her to do it, and got one of them out, but that ended up being such an experience that she refused to let the other one come out. (it got really late though... 1:30 so we were all tired) It is definitely only a matter of time before that dangly front tooth is out! We had a great time with them and hope to see each other more often as we're only an hour apart. (we grew up 6 hours apart)

Sunday = it rained. We invited our next door neighbors over for dinner though.

On Monday, Alex and I headed down to Idaho Falls to meet up with my dad, and our Grandma and Grandpa Olsen. My grandparents are aging so it was nice to see and spend time with them. Alex and I went to Target to pick up a few things where we randomly bumped into Carrie & Zach! What a surprise! Carrie was telling me that they had a picnic lunch over by the Snake River.
I have wanted to take Alex there and walk around the river ever since we moved up here, but everytime we think about it, it's way too cold. So, after Target, we headed over there and walked the 4 mile trail around the river. Absolulty scenic walk. Geese and ducks were everywhere, then the beautiful falls, beach sand, temple view, fishing, and then swimming. It was such a beautiful day! And of course, we forgot our camera!

Well, back to school/work. But it was a fun weekend. Happy summer! We're going to go on another walk now!

Thunder Over Louisville

We got up and went to the "Great Lawn" around 10:30 a.m.  It was already getting a bit crowded, but Jeff was nice enough to go a few hours ahead of time and stake out our groups area with ropes and tarps.  It was a huge event.  At times we wandered the venues, getting the standard carni junk food.  It obviously got even more crowded as the day went on.  By about 7 p.m. the venues were so crammed full of people that people were walking shoulder to shoulder in every single direction.

The air show was awesome.  The last air show I remember was one with some of my cousins and my Grampa, and I don't remember it very well.  This one was amazing.  They had some really cool formation group planes doing a bunch of stunts making it look like they were going to crash into eachother.  The 2nd half of the air show was pretty much a bunch of show-boating pilots from the aired forced strutting their stuff.  They had F-14's, F-16's, A-10's, F-22's etc.  They even flew in some Apache and Chinook Helicopters doing some crazy stuff!

Then came the moment that Cindy and I flew out to Kentucky for.  It was the BIGGESGT FIREWORKS SHOW IN NORTH AMERICA.  (I've been to the 4th of July fireworks in Washington DC ... this was bigger.)  It went for about 30 minutes, and at times you could feel the ground shaking with each explosion.  It literally rocked!

After about 2 hours of sitting in next to dead traffic, we finally got home in time to sleep for almost 4 hours before we got up and flew home to Salt Lake, then drove back up to Rexburg. 

It was definitely the experience of a lifetime.  You just can't describe how cool it really is, it's just something you have to see for yourself.

Our Kentucky Trip (pt.2)

After our trip from Nauvoo, Craig and Danielle flew into town as well, so we set out to see the sights of the Louisville area.

We toured the Louisville slugger factory, where they make all the bats.  They showed us these cool machines where they take the best blocks of wood and shave them down to all sorts of different kinds of bats.  Who knew it was such a process?  They also have very specific computerized machines there that take the exact specifications from baseball players and make them customized for each one.  

They also had a neat museum of how bats have come to be what they are today in the baseball world, as well as some fun bat trivia.  Matthew had a great time looking at all the cool stuff and saying "bat" about 1,437 times in one afternoon.

The next day we drove to a state park called "My Old Kentucky Home" which is apparently what the name of the State Song is, which song is about this really really old house.

  It was a neat park, but the best part was just being able to walk through some nice gardens with the kids and just enjoy the beautiful afternoon.

Next stop for the day was Lincoln's birthplace.  The funny thing was that the ranger in the visitor's center told us that even though the log cabin was moved and rebuilt, it was the logs from the original cabin itself.  Later on, when actually viewing the cabin, the ranger there told us the opposite, that it was a replica of the original.  I don't know, but it was still cool to see this piece of American history.

We ended the day by driving down one of the most picturesque drives I've ever seen.  Rolling grassy hills with trees dotting the landscape.  I wish I took a picture to show, but I didn't, so I just got this one off of the internet, but it gives you an idea.

The drive was on the way to some authentic southern cookin at a nice restaurant called Claudia Sanders.

Alright, class is about to start, so I'll have to save "Thunder Over Louisville" for the next post.