"all the day long...": Why I LOVE Idaho

Now, let it be known that this is in no way a comprehensive list... but it is a list. A list of wonderful things! :)

1 - Space

As a tall person, this is always important. While I'm here, it's nice to know that I can see for miles and that no one else is breathing the exact air I am. Not even the cows. Which is sayin' something. :)

2 - Work

I grew up in a place where it was normal for the farm kids to work at least 13 hour days. We all know how to work hard, and if you don't, that just might be the first thing that gets teased (or beat) out o' ya. I'm just kidding! Kinda.

3 - People

Or the lack thereof. I did grow up with a whole side of my family right next to me. Almost all of us are lined up on the same dirt road. (With plenty of space in between.) And I love it. And, being from...not even a town, everyone knows who you are and what you're up to. This may bother some, but it's kept me in line, and I'm glad of it.

4 - Country Roads

Okay, whoever invented them is the greatest. I've never been able to get to a place so fast! I wasn't speeding too much... Okay, don't tell Mom and Dad. Anyways, they're wonderful!

5 - Dirt

I love it. The smell, the look, even the taste sometimes! (Some kind of mineral deficiency runs in my family, I promise!) I can't resist a mud puddle. Even when I'm in my Sunday best. And there's plenty of it to be had here! My little sister just asked me how I know it's mud and not...something else. ..................... hehe :]

6 - How to keep things clean

Sometimes the best and only wash a car may get here is from the wheel lines and pivots on the road. Come to think of it, my face has been power-sprayed a few times when I've driven past pivots with my windows down. :)

7 - Smell

It's a perfect cocktail of dirt, river, dairy, sagebrush, beets, mud, rain, summer breeze, poplar leaves, fresh-cut alfalfa, and glory. It's pretty much the best smell known to man.

8 - Sunsets

It's soooooooo beautiful. Always.

9 - Weather

Idaho winds that bend the trees to 180 degrees. Hardly any rain (except this year. Weird.) Hot and dry in the Summer, beautiful in the Fall, frozen and dry in the Winter, and...well, Spring kinda falls in the 'Winter' category. Oh, and the sky looked like this tonight:

This pictures were recorded through Abi's expertise, and they were not altered in any way.

Cool huh.

10 - Sometimes

You just gotta figure out how to accomplish jillions of things at a time. Take Wednesday for instance. I wanted to go outside and enjoy the beautiful day.

But I had to sew, and my hair needed to be blow-dryed before Institute. ...So why not do it all outside?

The wind blew my hair dry, and Betsy and I enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. :) Best idea I think I've ever had.

11 - FUN—because we play every bit as hard as we work.

When you grow up here, you don't have the concerts to go to, or the beach to visit, or plays and arcades, and we're not too keen on spending all that cash we earned hoeing beets...or milking cows...or moving lines...or hauling hay...or...you get the idea. So we find entertainment. Here are some of the better ideas:

Racing. Anywhere. We've all done it. Heck, Tommy and I used to race to school every morning. :)
Driving to the train-bridge over the river, climbing below the tracks onto the pillars that hold it, and sitting there while the train goes over you at 11:18 P.M.
Snowboarding, sledding, snowmobiling, and skiing in the winter. Wake-boarding, skiing, tubing, and surfing on the Snake in the summer.
Mud football. What else are you supposed to do with such an abundance of it?
Floating down the river on inner tubes or with life-jackets.
Soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, Fugitive (we play it for Mutual here), Capture the Flag—we play it all at night games.
Some of us have been on dates where we moved hand-lines together. How romantic! ;)
There are a lot of things we find to do, but one of the funnest, greatest, most awesome ones is this:

He's gonna go wake-boarding...

In a canal...

Pulled behind a TRUCK! (It was a standard transmission. Makes it so much more legit.)

:D Hahahaha! This was fun, and these guys are awesome! I'm a fan.

We do lots o' crazy stuff like this. I just can't think of any more examples at the moment.

12 - The Spudman

My hometown hosts an annual Olympic Triathlon called the Spudman. It's perty much a big deal. :) Dad's done the bike as part of a team before, but this year, my sisters Lizer-Lou and Beks decided to try it. The whole thing. By themselves. 1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, and then run a 10k.