Memorial Day

I have been looking forward to Memorial Day for weeks. With no holidays (at least with time off from work) from the middle of February through the end of May, Memorial Day is always a much needed day off. Unfortunately, sometimes we focus on all the things we have planned for weekend (i.e. yard work, BBQs, etc) without pausing to think about the reason we have Memorial Day. Today I stopped to ponder and give thanks for those who have valiantly served our country and died protecting us and our freedoms. I really liked this thought I found online, and decided to share it here. I have modified it just a bit, but I give credit to the author Kevin Drawdy.

Today, Americans across this nation and citizens located around the world paused to observe Memorial Day. Since its first official observation on 5 May, 1868, when it was called Declaration Day, it has been a day of remembrance for those who sacrificed and died in our nation's service. And while it was originally dedicated to honor Civil War soldiers, we know it today as a celebration in memory of all who have fought for and defended our right to freedom.

In 1968 the observation of this day was established to be the last Monday in May. Today it remains a time of observation to honor and to respect those who fought to protect the liberties that our Founding Fathers proclaimed with certainty in the Declaration of Independence and that were thoughtfully and carefully framed in the Constitution of the United States. In his proclamation to set aside this day in 1868, General Logan instructed there to be thoughts to "...cherish tenderly the memories of our heroic dead who made their breast a barricade between our country and its foes."

To those who died securing peace and freedom; To those who served in conflict to protect our land, and sacrificed their dreams of the day to preserve the hope of our nation - keeping America the land of the free for over two centuries - we owe our thanks and honor. It is important to not only recognize their service but to respect their devotion to duty and to ensure that the purpose for which they fought will never be forgotten.

Weekend Projects

Wow, I had another BUSY weekend. I was going non-stop the entire time. Here are a couple of my projects.

I planted my garden! I planted tomatoes (roma, grape, and yellow pear), bell pepper, butternut squash, cilantro, onions, jalepeno pepper, and peas. That was a lot to cram into my little garden space, but I'm hoping for some yummy veggies this summer!
A few weeks ago, I took the afternoon off work to get some rock to landscape my backyard. BJ and I hauled three truckloads of river rock and lined each of the beds. I hadn't really prepped for the work, so we just laid the rock right on top of the grass. Well, as you can imagine, grass started to grow up between each of the rocks. I spent several hours on Saturday rolling out the rock, digging out the grass that was under the rock, cutting and laying strips of weed barrier, and then putting the rocks back. My back and shoulders are sore from shoveling and working with the rock, but it was worth it. I love the end result!

The Rides That Weren't Meant To Be

Katrina and I decided to take full advantage of this Memorial Day weekend and go mountain biking not once, but twice! We decided last week that it would be cool to do the Hidden Springs Duathlon this fall... In order to prepare for the race, we wanted to practice on last year's mountain bike course. We went with map in hand, but couldn't actually find the beginning of the trail. Bummer. Instead we decided to just ride up and down Seamans Gulch road. I was excited to know that I can ride that road, but Katrina and I were the only ones on the road with mountain bikes (instead of road bikes) and without clips!

This morning we headed back out. We went to Hidden Springs again, but decided to do a trail we had done before. I pumped up my bike tires right before we left and didn't get 20 yards before I could tell it was COMPLETELY flat again. Katrina to the rescue - she had this really cool stuff that sprayed sealant or something into my tire and also completely filled it up with air.

After fixing my tire, we were back on the trail... only when we got to the top of the first hill, we saw this:
What??? The last time I rode this trail, it was all foothills and trails. Who put that road there? So we had to detour to another trail, which was shorter than we were hoping for. We didn't get too far along that trail when my chain started having problems. Every time I shifted gears, the chain fell off. Ugh, how annoying. After putting my chain back on three times, I decided my ride was over for the day. I finished my ride in 1st gear (I felt like I wasn't going anywhere!) because that's the only gear my bike would stay in.

I decided that I wasn't meant to mountain bike this weekend! I guess I'll be taking my bike in to the shop this week to get it in tip top shape for my next ride. Since I finished my ride earlier than Katrina (I told her to go ahead and finish the trail - no sense in us both having a short ride), I just goofed around and took pictures. I decided I love my cool gorilla tripod:This tripod is bendable and will literally form around anything to hold your camera. I took this picture...
... by bending the tripod around this stick. How cool is that!?!You can't tell from the picture, but it really was a pretty wimpy stick. Here's to a better ride next time!

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Summer!

Disc Golf

I really stink at throwing frisbees, footballs, baseballs... basically anything. I wasn't always that way though. I think I'm just out of practice. I was excited when my new friend Cami bought a couple of disc frisbees and invited me to join her at the disc golf course on our lunch breaks earlier this week. Wow, I think it might take more than the one lunch break a week that we have planned for me to get good enough to play in a group! Good thing the course is within walking distance of my work. Maybe by the end of the summer, and with enough practice, I might even be able to make par on one of the holes! Just gotta watch out for the water!

Mayor Bieter Unplugged

Tonight I attended a BYP function called Mayor Bieter Unplugged. Mayor Bieter was gracious enough to join us for an hour in a casual, open forum setting and just let people ask questions. Questions ranged from transit and transportation, to energy, to support of the arts, to technology, to the state of the economy, etc. I have always been impressed with the mayor, but I appreciate him even more after tonight. I can tell that he truly loves Boise and honestly cares about making it a better place to live. He is aware of the needs of his constituents and does what he can to serve us. I know that the mayor is a busy man, and I think it is great that he would take time out of his schedule to just chat with our group. This event was just one more reason I am glad I got involved with BYP - what a neat opportunity!

Paintball

Tonight we celebrated my uncle and cousin's birthdays by going paintballing. I'm not the best shot, but I had a ton of fun... and I did manage to hit a few people! I made it out of there relatively clean and with only three welts (they are all on my upper leg, thus no pictures)! Happy birthday Kevin & Sena! Thanks for inviting me to join in the celebration!