Midnight 5k and Morning Baptisms

Sorry that I don't have any pictures. You will just have to use your imagination on this. As many of you know, I have been trying to get into shape lately and I have been running on somewhat of a regular basis. I have been training for the Utah Valley 5k and the Salt Lake City 5k on April 12th and 19th. I am pretty excited to run in these races.

Last night BYU-Idaho sponsored a 5k race that started at midnight. I decided it would be fun and it would give me a little bit of experience running in an organized race, so I ran it. Most of you have experienced Rexburg weather, but if not, let me paint a little picture for you. The wind was of course blowing, and we aren't talking a light little breeze... Try huge gusts of wind blowing in all directions, always in your face. It was rather chilly also, I am not sure the exact temperature but everyone was bundled up pretty tight.

Yesterday I had a test to study for and then I had to take the test and then later I had a Philosophy paper to write. So, by the time I got done with all that it was about 11:20PM. We were supposed to meet at 11:30 so I had to hustle. I put on leggings, jogging capris, a long sleeve shirt, a warm vest, and some gloves.

We met down at the stadium and after everyone signed in, we were ready to go. It was so exciting! I was so pumped! It was cold and everyone was really excited, you could feel the energy in the air. I stretched and did a little warm up around the track and then we all gathered at the starting line. At the sound of the gun everyone took off! Now, I have learned how to pace myself and I usually start out fairly slow, so I was baffled to see everyone running so fast right at the beginning. This put me towards the back of the pack at the beginning of the race but soon, people started getting tired and they began to walk. I was then passing people left and right! I realized I am pretty competitive when I see someone that I can pass.

Towards the end of the race it started to snow. Not just light little cute flurries, it was a sleeting, blowing, plastering snow. It looked like confetti as I ran the last part of the race on the track. Anyway, I finished strong and I was pretty proud of my short little legs and kinda retarded ankle. I ran the whole thing in about 36 minutes I think. That is pretty fast for me. Oh and I didn't come in last place so I was pretty happy about that.

This morning my roommates and I got to go do baptisms for the dead with our ward at the new Rexburg temple. Today was the first time that I have gone and done work in the Rexburg temple. It was so neat. It is such a beautiful temple. The water in the font was so cold though! I didn't want to get dunked!

This afternoon I went out and took Pizzazz for a nice trail ride. It has been a productive and great weekend.

My Amazing Boyfriend

Preston came up to Rexburg this past weekend. He came up on Saturday and we got to go out and work with Pizzazz. After we rode, we came home and made pizzas with my roommates and their dates. They were yummy! Then we went to the Sadie Hawkins dance at BYU-I. It was a lot of fun! We had so much fun! Our group dressed up as spies, if you couldn't tell. He stayed Saturday night at his friend's apartment. On Sunday I made him breakfast and then we went to church and then he left. We had a great time and I was so sad when he had to leave!

Lunch at the Nordic

Every Monday and Wednesday I get together with my friends to eat lunch at the Nordic after classes. We have so much fun, and we generally end up laughing so hard we can barely eat.

Adam is on the far left, then Stacy, Sharla, and Taylor. Adam and Sharla are brother and sister and they are some of my favorite people in the whole world! I sure have some great friends!

My Missouri/Colorado/Illinois/Utah/Idaho Adventure PART 1

On Thursday February 14th, I drove from Rexburg, Idaho to Saratoga Springs, Utah to prepare to leave for Missouri the following morning. Thursday was Valentines Day and I got to spend some time with Preston, it was so good to be with him. He bought me a HUGE, BEAUTIFUL bouquet of flowers for V-Day. I had been planning to get there sometime in the early afternoon but was not able to because I had two tests to take before I was able to leave. So my original plan was to get to Utah, spend some time with Preston, pack, and go to bed early so that I would be able to get up at 4:00AM and get to the airport for our flight that left at 6:45AM. What actually happened was that I ended up going to bed at 2:00AM and getting up at 4:30AM, still not completely packed and ready to go...

Needless to say, Lacey (my co-worker) and I made it on our plane and took off to Denver, Colorado for an hour and a half layover. Everything went smoothly and we were able to get on our next plane which took us to Springfield, Missouri.

This picture was taken in the Springfield airport while we waited for Geno Middleton and Barb Loring to come and pick us up.

The purpose of our trip was this: Stephen (my boss) sent us out to Missouri to find a show horse for his six-year-old daughter, Allison, for her to show this year. A couple of months ago we started planning this trip and started lining up some horses that were for sale that we could go look at and ride. We looked at a total of 8 horses while we were there.

We stayed with Geno and Barb's house while we were out there. Geno Middleton is (in my mind) the greatest Fox Trotter Performance trainer there is. He has won more World titles, Breeder's cup titles, and Futurity titles than anyone else. He truly knows how to train a show horse. We were honored when they invited us to stay at their house with them while we were out there. What an amazing opportunity to spend some time with Geno and Barb who are both incredibly talented horse trainers.



Here are a couple of pictures of Geno when he and Barb came out to Utah in October 2007 to help us with our performance horses.





I have always looked up to and respected Geno so much. I just can't tell you how incredible of an opportunity that Lacey and I were given to stay at their house. He is a rather tough looking cowboy and is somewhat unapproachable, but after I have gotten to know him, I have realized what a funny and caring guy he is.

After they picked us up at the airport, we did some work in Springfield (we were looking for a RV to rent for Steve during this year's world show) and then we went to the show grounds in Ava transfer some of our equipment from our old stalls to our new stalls. Well, I guess last week they had a crazy ice storm that came through the area that resulted in very slick roads, extensive damage to the trees, and really slick ice all over the place. At the show grounds it was especially bad and Lacey and I were trying our darndest to not fall down. So, we made the most of our situation and decided to sled down the hill in a bucket:



That night we went out to eat at a place with an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet. There was crab, fish, shrimp, and a bunch of other good stuff including FROG'S LEGS! Geno and Barb told so many funny stories that Lacey and I were laughing the whole time. What great people they are.

Barb and Geno literally live in the boondocks. You drive off the main highway onto a dirt road and follow it down for a couple of miles and then, in the middle of the forest is their house and barn. We were hanging out with a couple of genuine Missouri Red-Neck Hillbillies!


One of the days that we were there, we went to the Bass Pro Shop National Headquarters in Springfield. Here is a picture of me posing in front of the giant elk and the Grizzly bear.










We went to one barn and were able to see the great World Grand Champion stallion, Prince Jester. He has produced many world champions, including one mare that we own. It was cool to see him in real life.

We ended up looking at a total of 8 horses for Steve's daughter. Lacey and I both like a mare named Travelin Traxanne (pictured at left). She is a nice, quiet mare that is easy to ride. We will see what Steve thinks and what he wants to do.

Well, I need to go but I will be posting some more pictures later. I need to get some pictures from Lacey to show you as well.

My Wonderful 20th Birthday

I had a great birthday this year! My friends Sharla and Emilie took me out to eat at The Pita Pit for lunch. The Pita Pit was delicious! It is similar to Subway but with pita's instead of subs.


After lunch I went and hung out with my good friends Kate and Zeb. We all enjoyed some chocolate ice cream out of the carton together at Kate's apartment.

Thank-you for all of your calls and emails! It was a great day!

What to do when it snows...

Last night my roommates decided to jump off of our second story balcony into the snow below. Katie came running in the apartment covered with snow and exclaimed "Lisa! Come jump off the balcony with us, it's sooooo fun!"

To tell you the truth, I was a little nervous to jump because of the long fall. Luckily there was about 5 feet of fresh fluffy snow below the balcony to safely land in.

All 5 of us jumped at the same time and after landing, we got in a big snow ball fight! It was so cold!

Getting ready to jump!

Just seconds before we all jumped! It was scary!

BYU-I Apartment Life

Bored?
Here's an idea for you.
This activity is guaranteed to produce some giggles.

Materials needed:
4 chairs
5 able bodied people

How to do it:
Step 1) Place 2 chairs facing each other (about 2 feet apart).
Step 2) Place 2 other chairs facing each other (about 2 feet apart) making a cross-shape with the chairs.
Step 3) Have 4 people sit sideways on the chairs (all facing the same direction).
Step 4) Have all 4 people lay down on the other people's laps.
Step 5) Have the 5th person take all the chairs out from underneath the other 4 participants.

Confused? See pictures below.

Taking the chairs out...

Yay! It's like we are floating!


Crash! We all fall down.