". . . .After the Boys of summer have gone!"- Don Henley

Wow! It's September 1st! which for some reason to me means summer is over! Now, it's still hot outside, I don't start school for another 3 weeks, and according to my calendar September 21st is the legitimate final day of summer, but when ever August is officially over, I feel the need to break out my bulky grey sweater, start stalking up on pencils and glue, or run out side and jump into a pile of leaves. You are still so far away Autumn equinox, and yet in my head you are already here!

My plans for the summer consisted of making as much money as possible and getting a wicked tan lounging by Grandma Earl's pool. . . . like everyday!

. . . . .I accomplished none of these things!

But it wasn't a total loss. . . I wouldn't say my summer was uneventful, it had some ups and downs but all in all I tried new thing, made memories with good friends, and maybe learned a life lesson or two!

I now present to you "Summer 2009". . . in pictures!

School got out the middle of June and a week after All the new ASB Officers headed up to Leavenworth for a little retreat, to start planning for the up and coming school year, kicked things off by going rafting, and if you remember from the pictures I posted before, it was an enjoyable experience for me. We stayed at Trailhead Lodge and was glorious!

We did get a lot of planning done, we also got a lot of eating done, in fact that was pretty much all

we did, eat. . . . plan. . . .eat. . . . plan. . . .eat. . . . plan. . . .Hot Tub. . . .sleep! I loved it!

Here's the whole gang together starting from left to right we got our Pub Man CJ Hatch, El Presidente Rhoan Ashby, Me "The Programming Director", Secretary Rhen Ashby (soon to be Forrestor) VP Jeff Ranstrom, and our Treasurer Devin Peterson!

This is my official ASB Shot for our poster!

Angie's B-day followed shortly after and I was lucky enough two check two things off the life list

One being to finally see "Rent" on the stage! All my buddies and I fell in love with the movie when we saw it in the dollar theatre in Rexburg, and I couldn't wait to see it on the big stage. Man it did not disappoint, and the best part ever was it featured two guys that originated the lead roles when it first came out. . . Mr. Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp reprising their roles as Roger and Mark. Needless to say I was in Heaven!!!

Number two was I got a picture with these Fabulous ladies!!!!

I have a love for Drag Queens that I can't explain, maybe it's the sequins and the shoes. . . I don't know!

Also we had spa time which was a joyous occasion for all. . . you know what else is joyous the great hair day Michelle and I are having in this shot! PSYCH!

Random Pic Michelle took of me!

I lost a job


I got a job!

4th of July I went Jet Skiing for the first time!

Angie's Uncle Jeff and Aunt Becky invited us over for the holiday and they let me cruise around on this nifty toy. . . it was super fun. . . . even Angie and I tag teamed it. . . .which doesn't make us look like lesbians at all so don't even worry about it!

The Moment I had been waiting for almost a year went down mid July.

One of my Besties from High School and College Lacey Martin came to ML for her Grandmother's 90th Birthday along with her little sister Cassie and I was able to spend everyday with her while she was here and it was so Awesome! It's like we fell right back into our usual groove, and it was just like old times! This was probably the highlight of my summer, wait I take that back it WAS the highlight of my summer! Here's a few shots from the random things we did.

G-Ma's B-day at Craig and Kathleen Duvall's

The Scenic View near Vantage

Riding real horses at the Wild Horse Monument!

Taking in the sunset at the Stake Center after FHE

Cassie and Lacey Martin, Me, then Jill and Anne Baker!

One of my favorite summer activities is the Laser Light Show at the Grand Coulee Dam, the show has been the same since 1981, but every time I hear Neil Diamonds "America" come across the speakers and images of people migrating west flash over the water. . . .well a tear comes to my eye!

This is Qiana's BFF Clinton and I playing some cards waiting for it to get dark!

That's totally the Dam behind me!

No worries kids, I did get some pool time in here and there. On an occasional Saturday Angie, Baby, and I could be found chillin' out maxin' relaxin all cool!

"Q" loved the pool and it was way fun playing with her in the water!

I got attacked by this little monster. . . fortunately Angie came to my rescue!

I also hit up a couple Pool Party's at the Baker Residence. . . that was super!

I spent a good chunk of my summer with the Quincy crew, which was always a good time! My buddy Kelly Hodges is a Pro at making things fun, and this summer I owe a lot of good memories to him!

Sam Reynolds, Jocelyn Hodges, Me, and Eric Hull takin' in yet another beautiful sunset over the lake!

Mr. Hodges, Sam, and I hitting up Moses Pointe Stake House for the greatest dessert ever, the Half Baked Cookie!

I vowed I wouldn't, but attempted Paint Ball one more time, and this time I'm dead serious, i will not do this again, because you know what hurts even worse then getting hit in the butt. . . oh yeah that's getting hit in the boob! Thanks Kelly! nice shot!

after many attempts, I finally got to go boating with my Q-Town possie, and it was as intense as I thought it would be, I totally got rocked, and my innards were not excited about what I was doing to them! Good times none the less!

Here's my crew on the lovely Columbia River! We got Joce, Dustin Peterson aka Pete, Christina Cox, Adam Ottley, Jill Piercy, and of course "The Hodge" himself

Me and Joce getting ready to roll! I'm totally lookin' forward to what is about to happen, can you tell?

Joce and Kelly being adventurous and jumping off the boat full speed! Totally safe!

This is my favorite picture of Kelly EVER! The life jacket was super cold!

Captain Ottley steering the ship!

Kelly asked me to tag along as he ran to Seattle for some errands and we had a nice bonding moment sharing our favorite jams on our ipods and just talking about life, we stopped in Kittitas and took in this little tourist attraction!

There are hundreds of these windmills and they cost millions of dollars and give us mediocre amounts of power, so I was told by my tourist guide Kelly! On clear days they make for an incredible shot of the Columbia Basin though, that was our main purpose for stopping by.

Not so clear, but oh well

I don't think my life would be complete without an opportunity to dress up. Angie and her brother Jared put together an Amazing Race activity for her family reunion and asked me if I could help out, I got stationed at the Japanese Gardens so naturally I dressed up as a Geisha to really add some authenticity to the game. Any who, I'd like to say I've never had so many funny looks, but that wouldn't be true, so maybe top five would be more appropriate!

Then to top things off I hit up the Grant County Fair for my favorite events. the Demo Derby and the Rodeo, all of which did not disappoint! and this year my Mom let me time cars in the anouncers booth during the actual demolition part of the derby, so yeah that was a pretty big deal!

This summer was full of adventures some bad, some good, but either way I have nothing to complain about, I had plenty of good times, and that's all I can ask for!

I am so excited for the fall, I really love my new ASB Job, mainly because I get to plan fun activities, and I can't wait to see what this next year has in store!

Hope your summer was Super Sweet!

Peace out!