More Random Pictures!!

Can't get enough of this baby!!

Super fans at Regional Volleyball Tournament!!

Tessa is not smelling her armpit, she is kissing her bicept....weird duck!!

PICTURES!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! The wig is my Grannie's and the pants are my Mom's...So much fun!! And Tyson is getting ready to go hunting, but he looks goofy enough to be dressed up for Halloween.

Vi, Grannie, and Mom

Brothers Tyson and Sullivan....what handsome dudes!!

At a friend's wedding in Boise

I know....I know.........

Okay, so I'm painfully aware of the fact that I am the slowest blog updater......possibly ever! I've been reminded of that several times in the last few weeks and really, there's no excuse. Actually.......i love blogs with pics and I just don't have a computer that won't crash EVERY TIME I try to upload pictures for my blog. Since I don't see me getting around to finding a legitimate computer anytime soon, I will just bore you all with a "news clipping."

First of all, yesterday I got a phone call from my little sister Tessa and she said that she cried herself to sleep the night before because I hadn't updated my blog. And you all thought I was the Drama Queen!!!??? HA!

I am still very happily engaged and very much ready to just get married already so that the stress of this wedding will just go away! However, I have been very blessed with amazing family (mine and his alike) who are so helpful and supportive.....sometimes I wonder why I'm even stressed? I think it's my job, maybe? I don't know... Austin and I sat for HOURS yesterday stuffing, addressing, and stamping announcements and it was so much fun! There's something about being right next to the one you love and not having to say anything at all or talking non-stop and laughing....it's an amazing feeling. I am so blessed!!!

Life has been great this last month!! I got to see Olivia play volleyball at her regional tournament in Lander. I made the long drive from Rexburg to Lander by myself....word to the wise, do NOT and I repeat, DO NOT go over Towgatee pass in the dark by yourself this winter! It's under construction and very treacherous! Anyway, I got to see the Panthers play in the championship against....guess who? Burlington....oh it never gets old. Except now we've made some really good freinds from over that way and it was great to see the Panthers win but hard to see our friends lose. I have lost some of my competitive edge if you can't tell. Olivia played well and I'm very proud of her. During that weekend, I also got to see Tami's "new" home and spend some time with Tel who I think is just a beautiful little boy and so much fun....when he's happy. :)

The following weekend, I made my way back to Cokeville to watch Sulli's football game against Gurnsey-Sunrise. I hadn't watched him play since his Freshman year and this was my last chance and just couldn't miss it! I borrowed Austin's car and made a quick trip and was SOOO glad I did. I hadn't been there for 5 minutes when Sulli ran 80 yards for a touchdown!! The fans around me said he had scored their first touch-down as well and I'm not going to lie, I was rather surprised. NOT because I don't think he is good, but because, well.....he's not very fast, really. He can run for FOREVER and is really good at that, (he won the David Dayton fun run on Pioneer Day this summer) but short distances and quickness have never been this family's strong point. Anyway he played SOOO well, scoring 4 touchdowns and having some great defensive plays. Way to go Sulli!!!!

Last weekend, Austin and I took our friends Ryan and Jeff to Boise with us. Jeff lives there and has been one of Austin's best friends for most of his life and Ryan was Austin's mission companion. We had a great time with family and friends and look forward to going back for the BIG EVENT!! 28 DAYS AND COUNTING!!!!

Other than that, my life has been pretty much the same....work, work, work....oh yeah and getting ready to go back to school in January. I got accepted into a program that will have me graduated with my Bachelor's in three semesters!!! YIPEE!! Sorry this was so boring. Hopefully I can upload some pictures sometime this weekend!

The dress.....

I was definitely not going dress shopping! I had a few dresses offered to me to borrow and of course, my sister's beautiful dresses were available. Why spend money on a dress? I was dead set against it. My wonderful best friend, Brittney, said "let's go dress shopping just for fun! Every bride needs to do that...you'll regret it if you don't." Then I tried on Tami's dress again....let me just say that working in a restaurant hasn't been good for my mid-section and Tami is WAAAYYY to skinny! haha
So I decided dress shopping couldn't hurt. I called my mom and told her I didn't want to do it without her...every bride's mom should get to be there when she steps into that perfect dress, right? We went last Saturday and had GREAT success!! Mom and I went to the shops in Rexburg first....nothing, really. One dress was absolutely gorgeous, right price, long sleeve jacket (since I am getting married in December, long sleeves would be great!) and a 30 minute minnimum time to get into!! Seriously, once they got you in it, they didn't want you out of it. The buttons on the jacket were extremely difficult to get done up and nearly impossible to un-do! They said they used a crochet hook to do it so we asked if we could use it. Their reply was, "Well, we don't actually have one in the store, that's just what they say works for those." GREAT!!! I'm never getting out of this dress!! No wonder it was still in the store. 30 minutes and a few choice word mumblings from both me and mom, I was free.
Then we met up with Brit and headed to Idaho Falls where we went straight to Heart's Tux and Gowns. We found this gorgeous vintage-looking dress and the minute I stepped into it, I knew it was what I wanted. Then we looked at the price tag and almost swallowed our tongues!!! I tried on a few others and they just weren't right. My mom said, "There was just that 'look' and it's gorgeous and it just screams your name." So, we swallowed our tongues and bought the dress. It really wasn't that bad of a price, actually. It's gorgeous and I feel beautiful in it! I'm so excited to wear it!!!
Anyway, boring post...no pictures and I'm sorry. I'll post some of my bridals soon. We're going home tonight to get them done tomorrow. I'm so excited!!!!

Engaged!!

So, I'm officially engaged!! I'm so excited to share this awesome news with all my fellow blogger friends.

Austin is so sneaky! Seriously, I didn't even see it coming. He had me thinking for the last few weeks that he hadn't even looked beyond asking me what my ring size was. So I'm thinking, "Okay whatev, we are planning for December anyway, he's got like 2 more months to propose." No big deal.

Well, we went to Boise this weekend to get his teeth done and decided to go out to our favorite Sushi restraunt for lunch. We brought my best friend Brit with us and she had never had sushi before so I had been telling her about this shrimp roll that she just had to try. The waiter brought out two platters and placed one down on Mom and Dad's end of the table and the other right in front of me. I was pointing out the shrimp roll to Brittney when in mid-sentence I saw the ring in a big box in the center of the platter. I seriously didn't even see it for like 20 seconds. They were all looking at me like, "Holy cow! She doesn't even see it!"

It was pretty funny. I saw it and was like "Oh my word...." Austin got down on one knee and proposed and of course, I said YES! It was very exciting and he is VERY sneaky!!!

So, December 13th Everybody!!!! Mark your calenders!

Here I am, having absolutely NO clue that the ring is in the center of the plate. Dir da dir dir!! I was more interested in telling Britt that the best Sushi was on that plate.

Okay, now I see the ring!

Popping the question.

How in the world could I NOT see the ring?!

Tessa, this one is for you!!

The ring...Austin, I love you!

Count Your Many Blessings

I've been blessed with so many things. I have a wonderful man who loves me, amazing parents and siblings, I was raised in Cokeville, WY, I'm currently living with my best friend since childhood, I have a strong healthy body, a job...I could go on and on. On Monday, I could have listed a car as a blessing, and I would have. But now it's Thursday and my car is in a scrap yard somewhere in Helena, Montana.

On Monday evening, Brittney and I were headed to a ward barbecue at a park. We were taking some stuff for the party so we decided to drive. Well, when we got to the intersection right by our destination, I stopped, looked left and saw only a Dodge truck turning right and then looked right and saw that it was clear. I began crossing the street when Britt said, "Oh, Vi!" I looked to my left and we were hit by a green car that was in the blind spot of the Dodge turning right.

We were so blessed!! Had the car hit us any lower than it did, we would have suffered some injuries, I'm sure. But, as it was we ALL (the guy in the other car was okay, too) walked out of it totally fine, (just lots of bruises and sore aching musclies) which is such a blessing. It took them 20-25 minutes to get me out of my car because my door wouldn't open. They didn't want me to climb out of the passenger side because they thought I may have some neck injuries. Brittney was on the phone with my poor mom telling her only what she knew so I appologize to my mom for any aging that took place durint that time. Sorry, Mom!

I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who watches over and protects His children. I am thankful for the mercy and love He extends to us daily through the gift of His Son. I am so very blessed and thankful that we were able to walk away without any major injuries. Being in this accident sure makes you look at life a different way and I'm certainly thankful for that.

Thanks to all of you for your phone calls and your love and prayers! Yet another blessing in my life!!

The Passenger side of the windshield. That is NOT from Brittney's head, but from the air bag deploying.

You can see how the front axle was broken by the tilt of the tire.

The rice krispies we were taking to the party slid right off the plates. Imagine that!

Just one more view of the driver's side door.

Poor Sylvia....

Fun with theThompsons!!

The Thompson family and our family have been life-long friends. I really can't imagine my life growing up without them. We went on family camping trips every summer for 3-4 days and always had sooo much fun! We've tried to do something every summer since us older kids have left the nest, but have been pretty unsuccessful at doing anything more than a cook-out up Pine Creek. Those are so fun, too!! Last Saturday we gathered up those of us that were there and went up the canyon for a hot dog roast. We had a BLAST!! Of course, there were a lot of us that weren't there, but then again, there are a lot more than there used to be. So, Tyson, Breanne, Taffy, Tami, and Shari, we sure missed you and hopefully maybe next summer we can all get together and have some fun reminiscing about the old days!!

The Crew: (L to R) Tessa, Vi, Austin, McKenzie, Kennan, Clyda, Briant, Sulli, Livi, Kandyce, Bill in the front, Ellen taking the picture.

Sulli!!! I love that shirt....perhaps it's because I gave it to him for Christmas YEARS ago. What a ham!
Olivia has always LOVED having her picture taken.

Tessa is and always has been quite the kid. Usually the life of the party.

Austin and I


Thanks for the fun evening and all the memories guys!! We love you!!!

Mom's Garden

So I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post something new but geez, has anyone bugged Tami for not posting anything in like...a MONTH!!!???? Okay, so lay off...haha.
Anyway, life is so good. I have the greatest family in the world and the love of my life soon moving to Rexburg where I now reside. Really, does it get much better?
Last weekend, Austin and I went to Cokeville to see my family. School starts soon for Austin and I'll be working full-time so we're finishing up our summer adventures and spending time with our families. First of all, I love the fall in Cokeville. I LOVE when the air is crisp and you can just smell the onset of FALL. I love going to football practice and hearing the contact of the football pads and helmets. I love watching my little sisters play volleyball and their excitement about their first games coming up. Honestly, it makes me miss those days in the gym playing ball and getting after it. I love going for a walk during the day when the temperature is just right and the breeze is blowing just so...really, Cokeville is beautiful.
I also enjoy the harvest from my mother's garden. She truly is amazing. For all of you who don't know my mom, here's a little about her. She was raised in Palmer, Alaska and grew up on a dairy farm. Her parents were and are very self-sufficient and have always raised a large garden to take care of a large family. My mom comes by her green thumb quite naturally. She can make ANYTHING grow!! The growing season in C-ville is really short, and yet, every fall we manage to have a big harvest because she somehow manages to keep it all alive. I don't know how she does it. She's outside from sun-up to sun-down and seems to never stop. Right now, she's busy picking rasberries. MILLIONS OF RASBERRIES!!! Oh my goodness, there are so many and they are soooo good! We really have been blessed this year. Our family is very thankful for her hard work and the wonderful fruits and veggies she brings into the freezers for the winter. My mom doesn't have a blog, and even if she did I don't think she'd brag about her garden, so I'm going to brag about it FOR her. Here are some, okay LOTS of, pictures of the garden this summer.

The two long rows of rasberries.

Here is the row of sunflowers. Don't they look so happy?

Both of those pots above are from one, maybe two, seeds. Crazy beautiful!

This is a shot of part of the garden from the street in front of the house. The one below is from the roof, looking down on the east garden.

Caldwell Night Rodeo

Caldwell Night Rodeo! Where the Cowboys are the Stars!

And boy are they ever!! I went to Boise last weekend to spend another fun-filled few days with Austin and his family. Dad purchased tickets to the rodeo and Austin and Markie had been telling me for WEEKS how amazing this rodeo was. I mean, I've been to a few rodeos in my time and I've seen some pretty good ones, but the Caldwell Night Rodeo is hands-down the best I've ever seen!

The CNR is listed among the top 20 professional rodeos in the nation. Over a duration of 5 nights, it draws in over 40,000 spectators! The best professional cowboys in the world make the CNR an annual stop in their rodeo schedules. It is also listed in the top 5 large outdoor pro rodeos out of 700.

We watched world champion bull riders, bare-back riders, saddle bronc riders, and steer wrestlers. The world champion steer wrestler was from Lance Creek, WY! GO WYO!!!! Although, I've never heard of Lance Creek in my life! Haha

In this picture: Austin, Jeff, Mom, Dad, Sadie, Markie

This rodeo is so much fun because the crowd really gets into it. The stadium is divided up into the Civies, the Rowdies, and...I don't remember the other one..they're pretty much "fence sitters." I joined the Clift clan and officially became a "Rowdy" at the CNR! It's not hard, really. All you have to do is sit on the Rowdy side of the stadium, watch the sun set, and just have fun!! Pretty much the Rowdy's drink....A LOT. I think we were the only ones there not drinking. Really, why is it that rodeos and drinking are simultaneous? Actually, it was pretty funny. Austin and I spent a good deal of time laughing at all the people around us who were making complete fools of themselves as they consumed drink after drink after drink.

Austin, me, and Austin's best friend, Jeff Hogg.

So, for all you rodeo goers, I would definately suggest you get yourselves up to Boise during the month of August and treat yourself to an awesome fun-filled night of cowboys and fun! The information for the rodeo can be found at www.caldwellnightrodeo.com.

Thanks to the Clift family for yet another fun weekend! I love you guys!!

Mullets....

What is the fascination with mullets? I mean really, I see them EVERYWHERE! I see them on men and women alike. Whoever dreamed up this hairstyle and made it a reality ought to be shot! I think it's Billy Ray Cyrus' fault. But aren't we glad his daughter Mylie didn't follow in her father's footsteps?

I've been to so many events this summer where I've seen the most incredible mullet displays ever. For instance...on July 4th, Austin and I were walking through a park when suddenly this entire 80's ensemble practically broadsided us. This man was wearing stone washed cut-off jean shorts that were so short the pockets were sticking out the front of them below the line of the shorts! He was sporting a tie-dye t-shirt, black socks, white hight-tops and of course....a mullet! Complete business in the front, party in the back! It was incredible. (It actually inspired our Halloween costume idea which will be amazing.....)

Anyway, a couple weeks ago I was visiting with my cousin Jordan Allred and I told him he needed a hair cut. He said he already planned on getting one and in fact, it was going to be a mullet! What?! "Well, if you're going to do that" I said, "you may as well do it up right and get stripes on the sides." I didn't think he'd really do it. Guess what.......

HE DID IT!!

Yesterday, my mom and my little sisters came over to do some school shopping and at the end of the day we invited Jordan and James over for some dessert. Boy, mom and the girls gave him such a hard time. (I had already given him a hard time so I decided to lay off.) He told us that he was going home this weekend to see his family. My mom suggested he cut his hair first. He said, "Oh no. This is payback for all the stupid things she dressed us in as kids. We had no control over that and she has no control over this. Once I get the reaction, I'll cut it."

So....it makes me wonder, does every mullet have a traumatizing childhood experience behind it? You know, like getting dressed in red sweater vests with polka-dot bow ties and having your hair parted on the side and slicked back? If so, I say...let's stop traumatizing our children and maybe we can decrease the amount of mullet-sporting heads we see. It's worth a try....

1/2 Marathon Pics

I don't have any pictures from during the race because Mom and Tami decided to meet me at the finish line, which was fine. Mom was going to run this with me but some old injuries flared up and it was smarter for her not to risk it. So, I was kind of lonely, but it was so fun to see her at the finish. They split up and stood at at different spots on the finishing stretch cheering me on and I'm so glad they were there. I really have the greatest family in the world. I'm so glad that there's a great support system even on the "dark side" as Taffy called it.

Me, Tel, and Mom. Nevermind how discusting I look, but really, who looks like a supermodel after they've run 13 miles? Well, obviously not me and I didn't see anybody else who did either!

After the SLC 1/2, they had NASTY stuff like hot dogs and chips and hamburgers for us to eat and all I wanted was some fruit! Is that too much for a girl to ask for? I finally found the counter with the bananas on it and was very thankful for that. At the end of THIS race they had FRUIT!! Glorious fruit! Love the watermelon and the cantelope!

Diggin' in! Isn't his mother GORGEOUS?! I think she is.

Tel LOVING the watermelon they gave us after the race.

Okay, Tel has got to be the THE CUTEST baby I've ever seen in my life!! He loved listening to my music. That big cheeser is because Tel was 'dancing' in my arms and I'm totally laughing at him. He's so stinkin' funny!

Half marathon or half crazy!!??

This post will be picture-free because in all my forgetfulness, I left my camera at my mom's house. We took several cute pictures, which I'm excited to post later and realize that this just adds to my "reeling you in" factor. Anyway....

My running "career" began long ago in high school track. Honestly, running was never my forte and in fact, I dreaded practice every day. My dad was the coach and so of course, my freshman year there was a little pressure there to do track, like it or not. He just wanted us to do everything and then decide if we liked it so we wouldn't have any regrets. Great idea, actually. So I did it. I ran with the distance kids every day and swore I would never do this for fun....ever! How can running on the highway and being in pain almost every second of it be "FUN"?! I mean, really....three or four miles may as well have been a marathon.

Then there were SPEED workouts. UHGG! We would run 800s, 600s, 400s, and 300s, or something like that, and do them as fast as we could with very short breaks in between each one. I really wasn't any good at running, but I was pretty competitive. Dad told me to "Stick with Tami!" So off we went. I remember running an 800 and saying, "Oh, this hurts!!" And Tami, in all her sweetness and positive attitude says, "Oh, but aren't we glad we can feel the pain?" Okay, this might sound kind of violent, but at that moment I really wanted to give her something to scream about and ask her if she was glad she could feel THAT pain. Of course, I didn't, but the reason I tell you that is because I'm actually glad she said it.

I gained a lot of weight on my mission, which left me feeling groggy and very unhealthy. So, I decided to do something about it and signed up to run a half-marathon with my mom and sisters. So, this last April, my Mom, sisters Tami and Taffy, and Aunt Linda and cousin Tina all ran in the Salt Lake City half and full marathon on April 19th and had a BLAST! I finished the race, having met all my goals and feeling really good and excited about running. (I met my weight goals along the way as well, so it served it's purpose!)

That next week, I signed up for the half marathon in Provo on August 9th. I began training and did well for a while, and then...laziness sets in. In essence, I wasn't as prepared to run this race as I was for my first one. But, I did it anyway.

The course of this race is beautiful. It starts up a small canyon just off the highway that runs up Provo Canyon, then you run into Provo, finishing at the shops at Riverwoods. The weather was perfect and the scenery was beautiful. It starts off down hill which was wonderful, and then miles 4,5,and 6 are all uphill. UHGG!! I was sure that I was going to meet my maker at the top of that hill. But, I didn't. The only thing I met at the top of that hill was the downside of the hill. I was in heaven!! I finished strong and ran it well, beating my last time by almost 4 minutes. I was so excited!

Anyway, those of you who think I'm crazy....you're right, I am! I came to that conclusion at about mile 9. But it's a good crazy. How thankful I am for a strong healthy body and for the self-discipline and determination that my parents taught me all those years in their home. And Tami, I'm thankful that you said that to me during practice that day and yes, I'm glad I can feel the pain.

Birthday Weekend

Sorry, some of my most favorite pictures of us just being goofballs together wouldn't upload for some reason. Bare with me...I'm just learning. Anyway, these are pics we took over this last weekend. I went to his house for my "birthday weekend" and we had soooo much fun. We met his parents and some friends at the lake Saturday afternoon and went jet skiing. The water was so warm and the sun was shining and I LOVE his family! What more could a girl ask for?!
On Sunday, Joe (Austin's dad) made the most amazing fish I have ever had in my life. It was halibut with cheese on it....so hard to describe you have to taste it to understand the blissfulness of it all. Austin is quite the chef himself. He won my family over with his amazing chocolate truffles and on our LONG drive to Caldwell on Friday night we came up with a new idea to add coconut to them. So, on Sunday afternoon we also tried our hand at some new truffles and let me tell ya....we won't be making those a lot or I'll turn into a two-ton Tilly!! They were delightful! All in all, the weekend was so much fun and I can't wait to have another weekend with them!