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!

Pictures....finally!

Sorry it has taken me so painfully long to post some pictures...my bad! Anyway, so many of you have requested more information on a "certain someone" and so I imagine I will give you a little taste to satisfy your snoopy hunger! I'm only kidding about the snoopy part.
Austin and I met while serving our missions in Phoenix. We kept in touch after I came home from my mission until he came home in June. I went up to his homecoming and "threw myself at him" (Austin will appreciate that) but his dad says I just knew what I wanted and went after it. There's obviously more than one side to this story but it's better in person....let's just say HE called ME!! Anyway, I was planning on going to his homecoming anyway so when he let me know when it was, my best friend Brittney and I headed to Caldwell, Idaho for the weekend and the rest is history.
It has been so much fun getting to know him as Austin and falling in love with the love of my life! He is amazing....yep amazing pretty much sums it up. I only hope every girl in this world could find someone who makes them feel like Austin makes me feel. I thought princesses and queens only existed in fairy tales...I was TOTALLY wrong. So, these ARE NOT engagement photos...you'll have to stay posted to get ALL the juicy details. My blog can be like your favorite TV series that leaves you hanging and wanting more...okay?! Until next time!!!