Go Jayhawks!

Even though I didn't go to school there, my favorite college team is the University of Kansas. Rick and I temporarily turned my 2008 Orange Bowl champions T-shirt into a NCAA basketball championship T-shirt to wear on Monday as I root for the Jayhawks.

Bruneau Sand Dunes

Our first camping trip of the year was at Bruneau Sand Dunes in the RV park. (All of our friends have RVs, so camping in March weather is just fine for them, with their heat, running water, ovens, and snuggly warm beds.) Here's how we camped. The tent is a tailgating tent attached to the back of our truck.

The dunes were pretty cool. I think they are the tallest in North America or something. We climbed up part way and tried to be creative with the camera.

We found a really strange track in the sand and decided to follow it. Any idea what it was?

We had an amazing stack of wood for our fire.

By the second night, we had a Jenga fire. I think you'll be able to see what I mean.

Back to the track in the sand. Check out who made it!

Springtime in Japan

I went to Japan for work last week. Japan is famous for it's cherry blossoms in springtime. We were there just at the beginning of the season.














There is some kind of religious walking path behind our hotel (above). I think it is Shinto. There are hundreds of little statues of people. Everyone seems to enjoy walking among the statues in the mornings before work. But when I go, I never see anyone else there!




Some of the statues are dressed up with hats, clothes, necklaces. I am thinking people visit these statues and take care of them, like a cemetery. But I don't know for sure. Maybe if any of my Japanese friends read this, they will comment and tell us more.

Palm Springs

Over the President's Day weekend, we visited my parents at their February rental in Palm Springs. It was spectacular. Their place was right on the golf course. We could sit on the back patio and watch a new group of golfers putt about every 10min. Here is the view.

We also played the course one afternoon. It was pretty intimidating having all of those condos lining the fairway and surrounding the green. I thought for sure one of us would break a window. Rick came the closest when he landed on on the roof of the club house.

Snow Jeep

It snows nearly every day in Boise. Each morning Rick drags himself out of bed to go shovel the driveway. We have about a 3ft mound of snow in our front yard. At work, the snow pile is a lot taller, and it is placed right in our normal parking spot. No problem though - we have the snow jeep.

Walker-Moore Wedding

On February 2, 2008, Jennifer Walker married Tim Moore. Jenny is my neice. We flew to Reno for the wedding. Don't they look happy?

My parents were also there. It was great to see them. They had driven three days from Kansas to Reno and then on to Palm Springs for the rest of the month. Rick took a lovely photo of the three of us.

The wedding was held at Linda (my sister) and Pepi's house. Here they are.

Linda and Pepi had specific jobs for the wedding. Linda's job was to make sure the slaves were always working in the kitchen. Here she is driving Candi to finish the stuffed tomatos.

Pepi had his usual job of taking videos. But he had a second job as well - following the chicken around with a microphone so we could have music to do the Chicken Dance.

Jenny's older brothers were both there. Here is my nephew Brian and his girlfriend Candi. Candi swears she only ate three cupcakes, not four.

And here is my nephew Sean and his adorable daughter Jordyn.

Of course Rick was there too. He took about 100 photos and managed his way into only a few. Fortunately he found his way into one with me.

The wedding was lovely and a lot of fun. We wish the best for the new couple and hope they are having fun in Hawaii.

Puerto Morelos Restaurant Review

L'Oazis (lllll)
Rick and I found a wonderful little restaurant in Puerto Morelos. L'Oazis (http://www.loazis.com/) has lovely owners who wait on tables and create a welcoming atmosphere. The food is truly delicious and the prices are nearly inexpensive. We loved it so much, we went back the next night. Our favorite dishes were shrimp sambuca (shrimp in cream sauce) and grouper (in white wine and lime sauce). The linguini with clams and shrimp was tasty too. If you are ever in Puerto Morelos, you must stop here for dinner.