N.K.O.T.B. Still has it baby!

15 years ago I went to my first concert. Back then- nothing was hotter than Danny, Jordan, Jon, Joey and Donnie aka New Kids on the Block! I remember being madly in love with Jordan- and then Donnie... and then Jordan again and then... oh well- you know how it goes.

I shared some of my then most prized possession... posters of New Kids with my little sister Liz, for her to hang on her bedroom wall- that was the start of her own musical love affair with them. When she called me last Saturday and asked if I wanted to go to their concert... I got up and looked online for available tickets. Someone must have made a mistake in the prices and when I called the agent to make the purchase, he tried to get me to purchase other tickets. We bought the ones for $60- which were right by others tickets listed from over $100.00 up to $480.00! Crazy.

We had fun even before the show- texting messages to the jumbo tron! Then at 8:00.. it started!! Lady GaGa!! And Natasha Bedinfield!!! Both, opened the show. Liz and I had such a great time! Every one was screaming and singing... all the old songs they played seemed to have an updated sound to them. I was surprised I remembered so many songs. But then again- I did listen to their tape 24/7 for an entire summer. The looked and sounded awesome!

Liz- thank you so much for going with me!! I love you!

Here are some pics and a quick movie that I took that night, that demonstrates the screaming I was talking about!

Alicia~ Then & Now

I thought it would be fun to post some old pictures on here. Some Now & Then's, or Then & Now's... how ever you want to say it... First up- is Alicia! (I have some more of Alicia to add, but our scanner stopped working... I'll post the others soon!)

Alicia's First Easter- 1996

4 1/2 Months Old. She was such a fun baby! She never cried unless she was sick.



Keep in mind- this was in the 90's..... Big hair on little girls was Cute then!! She was almost 1.



Kisses!! Alicia was always affectionate. Hugs- kisses. Such a sweet, sweet little girl!

Alicia was a little on the shy side at times.



A True camper and 4-wheeling girl from day 1!


This camping trip was so fun. Alicia and her cousins cought so many frogs in the pond up at Lyman Lake. I am so proud that she is not afraid of things like that- and can rough if with the boys. Catching frogs, lizards, whatever.... she's tough!




A family favorite is to go to Grandma Schultz's house every December- and all the kids make gingerbread houses and have a great time decorating them with candies and frosting.

Picture Night! I think she got tired... but kept smiling for me anyways.

Alicia doesn't like this picture... but.. thats the power I hold of being able to post on here! This is her giving us peace- the day Ryan and I got married.

Picture from last night- this is Alicia and her new pet rat Cloee. Yes... I said Rat. She's cute!

More of Topaz Mountain

The view across from camp.

A Tarantula Hawk!! I had never seen one before! These are the largest of Wasp's and have THE most painful sting of all insects. On the Schmidt Pain Scale- these are 2nd to Bullet wounds. I screamed everytime one of these suckers flew past us. And to think I was trying to catch one! Yikes!!

A closed mine. You can still see the old railroad ties- where the carts were used.

This mine opening had collapsed. There use to be an arche above it. I hope no one was on there when it fell! They use to mine baryllium (not sure of the spelling!) The rocks are purple and not that hard. We dont know how deep these mines go. There are several openings to each mine.

My Parents! I could not have asked for better parents. They taught me how to love nature, love music, love each other, appreciate what you have and to simply LIVE!

*~ BrInlEy ~*

Brinley closely checking out a lizard that Alicia caught.

My favorite Lizard is a Horny Toad ;) . They are sooooo cute and look how little!

Another tiny lizard Alicia caught. She was impressive this trip! I can't believe how many lizards she caught. And so many types! I had never seen so many lizards... Ever. It was awesome!

Topaz Mountain

I was so glad to hear that our Schultz family was still planning on going to Topaz Mountain this year. I had not been there in years.

The topaz crystals at Topaz Mountain are naturally amber colored, but become colorless after exposure to sunlight. They look like little diamonds! The crystals formed within cavities of the Topaz Mountain -Rhyolite, a volcanic rock which erupted approximately six to seven million years ago (Tertiary Period) from volcanic vents along faults in the area. All the rocks there are volcanic in nature and are light in comparison to normal rocks. I wish I had taken a video clip of us moving some of the larger rocks... they look almost fake, because it is so easy.

We hiked up the right side of the old waterfall on the 6th or so- wash in.

We rode the 4 wheelers, found lots of Topaz & Apache Tears.

We had flash floods Sunday night. Never have seen rivers going through camp in the desert...but we did! It came with an amazing lightening show- that was a little to scary for me! After the lightening went right above us- across the sky and branched off... it was time for me and Alicia to go in the camper for the night!

It was an awesome trip and I loved being there! Here are some pictures of our awesome, short trip.

King Cobra Rock.

Topaz in the morning.

The Hike!

Alicia's 1st day of Junior High!

I asked Alicia at 7:00AM on August 22nd, "If you could go to school, in any car in the world... what would it be?" She replied "A Ford Mustang GT". I said- Ok... See you in 20!

Little did she know- My Dad was driving me over to get her- so we could take her to Junior High School on her first day, in his car... which is a 2008 Mustang GT.

I will always remember that drive... talking with my dad about so many things. Then picking her up and taking her to school- because she asked me if I would. Even when I told her I would be in Ryan's truck with the camper- she didn't care. As long as it was me that took her.

I love my girl so much. I know its a day- we both, will never forget.

Swimmers Ear

So, Alicia just went to the doctor and was told she had swimmers ear! I am blaming the overly crowded, most likely contaminated hot springs! Sorry Alicia!! We'll get ear plugs for next year!!

Canoeing the String Lake

This has become one of my favorite parts about going to Granite. We started this new tradition last year. The String Lake is beautiful. It's located in the Grand Teton National Park. Is about 1.5 miles long and .8 miles wide. The deepest spot might be about 8-10 feet or so. For people like me, who do not like deep waters... this is perfect!

Alicia's plunge!
Alicia bought some goggles and spent some time just checking things out!
Me. Safe and sound... on land!

Jumping into the Ice Cold Granite Creek!

Granite, WY... Additional Scenic Pictures

Garden Update!

The garden is growing!

We lost a few plants- to either bugs, not enough water, too much sun... not really sure. Our tomatoes, corn, beans and pumpkins are going strong! The peppers are just starting to grow. Haven't seen any squash, but at least the plant is still alive! Well, one of them anyway.

Looking straight at the tomatoes.

One pumpkin & one squash. I can't believe how big the pumpkin plant is!

A little green pepper and an oddly seperated pinky finger.

We have I bet a hundred green tomatoes. I can't wait until all the tomatoes are ripe! I told the girls at work that I would bring some in. If I dont eat them all first!

The corn. I don't know what I am more excited for- to eat the corn...

or to cut it down, tie it and put it on my porch for the fall season.

Baptisms... at Pineview?

So... this last Saturday I went to Pineview Damn. As I was on the beach, about 60+ people swarmed onto the beach. Some men had guitar's and were singing... there were some people dressed in white shirts and jeans- others in all white. It took a few minutes to realize what was occurring. Baptisms!!

Here are some pics- and a crude video (my bb doesn't video that well) of what went down.

Lasik!

Well- I went under the optical knife and had Lasik surgery done on both eyes this last Monday.

Feels great to be able to see without glasses or contacts. I went to a check up this morning and demonstrated 20/20. I might have 20/15 here in a few days... I am just glad the whole thing went well.

First Garden!

I just had to post some pictures of our first garden. I am so proud that the plants are actually growing! I usually kill plants. So, it's especially rewarding to see them getting bigger and bearing fruit. ha!

What we planted: 3 kinds of Tomatoes, Green Beans, Peppers, Cantelope, Watermelon, Corn, Yellow Squash... and if its not too late- I am going to add some Peas.