Car

So last weekend was a little extra eventful around here. It all started because my best friend's grandma passed away, and I wanted to make a quick trip home to Salmon for the service. Well, the weather hadn't been so great the week leading up to it, but I watched the weather carefully every day, and decided to go the long way, in order to avoid most of the mountain passes and windy river roads. When the morning came, the weather wasn't too bad to start. It was a little rainy when I left Boise, and it rained off and on until I got to about Craters of the Moon, which is where I began to see a bit of snow. Not much, but enough to slow down and be cautious. I made it to Arco with no problem, and on to Mackey with a bit more snow. Then between Mackey and Challis it was a near white out. I crept along at about 30 mph most of the way, since I knew I was going over a pass and through a short rocky canyon, even though I couldn't hardly tell where I was. Once I passed though Challis, the skies seemed to clear, and it looked like the last leg would be better. The road was still pretty snow covered, so I still drove no more than 40 mph the whole way, with hopes of being in Salmon by dinner time. About 20 miles outside of Salmon, and 7 1/2 hours into my normally 5 hour drive, I was going around a gentle curve, when I hit a patch of black ice. It pulled my car straight off the road and straight into the side of the rock mountain. I saw the rock coming, even saw the sign that I mowed down, but I braced myself as best I could. The impact was still rough- my butt slid forward until both knees slammed into the bottom of the steering column, my seat belt burned off the top few layers of skin on my shoulder, and I knocked my noggin pretty good on the steering wheel. As soon as I saw that my airbags had not gone off, I jumped out of the car fearing a late explosion into my face, and got my bearings. Luckily I had slid entirely off the road, so I wouldn't block anyone else crazy enough to be trying to drive around in a blizzard. But the luckiest thing of all was that I had slid off on the mountain side of the road, since the other side was straight down into the river, and that would have really sucked. Once I found my phone, I called Cahl, who called his stepdad to come out and pick me up, as there was no way my car was going anywhere. While I waited, a few passersby stopped to check on me, and someone even called 911. It's always fun being from a super small town, since when the first responders came, there was a guy I grew up with, and the mom of a girl I grew up with- you know, people I have known my whole life. Happy reunion! After they had checked me all out, and Cahl's dad came, I got all of my stuff out of my car and rode into town to my friends house. Within a few hours, my right eye was completely purple and swollen shut. I kept ice on it all night, and the next morning it was much better, and I went in to the ER to get fully checked out and X-rayed. The good news was that nothing was broken, just super bruised and sore, with a slight concussion and mild case of whiplash. Cahl drove up to Salmon that day, and we stayed one more night then headed back to Boise. My car was totaled, so it stayed behind at the junkyard, and now the car shopping begins.

Snow Camp

Last night Cahl, Tristan and Jasen went to a snow camp for the scouts. They all had a bunch of fun, and stayed surprisingly warm!

Winter Carnival

Tonight the elementary school had their winter carnival, so I took Hunter and Brinley. Each classroom had a different game or station, and they had a great time seeing their friends and playing all the games!

Birthday

Since Cahl was gone for Tristan's birthday, we waited until he got home to do his cake. As he gets older, he wants less and less for holidays, but we still love to celebrate them! He got some cool things from his siblings, and he was happy! Tristan sure is a great part of our family. He is my trusty helper whenever Cahl is gone, and I can always count on him for whatever I need.

Colorado

Cahl had to spend a few days in Denver this week, for some work training, and while he was there he was able to drive down and visit his family that lives just outside the city. He had a great time having dinner and catching up with his aunt and uncle, and 3 cousins and their families.

While he was in Denver, he was able to see the largest hydrolic press in North America, where they test concrete strengths. They even did a demonstration, and he said it was super cool.