Le Tour de France

I have really gotten into this major event the last few days. Le Tour de France is really interesting to watch and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I have found myself following the "yellow jersey" and other race contender stats. For those of you who are not familiar with this historic event, le Tour de France is a cycle race around the entire country of France. It is a 23 day (21 race stages and 2 rest days) tour of over 2,000 miles. The racers are incredible on their bikes. They ride over intense elevations on climb days and gain some crazy speed on sprint days.

I am excited for the final stage when they ride down the Champs-Elysees in Paris. The reason I really admire anyone who competes in the tour is because of how much they have to endure through grueling terrain for 3 weeks. Some days are very rainy and it makes for slippery asphalt. The cyclists have to ride up and down mountains and work through fast turns. Some cyclists even fall off sides of mountains at times and the tour is never complete if you do not see a fall with a domino effect.

In high school, I traveled to France with my french class to prove to ourselves how well we could speak the language:). It was one of my favorite traveling experiences in my life. I remember our bus taking us through some cities in southern France and the roads being blocked off because of the tour. If only I had been as excited about it back then so I could've paid closer attention when I was actually able to see it in person. That would have been when Lance Armstrong was becoming one of the greatest cyclist for the tour and in the world. Oh well, watching it on TV has been fun.

Watching all the athleticism with the Tour de France makes me really look forward to the Olympics...Beijing 8.8.08. The summer Olympics are the best!

Winter is great too...just not as great as summer!

a WeeK OfF frOm WoRk!!

First off, this is a long post...sorry, a lot happened! This past weekend we took a mini road trip to California to visit home and for my brother's wedding open house. We left on Wednesday after work and stayed the night in St.George so on Thursday we could spend all day in Zion National Park. We first hiked Angel's Landing. It is a gorgeous hike and the actual part up to Angel's Landing is crazy cool. In the picture below, you follow the route with the trees to the top. There is a chain along the way for everyone to hold on because it is scary cliff on both sides and you are basically climbing rocks the entire way up. When I first saw what we had to hike up I was kind of scared; my hands were all sweaty and I was shaking. However, I realized it wasn't so bad. When you reach the top you have a beautiful view of the surrounding area and it is fun to say that you made it to the top! Next time I want to run to the top. It would be an extreme workout.

The very top of this is Angel's Landing. Follow the route with the trees.

Here is Brandon on our way to the top.

Scary parts of the climb up, but nice views.

Don't look down!

On our way up to the top we saw some chipmunks and just had to take pictures of the furrballs we have been obsessed with imitating lately. (You all really should watch that clip from Enchanted;)- see a previous post.) Brandon got a really great shot of one of them. None of the others would hold still long enough.

We also had some fun fooling around in the mini caves while hiking up the trail.
After a short rest from Angel's Landing we headed out for the Emerald Pools. I think in the right time of year these pools would be a beautiful site to see, but not in the summer. All the water seemed dried up and there wasn't much to see as far as pools and waterfalls go. We had a good hike anyways and enjoyed what scenery was left.

After our day in Zions, we drove home to California to start helping with the open house. Everyone had assignments and the entire weekend from preparation to clean up went smoothly. We also had fun with family, extended included.

Watching "home run derby" at the baseball fields.

Playing Gumpsh!

There was soooo much food left over, but that was good because it was yummy. Here is everyone hard at work.

My sister, Terri and my mom. It's hot!

My sister, Janet and my cousin, Tracy. Crying onions;(

My mom, my Uncle Kevin and Tracy making yummy food.

Making homemade root beer!

My dad lighting the candles in the backyard.

This week off from work was a blast. Sadly, vacation has to end. Hopefully another one will come soon!

Zzzz!

The bug zapper is my weapon of choice against bugs. This Friday Fave is the coolest gadget around. Brandon bought one in Taiwan while he was on his mission and now we both use it in our house against all those pesty creatures. My parents came to visit a couple weekends ago for the wedding and saw our bug zapper in action. My mom loved it so much that she went out and got one for herself. The bug zappers are cool because they are handy and easy to use. Not to mention, they are very accurate. No more fly swatters and guts everywhere. A bug zapper doesn't miss (the surface area is fairly large) and it electrocutes the bug so you never have to worry about bloody bug guts on your walls! Zzzz!

Enchanted Chipmunk

I love this crazy chipmunk. His high squeaky voice is the funnest thing to imitate. Brandon randomly talks chipmunk and it is so hilarious. You have all probably seen this movie, but here is a short clip of Pip, my favorite part of the movie...

4th of July Friday Fave

Firework shows are among my favorite things. I love sitting outside and watching the random colors glow in the sky. The Apache Firedance firework, I believe it is called, is my favorite. They are the whitish ones that go off in the sky and come down in sort of a glittered, falling star kind of way.

You have to be fairly close to the show in order to catch the full effect. One of the best things about fireworks are the loud whistle, BOOM and ssshhhkkkkkkkkkk noises. The louder the fireworks show, the better it is.

It is also really fun to anticipate the grand finale. As the show progresses more fireworks go off and they get closer together and louder. The best shows are the ones you think have ended but they really haven't. After a short pause they come back all strong for the finale. More colors, closer together, and louder than ever. I hope everyone enjoys their Independence Day Firework show tonight. I know I will. HAPPY 4th of JULY EVERYONE!!