Introducing Spook!

Well since our last update on the fish we had a few deaths. The first was Shark Bait the otocinclus and then out of the blue Apollo our guppy that we have had for a year. When Apollo died Titian our platy was pretty bummed. He sat in the corner all day, didn't eat, and was very depressed. Him and Apollo were pretty good friends. I hear people say all the time that fish are pretty dumb and don't have any personalities, but I would have to say that you are very wrong about that statement. In the time that we have had fish, which is almost 2 years now (first starting with goldfish and then moving to tropical fish), they are very smart and each one has their own little personalities and quirks about them. For example: Apollo was always the fish that would swim to the side of the tank by the door when we came home. Mr. Clean likes to chase the mollies, and they bob up and down when I wiggle my finger thinking they are getting something to eat. So on Halloween we went down to Idaho Falls to get another friend for Titian because he was so depressed. We have have had him for a month now and he is such a great fish. We named him Spook because of Halloween and here he is with Titian! Here is a good picture of Plucker our balloon bellied molly

And Mr. Clean our peppered cory catfish (he is my favorite)

Trying our luck with a Christmas Cactus

For those that don't know, Chris and I have horrible luck with plants. When we first got married we had gotten an Aloe Vera plant (aka Planty) from BYU-Idaho in October 2009. (Every Friday they have a plant sale. We used to go just to look at the plants every Friday, don't anymore because I have no need to walk to where they are sold). Then over the summer we had re-potted it because it was getting big. Chris also had sunburned it by putting it out in the sun. Then I think it was about September 2010 I touched the plant and a stem/leaf thing fell right off. Yep that is right, it was dead and in fact had been sitting on our bookshelf for probably about a month dead, pretty pathetic I know.

After that I had gotten a bamboo from Walmart. I like having plants in the apartment, but just have horrible luck with them. Bamboo plant is actually the only plant that we have kept alive for any length of time (a year, knock on wood).

Then sometime last year after Planty had died we had seen a Jade plant at the plant sale. We had a pot that Planty was in and soil, so we decided to give it another go. Well enough this summer while we were in California I noticed that the leaves were falling of and yes sure enough it was dead. It was at that point that I had given up with the whole plant thing, we still had bamboo plant but all you do is drown it in water. Then when we went to Calaveras Big Trees State Park in California to see the Giant Sequoias Chris saw the little Giant Sequoia trees that you could buy in a little tube and plant. He really wanted one so we decided to get one because Jade Plant was dead and we had a pot. Well, I think that lasted about a month... and the soft little Baby Sequoia Tree was turning all hard and dead like. Sure enough we had killed yet another plant. The Sequoia actually had a guarantee on it so we could have called them and they would have gave us a new tree we would just have to pay or shipping but I didn't even want to bother with that because the next one would probably have ended up dead as well.

So the other day I was thinking that I really wanted a Christmas Cactus because they are so pretty and seem to be pretty hardy as well (but what classifies as a hardy plant to most people meets a very different classification for us). Then we decided to go to the plant sale and see the plants because I didn't have work and didn't want to go straight home right away after my one class on Friday. We then saw the Christmas Cactus's and asked a lot of questions as to what plants are somewhat kill resistant. We decided to give the plant thing another try. We had also got to thinking that maybe the pot that we had wasn't very well draining and that could have been why the other plants died after talking to the people. So we spent some time driving around Rexburg going to different stores to try to find a new pot. We had gone to Walmart, K-Mart, Cal Ranch, and finally at our last stop when we were thinking we would have to go to Idaho Falls we found one at Valley Wide Home and Ranch. It was on clearance and wasn't well draining, but we put some holes in the bottom so that it would be. Here is our little Christmas Cactus that we got. It is a Dark Marie variety.

It is a pretty little plant and crazy how much it has changed just in the short time that we have had it. When we got it yesterday morning none of the blossoms were open. Then by yesterday afternoon we noticed that they were starting to open a little, and by this morning two were all the way open. Very pretty! Just hoping that we can keep this plant alive and enjoy the blossoms next Christmas.

Updating Continued

This is a continuation of the last post with the much needed update. I would suggest reading the post before this one first, but do what you want.

Way back on September 12th we started school. That was definitely an interesting week, not the best of weeks. I had waited all summer for school to start and then when it finally did I wasn't all that excited about it. The first day of school was good, slow, but good. I had a very relaxed ease into school from my long summer break. Then the second day of school I went to my morning class and then had to head down to Idaho Falls to have a biopsy done on my hand. (I know, not the best timing, but it was the soonest I could get in). For those that don't know I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in February 2011. August 31st I found out that I needed to get a biopsy done because of some bumps that were occurring on my hands. The doctor thought that they may have been rheumatoid nodules, which would mean that my medication isn't working and would need to switch to something stronger. But don't worry it ended up just being a cyst of some sort is is perfectly fine. In fact once I had my largest cyst removed the rest disappeared.

Anyway, had to go to the dermatologist to get it removed and miss the first day of my advanced nutrition class. I had already talked to my teacher and I was his TA when I was diagnosed so he knew about everything that was going on. I was even hoping to catch the last part of the class, but my doctors appointment ended up being 2 hours long. That was NOT what I expected. For one, the rheumatologist said it wouldn't take very long and that they would just do a punch in my hand to get a sample of whatever it may be. Because of the location and how deep it was the dermatologist was wondering if they would even be able to do it. I was so happy that they did because I had had this appointment for two weeks and was missing class. But instead of just having a punch, they ended up cutting open and removing the whole cyst.

The procedure ended up taking 1 1/2 hours. I couldn't believe how long it took! They also had to give me like 5 numbing shots because it just wasn't lasting very long. Ended up getting three stitches, my first stitches, other than the ones that I have had in my mouth. Here is a picture I think about 6 hours after the surgery. It HURT all the first day! I lived off of Tylenol and was constantly holding bags of frozen vegetables.
Here is a picture right before I took the stitches out. Don't worry the PA gave me permission to. I had asked about going to Community Care to get them taken out so I wouldn't have to drive all the way to Idaho Falls for a 5 minute appointment. He then told me that I could just do it myself or take it to the vet tech program or nursing program. This was the night of September 24th. 11 days after the surgery. They said to take then out in 12-14 days. I was just itching to get the dang things out. Plus 2 out of the 3 stitches had ripped out because I stretched my hand out in my sleep and ripped them. So only one was doing any good.
When I took the stitches out my wound was obviously not healed because the stitches had ripped. Then took another week for it to close up all the way. I was so excited when that finally happened. I am taking a water aerobics class and I had been having to hold my hand out of the water, and I was finally able to put my hand in the water. The first week of it being healed I still had to keep it pretty easy because the skin was so tight and it hurt really bad to stretch it out all the way.

Here is a picture on October 15th, just over a month after the surgery and two weeks since it closed up. Still can't stretch it out all the way, but at least it doesn't hurt. Just have scar tissue there, but otherwise healed!The day that I had the biopsy done was not a good day AT ALL! My hand was hurting, I had homework to do in which I so desperately was trying to write with my left hand. At least the first week didn't have a lot of note taking. The day after the biopsy I was able to write a little bit with my left hand if I just took it easy and didn't have a lot to write, otherwise it would hurt. I also had to change how I wrote, and now I am back to the way I wrote before the biopsy.

Later that Tuesday, when my hand was hurting and I just wasn't having a good day our fish Polly died. It was so random and out of the blue and one day after the two week mark of being able to return the fish and get a new one. It just wasn't a good day. I was so sad because of everything that had happened that day. Then Wednesday I found out that I would have to memorize 22 plants by being able to identify them, memorize the common name, scientific name, and family name by Friday in which we would have a test. This was all on the first week of school! It is safe to say that test didn't go so well because it was just too much for one week and two days.

That Saturday I spent relaxing and not worrying about homework (haven't had a weekend like that since). We also went down to Idaho Falls and got two new fish to add to the tank. We have now had then for a month.

Here is a picture of Shark Bait our Otocinclus (algae eater). In the picture he is doing what Chris and I refer to as "Mad Skills." He hangs onto things with his two fins, it is CRAZY how he does it. Even in a strong current and he is such a tiny little fish and often hard to find, but really fun to watch.
Here is Plucker our balloon bellied molly, aka fat bellied molly. It was kind of weird not having a Polly with the Rolly but Plucker seemed to fit him. He picks at EVERYTHING! He has really pretty colorings.

I also finally got a good picture of Rolly that we had gotten with Polly. He is our other fat bellied molly. We also have Mr. Clean our peppered cory (he is my favorite, but don't tell the other fish that), Apollo our guppy, and Titian our platy.
So yeah, that is the recent update of what has been going on. The semester is going good and we are going into midterms. I have to have 112 plants memorized by the 26th. Also going to be going down to Southern Utah in a month for my range plants class so I don't have to take the final. Then the last week of November Chris and I will be going to the Range Beef Cow Symposium in Nebraska. We are pretty excited about it because we have never been to Nebraska and we will be doing some networking to hopefully get some jobs after graduation in April. The school is taking a bus and we will be stopping at Colorado State University to tour for grad school and vet students. Along with stopping at a meat packing plant to do a tour. Pretty excited!

A very much needed update

Well since last writing a lot has happened. September 4th after church Chris and I went to meet our good friends Jared and Mandy in Swan Valley, Idaho to go camping. We made the trip out there and had a wonderful dutch oven dinner and desert. We sat around the campfire telling stories and singing songs. Jared's brother and sister-in-law with their two kids had come to have dinner with us and it was a wonderful night. However later that night we ended up cancelling the camping trip that we had planned. When Jared's brother and family were leaving we got a phone call from them a few minutes later. Jared was trying to assess the situation, however my radar ears heard the words mountain lions. Yep that is right 3 large mountain lions that were not scared of the car was a couple miles away from our campsite. We sat around the campfire and talked about it for a good hour or so and decided at about 10:30pm that night that we would pack up tent and head to Idaho Falls to stay at Jared and Mandy's apartment. Our main concern was the fact that we had Jared's dog with us, and Mandy and I wouldn't sleep at all that night if we were to stay. We determined that it just wasn't worth the risk because the cougars were not scared of people, and that is what worried us. At about midnight we were on the road and in Idaho Falls at 1am and went to bed at 2am.

In the morning we had our dutch oven breakfast that was planned and decided to head off the the Eastern Idaho State Fair that was in Blackfoot, Idaho. We had a great day with friends! Even though we didn't get to go on our camping trip that we had planned, it was just fun to spend time with friends. The most important thing was that we were all able to return home safe and sound. We also found out later that day that cougars in the area had been killing a lot of dogs, so we were grateful that we didn't take the risk that was up in the air and instead changed our plans and still had fun anyway. After the fair we went back to Jared's and Mandy's and had some pizza and watched a movie. It was a very fun, relaxing day!

Later that week on the 7th of September Chris and I went and worked at the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot, Idaho. I had gotten a phone call from one of my professors the day before about the Idaho Farm Bureau needing people to run the both. We would just have to work a 4 hour shift, get paid, and also free fair admission. We had so much fun in that we were able to promote agriculture and teach kids how to milk a cow. We also taught the public about the bringing agriculture into the classroom program. Kids had a lot of fun and afterwards we were able to go and enjoy the fair some more. The first event that we went to was the Draft Horse Pull. It was so cool to watch these huge draft horses pull thousands of pounds. Here are some videos of the horse pull. These two horses were the middle weight champions and heavy weight champions.

Here are some pictures of the horse pull. The first one is of the horse pull champions. The second is just a really cool picture of the power of draft horses.

We had so much fun watching the horse pull. We also went and watched a steer show and draft horse show. It was pretty cool to learn how to judge the draft horses, I had never seen them shown before. Some people say that cattle intimidate them how on earth can I show them, well I would have to say that about the draft horses. They were jogging around the arena with them. I would be so worried about them running me over because they didn't turn fast enough or something like that.

We also walked around a meet the animals display that had just arrived the morning that we had to work. The animals were right next to us while we were working and I very much enjoyed them being there. A funny thing that happened with a family that were feeding the animals with the cups of food that they could purchase. I was watching a family and noticed that the goat that they were feeding was becoming very pushy. Next thing I know the goat had the cup in its mouth and the family was trying to get it from them. I then walked over to retrieve the cup in noticing that the family was very animal illiterate. However I had arrived too late, the goat had eaten the cup. I was kind of funny. The family was all distraught about the situation. My first question was if it was a plastic or paper cup. Luckily they said it was a paper one and I said "oh good, no worries it will be digested. If it was plastic I would be a little worried." I just thought that whole situation was kind of funny. We had another very enjoyable day at the fair.

Wow this is a long post, I will do more updating on another post

Teton Dam

September 3rd after visiting Mesa Falls we decided to go see the Teton Dam (or a better way to put it the reminants of the dam). Chris had seen the dam, but I had never gone and seen it before so we went to do that since we were out and about in that area. I had drove past the road that leads to the dam many times while working at HD Dunn and Son Angus Ranch in Tetoniam, Idaho. For those that don't know about the Teton Dam, here is a link to a video done by the History Chanel. Their were actual fotage videos, but they are hard to see (that is the second link), and the History Channel explains what went wrong with the dam. I had learned about the dam in my Stream Ecology class and it is an interesting story of events of what not to do.

http://www.history.com/shows/modern-marvels/videos/engineering-disasters-teton-dam#engineering-disasters-teton-dam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEdM6Ys6spA

Here are the photos that I took while we visited of the remnants of the dam. The first is looking down the Teton River.

The second is of the spill gate that malfunctioned when the dam collapsed

Here is what is left of the dam. The right side collapsed, but I learned online that the left side of the dam was taken down to examin after the collapse to help determine what went wrong.

It was certainly something to go and see where the dam was after hearing about the string of events that happened in that time. Many students from at the time Ricks College now BYU-Idaho were sent to help in the clean up efforts. Ricks was not destroyed because of the location on a hill. Now we just need to go to the Teton Dam Flood Museum in Rexburg to learn even more.

Mesa Falls

September 3rd Chris and I took a day trip to go to Mesa Falls. This is another place that people always talk about and we have never gone, so we wanted to make a trip to see the falls. We took the scenic byway and their were many stops along the way with signs and information. Our first stop was Warm River.
At Warm River their were quite a few fish that were making their way up the river, or maybe they just hung out here because people feed them. Here is an action shot of a fish getting some food in the left hand corner. I think he ended up missing the food.
The scenic byway

Lower Mesa Falls. To the right of the falls their is a big rock face, we ended up hiking there after we had seen the upper falls.
Walking up to Upper Mesa Falls
A very good picture of Chris on our walk along the Upper Mesa Falls
Upper Mesa Falls
Upper Mesa Falls, look at the rainbow
View down the river, I loved this view, so beautiful
After seeing the Upper Falls we went to the visitors center and looked around. We then went on a 1 mile hike to the Lower Falls. It was a nice walk, I was a little nervous though because we are in the middle of bear country and their were signs saying that bears have been seen in that area. But we made it and I was relieved when we were back to our car. I don't like bears.
On the way home we had a great view of the Grand Tetons

We had a great time going and seeing the falls and we learned new information about Yellowstone country and how this area has formed. Such beautiful country that we are living in, however it would probably be better if we didn't have bears, wolves, and mountain lions to worry about.

New additions to the family!

August 29th we added two new fish to our family of fish. Their names are Rolly and Polly the balloon bellied mollies (aka for us fat bellied mollies). So our tank has Mr. Clean a peppered cory catfish, Apollo a guppy, Titian a platy, and Rolly and Polly the fat bellied mollies. We are so glad that we have them, they are a joy to watch and each has their own little personalities that gives us a good laugh. Here are some videos of our fish. the first one is of Mr. Clean cleaning. I turned off the video a little early, because at the end when he disappeared I turned off the video and then he popped up at the top of the rock, he is such a funny fish and so CUTE! The other video is of the fish. I tried to take pictures of them to show the markings of Rolly and Polly, they both have cool markings, but it is hard to take pictures of fish. So here they are, enjoy!