Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Exciting Conclusion of Farmgirl's Idaho Adventures.

Or...All the rest of the random stuff I thought I should tell you all about.
Which ever title you want. Either one works.
Here you go, World, the rest of the story--in no particular order.

This is the part I like to call
*Presto
n Stuff*

An absolute MUST if you ever find yourself in Preston:
Pizza Villa.
Get your self a chef salad.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT forget to order the cheesy bread sticks.
(ask for ranch on the side for your dipping pleasure)


And...a new favorite for me, a fresh strawberry shake from Big J's.
(those of you not in the know--Pizza Villa and Big J's are owned by the same people and are right next door to each other so you can order your Big J shake and enjoy it at Pizza Villa!)
Seriously, they are amazing!!
Thank You, Mother!!!!
My mom and I may or may not have made another trip to Big J's for more shakes
..it's hard to remember.

She was the genius who discovered this little gem. I have been told they are only this good in the summer--so plan your trip wisely.

No trip to Preston is complete without a Kings shopping experience.
Let me tell you why...
Here is a random shelf at Kings.
The items include: glass figurines, vases, scrap book paper, fanny packs, bird houses, magic towels, pens, musical key chain, candles, Dri T shirt, and some very revealing nighties.
Makes perfect sense, right?
Only in Kings, my friends.
Only in Kings.

This is the part I like to call
*Fourth of July
Festivities*

If, by some twist of fate you are lucky enough to be in Cache Valley over the fourth-
-spend it in Lewiston, Utah.
First of all, please- try to control your jealousy over our amazing running attire.
Amanda outfitted us once again. Our shirts say, "God bless this Hot Mess".
Amen to that, Amen!
I mean, that's my prayer pretty much every morning!
Life is tough, when you are as hot as we are. ;o)
Let's not forget our crowns to top off our glorious, beautiful selves.
My cute Audrey and my brother Jonathan ran as well, it turned out to be quite the family event.

The celebration started bright and early with the Lewiston 5K Boarder Run. FYI- my parents farm is located just about a quarter of a mile north of the Idaho boarder, the 5K starts at the center of Lewiston and goes to
(....you will never guess....)
the boarder.
The cheering section at the half way mark (the Utah/Idaho boarder) can not be beat.
This is a small sampling of the cousins cheering Audrey-and everyone else for that matter-on.

Next up: the fabulous parade.
Does that seem like a lot of kids to anyone else?
My, my, my---we really are a big group- all those little twerps are my nieces and nephews- minus a few.

This next part is vital.
Head back to my parents house after the parade, hang out, visit, eat, let the kiddos play and on some years enjoy the adult slip and slide.
-unfortunately, didn't happen this year :(
p. s. My mom makes a mean dutch oven full of potatoes. Mmmmm...

See all those kids enjoying the swing set and the wading pool?
See Grant?
He's the kid sitting on the tractor.
His life would pretty much be complete if he could just spend it on one of these.

He might be satisfied for a while with one of these.
My mom was kind enough to let him help mow the lawn with her on more than one occasion.

End your day-O-fun atop the haystack--
where you will enjoy the spectacular Lewiston fireworks show.
I know, the picture isn't great-you get the idea.

And, if you are part of this group you will be joining a firework sing-along.
They will favor you with all the great Americana classics + the Star Wars theme song and last, but certainly not least, you will end the night with a rousing version of "And here we have Idaho".


This is the part I like to call
*Shout out to my fabulous parents*
So, I didn't get a lot of pictures of my Dad.
It's been a really wet spring and beginning of summer. First crop hay should of been a thing of the past before I ever arrived. It wasn't even cut yet. Once it dried out and the farm work was in full swing, he was always willing to take some tag alongs out to the field with him.
Which thrilled me as much as it did the a fore mentioned tag along.
:o)

Ahhh, me Madre.
I so enjoyed hanging out with her.
Thanks for letting me and my posse' invade your life for the better part of a month.
This was quite possibly the best Idaho trip ever.

What can I say?
I just love this place.
It is what makes me...Me.
This place, and all the people there, are what made me Farmgirl.
(thank you Robyn for recognizing it)
And I could not be more grateful.
~
Going home is imperative.
Making sure my children's roots run all the way back to this Idaho farmland is one of the most important things I will ever do.

14 comments:

Kristina P. said...

Can you believe I've only been to Idaho once in my life! Love the running shirt.

Fonzareli said...

i have NEVER had a strawberry shake from big j's. I'M SUCH A SLACKER! I enoyed your journey. Thanks for sharing!

jen said...

I am thinking I need a trip to Idaho!! I could use some yummy food and it sounds like a trip to King's would be quite entertaining!! I am glad you guys had such a good time. Grant totally belongs in Idaho. It looks like he is in heaven in every photo. He needs himself a tractor and big grassy field :).

Unknown said...

Oh I looove the Fresh Strawberry Shakes!! Amanda and Lando took us there after floating the...whatever it is you float up there and I was in love. I'm pretty sure I'll have to take a trip to Richmond now to get one!

Super cute running attire! Amanda did a fabulous job! As usual! She should start her own tank line! :)

Robyn Lamoreaux said...

Ahhh, Loved this post. I felt like I have actually visited the farm. You are welcome for the name because even here in Sunny St. George I can ALWAYS see my Farmgirl shining through. I love your roots. I love the recipes you bring from your roots. (so does my extended family) I love your funny sayings you bring from that Idaho Farm.(Anywho? asta-la-pasta..) I am so glad you had a wonderful time and that Grant made it back in one piece. I am the most glad that you are finally home.

p.s. You might actually be Dusty Britches;)

staci said...

Love this post Farmgirl! Like some of the other commenters, I feel like I've taken a trip there with you! I also have only had the great opportunity to visit Idaho once in my life. How sad is that? Your parents farm and surrounding areas look so gorgeous and green.

Amanda said...

Oh Mary Ann- I know you wish you were back up here...What am I saying? I'm not there anymore either! I wish we both were back up there. It was so fun to hang out with you! Thanks for sharing your time at mom and dad's with me while I was a widow(ish) The perks of being a stay at home.......Person. Miss you already, keep running, the Ragnar Vegas will be here before we know it!

FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY said...

It looks like Pizza Villa redecorated since I've been there. No more big red cans of tomatoe sauce sitting up on the wall shelves!

And your running tank looks pretty sexy with the somewhat fleshy colored sports bra underneath. For a second, I thought you were bringing a bit of the city girl back to the farm! Just kidding.

Looks like fun. And boy, what I wouldn't give for a fresh strawberry shake right now......

Megs said...

OK Farmgirl, get comfy you are about to be subjected to one of my infamous comments...
*cracks knuckles*
...here I gooooooooooo!
I really truely LOVED your post! My Mom grew up on a farm/ranch in Eastern Washington, my grandpa kept some cattle and bred horses at thier place! She even remembers when they first got the indoor toilet! LOL Every summer, several times each summer actually, we would pack up and spend time up at the farm! While I didn't officially grow up on a farm, I have such great memories of it! Some are:
-time playing with dozens of kittens out back...thereby my parents discovering that I am allergic when my eyes swelled shut!
-collecting eggs in the morning with Grandma and the trek to the chicken coop,
-riding in the farmtruck around the pasture while they replaced posts in the fence- that truck was like a 1940's something...so cool!
-testing the theory that if you hold a blade of grass on a electric fence...you WILL get shocked (OK, so I have not ALWAYS been brilliant ;)
-and best of all the the EXPLORING! So many things to see and do on a farm! The forest, the corrals, the orchard, the fields, just EVERYTHING!
My Dad grew up not really on a big farm, but they had a ton of acreage and kept cows, chickens, rabbits, and hayfields- we used to have SO MUCH FUN jumping from the rafters into the loose hay in the big barn! :D Loved it! :D
So while I am not really qualified to claim the title of Farmgirl, I have played at Farmgirl-type-activities more than most people my age have had the chance to do! I wish that my kids could have the farm experience that yours get, it is so GREAT, such a blessing! There is so much more to life than xBox and computer time...(I say as I blog and Facebook...um, so I might be a bit hypocritical! LOL) Beautiful pics! Makes me reminice about when I was little...obviously! :D Thanks again for the awesome update on Farmgirl Life! :D

Sarah said...

Ahh geesh-- look at what I missed out on. You're making me regret my decision to stay at home with the "hot-mess" that is my pack of girls. AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME YOU HAD A KINGS IN PRESTON!! Are you freakin' kidding me? I spent weeks at the farm as a kid (Gooding, ID) and one of highlights was always a trip to Kings. I miss that place. I still remember the Coty Face Powder that I bought there. Ahhh . . .

annebabe said...

And there is a King's in Twin Falls. Its a small world. :) Glad you had fun with family. Glad you had fun on the farm. Glad you ran in a hottie tank top. Glad your children survived farm life. Glad you are home and bringing some of that farm fresh goodness with you!!!!

andrea said...

What an adventure! I had a roommate in the dorms at BYU from Preston. Her toenails were permanently black and she was strangely very proud of the fact?...Yes. Her and Preston were probably a good match.

As you might remember, I lived in small town ID myself once upon a time...still have a Snoopy notebook with a Kings price tag on it. Apparently they still carry the same one. Thanks for inviting us on your journey. I had such a good time!

Bryant P. Castleton said...

OK, I didn't think it had been that long since I had visited your blog but...WOW!!! TRIPPY!! Pizza Villa, Kings, Run for the Border 5-K, and Fred would be so proud of the Case tractor's (minus the JD lawn mower - I'm guilty too!).

Now that our girls are getting a bit older I am going to have to take them "home" again. It is just so different now that NONE of my family live there any more. Fred is there and is always a great host but it just isn't the same. It is especially hard to drive by and see what a dump the ol' homestead has turned into!

Combine all that with the fact that we have burned every vacation day and frequent flier miles for the past 6 years returning to UT/ID to visit family and it has left me in the middle of my current 2-year boycott!

What we really need to do is convince the whole "gang" (Mindy, Anneke, Meridee, Fred, etc.) to meet back one year for the...wait for it...rodeo weekend and all meet up. Wouldn't that be a hoot!

Anyway...thanks for the flashback!!

P.S. I have finally started to blog a little bit more often, though I'll never keep up with you!

Anneke said...

ok... first of all I was about crying about all the Preston memories. Man, every time I go up there I just am ready to stay... but not gonna happen. Such a great place to grow up!! And Kings!... whatta place! And fresh strawberry shakes! I need one NOW!

ok... second of all, I got teary-eyed reading Bryant's comment. Oh, what FUN it would be to get the gang back together for a rodeo rendevous! (prob didn't spell that right) Oh my -- that makes me giddy just thinking about it!

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