You're it!

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I will keep this short since I won't be able to add any pictures. And who really wants to read me rambling on and on?

Anyways, I drove home to Idaho Falls today. And lucky me! I was just in time for Grandma Wava (GW) day!

For those of you that don't know, GW day is when all the cousins still residing in IF converge on the Bott household to eat all they can eat, perform awe-inspiring tricks on the trampoline and generally wear GW down. We try and wear Grandpa Bill down, but he can asleep anytime so it's not quite a challenge.

Anyways, as I was saying, I arrived just in time for a delicious dinner of salmon patties and lumpy potatoes (aka fried potatoes). They were delicious as usual and we finished up with some peaches and homegrown pairs! Oh how I miss dinners like that!

Afterwards, I was challenged to a game of butt-war by Rylee and then I attempted to show everyone how to juggle. They all need a little (ok-a lot!) Of work. Good thing I'm a pro!

Then, the alley neighbors, Alisha and Dylan came over and just like that, I was transported back in time. We were in the middle of a rowdy game of toilet tag, when I was struck with a brilliant idea. I decided to teach them how to play sardines. It took a few games but they finally caught on.

I remember still being in junior high and even high school and playing sardines, kick the can, capture the flag, and any other night games we could think of with my sister and all the neighbor kids. We would play for hours and all over the neighborhood. It kind of makes me sad to think that in this day and age my cousins won't get the joy of running around all night and hiding under or even in the neighbors cars.

And so it shall be my mission to at least pass on the tradition of these wonderful games. And for those of you that get the pleasure of spending time at my cabins this next summer, plan on partaking in all of the above.
Ready or not, here I come!

And just so you know, playing tag almost killed me. I'm definitely not as sprightly as I used to be.

Finally fall!

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My favorite season is finally here. Tomorrow is the official start of fall and I couldn't be happier! As much as I love the summer season and 100 degree weather, I love rainy, cloudy days and colder weather just as much, if not more. I love being able to wear layers and layers of clothes. I love wearing all of my favorite hoodies and sweatshirts. I love the fact that Halloween is right around the corner, which means that Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday, and New Year's are all close behind. I love the smell of controlled fires burning in the distance and I love college football.

Speaking of football, Boise played Oregon yesterday and THEY WON! Not that I had any doubts, of course, but I'm sure the rest of the nation did. They played an amazing first half, and it's a good thing, because they kind of sucked it up in the fourth quarter and could have lost it had Oregon put in their new freshman quarterback any sooner.

I really do owe it to Boise State for kindling my love of college football. Before 2002, I probably couldn't have told you what the Pac-10 was. Now, I am happy as a clam watching almost any college football game in the nation. It's just so american, so college, and so fall-ish. I'm sure I will get some crap for posting this video on here (especially from all those crappy Vandal fans out there; Kari, in particular!), but it still gives me chills watching it, and anything that still gives me chills 2 years later deserves to be shared!



Enough about football. As far as my life goes, I've been pretty not-busy since I got back on Tuesday. Mainly because I'm not quite sure what my next step is going to be. I have a couple of options. I'm considering getting my teaching certificate and if I choose to do so, I will do so at Boise State (it BY FAR makes the most sense, both financially and logistically). However, nobody is quite sure that I really want to become a teacher. They are partially right: teaching is not where I thought I would be at this point in life, but I have always secretly wanted to be a teacher. Plus, I love the schedule and I love school supplies! : )
I'm also still considering moving to Portland. After talking to my sister today, if I do so, I am not allowed to work in retail unless it is in the corporate arena. She says I didn't major in entrepreneurial management to fold shirts all day, and she makes a valid point. Therefore, I am on a hunt to find a job or internship in the following business catagories: wedding/event planning, journalism (preferably print), and publishing/writing. All of the above are future endeavors that I could see myself pursuing long-term and on my own. At this point, I'm pushing for wedding planning, because it peaks my interest the most and there is a definite need in the Boise area. There is only one real wedding planner in the area, and her website is not something to be proud of. So here's hoping something pans out in the next few days! I will keep you updated.



On a completely unrelated note, I had a great time last night hanging out with Hillary and her work family. They had a fiesta at her manager's house and I tagged along. We got involved in a heated game of flip-cup and come to find out, I am quite the player! Good thing, because I can't say the same thing for beer pong! We are planning on going to the corn maze this weekend and we even have an idea for a sweet group halloween costume. Halloween is one of my most favorite holidays! Here are some pictures from Halloween's past:

Halloween 2006: I was a Red Sox player, Brittany was a Yankee's player (BOOO!), Whitley was Tinkerbell, and Mike was the best Edward Scissorhands since Johnny himself!
Renee and Kristal were Laker's players. Not sure why everyone was sports-related, but we had a good time!





Halloween 2007: I had 2 different costumes going on this year! First, it was Paul Abdul and his 80's groupies!
















On the actual holiday, I was a ping-pong player and Whitley was the cutest lion ever. She definitely had her 'rawwwr' down! Kudos to Mike and Brittany who impersonated Jim and Pam from The Office!


Fall is finally here and I'm definitely ready.

My family will be so proud...

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I almost forgot about the most important thing I learned from my summer job. I learned how to JUGGLE! My family is very excited to see me in action, so I will post a little preview here. Hopefully it works. And don't worry-I'm still practicing. Someday I will have my own traveling show!

(Sorry it's sideways. I blame Rachel! :D)

Back in Boise...

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I finally made it back to Boise, and this time, I'm here to stay for a while. At least two or three weeks! :) The drive home wasn't too bad, especially after I somehow managed to meet up with Mike and Brittany in Pendleton as they were driving home from Portland. Crazy how that worked out! Last night, Tammie came and helped us pack everything up and then we went to dinner with Rocky and his employee Brent. Rocky owns too many businesses to name, but at this fair he was running the mechanical bull. I got some good tips, so I'll have to try it out again! Rocky has some crazy good stories-he's met Carmen Electra at the Big Boy Toy Expo in LA, his bull was featured in the Carl's Junior ad and in Charlie's Angels, and he just recently bought a giant lemon to sell lemonade out of. Marissa and I are considering driving it around the country for him next summer. And I'm really not kidding.


Anyways, we ate at this restaurant in Spokane called The Onion. Besides the delicious food, we had an awesome waiter who gave us all some super cool buttons that say "No Problem!" on them. Come to find out if someone in your party wants something else not listed on the menu-say French Toast, macaroni and cheese, fish tacos, or even King crab legs, they will go get it for you, NO PROBLEM! How cool is that? If your kids want McDonalds, they'll get it. If you want pizza, they'll call up their favorite delivery guy. All you have to do is pay for what you want, nothing extra. That's my kind of service. If you're ever in Spokane, I highly reccommend it, for both the service and the food! Anyways, here are the last couple of pictures I took.

This is Rachel. She hails from the Bay area in California and just graduated from UC Davis. She's moving to San Diego and will most likely end up managing a MotoCross team. She's FANCY! (Inside joke :D) And yes, we are wearing super cool red vests. I know you're jealous and want your own!This is Marissa Faye, my much younger twin. We really are so much alike, it's scary. I told Tammie that she inherited another daughter. Marissa leaves for OSU in a week and I'm seriously considering going down there for the BSU game even though there aren't any tickets. Anybody else want to go?

Marissa decided that we needed to bust out some champagne to celebrate our last weekend as carnys. So what did we decide to buy? Yep, $4 bottles of Andre. Took me back to my college days. Yuck. Although the blush kind was actually not too bad when we mixed it with orange juice. We hung out at our friend Greg's house (he was sick and in bed, so we actually hung out with Ben, his fellow employee) and watched SuperBad for like the 12th time. It just never gets old. "I'm gettin' that fo sho!"




Now that I'm back to the real world, I have days of laundry to do and lots of sleep to catch up on, but other than that, I just need to get my life in order. I have an 'appointment' with Diane (otherwise known as a lunch date where she will give me lots of wonderful statistics on becoming a teacher) on Friday. I suppose I will look for a job both here and in Idaho Falls. In between that, though, I'm in the mood for a little miniature golfing and trivia. Anyone interested?

The end of fair life...

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My time as a carny is officially coming to an end. I'm extremely happy to be leaving spokane and our ghetto motel. It's located on Sprague Street and I recently found out that it is the second most well-known street for prostitutes in the nation! We actually did see a real-live one the other night, walking in front of our motel. It was pretty awesome, in a very funny way!
I am sad, however, for the experience to end. I definitely stepped out of my safe zone and I'm glad that I can do it successfully. I met a whole lot of wonderful people and had some really good times.
I will always remember the crazy cow kid who tried to jump off the stage in vancouver. I will remember partying it up with renee in downtown portland and driving to The Sand Bar in Moses Lake with 10 people in a van with no seats. I will always remember playing 'your team-my team' and telling crazy janitor pat to leave people alone. Never will I forget crazy anthony who tried to fight joe and rachel and said the famous "I know how to play pool. My grandpa plays for money!" And then there was spokane-hanging out with marmentrout, perfecting my juggling skills, meeting marissa (who is my twin, only younger, and my new bfff!), watching SuperBad for the 12th time with HOT Ben, and guarding all our valuables from stupid spokanites (they stole rachel's wallet, marissa's lunchable, and marbles, poppers, and magnetic wheels.
We are packing up tonight (say a little prayer for my feet, since I'm wearing flip flops!), and then I will drive to Boise tomorrow. It will be weird to have to make my own bed, but good to be home just the same!

Spokane...

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I do believe the last time I updated this thing in terms of fair life, it was when I was in Walla Walla. I also thing I promised a picture of an onion. Unfortunately, that never happened. Working 10 hour days does not leave much extra time for picture taking. But, have no fear, I have other pictures to share!


I am now in Spokane for the Interstate fair. It's a 10-day'er, which is LONG, but it is definitely the busiest one yet, which makes the day go so much faster. Supposedly, we are supposed to have crowds of 200+ people! YIKES! Here's hoping it goes well. I'm working with Rachel and Tammie's daughter Marisa. We are staying at the Park Lane Motel. Let's just say it's on the sketchy side. My room smells like 10-year old smoke and my sheets and pillow sheets don't match. For some reason, that bothers me the most! It's clean though, which I guess is the most important thing!


Tomorrow, I will take pictures of the exhibit (and me being awesome, of course!) so you all will know exactly what my job entails. For now, here are some from the past month.


These are pictures I took of the amazing flowers at the Clark County fair. This is still when I was working with Hailey.


Rachel and I decided to take a day trip to Coeur D'Alene! It was the perfect fall day.
This is me taking over the job as lifeguard of the lake. Good thing there was no one swimming!
Miss Megan Armentrout currently resides in the Spokane area and I'm so excited I got to see her. We went to dinner at this amazing Italian restaurant called Tomato Street. It was delicioso! Especially the house dressing. I even had to buy some to take home! Don't you just love the angel/cherub man posing on the ledge behind us? My favorite part of the picture!

As for my life plan, I plan on moving back to Idaho Falls for the holiday season (October through December) and then moving to Portland in January. At this point, I'm worried about getting into PSU and then paying for it, but I'm taking it one day at a time. The less stress, the better!