Idaho to Oregon

Today started off with an amazing walk around the city of Boise.  It was so nice and cool - temperature wise, but it was so quiet.  This city is immaculate.  I can't believe while we were there, we saw city workers cleaning up everything - from removing stickers and repainting poles to cleaning the streets.  It's definitely not New Haven!

Breakfast was great... it was all about good decisions - I had a Fritata.  Tasted amazing and low in points on the WW scale!  From there we walked to Boise Historical Museum.  We were surrounded by beauty in the Rose Garden.  It really makes me think...

I need to slow down and take time to smell the roses and appreciate things.  All of us are ALWAYS in such a hurry to get things done.  Maybe I need to spend more time with the little things...

The Historical Museum was Fabulous!  It was lead by a fellow elementary teacher, so it caught our attention.  He taught us with the excitement and the joy for history that every teacher should have when they're teaching.  We even made time for a fun... We learned how to rope cattle.  Pictures speak louder than words... Here they are!

I never in my life thought I would rope a "steer" in Idaho!  This trip is full of new and exciting things.  We also had the opportunity to try out a few saddles and a canoe too!

There is nothing like reliving history with friends!  It makes everything awesome!

The Capital building... well... yeah... not so much fun.  I guess everything can't be great!  At least we found ways of amuse ourselves.  We took pictures everywhere we possibly could!    We even went a few places that maybe we shouldn't have gone... hmm... Leslie... nothing like setting off a motion detector with coaxing from Robyn who was still in CT!  Agh... the good laughs and fun!  We also walked a TON!  After lunch I checked the Body Bugg and saw that I had already hit over 12,000 steps!

The drive from Idaho to Oregon was a great time to think about life and see the beauty in the country side.

The tunes on my phone just took me to another place.  I think I can get lost in the music.  It's a way for me to cope and think about things.  Today's song of choice was Don't Get Lost in the Crowd by Ashley Ballard - It was in Center Stage for those of you who love dance movies.
The lyrics that got me were:

Don't get lost in the crowd
Be the one to be strong and turn heads around
Even from dark to light
You are the spark
You have the fire
You are the heart
Now be a believer
Don't get lost in the crowd

For the first time, in a long time, I feel like I'm back.  I feel like me again.  I know in life, we all change. Sometimes we grow together, and other times we grow apart.  It's time for me to get my confidence back and tackle anything that comes in my path.  The last two mornings, I've woken up and been excited for the day.  I haven't felt that sense of happiness in a long time.  Each day I feel like I'm gaining my spark and my fire for life back again.  For that, I am excited.  I can't wait to see where this new chapter in life is going to bring me.  

Checking out the country side, also let me know that there are bigger things in life.  There are things that are much bigger than we will be able to handle, but that's why you have amazing people in your life to help you get through it.

Dinner was filled with lots of laughs and excitement as always.  I think our group leaders are kind of afraid of us.  They at times will walk by us, maybe while we are enjoying a tasty beverage and just shake their heads, but we are the ones to get things going.  Example, tonight we wanted to start our Debrief so we could be finished and just hang out.  They leaders thought we should enjoy dessert first.  No one was getting up for dessert, so we decided to serve everyone their dessert just so we can get started a bit faster... It worked!

After dinner we took a few group pictures which I will upload soon and had the opportunity to hang out with great people.  I love the conversations... and the music we had outside while enjoying our tasty treats.  

To end the night, we enjoyed time in the hot tub. Love it!  The conversations I shared with my new friend were so genuine and honest.  We both spoke about what we were passionate about and what made us tick.  You can learn so much when you take the time to listen and care about what someone is talking about.  I've missed that.  I've missed feeling like what I say matters.  Tonight it mattered... We talked about the turmoil that has filled these last few months for me.  It was great to get that out there.  Open and honest...  that's it.  We ended the night with him saying that he's glad I'm doing so well.  

I'm going to bed happy and excited for the future.