The Great Salem Adventure

One of our favorite experiences this summer was our visit to Salem, Oregon, when we met up with the oldest friends Jemayla and I have (meaning, friends we've had ever since we were a couple).

We spent several days mooching off of them and making them teach us how to make omelets, but they were still sad when we finally left. Is that true friendship or what?

On one memorable day we went to a carousel and park with Matt, Megan, and their three goofy boys.

While we were there, a cool guy taught us how to throw boomerangs. Matt was a natural at it, and Jemayla was pretty good too. Byron broke his boomerang in

half, and felt really stupid.

Luckily the cool guy (who could have kicked Byron's butt up and down the carousel) was really nice about it.

The Seaside Vacation

We're about a month late posting this, but we wanted to put up some pictures of our big summer vacation. Our first was in Seaside, Oregon, where we were able to have a Heath family reunion. And anytime you put Heath men near the ocean, they are going to jump in, no matter how cold it is. Luckily, this water was cold enough that after about five minutes we couldn't feel anything below our necks.

Here's a picture of Dad getting his ankles wet. His diabetes makes it much easier for him to withstand the cold to his extremities. That's why he's still smiling.

One of the highlights of our time in Seaside was the family talent show. Chad, of course, is the most talented among us.

In addition to sharing his more . . . er . . . specialized talents, he wrote and performed a song with the boys.

The boys also did the Muppet version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" with their own puppets.

Megann taught everybody a Zumba dance, which is probably her second-best talent (her first talent is giving Dusty looks that are laced with hidden meanings)

Dusty performed some acrobatics with Libby, and then Jared performed some similar, though slightly more athletic, acrobatics with Courtney.

Mom made fun of Dad in Spanish, while Jared unwillingly translated.

Dad sang a very sweet song to the grandkids . . .

And Eli sang "No One Likes a Frowny Face" with one of the best frowny faces I've seen all year. And I taught freshman!

Jemayla and I spent a large portion of our time at Seaside hanging out with our nieces and nephews, and we had a great time.

Family is found here!

The best part of living in Idaho Falls is being with family. We are so blessed to have sane and loving siblings and parents. :) I am so glad we are here, and that we can enjoy the company and friendship of family members, especially our nieces and nephews.

~Mayla

Idaho Falls, you are winning my heart!

Though I have been to Idaho Falls many times over the last few years and did live here for a few months, I am just now seeing the treasures that are found here. I recently acquired my Grandfather's bicycle and have used it a great deal to see the great things in this town and I am probably only beginning. From the 4th of July celebration to discovering the green belt, I am finding small joys and sweet things. Here are a couple of pictures from our latest adventures

Exploring downtown

Going to a Bluegrass concert on the greenbelt

Finding a hidden treasure of rock formations

On the way back from a bike ride down the greenbelt

~Mayla

Please Come Home!

This is a song I wrote for Jemayla when she was gone for a week and I was home all by myself. It was lonely, and the only friend I could find was my trusty ukulele. The song was originally planned as a solo, but when I got about halfway through it turned into a duet.

As you'll be able to see, Jemayla and I make a great team, but we're not exactly American Idol material. Oh well; there's always the circus.

Dragons, Monkeys and Kids!

These are some old videos from last summer. The neighbors kids were over playing while the Mom's were having a meeting. We are going to miss our sweet neighbors and their kids! -Mayla

Spring!! I love it. We biked to Bern today. This time both of us went. The wind blew against us on the way there so the ride home was smooth. We went to the same school I went to last time, but this time there were no kids around to scare. So, I (May) played on the Merry-go-Round which I have been wanting to do for some time. Overall it was a successful ride. On the way home, Byron had an epic race with a horse.

Byron's words: While we were heading home I saw three horses racing across a pasture towards us. I slowed down for a few seconds and pointed them out to Mayla. They splashed right through a pond and ran up alongside us, just fifteen feet away on the other side of a fence. Before we knew it, the horses were running full-tilt, racing past, as if to prove they were faster than us. So I leaned on my pedals, blew past Jemayla, and chased after them. The lead horse was young and rust-colored, and it was flanked by two white horses. I never thought I would catch them, but they slowed down as they reached a T in the road where their pasture ended. Somehow, they seemed to know we weren't taking the turn that would keep us near them.

I had the song "Rendevous" playing on my MP3 player, so I was feeling pretty competitive. Instead of riding straight, like I was supposed to, I veered to the right, switched gears, and pedaled furiously. The lead horse hesitated for a split-second, then kicked its back legs high into the air, pounded them on the ground, and took off like a shot with the two white horses galloping behind. The three horses immediately pulled ahead of me. I leaned forward and pedaled faster than I've ever pedaled before. To my amazement, I was gaining on them. Granted, the wind was at my back, and I was on a very slight downhill slope on a paved road, while the horses plowed through grass and uneven dirt, but I was racing with horses! The distance closed between us, and my visible success made me push even harder. I pulled even with the horses with a quarter of the pasture left, and barely pulled ahead just before they started to slow down. They stopped at the corner of the pasture, staring after me as I slumped over my handlebars in exhaustion. I coasted to a stop, and slowly pedaled back to where Jemayla was petting them on the noses.

We spent a few minutes letting the horses nose at us and nibble our shirts. I cursed myself for having already eaten my apple--I couldn't very well offer them my crushed, leftover salami and cheese sandwich. Finally we climbed back onto our bikes and started the long ride back. The horses didn't follow us this time.