Wednesday, May 21, 2008

One year in IF

I have been Idaho Falls for 1 year. I moved up here last May after getting a job at the Idaho National Laboratory. At the time it was only a temporary job lasting through September and I didn't know if wanted or would stay longer. But things all came together and my job turned into a permanent position. I have loved my job. It is a job where I learn every day and it has pushed me in areas I didn't expect like interviewing someone for a job on our project team two weeks ago.

I have loved the area. When I moved here I had only driven through Idaho Falls once during a trip to Yellowstone with a group of friends from BYU. Even though I am from Boise I never spent any time on this side of the state. The closest I came was stopping in Arco on a family trip to Craters of the Moon when I was little.

I love that places like Tetons and Yellowstone are so close. Also it was enjoyable to experience to be around here when the Rexburg Temple was dedicated. It was the first temple I have been able to attend the open house. I also enjoy all the fun activities that are planned in this area.

It is truly a fun place to live.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

The Winter that Never Ends

Today I opened my door today, May 1, expecting to see sunshine and today be a beautiful spring morning, but I was shell shocked when I opened my door and see the ground covered in and feel snow blowing in my face. Then I went over to my truck and realized I would have to scrap my windows in the cold snowy wind before going to work. I was not excited.

This has made me wonder if summer will ever comes. What makes this winter even worse is that it is the first winter here in Idaho Falls. Even though I am from Idaho the weather in Boise is nothing like the weather here. I have never been in such cold weather and seen so much snow. Through at first I thought it was really cool seeing all the snow. But this excitement for the snow wore off when I had to begin driving in the snow, day in and day out. I especially didn't like having to drive 25 all the way to work because it was so slick. Also there was that one week where I got stuck several times, that was not fun. Or even scarier was when I did a donut on 17th street. Fortunately no one was around! All these things have made me not like the snow so much. I prefer what it does in Boise where it snows one day and then the snow is all gone in a couple days. That way it is exciting when it snows and not a drudgery when you walk out your door and there is snow on the ground. In Boise, if you really want to see the snow you can drive 30 minutes into the mountains and visit it. One good thing out of this snowy winter has been I have learned how to drive in snow!

I thought it was slightly preposterous when someone told that one 4th of July it snowed. But now I am actually seeing how that could happen. I really hope that this doesn't happen this summer!