Train 2010

The Trainettes :) They sang "She's on Fire" up on stage.

This guy has got some lungs!! Very talented singer!!!!!!

Me and my Daddy

Me, Dad, and Phyllis

My dad was able to get tickets to go to Train in August. It was absolutely amazing and was another thing that I was able to do to keep busy in Alex's absence. The only thing that could have made the concert any better would be to have had Alex with me. Train dedicated the song "When I look to the sky" to all the military families and I almost bawled and sang every word at the top of my lungs. I love Train. :)

Girls Night Out

August was kind of a rough month because Alex was gone for almost the entire month! All together they were gone for about 40 days. I tried to stay busy so I wouldn't drown in self pity and this was one way that I did it. I had a Mary Kay party, but Michelle was the only one who was able to attend so we made a night of it. Besides we had our faces all done up and didn't just want to sit at home! At first we tried to go to AJ Gators but walked right back out after we figured out we weren't even able to talk over the band music (I think we might be getting old lol) We ended up over at Kelly's Tavern and here is a few pics of our Girls Night Out.

Michelle's HUGE nachos!! Those nachos could have fed at least five people. She had PLENTY of left overs!

Michelle's husband, Rob, is on the same ship as Alex so I am glad that I have some one around who know exactly what I am going through.

Trying to get a close-up of our pretty faces! The lighting wasn't the greatest, but you can trust me when I say we looked pretty hot!

Nevada June 2010

Alex and I had such a great time going back home in June. The only thing we would have changed was that we could stay long. We miss all of our family and friends so much! So here we are heading back to Virginia to our "adult obligations" Can't wait til we can go back again! Hope you enjoy reading about our great trip.........

BBQ at Cave Lake

Well, just like the title says we had a BBQ at Cave Lake. Alex's sisters came down and so we had the nieces and nephews with us too. It was a great way to spend the afternoon and weather was great! I need to steal Maria's pictures though because my camera died during the outing and she took a lot more pics than me with her awesome camera (I am a lil jealous of her camera hehe)

I thought this was just a really good pic of us! He is just so handsome!! :)

Lizzy trying to catch some fish. I just love how she just took her shoes off and got right in the water!!

Sammy and Luke trying to catch some fishies.

Nena was a pro at fishing! I think she caught the most fish. (Once again, Maria has pics of the fish she caught)

Nick (my bro-in-law) was taking these pics and I think he might have thought it was comical watching Anna get the sausages ready to put on the grill. Doesn't she just look thrilled??

It's baby Andrew!!! Love that little monkey!!!

Alex's dad was teaching me how to play Rummy. If I remember right, I think I won.

I really need to get with Maria to get more pictures and when I do, I will post them up. She takes a lot better pictures than I do anyway and my camera seems to always be dying or out of memory. Maybe when I grow up, I will get better at it!

Four Wheeling in Ely

When we finally made our way up the long highway to Ely, we got the take the four wheeler out for a spin. Alex's dad was nice enough to let us take it for the afternoon and we had a blast! And yes, we are wearing hoodies at the end of June. That's how we roll in Ely!! :)

We got a quick shot before we put the four wheeler back in the truck.

On our way back down the mountain.

Yep, we just went down that steep hill!!

Wait, who is taking the picture????

Pretty little trail that Alex took me to. We were hoping to see some deer, but the four wheeler might have been too loud.

Sitting on the four wheeler in the middle of a stream. Our pants were pretty muddy at the end of the day.

The four wheeler didn't scare the cows away at all!

Such a cute little baby calf!!

Don't run away!! MOOOOOO!!! Alex was laughing at me cause I kept "mooing" at the cows.

Yep, we are standing in the snow at the end of June!!! I guess we should have been wearing our sweaters, huh??

The snow!!! It certainly looks better on the mountain than on the roads in Virginia!!

View from the top of the mountain...

I am queen of the mountain!!!! The wind was blowing like crazy up there! Even with my sunglasses my eyes were watering.

That's the view of Ely from the top of the mountain. It's a little bigger than Caliente.

It's the King of the mountain!!

Pretty purple flower. I think it is called Indian Paintbrush, but I am not 100% sure so it will just be known as a pretty purple flower.

We went all the up to the top. Not all the way with the four wheeler because I was too much of a sissy. So we walked for the last little bit.

Alex told me that his friend dared him to go up that hill the last time he took the four wheeler out. He said that he didn't make it. :(

Getting it out and ready to ride! Yay!

This is a picture of the mountain that we went to the top of. Pretty impressive, huh?

Family and Pioche

Here are the pictures of some of my family and my hometown. We drove by and saw everything on our way up to Ely to see Alex's family.

On our drive up to Ely is was so nice to see the big blue skies and tall mountains.

The wide open road!!

Alex knew this highway by heart when we were dating in high school. I can't count how many times he drove his little blue Toyota Tercel down this road to come and see me. He even drove through a blizzard just to see me. I guess hindsight is 20/20!

This is the park that I used to play in ALL the time when I was a kid. I actually used to live in a house right behind that picnic area and would come down and play for hours on the swings. I played little league in that field, watched years of Labor Day fireworks, and I even remember when I got caught building a fire near the bathrooms at the park and getting caught by my friend's dad who happened to be a police officer! Just lots of memories!!

The old Pioche train that sits in the park. You can also see a little of the new play equipment in the park. That wasn't there when I was a kid but I guess the only thing that stays the same is that everything changes!!

Did you notice the year? This building has been around for a LONG time!!

Pioche is the county seat of Lincoln County. I went there to take my drivers test. I was one of the last people to take my test in Pioche before they quit coming down from Ely.

This is the house that built me. It's right on Main street and looks a little different. It didn't have the wall and it did have some green grass. You can't tell from the front but it's actually a three story house. I lived there from the time I was about 7 to when I moved out after graduation. SO many memories!!

This is where I went to Elementary school. It is actually a lot bigger than this with a gym attached. But now it's run down. I know that it was around 90 yrs old when I attended there so it's now over 100 yrs old, but now longer in use. It kind of makes me sad to see it like this. I only had a few kids in my class. I remember until the fourth grade there were only 3 of us. Lacie, Nykki, and I were the only ones until Beau came along in the fourth grade. And we got a couple others in the fifth and sixth grade, like Tulie and Adam. Mrs. Neat was our teacher for most of our Elementary school experience and we really owe her a lot. I remember one time she wrote in my year book that she thought I could be the first woman president! It was nice to know some one believed in me and I am still friends with Lacie, Nykki, and Beau today! :)

I wanted to get a better picture of this, but there really wasn't much else to see, I guess. This is the only movie theater in Lincoln County and it sadly closed my sophomore year of high school. I watched so many movies in that old building including The Lion King, Titanic, Jurassic Park, and even Free Willy. I went so much that the owners would let Nykki and I help with the concessions stand and then we would get to see the movie for free. I will never forget the sticky floors, the scratched up wooden arm rests, and the smell of hot buttered popcorn....

This is one of the 3 bars in Pioche. My step mom worked in the restaurant that used to be attached to the bar, but it closed down. If you even want to party in Pioche, this is the place to do it!!

I always loved this slogan "from gasoline to Vaseline" Tillies had all that we needed. I used to walk "up town" and buy candy and treats from Tillies. It was where I would get my gas when I was finally able to drive and it was the only place to rent movies from for the most part.

This restaurant has had many owners since I was little. I will never forget when I was really small Anna worked there as a waitress and a man named Art was the owner and would give my little sister a quarter when she would come up there with my stepmom while I was in school.

Here another shot of Tillie's. It really hasn't changed.

Main Street, Pioche Nevada. Looks really busy, huh?

Heritage Park with the fountain on. I used to play in the park A LOT when I was little because my grandparents lived right across the street. Stephanie and I would play in the water and roll down the grass hill.

More of Heritage Park. This is actually where my life began in Lincoln County. My dad and step mom got married here on a warm day. I don't really remember a whole lot of it, but I do remember throwing up at the reception and my step mom raced in her big white dressed to help me get into the bathroom!

And here it is!! Pioche Nevada nestled into the side of a mountain. Did you know that this town has actually burned down three times?? Just a little trivia for ya!

Grandma and Grandpa Thompson. They are the best and have always been around even after my dad and step mom got a divorce. They don't ever give up their grandchildren. :)

So happy that I got to see these girls!! Last time I saw them they were so little!! I can hardly believe how much they have grown. I didn't even recognize them at first. They were my step sisters when their mom and my dad were married. When their mom passed away, they went to live with their dad and I haven't kept in touch as much as I should have.

From left to right: Me, Cheyenne, Laci, and Shanna. We are just missing Shayli, but she is living in St. George with her dad last I heard. Just another interesting fact, these girls were my cousins before they were my step sisters. Their mom had been married to my step mom's brother. Did I lose you?? That's ok, most people can't really follow all that. It was s0o0o0o0 good to see them!! Love you guys!!