Kayaking in Tampa

This weekend Todd and I took a much-anticipated road trip down to Tampa, Florida, to rendezvous with our good friends Stephanie and Joe Hadfield, who were on vacation in Florida for a week.

As usual, Todd was a genius. This time he found a great pizza place to stop at for dinner halfway between home and our final destination. We didn't want a whole pizza, since it would sit in the car for four more hours before we could get it into a fridge, so we each ordered a slice plus we split a salad. Imagine my surprise when I opened the pizza box and found two enormous slices! If I put my arms out in front of me, with my elbows on my hips and my fingertips just touching, that is the size of my pizza slice! It was exciting! And, of course, it was too much food for us. ;)

We stayed at MacDill Air Force Base, which was right on the water and cost less than even Motel 6. In the morning, we went to the base marina and rented two double kayaks for the day. We strapped one on top of Tuna and then drove to the base entrance, where we met up with the Hadfields, who have been good friends of ours for many years.

Stephanie and I were freshman roommates at BYU. We have managed to find ways to reunite over the years. It turned out that she and Joe moved to Mountain View, CA just a month before Todd and I moved out there, and they only left a month before we did. We got together for Settlers of Catan and stovetop popcorn nearly every Fast Sunday. Now they are in Utah, and we saw them over Christmas. That's when we made the plan to rendezvous in Florida. We are meant to be friends forever.
We grabbed some food at the commissary, strapped on the second kayak, and then headed to Weeden Natural Preserve, where we had the best kayak experience of our lives to date. The course we followed was a combination of tree-lined alleyways and open water filled with jumping fish apparently called mullets. (That's what Joe says in his blog today.)

We saw pink birds that we thought were flamingos until we got closer, scurrying animals that we were mistakenly convinced must be wombats, big crabs crawling all over the tree roots, and even a couple of rays. The mangroves were incredible - lush trees with thick, rubbery leaves like a magnolia tree growing in the water and roots that claw out at you from the sides.

Todd worked the camera through the entire course and then made it into a video. We hope you enjoy following us on our kayak journey!

What is going on here, people?

I would LOVE to know why there are over 35 pink flamingos decorating my neighbor's yard today.








Was it a prank?

Do they think it looks awesome?

Is it a spring celebration?

Will I ever know?

Happy Easter!

It's been a good Easter Sunday. The alarm didn't go off this morning, so we headed off to church in a rush without showers (don't tell!). I still managed to wear pastel, though.

When we got home from church, we looked for Easter baskets. Todd was gracious enough to hide mine behind the couch pillow (same place as last year) so I could find it in a flash. For some reason, I HATE looking for my basket! Todd loves it, though, so I hid his in a challenging place. He eventually found his hidden underneath a pillow in a suitcase, which was inside a bigger suitcase, which was inside the biggest suitcase, which was in the linen closet.

Then we ate a regular lunch on the deck. It was about 70 degrees outside - we're working on our tans and enjoying the weather before the humidity comes back. After eating, we read a couple chapters of "Peter Pan" together.

Next I cut Todd's hair (desperately necessary!) and we each finally showered for the day.

After that, we came into the kitchen and prepared our cheesy potato and glazed ham dinner. While that was in the oven, we died eggs and watched the "Special Witnesses of Christ" DVD where the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles bore testimony of Jesus Christ (made in 2000).

Now it's supposed to be fancy dinner time, but Todd zonked out on the couch and begged for a nap. So. . . the food's staying warm in the oven, and I am blogging!

Happy Easter!

My Husband Rocks!

Last night Todd bowled a . . .

300!

I fell in love with him all over again as I watched his face glide through amazement, pride (the good kind), disbelief, excitement, humility, celebration. . . He was so cute! Basically everyone in the league was shouting out his name, "Bonner, good job!" and coming up to congratulate him. He was like a bowling celebrity. It may very well be his crowning achievement to date. I felt honored to be his woman.

Who Would You Vote For?

I am absolutely hooked on American Idol. Last season was my first, and by now it's a definite addiction. I get really excited when anyone's had an awesome performance, and I go on youtube or americanidol.com to watch it all over again, and to show Todd what I'm so excited about.

I've got some definite favorites this season. Here they are, with links to my favorite of each of their performances so far. (Just click on their names.)


David Cook did an awesome, original take on Lynal Richie's "Hello." I listened to that one 5 or 6 times over again the next day. LOVED IT! He's very original and has a cool rock sound. He's by far my top guy. Week after week he is amazing.


Michael Johns has a very charismatic stage presence. He is mesmerizing. Maybe it's the Australian in him? I don't know, but I love watching him perform. So far none of his songs have really blown me away, but he's got a ton of potential simmering behind that pretty face. It's coming, I know it is.


Carly Smithson is a natural. She consistently gives impressive performances, and she has a great vocal range. She did a great job with "Crazy on You" by Heart. It took me back to the 80s!


Brooke White is easily my favorite girl this season. I love her voice. She's got this Jewel/Carly Simon/Carol King characteristic to it, kind of folksy and so pure. I want a whole CD of just her, singing. She actually has one CD already, but they had to pull it from the shelves to meet with American Idol rules. I found one copy, on amazon.com for $90.00. A little steep. Christmas, anyone? It's called "Songs From the Attic," and I'm dying to hear it.

I think they, along with David Archuleta and David Castro, will make the Top 6 this season. Who do you think will win the competition? Votes in the comments section, please!

But, of course, let me also say that no one has come close to touching my all-time favorite performance from last year: Blake Lewis, with Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name."

Welcome to the Newlywed Game!

Last month, Todd searched through the on-post newspapers, searching for something cool for us to do. He found an article announcing that a club was hosting a version of the Newlywed Game. We called and reserved a space to play the game.

It was a fun night, full of laughs and interesting questions (although some were scandalous!) And Todd and I landed our faces in the post newspaper the next week:

Todd and I had so much fun playing that we decided we wanted to do it again, only this time with our friends. We've got a little group that gets together every Thursday night to watch The Office (it's been Season 3 on DVD lately). Well, we were hosting last Thursday, and made plans to play the game first, and then settle down on the couch for some TV.

I found some great questions to ask online, and we had pads of paper and markers out for everyone to record their answers. Then we started thinking about prizes, and Todd and I went a little overboard and "theme-y." Here is what we came up with, from first place on down:

Pam and Jim: the You Were Meant to Be Together award
They got peanut butter and jelly in their gift bag.

Phyllis and Bob Vance (of Vance Refrigeration): the Sickeningly Sweet award
refrigerated cinnamon rolls

Dwight and Angela: the Secretly Intimate award
sparkling cider

Kelly and Ryan: the More Physical Than Intellectual award
lip gloss and beef jerky

Michael and Jan: the Mysteriously Confusing award
This was awesome! We were searching the aisles of Walmart for something to fit the category, and found those Chiquita Minis that are 1/3 the size of regular bananas. Ha ha ha!


It was a classy evening, if I may say so myself. I think everyone had a great time. We sure did.

A Southern Pasttime

Growing up in a small town, I (Todd) became aware at a young age that it often becomes necessary to create your own fun. And while I do recall dodging a few sirens and searchlights, I think This Southern creativity has me beat. It's called Noodling and maybe for those brave enough to visit us here in the south we might go try it out.....

A Devious Weekend

Our friends Troy and Rebekah invited us to a high school musical last Friday. After a bit of deliberation, we declined. As Todd walked out the door Friday morning, he gave me an assignment: plan something awesome for us to do tonight. No pressure.

Well, after some thought, the perfect plan came to mind. All I had to do was convince Todd to try it out. I made it sound really convincing when he came home and asked what we were going to do, using intriguing words like "blast from the past," and "something a little retro."

After getting him to commit to whatever I had planned, I revealed my vision: prank Troy and Rebekah while they were gone! We already knew our window of time - the play started at 7:00 and would go until at least 9:30. Beauty.

We threw on dark clothes and tossed our equipment in the car: sidewalk chalk, toilet paper, and the camera. Hold your breath: here it comes!

First, the dead body trace. We don't have a good shot of it, but we wrote "There was a mighty duel" (from Princess Bride) next to it.
Then we toilet papered Troy's motorcycle. We didn't want to hit the trees and stuff, because the next-door neighbors were outside and probably already suspicious of us. We played it cool and stayed in the carport and backyard.

Then a set of footprints leading from the carport to the patio in back. . .
. . . where they found this ransom note:
"If you want to see your potting mix again. . . come to the Mellow Mushroom tomorrow - 12:38. Bring 1 boiled egg. And oh, come alone. (And by "alone" I mean just the two of you.)"
Then we went home and popped in a movie. About 10:15 pm my phone rang. Rebekah. With excitement, we let it ring and then listened to the message. Nothing but breathing on the other end of the line!

Well, Todd got really excited about that. We spent a good portion of the rest of the night hiding outside across the street from our house, watching headlights. If Troy and Rebekah came seeking revenge, we planned to hide in their car and pop our heads up as they drove back home!

They actually didn't come that night, but it really took Todd and me back to our college days to not only pull pranks, but spend the late hours of the night together outside, a blanket wrapped around our shoulders as we talked quietly in the dark. Oh, those sweet hours of the night!

Well, the next day Todd and I made sure we were at the Mellow Mushroom before the Wykle's, so we could set up the scene. Table within view of the door, next to the window, so we could keep a watch for them. Sunglasses, tough faces, and the potting mix tied to the chair between us.
And much to our delight, they really did bring a boiled egg with them! The trade was made, and we ended on good terms. On Sunday, we came home from church to a lawn full of Tootsie Pops. What a sweet way to be paid back!

Pranks are genius!