A Tamarack Engagement

This Friday I flew back to Idaho with my roommate and friend, Katelynn.  We didn't tell Emily that Katelynn was coming too, so we could surprise her!  When we got in my parents picked us up at the airport and we headed back to their house where we started to get ready for our drive up to Tamarack.  Once we had our things packed in the Ford Explorer we decided to get some shopping done at the Boise Factory Outlet Mall.  We both bought a pair of shoes at the Bass shoe store and then shopped around through Levis and Van Heusen.  Our last stop was the chocolate factory where I nabbed some sweet treats for up at the cabin.  On our way back to the car I took a picture with Katelynn and her first "Snow" in Idaho.

We drove over to Chuck and Emily's apartment.  Neither of them were home yet, so we waited.  Emily was the first one home so I had Katelynn wait in the car and I met Emily at the apartment.  Then Katelynn came up and knocked on the door.  Emily answered it and was totally shocked to see Katelynn!  It was a great surprise and I'm glad we pulled it off.  Then we all got to catch up before Chuck got home from work and then the four of us hopped into the Explorer and headed up to Tamarack.  That night we had some pizza and played games and caught up with our friends Sarah & Jeremiah Day, Andrej Roncevic and Tiffany Allred.

Saturday Chuck and Emily headed into town as did Sarah and Jeremiah.  Andrej, Tiffany, Katelynn and me went snowshoeing!

We ended up going about a half mile from the cabin and then Andrej got very tired.  He is struggling right now with his limes disease.  So he and Tiffany turned back towards the cabin.  Katelynn and I decided to set our sights on the frozen lake and see if we could walk out onto the ice.  As we got closer, we saw people out ice fishing, playing and riding snow mobiles across the lake.  Guess it was safe!  We were pretty nervous and didn't go too far, but we did go out onto the ice!  You can see our route on my runkeeper.  The map is hilarious because you can see the path we took go out on top of the water.  Check it out, there's also lots of pictures posted, too.

That afternoon we took a dip in the hot tub with a bloody mary courtesy of Katelynn.  I got warmed up pretty quick and after all the snowshoeing was ready for a nap!  I crashed for a few hours.  That night, Andrej made his traditional Croatian dinner we're always requesting.  He stretches the dough out on a sheet and then dribbles bits of meat and onions all over it then uses the sheet to roll the dough into two cylinders.  Then he puts several of these in pans and bakes them.  Delicious, as always!

After dinner we played some version of kings cup and with the drinks I'm sure I shared all sorts of things that will never leave Tamarack!  HAHA!  Then someone had the idea to head downtown Tamarack to the little bar there.  Oy vey.  Upon arrival, some rich guy was buying rounds for everyone and somehow I ended up taking two shots with Tiffany.  Then Chuck was asking me how to make an AMF and then I had some horribly toxic brew in my hand being passed off as an AMF.  Of course I couldn't just not drink it- ugh.  haha.  Katelynn and Tiffany were having a blast with all sorts of attention from the guys at the bar.  What a crazy night!

At some point when the snow was falling Saturday night and I had curled up to sleep on the couch sleeping off my drinks, Chuck proposed to Emily!  I wish I'd been awake and sober to see it; but it was a special moment for just the two of them and I'm so happy for them both.  Of course, Emily said yes- I think!?  :)  So it's official, Emily is my future sister-in-law and I couldn't be happier!  Can't wait for the wedding and all the fun that will be- Love you both so very much!

Sunday Jeremiah put together breakfast for me and Katelynn.  As usual I wasn't quite myself Sunday morning.  hehe.  We had some tasty egg mcmuffins thanks to Jeremiah's cooking skills.  The weekend came to an end all to quickly and it was time to head back home.  I truly treasure my annual trip to Tamarack and the life long friends made here.