Motorcycle Safety Class

This past weekend, Steve and I took part in the WY Dept of Transportation's Motorcycle Safety Class. The class is very cheap, and after a weekend of learning almost everything you need to know in order to ride a bike (and passing the written and driving test), you can then go to the DMV and receive your motorcycle license. It saves you the pain of taken the DMV written and driving test, which are known to be much more difficult than the class tests. We did have to travel to Gillette, WY for the class because the class here in Sheridan was already full, but it gave us an excuse to get out of town. The class was an absolute blast and now I'm hooked! I didn't have much time to take pictures, but here are the few I took.
Only nine of us in the course - above are the bikes owned by DOT and used for these courses (my bike is the red one in the very front, to the left of the bright yellow bike).

I fell in love with my cute bike! It was only a 125CC engine, which is considered very small for motorcycles. Due to the fact that I had never even been on a bike, and because I'm petite, I was given the smallest bike in the class...it was absolutely perfect.

I didn't get a chance to take a picture of us on our bikes, but I figured a picture during the car ride back would work.

This is what we do at work before they let us out early

Absolutely crazy

Someone sent me this email - quite hilarious, but very frightening at the same time...

Family on holiday in Australia for a week and a half when husband, wife and their 15 year old son decided to go scuba diving. The husband is in the navy and has some scuba experience. His son wanted a picture of his parents in all their gear so he got their underwater camera. When it came to taking the pic the dad realized that the son looked like he was panicking as he took it and gave the "OK" hand sign to see if he was alright. The son took the pic and swam to the surface and back to the boat as quick as he could so the mum and dad followed to see if he was ok. When they got back to him he was scrambling onto the boat and absolutely terrified.When the parents asked why, he said "there was a shark behind you". The dad thought he was joking, but the skipper of the boat said it was true. As soon as they got back to the hotel they put the pic onto the laptop and this is what they saw.

Camping

Brewer found the largest stick possible and decided it was his new favorite toy.
Guinness trying to get in on the fun.

It's a hard life being a dog.

This past weekend, Steve was in the mountains hunting. He gave me a call on Saturday as I was finishing up my very boring first-time homeowners class, and while he hadn't found his prize elk, he had found a great camping spot. I threw his pups in the car, gathered the essential s'more supplies, and took off for the Big Horns. I forgot my camera, but did manage to catch a few pictures of Brewer and Guinness.

First blog!

While I love my parents dearly, and am forever indebted to them for allowing me to bunk with them while trying to find my own place, now that I have actually found my own place, I thought it was high time to make my own blog. Yes, I finally bought a house! The closing isn't until the end of the month, but once I move in, I'll post pictures. It's an adorable 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath house on a large lot. The house is only 960 sq. ft, but it's a perfect size for me! It was built in 1910 so it has great character, and lucky for me, it was moved to a new foundation in 1995 and had everything updated at the same time (electrical, plumbing, roof, water heater, furnace, as well as updates in the kitchen). It's been kept in great condition and I absolutely cannot wait to move in! All at the same time, I found a new job with a great company. The job is with Baker Energy, a worldwide energy and engineering firm with an office here in Sheridan. It's a rapidly growing company, which can only mean good things! The website is www.mbakercorp.com. Essentially, it's an entry level position in the administrative department, but they are paying me a great starting salary and have made it clear there is plenty of room to grow. They take great care of their employees and that makes all the difference (especially compared to the stuffy, unhappy environment of the bank I was working at). Today, they closed the office at noon for the annual employee golf tournament. It was my very first time golfing, besides mini golf, and it was an absolute blast! They paid for everything, fed us dinner, and gave out fantastic gifts. My team was the losing team, so we were given one free golf lesson each... My name was also drawn for a 1/4 of a pig. Yep, that's right, I'm going to be receiving "a quarter hog." Every year, the company usually purchases animals from 4-H kids as a way to support the community (keep in mind we're in podunk Wyoming, where livestock are a means of living). This year they purchased two pigs and one lamb. I won't go into anymore detail, but basically I'm receiving a very healthy, non-commercial, piece of pork (and it will be huge). I'll be sure to post pictures from the golf tournament once I get a few...especially of my golf cart driving skills...I've already gained notoriety within the company for my successful driving...