Kickin' Balls and Taking Names

If you can't tell by the title, we kicked butt at the kickball tournament this past Saturday. We got there around 10am, with no other teammates around. The rest of the team arrived shortly after, just in time to watch the first two rounds. After 8 long hours of no sunscreen, scorching heat, no clouds, and the most activity we've done in years, the final game arrived. We had already beat last year's champion, but had to play them one last time. Previously undefeated, we sadly lost the game. However, a double elimination rule was applied, and we played them again. This time, we came out on top. It was probably the best birthday present Rhino could have received. Of course, the team went out to celebrate afterward.
Special thanks to Kelly and BaySix for making and sending the Raging Rhino tees to us from Raleigh!!!!

Another thing to check of the list: make a big scene when we quit Cristina's yesterday. JK. But really, our last day was yesterday and it was great. We strolled in around 12:00, aka wheneva we wanted to, and finished our last job here in Ketchum, Idaho for the summer. I know the next question-where's the pic with our girl Cristina, but no worries, we're going to get it Thursday before we head to BOIse on our way home.

It's weird that summer's already wrapping up. UGH. Leaving Ketchum, then back to school but there are still adventures to be had, friends to say goodbye to, and ice cream to be eaten at LeRoy's.



TODAY'S SHOUT OUT LOUD(S):

SIS!

First of all...sup girl! Our sexy third sister may be a little blonder and have a few more kids than us, but she's still keepin' it jiggy in Raleigh without us. Can't wait to reunite and take too long on your lunch break with you!!!!






Maggie Fitz!
The second oldest member of Smedes is turning 21 tomorrow!

The Bucket List

7. The number of full days we have left in K-town. Work is winding down, we only have a shift or two left at each restaurant and we each had a busy work weekend, but now it's chill time. We've made time for the activities on our Bucket List, fulfilling about half so far. We finally went to hot springs that were only about a half hour down our street, something we wanted to do last summer but never really got around to. We went with Rhino and Annie, to celebrate her 4-month birthday. There were a few man made pools to sit in but some parts were boiling hot, where there was no river water to cool them down.


Today, we had our most active day this summer. After meeting some friends for lunch, we successfully went hiking at Adam's Gulch. Successful, because we've tried three times before to hike this area while never finding the trail head but this time we prevailed . We finally got some good directions, leading us to the correct place. It was beautiful. There were lots of colorful wildflowers, as well as a cool little creek. We decided to take the easiest trail possible (we wouldn't want to overextend our activity level), but about 40 minutes into the trail, we noticed our trail was a little more difficult than it should be. We crossed paths into a more open and flat trail. We still are not sure which trail we actually took, but we liked our second choice a lot better. To cool down after our strenuous hike, we took a dip in the Big Wood River at Big Rock. Don't be fooled though, this is quite the activity. Just looking at the water is enough to second guess the jump but we've been putting it off all summer. And although we were in the water, oh, less than less than five seconds (don't judge, this water is coming straight down from the snowy icecaps we like to call our backyard), we got to knock it off our list. (Of course we got self-timer shots jumping into the water.) And don't worry! Our active day does not end there- we're continuing our family dinner tradition once everyone gets off of work tonight.


We still have a few items on our list, but we are quickly checking them off. We are part of the Raging Rhinos kickball team for a fundraiser kickball tournament this Saturday. Last year, we came in dead last, but this year, with the help of some Forrest-designed t-shirts, we should dominate. Saturday is also Rhino's birthday, so it should be a big day. We'll keep yall posted on the outcome of the game.



TODAY'S SHOUT OUT LOUD (S):

Dirty Girls Across America

July 23rd is the birthday of the original dirty girl, so everyone gets one year younger









Susanna and Virginia

These girls think they are something special, so here's another thing to boost their ego

Work Hard. Play Hard.

We have discovered this to be the motto of Ketchum. We know many people with multiple jobs, working double shifts, starting early and finishing late, but still party like it's 1999.

So, being locals, we decided to live by this motto. The annual Allen and Company Conference was last week. I think we have described this already, but basically a lot of rich and famous CEO's, business leaders, political figures, and media moguls come to town to discuss really, really important things. We actually have no idea what is accomplished, but we do know that work really picks up for the week. We both picked up shifts for friends at the Roosevelt, making our week a lot more hectic, pulling more double shifts than usual, while trying to get ready for our trip at the same time.

However, we worked hard for the money, and finally left for our trip on Sunday morning. Our first stop was Jackson, Wyoming. This town is right beside the Tetons, so we had a lunch break before seeing Becky's friend, Caroline, who is working there for the summer. We walked around for a few minutes before heading to see Caroline, and we luckily (for Becky) stumbled across a Coldwater Creek store. I don't think I have seen B any happier this summer than when she noticed the store. Pictures capturing her joy are below. Another form of excitement for her was using the street-crossing flags. This is possibly her favorite aspect of Ketchum, and using them in another town was beyond her joy capacity. Finally leaving Jackson, we took the top down of the Jeep and took the 45 minute ride to see Caroline. We got there at the perfect time, as it started to rain as soon as we parked, so we were able to cover the car just in time. After the rain and a short nap, we took a nice hike in the Tetons. On our way back to the room after dinner, we noticed a large traffic block. Upon asking everyone about the hold-up, we realized there was a bear chasing a mother and baby elk. A BEAR! Needless to say, we immediately parked the car, got out with our cameras, and joined the fifty other tourist blocking traffic all in the name of getting the shot. After about 20 minutes of patiently waiting for the bear, we finally saw it! Granted it was fairly far away and hiding behind bushes, but still, we saw a bear! Unfortunately for the bear, I think everyone scared the elk away, so the bear was not able to get its food. Caroline was able to get off work the next morning, so we went kayaking at Jackson Lake in the Tetons. It was gorgeous! Becky had the solo kayak, and Caroline and I shared the tandem kayak.

(The two pictures above are the bear adventure. The bear is somewhere in the background of the blurry picture, and the other is evidence of the back-up caused by the bear)

After our kayaking adventure, we hit the road for Missoula, Montana. Deciding to take the scenic route through Yellowstone, we quickly realized we made the wrong decision. Road work made us sit in pretty much stand-still traffic for hours, making our six hour journey to Missoula actually nine hours. No worries though, it was nothing a few Chinese fire drills, dance parties, P. Diddy, and Wild Cherry Pepsi couldn't get us through. Being oh-so-cool, we had the top down in the Jeep, giving us a lot more air flow while sitting in traffic. We later realized this was another possible mistake, as we arrived to Missoula with sunburned faces. Only our faces, though- it looked like we laid out at the beach with turtlenecks and pants on. Getting to Missoula around 11pm, we just laid low. Two people from Broughton, John and Reeves, are living and working there for the summer. The next day, we went around town, got some lunch, and went on a little hike overlooking town. All of the other guys had to work or do their own thing in the afternoon, so B and I went around town. This of course included shopping and ice cream, duh. While waiting for everyone to come home, we showered and went to dinner at a local hang out. We hung out with all the roommates later that night, enjoying the last night of our trip. The next day, we went to lunch at probably the nicest Taco Bell we've ever been to. It was nice to eat fast food restaurants, since there are absolutely none in Ketchum. The ride home was nice, except that our faces are as red as roses from being in the sun for hours.


We are back in town, and back to the real world. We are both working a lot this weekend, to make up for lost time from our trip. Today marks two weeks until we leave, and we still have a pretty long bucket list of things to do before we leave. Between the list, work, and hanging out with friends, the next two weeks will be extremely busy and fly by. We are excited to come home and see friends and family (and for me, to eat Armadillo Grill and drink sweet tea), but we will definitely miss this place and all of our friends.



TODAY'S SHOUT OUT LOUD(S):
Hilary Allen

She FINALLY sent us some music, so I guess she deserves a shout-out. Anyways, she probably heard all the songs while at the Blue Martini.


Caroline Dumbalis

Thanks for letting us stay with you for the night!