Reason #17 why this is my Favorite Spot Ever.

backflips off the dock. I don't do 'em, but tlowe does.

Spontaneous Nickname Generator

I must give credit for the above image to wordle. I first discovered this website a while ago-- check it out if you've got 15 minutes (or 3 hours) to kill! Now for the explanation of the text: All of the above are nicknames that I've been called at my job over the past year... ha. Not included are B, B-Money, B-Lowe, Blow, Bethanybo, Bo, or Hobo, all of which I've been called at some point in my life. Any favorites? Any suggestions to add to the list?

My Favorite Place on Earth

Yeah, yeah, I've been outside of the blogosphere for the past... um... year. One of my goals this past year was to update my blog with tales from travels in recent years that never graced my tiny eensy weensy itty bitty little corner of the world-wide-web. But alas, I am a Master Procrastinator. Someday I will whip out my photos and stories from Ecuador, the Amazon, and Honduras.

In the meantime, I'm back in my favorite place in the world. This is a bold statement, I know. And I'm definitely open to suggestions of places that might challenge that title-- in fact, I'd be thrilled to scour every nook and cranny of the globe to find a place I'm more in love with than here. But for now, McCall, Idaho is the champion. Our family has come to consider McCall as our second home. It is truly a paradise on earth, and I think heaven must be just like McCall. (It would be if it were up to me, anyway.)

We can usually manage to get the entire family together for at least one week in the summer, and this may be the last time we're all in one place for a while, so we snapped some family shots.

I'd like to point out Andi, my youngest sister second from the left. We refer to her as Star Child, because she's always perfectly posed in our family photos: head slightly tilted, hips turned, knee bent, never an awkward smile, and just look how her hand is placed gingerly on dad's arm!

Hey-oh! The whole fam-damily together again!