top ten.

(this is a little long so be cautious...)

Well it's here: the end of my college portion of life. Rexburg has been my home for 5 years (broken with a two year break), and it is time to say goodbye. I'll miss it. Everything except the weather. Its been full of adventures, happiness, frustration, stress, and spirituality. Its been full of memories, friends, studies, and dates. But most of all: fun.
I have created a countdown of my top ten events and memories of living here in Rexburg. But first, I think the one thing I'll miss the most is this:

A temple view from my bedroom window. It has been a blessing to be within walking distance of the Rexburg Temple and to have this view on a daily basis. For this, I am very grateful.

Now, the countdown:


Number 10:
OOPS! MY BAD...

So I was driving five of us home from the sand dunes, about fifteen miles left until Rexburg. We were on our way and there were two cars behind us that were super annoying and had their brights on. So on a quick WHIM of a thought, I decided to quickly pull off the road to let them pass, still going 35 mph. Well, I landed directly into a sand pasture and got my dear car stuck. My friends were cool about it, but a little freaked out. Haha. I have no idea what came over me, but I just did not want those cars following me anymore. It was a split second and all the sudden we were stuck! Fortunately enough a Jeep passed about ten minutes later and helped us out of the ditch. Thank you strangers! But unfortunately, this story is still the butt of many jokes on my part, haha. But it is stories like this that make it to top ten lists such as this one. See, it happened for a reason...

Number 9:
PAINT DATES

I got to go on not one, BUT TWO, paint dates during my college life. These were so so so much fun. The first time the girls got all the guys sweats and sweaters, blindfolded us, and took us out to the middle of nowhere and yelled "GO." They had set up twenty buckets of paint with sponges and we just went crazy! The second time they were more prepared so we wore paint body suits. Some of the most fun dates I've ever been on. I'll never forget trying to get all the paint our of my hair and off my skin. The the fun was definitely worth the effort though.

Number 8:
QUAILMAN

This was the best Halloween post-childhood for me. I still have people and friends commenting on this costume and the sheer awesomeness of it. I was Quailman from the cartoon Doug, and my friend Jon was Doug's best friend Skeeter. Classic. End of story.

Number 7:
CRAIGO'S

I love Craigo's Pizza. Whenever we go it's always the highlight of my day. It's delicious. They have the best ranch dressing in 3 counties (trust me, I've tested). But the great thing about Craigo's is that it's one of the greatest social gathering locations in Rexburg. I've had many a memory at this place and will miss it greatly.

Number 6:
PARTIES

I can't choose just one! There were so many eventful ones. Ones that I threw and ones that I attended. But in my social prime (circa Fall 2007 - Summer 2008) as a college student here at BYU-Idaho, parties were what it was all about. Whether it was my virgin-margarita birthday social, or Mike and Matt's twin bash (hosted by myself and none other than my dear friend Meghan), or an 80's techno party (myself as Billy Idol), or a pumpkin carving extravaganza, or an Office themed party, and even the ultimate trio bachelor party put on by yours truly, fun was to be had! These parties are a staple in the memories of my social Rexburg experience.

Number 5:
STRANDED IN POCATELLO

Oh Pocatello, how I loathe thee. Let me count the ways...Ok I won't count. But here's why:
March 2008 - Mike, Brooke, Katie, and I are super bored on a Saturday afternoon so we decide to randomly drive to Utah. Not the first time, wasn't the last. But in true Idaho fashion, the weather was horrendous. I started fishtailing an hour south of Rexburg in Pocatello. I quickly got off the exit and we ended having the most random adventures: Staying at Mike's brother's MTC companions house (we had no where else), staying at the mall for hours with Mike and Brooke fake-engagement-ring=shopping (super boring), texas roadhouse, and so on. Woke up the next day and drove back, carefully, the hour to Rexburg. I guess that Utah trip just wasn't mean to be...
A few hilarious pictures from this tragic but ultimately fun, funny and classic event:

Number 4:
VASHON ISLAND

During the Fall semester of 2003 I got to go live on Vashon Island in the pugit sound next to Seattle. It lasted for two months. This was one of the best times of my life. I met some of the best friends of my life during this experience. There were 8 boys and 13 girls. The purpose of this trip was to help faster with generals and get more things done earlier (and yet, still, here I am graduating in 2010...haha). We traveled, ate, studied(?), played games, hiked, adventured...and just did a bunch of crazy stuff that freshman do in their carelessness. The best part for me was taking the ferry across to Seattle or Tacoma and just walking around. This is where I fell in love with Seattle and the entire atmosphere there.

I don't have any digital pictures of this time there and it would take too long to scan them in. But I have kept in good contact with many of my friends from this and every so often we have Vashon Island reunions here in Rexburg. I will miss all my friends that I made during this experience, and its sad that with each Vashon reunion, one by one they start getting smaller and smaller. We had one about two weeks ago and only five people came because that's all that is left in Rexburg. But I loved this journey and will always treasure it as a stepping stone in growing up.

Here are a few pictures from our reunions over the years:

Number 3:
GETTING LOST IN THE REXBURG WOODS

Unfortunately, I have no pictures to accompany this. But this story is classic and I'll tell it quick. It all went down August 2003. One of my best friends here in Rexburg that I met the first day of classes back in June 2003, Cindy, and I went floating down the Snake River on intertubes. Another friend, Jenn, was with us. Long story short: we got lost. The person who dropped us off told us take a left at the fork in the river...well, there were two forks, and we completely missed the first one. We ended up being there long after dark. We prayed. We screamed "Help". We eventually got out of the water and started walking barefooted along rocky and weedy paths. I had to be the man even though I was just as freaked out inwardly as these two girls. It was crazy! (Cindy was hysterical in the fact that she kept thinking she was hearing animals come to the river for their midnight gulp). Ultimately, and hours later, we eventually found a house and yelled for help and he gave us a ride home. It was awful and straight out of the scary movie genre, but forever remains the classic Craig story when I think and tell all of my stories at this school.

Number 2:
OPENING THE MISSION CALL

Aw yes, the sweet anticipation of that one day that will forever change the Mormon 19 year old boy: the day he opens his mission call. For me it was August 5, 2004. I was living in Breckenridge Apartments #21. I remember leaving class early at 10 a.m. because I JUST COULDN'T WAIT ANYMORE. I had to check the mailbox, and there it was. Unfortunately, I had to wait 8 hours for my dad to get home from the golf course in Salinas and to gather all my friends and family by way of physical, cellular, and mobile devices. One of the greatest days of my life with the biggest adrenaline rush accompanied.

Result: Arizona: a bit of a let down at first (I mean, come on, I've been there every summer of my life really...), but in the end, the best experience of my life. I often pass that apartment driving and stare at the closed door of #21 and always recall what happened behind that door.

Number 1:
THE DORMS

No one event chosen from freshman year in the dorms would be able to really capture the "number one" spot. Thus, THE DORMS is the number one spot in and of itself. By dorms I ultimately mean the best friends that I met there and am still best friends with: Jon, Josh, Matt, Mike, Rory, Jim, David, and Monkey. I really can't express (in the fear of getting too cheesy here...) enough of what these guys have done for me and the memories we've made. We've been friends for over 7 years now and really grew up together if you think about it. We were all young and dumb dorm boys and each went on our missions within about 3 months of each other, and we returned as men...and then life got...all, like...serious. Haha. But freshman year was the ultimate. From Utah trips, to girls, to mission calls, to BBQ's, to galley meals, to snow and water fights, to Risk nights, to Mario Kart on gamecube (for which I still hold the record for balloon battle), to Horkley's trips, to group dates, to pranks, to capture the flag, to prayers and scriptures study, to Chapman hall, to How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days, to throwing water and flour on people while they sleep, those were the best of times and not the worst of times. No one event of freshman year in the dorms can surpass another because it would be a betrayal to another memory.

This past Sunday I had all these boys over (along with wives and children) one last time for dinner potluck style and it was great. Some of us are leaving Rexburg forever, some staying for a few more semesters, some possibly staying in Rexburg forever. But whatever goes on in the future it's great to know that these memories will continue because they helped shape who we are.

Everyone on April 4, 2010
And how obvious do I stand out as the only wifeless one? Well, Mike's not married yet. And if Matt were there he'd be right there with me. But I got to hold Belle!


Pre-Mission Pictures (I have millions of pictures but would have to scan them all in...yeah, that's how long ago we were freshman, digital camera's weren't even that wide-spread yet...)

Post-Mission Pictures

Farewell friends.

My time here in this little town has been an important chapter in my life. I'll miss it tremendously (except for the fact that it snows until June...really?). I poke fun just because it's a trendy thing to do...but in reality, if it weren't for this place who knows where or who'd I'd be.

So it's with great bittersweetness and anticipation that I enter the world of...dare I say, grownups...and make something of myself.

Rexburg, adieu...