Photo a Day: Somewhere You Went

Monday afternoon was HOT. I don't know if I've ever said that about an Idaho spring before. So I called Pete and suggested we get some KFC and have a picnic at the park for Family Home Evening.

But Monday evening was a little windy, and started to get overcast quickly. We stuck with our plan and got some food and went to the park. After eating, my kids just played and played and played. It got windier, and colder, and even rained on us a bit. But my kids didn't seem to mind. They continued to play in the dirt/mud, slid down the slides and got wet butts, and ran up and down the steep hill in that park.

Not pictured: Brock, because he and Pete left to get some ice cream. Which we still haven't eaten. For some reason I always forget about having ice cream in our freezer.

The End of (Summer) Days

My sister Brianna came out to visit in August.  It was so fun!  We ended up doing a few little outings.

The first one was going to a new water park in Rexburg.  It's really awesome!  There's a really shallow end that has little spray things that come up.  There's another area, also shallow, that has a few little slides for little kids.  At the top of those slides is a HUGE bucket that fills with water, then tips over and dumps all the water out on the kids waiting below.  There's a climbing wall, and a lazy river, and two big slides.

We had so much fun!  I enjoyed the lazy river the most.  Jake and I went on the big slide.  While we were waiting in line, my dad looked up at me and said, "Do you have Brock?" Uh, NO.  Brock had told my parents that he was going on a green slide.  They kept waiting for him to come out of the tube, and he never showed up.  I was like, great - either my child has drowned or has been kidnapped.

Turns out he had gone to the lazy river section by himself.  Luckily we found him.  I asked him about it, and I think he originally said he was going to the green slide but then got distracted or thought differently or something.  And luckily he could touch the bottom of the lazy river.  But we talked again about always having an adult with him.

Ivy and Brianna were buddies the whole time.  Ivy loved watching Beej's long hair float around in the water.  Even though the wind made it a little cold to be there, it was still way fun.

About a week later, we got to go to Lagoon in Utah.  It was so awesome - and hot!  We took zero time in heading to the water rides like Cliffhanger and Rattlesnake Rapids to keep cool, and then the heat was no big deal.  Look how soaked Jake is in this picture:

I know I went to Lagoon as a kid, but I don't remember much about it.  And then I went a few times as a teenager.  So going back was a whole new experience, because I've never gone with little kids before.  I was surprised at how many rides they had for just kids.  Plus, they get new rides every couple of years, so there were some that I had never gone on before.

Ivy hated waiting in line.  I think she didn't get the concept.  Right before this boat ride she was pitching a fit because it wasn't her turn.  The little girl in the boat was by her in line, and kept trying to comfort Ivy.

Brock was, of course, a little freaked out by some of the rides.  We took him on one at the beginning of the day that goes around in a circle really fast.  I kept looking back at him and his face was sheer terror.  Pete took him on a big boat ride that swings back and forth, and he said Brock was gripping the rail for dear life and shaking with fright.  Yeah, we're kind of mean parents.  Not a lot has changed.

But Brock loved the swings ride, and he insisted on riding the train, which takes you to this hidden zoo part, which is way cool.  I had forgotten about that.

Jakob was tall enough to go on some of the big rides.  I think he was a little scared, but wasn't about to show it.

After losing Brock at the water park, I warned in earnest about always being with a grown-up at Lagoon.  Troy chose my dad to be his buddy-he hardly let go of his hand the whole time.  One of the times we went on Rattlesnake Rapids, Troy got ABSOLUTELY drenched.  I watched his face, and thought for a minute that he was going to start crying, but instead his look of incredulousness turned into a huge smile and he said, "That was AWESOME!"

I'm more of a chicken now than I used to be.  We went on Colossus, and I totally closed my eyes at the top.  There was another ride that's new (to me), called Wicked, and during the corkscrew part I kept saying "Oh mama!  Oh mama!" and closed my eyes a few times on that one too.  One girl in front of me put her hands in the air and I started yelling, "Get your hands down!  Your hands are going to get chopped off!  The ride says keep your hands inside!  Put them down!"  I'm sure she didn't hear me.

Despite the slight fear on some of the rides, it was a way fun day.

Then the next day we went to the planetarium in Salt Lake City.  It was pretty cool.  The kids loved seeing all the different science-y things, and seeing models of the planets.

We watched a movie while we were there.  The seats were so comfy, and it was dark...yeah, I barely stayed awake.  I think the same was true for my parents as well.  The movie was called "Space Pirates Attack!" or something like that.  I was thinking that it would be all action-packed.  Not so much.  Oh well-my kids still liked it.

My little Martians:

And here are my science boys.  Jakob is Pete incarnate.

I think we'll have to do a repeat trip next summer.

Moon Walking

A couple of Fridays ago, Pete had to work overtime (he normally does 10-hour days, 4 days a week).  His work is about an hour's drive from our home.  Out past his work, about 20 minutes or so, is an area called Craters of the Moon.

That morning, Pete texted me and said, "Hey, since I'm already out here, let's go to Craters."  I was game.

I hadn't been there since I was a kid, maybe in 5th grade.  So the kids and I drove out, and met Pete at his work.

(The sign behind Jake's head says something like, "Warning: Watch your kids and make sure they stay on the path so they don't FALL and DIE.")

They have a visitor's center, which is pretty cool.  But they also have a bunch of hiking trails to go and see the sites up close and personal.  We ended up going on the perfect day-it was kind of overcast and was sprinkling on and off, so it wasn't hot at all to walk amongst the mountains of black rocks everywhere.

We walked on one of the trails that takes you to a cave.  I should say "cave", because it had somewhat of a ceiling, but it was mostly an open hole in the ground.  But it was still way cool.  We even saw some bats flying around in there.

I drew all sorts of parallels while we were walking to the cave and back.  Jakob kept walking on the very very edge of the pretty narrow path.  I was like, "Jake, you've gotta walk in the middle of the path."  And he didn't get it.  I pointed out to him that we don't know how strong the rock is on either side of the path, and if we were to walk there and it gave way it could be dangerous.  Also, I showed him that there were large drop-offs on either side of the path.  I told him, "Jakob, if you were to be on the very edge, and slip even just a little, you will hurt yourself."  I thought about our path in life, how we need to be constantly vigilant, and we shouldn't even flirt with dangerous edges; the middle is the safest way to go.

It was a really fun excursion.  It also made me very grateful for the hard-working husband that I have.  There's no way I would drive (or ride a bus) for an hour to get to work, especially so early in the morning like Pete does.

Love-Love

During the school year, Brock brought home a paper.  He had to draw an activity of something that he and his family do during the summer.  I thought he'd draw he and his siblings playing on the swing set, or riding bikes, or swimming. 

Nope.  He drew a picture of him and me playing tennis.

Have we ever played tennis?  No.  Does he even know what tennis is?  Apparently, because he had drawn us with rackets and a net and everything.

And can I find this work of art?  No.  I've looked through my stacks (and stacks and stacks) of drawings, and I can't find it for the life of me.  I'm way bummed, because Brock is a super artist.

So, I took the kids out in the morning before it got too hot, and we played tennis.  We don't have tennis rackets, but we have two racquetball rackets.  And I bought some tennis balls.

We took turns "hitting" the ball, a.k.a. swinging our rackets in the air as the ball flies by.

And we played chase.  I was trying to get Troy on one side of the net, and Ivy on the other.  They just ran around and around the net, giggling with glee.

We also did a lot of running after the ball.  I would hit the ball over the net, and my kids would miss, and then chase the ball down.

Then I would stand on one side while my kids attempted to hit the ball to me.  After 10 or so tries of them hitting the ball into the net, and by the net, and around the net, I would take my turn and hit it back.

At one point I had Jakob take pictures with the camera.  I think they were having more fun taking pictures than they were playing tennis.

Another time I served the ball to Brock.  The ball bounced on the ground, then came up and hit him square in the eye.  I started laughing, even though it really wasn't that funny.  Okay, it was funny, and I'll be the first to admit I'm a bad mom for laughing at my kid's pain.

We didn't play for very long.  And even though it wasn't productive in a rally, keep score kind of way, it was still fun.  I'm glad Brock suggested it.

Bir-Cay-Ding, Part 2

'Kay, folks.  Here is the much-anticipated Part 2 of our awesome celebrations!  Aren't you SOOOO excited?

July 29-July 30: Grand Targhee adventures

We drove to Targhee on Friday, and checked into our room.  It was awesome!  I should have taken a picture.  There was a hide-a-bed in the upstairs/main level of our...I'm going to call it "suite".  There was also a mini fridge and a half bath.  Then downstairs there was a full bath and two rooms.  One of the rooms had a king bed, and the other room had two bunk beds.  The kids were way excited about that.  So we had Jake and Brock on the top two beds, and Troy and Ivy on the bottom two.

Lex and Chris had a kind of golf game near Grand Targhee, and then they were having a dinner afterwards with the wedding party and family members. So, we got just word-of-mouth directions to get to the golf course, which is at a place called Teton Springs, which is very, very beautiful-it's near Driggs (where you turn to get to Grand Targhee) and Victor. 

So, the people we talked to were all, "Just drive through Victor, and then it's just right there with a ton of signs-you can't miss it." We had also heard, "It's a little bit farther than you think.  Just keep going, and you'll see the sign-you can't miss it." The golf course is called Headwater, by the way. So we were looking for signs showing a golf course, or for Headwater. Shouldn't have been too hard.

Well...we drove, and got through Victor, and kept looking for signs.  And soon we were heading up a canyon. Both Pete and I were all, "Oh, it will show up any minute. I'm sure it's around this bend in the road." Um, no. We were heading to Jackson, which is about 20 miles from Victor. I think we were about halfway there when we decided to turn around. Neither Pete nor I had cell phone service because we tried calling for directions.

So we went back to a gas station we had seen earlier to ask directions. The guy was all, "Go left, then right, then left. You can't miss it. Oh, and the sign says 'Teton Springs'". Yeah, that would have been nice to know in the beginning. We had been right on top of it, and just didn't know what we were looking for. So once we got there, it was great. And we showed up right in time for the dinner.

It was SO yummy!  They had these chicken and/or steak fajita things, and a salad with a cilantro-lime dressing (I'm in love with cilantro).  And for dessert: peach cobbler, with blackberries in it!  YUM!  So, so good.

It was really nice to meet all of Chris' family.  Honestly, though, from that night, names-wise I remembered a guy named Chad, who was Chris' brother's buddy that drove with him.  Go, Chad, the Random Dude!

That night we went swimming at their pool.  The main pool was pretty cold, but the super deep hot tub was really nice.  Afterwards, we went back to the suite, and Pete and I watched TV, which reaffirmed the fact that we don't miss regular TV. (We don't have any form of television; we just watch stuff online.  You know, where you get to see exactly what you want, when you want, without commercials. It's luxurious.)

The next morning (July 30), Pete, Jakob, and I went horse-back riding.  I had gone a handful of times growing up, but Pete had never ridden a horse before.  We would have taken everyone, but the other kids were too young for it.  My awesome parents watched our other kids while we rode.  Jake's horse was named Cammanche, Pete's was Spirit, and mine was Butch, which was funny to me because I had a cat while in high school named Butch that loved me a lot.  The horse stuff was right on Targhee's grounds.

Pete told the rancher dude that I had ridden "a bunch of times", so I think the dude thought that I was super experienced.  Um, no. That would be my other sister, Brianna, that rode and trained horses for years and years.  So Butch was a little...strong-willed. And apparently, hungry. 

We went on a trail up the mountain, and it was very beautiful.  Butch kept trying to eat every two seconds, and he kept wandering off the trail. The rancher told me to pull up on the reins and kick him  a little and he would stop. Yeah, right! If I kicked him, he would just start running, and then he would stop and eat some more, and then wander around. After a while I put my reins behind the horn on the saddle so he couldn't reach down as far to eat the grass.

I definitely had fun riding, but it was like a wrestling match the whole time. And when I got off, my knees were hurting from the stirrups. I'm such a city slicker.

After our horse ride, we did another ride: the chair lift up the mountain.  I've ridden on this lift about a thousand times in the winter, but never in the summer.  The chair is lower in the winter, because you're standing on a bunch of snow to get on.  I also think they ran it slower than they do in the winter.  Here's my mom and dad with Brock and Jakob:

We went up Saturday morning and Sunday morning.  On Sunday it was cloudy, so the top was pretty cold.  But Saturday it was nice and warm and sunny.

Another thing: I've ridden up chair lifts a million times.  But to get back down you either had to bike, walk, or ride.  We opted for ride, but it's pretty trippy to see how far you've actually gone up.

So here's my family with the valley behind us.  At the top of the lift there's a little trail, and you walk to a platform to overlook everything, including the Grand Tetons a couple of ranges over.

Here are the boys with the Grand Teton behind them. I was a little nervous about my run-around kids.  Why, you may ask?  See the little rope under Brock's arm in the picture below?  That extends out, though you can't see it because of the snow (yes, snow) in the picture.  But on the other side of that rope is a very, very, very steep cliff.  So I told the kids they had to stay on the platform at all times.

So of course, Troy being the close listener that he is, started running around on the entrance of the platform.  I grabbed his arm, and tried to show him the IMMINENT DEATH that awaited him if he didn't stay on the platform.  Which, in 4-year-old translation, means I was just being a mean mom because I wouldn't let him play wherever he wanted to. That is why he's being a grumpy pants in the picture.

My dad took the boys down below the platform (where the ski hill is), to an area that still had snow on it.  They tried to make snow balls to throw at us.

And here's my family again, this time with the Tetons behind us.  Ivy had gotten a combination of sun lotion and bug spray in her eye, so she rubbed it and whined the whole time.  (You can see the rope behind us in this picture.  In front of the rope = nice happy beautiful pictures.  Behind the rope = IMMINENT DEATH!)

These next two pictures were taken on Sunday, after we rode the lift back down.  We were chatting with my parents and my two aunts and two uncles that had come for the wedding.  And my kids, being the self entertainers, decided to play with sticks and dirt.  Seriously, why do we even buy toys for our kids?

Alrighty.  I know I suck, because I should have started this train of posts with the most interesting event - the wedding. But instead, I decided to save the best for last.  And I'm going to stick it in its own part.  Soon to come: Part 3 (the final part) of the Bir-Cay-Ding extravaganza!

Bir-Cay-Ding, Part 1

We just got done with a many-evented extravaganza: my birthday, a mini vacation, and my sister Lexi's wedding. YAY!  It was all so much fun!  And the best way I can think of to tell all about it is...just to start at the beginning.  Or maybe I'll mix it all together, like I did with my title. Eh? Eh???

July 27: my birthday

Last year, I only got one picture of my birthday, which kind of sucked.  So this year I took lots and lots of pictures.

In the morning, I took all my boys to get their hair cut.  The boys were getting fluffy, and Pete had major beast neck. Look at Troy being all super important:

 Then we went shopping a little.  We needed a few things, plus I picked up a new dress (yay!) and the movie "Chicken Run", which I have always loved.  We also went looking for a new fridge, because ours is fritzing out again.  I think it's time to let it go. *sigh*  Here are two of my cuties, though, being all posh while shopping.

 Then I got a pedicure with my mom.  I didn't have my camera with me, so I don't have a picture of that.  But we both got orange toenails for my sister's wedding.  They're so cute!

After that, Pete and I went to the temple and did a session.  I hadn't gone since February, so it was really good to go.  So refreshing!

Then we, my kids, my mom, and my sister and her (then) fiance Chris went out for dinner at Sol Rio.  I LOVE their salsa that they bring out with chips-yummy!  And then we got really yummy food.  I ordered the Burrito Supreme, which I kept telling my kids was as big as my arm.  When they brought it out, I got photographic evidence.  SOOOOO good.

 Here's my mom and Troy.  Troy loves grandmas.

 After dinner, just my little family had dessert.  Instead of cake, I made rice krispie treats.  Which, I really do like cake, but we have two more cakes coming to our house really soon, so I opt for an alternative.

 Then I got to open gifts.  On top of my new dress and movie, my parents had taken me out a few days before and got two other dresses, which were much needed.  My kids all drew pictures of me with a cake. I'm a princess on all their pictures, which is very sweet.  And Pete got me a Slap Chop, which chops up your veggies or whatever else really well and easily. I can't wait to use it!

And here I am with my sweet kids.

My birthday was very nice, and very relaxing.  I am so blessed!

Okay.  Onward.

July 28: campfire night

Pete had been wanting to take the kids out and build a campfire somewhere.  We aren't really the outdoorsy type of people: in fact, we have a total of one sleeping bag.  But I think Pete's inner Boy Scout - or maybe it's his inner pyromaniac - wanted to come out and shine.  So, no sleeping in a tent for us this night, but playing with fire was definitely part of our fun.

We went out to some camp sites just past a ski hill called Kelly Canyon that's not too far from home.

Here's Pete with three future Boy Scouts/pyros:

This was my "cooler" for the night.  Because we did hot dogs and smores, and bought drinks on the way up, I didn't really need anything else.

My cute clan with our drinks:

Ivy and Troy.  Notice Ivy's cheeks-absolutely stuffed with hot dog!

Besides eating and playing with the fire, my kids ran around and whacked down big weeds. And then they threw those in the fire.

We also played Hide and Seek. Mostly I helped the younger two hide while someone did the seeking, though everyone took their turn being the seeker. There were trees and grass and huge rocks to hide behind. It was way fun.

And, of course, there was dirt to play in.  Lots and lots of dirt!

We had a blast, and I'm sure we'll do it again sometime.

Okay, friends, this post is getting long already.  So I'm going to have to make this a two-parter.  So stay tuned for the rest of our birthday/vacation/wedding adventures!

Half-Way Already?

I realized that the summer is already about half over.  Wha.....????  Where does the time go?  We've definitely been busy, but we've been relaxing as well.  In fact, so far this summer has been exactly what I had envisioned in my mind.

So, this is my philosophy: I want my kids to do things in the summer that are constructive, as in, I don't want to hear the phrase "I'm BORED!"  BUT.  I don't want to over schedule my kids so that they don't have free time to just BE KIDS, you know?  They need to be able to explore, and relax, and come up with their own entertainment, too.

Luckily, I've been blessed with self-entertainers, that play together very well.  One day they made up a game called "Dandelion Store".  This speaks ample amounts about the state my back yard was in at the beginning of the summer.  (More on this topic later.  I have, like, 5 blog posts swimming around in my head that I have yet to put down on paper.  I mean, on computer.)

So.  What have we done this summer?  One of the things I wanted to do was sort of a "field trip" idea.  It hasn't been anything terribly creative, but we've still gone out and enjoyed what is around us.  I wanted to do something about every other week.  Like, for instance, the zoo.

We went to the zoo a few weeks ago, before it got too hot.  My cute friend Joanne and her amazing kids went with us.  We headed over first thing in the morning, and all the animals were out because it was fairly cool.  Even though the kids went there at the end of the school year, it's still fun to go and see the animals.  And it wasn't really busy that early, either.  So that was nice.

Troy has been climbing the walls-literally.  He is such a monkey!  But this is one of the examples of just relaxing, and entertaining themselves that I was talking about.

Summer time is not just a vacation for my kids; it is also my break time, for me to do things that I want to do.  I've had these quilts that I've been wanting to make for the boys sitting around for almost a year.  I was going to make it all from scratch, but that was too expensive.  So then my friend Arin suggested I just buy ready-made bedspreads, and add some squares of color or something.  Brilliant idea!  Or so I thought.  It really is a great idea, if you have a quilting machine, which I don't.  There's no way that big hulking blanket is going to fit through the little tiny hole of my machine. 

So....I glued it, with fabric glue. 

I'm sure every quilter lady out there just about fainted after reading that.  But you know what?  It's done, and my boys REALLY REALLY REALLY don't care if it's beautifully stitched on or slapped together.  And in a few years, when they wear out, I'll either do it the right way, or just buy an interesting bedspread that I don't have to sew.

(Now I want to paint the walls to match, but that's going to have to wait, I'm afraid.)

I also made a new skirt for myself, that gets totally wrinkly all the time, but oh well.  I had a couple of church tops that needed a bottom, so I was going for color when I picked the fabric.  The pattern ended up being jacked up, where the top of the skirt didn't quite work out on the inside, but I jimmy-rigged it.  Plus, it's on the inside, so no one can see its flaws.  I'm currently working on a vest for myself as well.  We'll see how it goes-it's only cut out so far.

Let's see.  I've also had time to clean out my vacuum really well.  I replaced the filter, and the belt, etc.  It's much more happy now.  I've been doing a lot of cleaning lately.  But that's yet another topic for another blog post.

Like I said, my kids are self-entertainers.  They are also very artistic.  I have no idea where it came from, because even my stick figures are questionable at best.  Here are two pictures, gifted to me from Troy (that's him and his "grown-up" house on the left) and Brock (his is on the right-his house when "I was 19 years old").

We've also been doing a lot of reading.  Brock has gotten really good at reading this summer.  He even attempts to read in The Book of Mormon when we read at night-he'll do one verse, and I help him with the big words.  But even those he's trying to do on his own.

So far this summer I have read some Sherlock Holmes short stories (I read some last summer and loved them), The Great Gatsby (two thumbs WAY down-HATED it), The Walk by...Richard Paul Evans?  I think that was his name.  Anyway, it was fairly good. I also read a book called The Third, by Pete's mission companion Abel Keogh.  It was good, but ends on a cliffhanger.  I've also read two books by Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club, and The Bonesetter's Daughter.  I LOVED both of them.  I really like her style of writing.

My kids have also been riding bikes non-stop.  Troy wanted his training wheels off, and has tried a few times to ride his two-wheeler, but he gets freaked out and then steers too sharply and falls over.  Oh well. 

And Ivy, well, she's my little outside baby-she loves being outside all the time.  Yesterday it was raining super hard, and it stopped for a minute, and she was all, "Can I go play outside?"  I'm like, uh, not with thunder and lightning.  She also tends to wander, and I've lost track of her a couple of times.  Luckily, we've found her, but it makes me nervous.

Also this summer, we went to the Playmill and saw "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels".  It was really cute, and a musical to boot, which I wasn't expecting.  I haven't seen the movie, though, so I didn't know the story line or anything. 

Another goal I had for this summer was to have my kids do some worksheets.  I have a few little books that work with math and matching and letters and stuff for Troy and Brock, but I couldn't find anything for Jakob.  So I've been making my own sheets, mostly of times facts.  The 2nd graders started some of those at the end of the school year, so I thought it would be good for him to keep learning those and working on them.  Some of the facts he knows really well; others, not so much.  But that's the whole point of practicing them, right?

I originally wanted to have my kids do the worksheets every day, but I haven't been super diligent.  It's been, like, twice a week instead.  Maybe we'll be better at it for the second half of the summer.

We've also played soccer in the back yard, endured OODLES of ALLERGIES, watched some fireworks, had some barbecues, attended my nephew's baptism, gone swimming, watched one sister go off to China for 8 months, had another sister come out to visit from New York, and my other sister is getting married at Targhee in a couple of weeks.  (While we're up there, I want to go horse back riding with my family.  We'll see, because I don't know if they'll let little kids go or not.  But if so, that would be another "field trip".)

Which brings me to the second half of summer.  Things to look forward to: three birthdays, swimming lessons (hopefully), playing tennis in a goof-off way, the wedding, Harry Potter movie this weekend, and...maybe more posts from me.  Hopefully.