Good-bye Idaho

We stayed with my sister's family yesterday and she took us to many beautiful places along the Snake River Canyon. Our first stop was Cauldron Linn. It was beautiful, but a little scary without guard rails to protect small children from falling off cliffs. Our second stop was Shoshone Falls. See if you can see TWO rainbows in this picture. It was beautiful and did have guard rails.
Swimming at Dierkes Lake (hope I spelled that right) was my children's favorite activity of the day.


Our third stop was Twin Falls where we saw another neat rainbow.
We enjoyed walking across the bridge over the canyon and seeing the beautiful sunset. Yes, Erin Joy has her pajamas on. She walked across the bridge in her pajamas.

My feeble attempt at taking a picture of the beautiful sunset over the Snake River Canyon.
We are leaving in a few minutes to begin our journey home. It has been a fabulous trip. We have had a lot of fun playing, but the best part of our trip was seeing our family. I sure love my family and I love being with them. Thanks family for the great trip and the great memories!!!!

Still Having Fun

This picture summarizes our trip. We have had so much fun playing that we sometimes forget to sleep. Poor Erin Joy was too exhausted to stay awake while we shopped for groceries to replenish our supplies while camping.On July 3rd, we went to the Oquirrh Mountain temple open house. It was so beautiful and so wonderful to be able to teach my children as we toured the various rooms. It was very crowded. I was trying to meet a friend, but there were so many people that we never saw each other. We did see L. Tom Perry. He even cut in front of us in line. We saw him after the tour too. He is our cousin so it was especially exciting to meet him. He was very friendly and talked with us briefly.

Rachel knew I was taking a picture of her shaking L. Tom Perry's hand. I was a little slow with the camera so this is a picture of her right after the handshake saying "did you get that picture?"

My mother is his cousin. Look at their noses. Yep, definitely related. I'm glad I have my father's nose. (I just have to throw that in to see if my beautiful mother actually reads my blog...)
Our cousin/niece was baptized on July 4th. What a great day to be baptized! I was baptized on July 3rd many, many years ago.

After her baptism, we enjoyed a picnic in the park, played baseball, and went to the fireworks before returning to our campsite late that night. The moon was full, the stars were out, and the weather was perfect. It was a great day!



Camping for three days in the beautiful Box Elder Canyon was so much fun. The kids played together so well and had a blast. They got very dirty to prove how much fun they had.
We love the cute little bridge that led to the restroom.
Erin Joy played Barbies at the campground. She had several of her cousins playing with her and even convinced her uncle to play. He played with Ken (Erin Joy calls him, "Boy"). One Barbie is still lost at the campsite and I threw the other Barbies away because they were so dirty.
On Monday, July 6th, we went to Lagoon, a fun amusement park in Utah. We all had fun going on rides. There were a lot of adults which meant we could take turns watching the younger children while other went on more adult rides. I actually rode the Wicked...a roller coaster that I thought I would never get on. It was a blast and I look forward to riding it again the next time we are at Lagoon.

This was the new ride for 2009--Jumping Dragon. We rode it several times because of the Chinese theme. Actually, my girls rode it several times. I just rode it twice. It spun around and around, then spun around backwards just in case you weren't dizzy enough after going forwards. Twice was enough for me. I needed to keep my lunch down.
All the kids had fun riding with Grandma. On one ride (Rattlesnake Rapids) all the younger kids wanted to go with Grandma because they thought she would protect them from getting wet. The older kids wanted to ride with Grandpa because they wanted to get wet. Poor Grandma ended up directly under the waterfall and was the wettest of all. She was a great sport all day.


My girls now have matching panda pajamas with their cute cousin. Unfortunately, the pajamas were too girly for our cute little boy cousin so he doesn't match. We are going to play with our cousins for a day before beginning the long trek home.

We have had a lot of fun. We are excited to go home and see our cat, but we will miss our family when we leave.

Lakes and Caves and Trains, Oh My!

On the way to Bear Lake, we stopped and visited friends. Three of these children have PWS birthmarks and all four of them were adopted from China by single mothers. It is so fun and so important to make connections. I wish they lived closer so we could see them more than once a year.

Erin Joy sure looks tall in this picture. The girl in the glasses is 6 years old, Rachel is 7 years old, and my 5 year old is taller than both of them. No wonder many people think Rachel and Erin Joy are twins.
Camping at Bear Lake was so much fun! We were so excited to try out our new tent. I really love our tent. I love that I can stand up in it. I love the light, the rolling windows, the hinged door, the screened room, and the large size. I love sleeping on an air mattress. We were definitely camping in luxury.
The sunsets at Bear Lake were absolutely beautiful. The beautiful sunsets made up for the powerful wind that came every night and all the mosquitoes.
The kids played in the lake all day and again the next day. They had a blast. It was fun to watch my girls enjoy time with their cousins. We used massive amounts of sunscreen and still managed to get burned. Between the mosquito bites and sunburns, we were looking a little ragged at the end of our camping trip. It sure was fun, though. We made a lot of wonderful memories and had a great time.

We waited 1 1/2 hours to go through the Minnetonka Cave. There were a lot of people there and they only allowed tour groups of 20 every 30 minutes to enter the cave. It was well worth the wait. I thought my father had taken me to every place in Idaho, but I had never been to this cave. It was very impressive and a lot of fun to see. My girls were a little nervous especially when we saw a bat, but they enjoyed all the stalactites and stalagmites and other formations.

The golden spike museum and monument was a very interesting and fun place to visit. We especially loved watching the steam engines go down the track and blow their whistles. I am excited to share what I learned with my fourth graders when we study the transcontinental railroad in school.

We are camping again tonight and tomorrow in Utah. Today we are going to the Oquirrh Mountain temple open house and tomorrow we will enjoy the Fourth by watching our cousin/niece get baptized (the second baptism of our trip). We will then watch fireworks and enjoy time with our family. Monday, we are going to Lagoon (an amusement park in Utah). We will then spend a few days visiting my sister in Idaho and begin the long journey home.

We are really enjoying our time with our cousins and family. Thanks everyone for making our trip so fun and memorable!

Random Act of Kindness

I am cutting and pasting this from the LWB site. On July 1st, my girls and I will be participating. It sounds fun and I encourage everybody reading this to participate.


A few months ago, a friend of mine told me about how she and her kids loved doing "random acts of kindness" in order to foster a love of giving. We thought her idea was so great that we have decided to promote it every quarter. On July 1st, we encourage you to do one random act of kindness in order to spread goodwill to others, and also to remind people that millions of children around the world live each day as orphans.

To take part, here is what you should do:

1) Print off the image on this blog, and cut it out as a small "coupon" or postcard. (if you double click on the image, it should load it on your computer in a larger size)

2) On July 1st, pick a moment to do something kind for someone. Some suggestions include paying for the person behind you in the drive-thru line, buying a cup of coffee for the person in line behind you at a coffee shop, helping someone with lots of groceries load them into their car, etc. Be creative!

3) After doing your kind deed, give the person your "kindness card". If you are in a drive-thru line, simply give it to the cashier and ask them to give it to the next person in line while telling them that their meal is free. Then you can turn around and wave at the unsuspecting person behind you with a huge smile as you drive away.

So many people in this world are having a hard time and could really use a pick-me-up. You will never know how your random act might have given them just the encouragement they needed that day. It ALWAYS feels good to give, doesn't it? Invest just $5 into surprising someone with random kindness on July 1st, and help spread awareness about all of the children who go to bed every night without parents to love them. You will be adding a moment of giving to the world as well, and no act of kindness is ever wasted. Do a fun deed on July 1st and then come back here and tell us how it went!

(Warning: our friends who have done this with their children say their kids absolutely LOVE doing it, so be prepared to have some extra cards printed and in your glovebox! What a great way to teach our kids that giving to others is a blessing.) Have fun!

Yellowstone

Here are just a few pictures of our adventures the past few days:

Yellowstone Lake with a feather Erin Joy wants to keep for her collection:

Grand Canyon Upper Falls:
Henry's Fork of the Snake River near my parent's cabin:
Bison crossing the road in front of our car:
Great museum:
Being cute while picnicking in a park:

We had a wonderful time at my parent's cabin in Island Park, Idaho. The wildflowers were just beginning to bloom and it was beautiful and green. The mosquitoes were out in full force. We tried various mosquito repellent, but none seemed to keep the darn bugs from biting us. The girls are covered with bites. The mosquitoes didn't stop us from having a good time.

In addition to enjoying time at the cabin, we went to Yellowstone. We saw coyote, deer, elk, bison, pelicans, eagles, and big horn sheep. We didn't see any swans, bear, or moose this year. Maybe next year... The big horn sheep were my favorite. They were right next to the road and I didn't get a picture. Shucks. We went to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and had a great time on a new hiking trail to the brim of the lower falls that was finished this year. There was still a lot of snow. The falls were beautiful with a lot of water coming over them. We didn't stop for any geysers because Rachel had such a hard time last year with the smell of sulfur. She has sensory integration issues and the smell at Yellowstone's geysers was enough to put her into hysterics. It was smelly in several areas, but not as intense in the car.

We then went to Cody, Wyoming (East entrance of Yellowstone) and saw part of a great museum. There were so many things to see and do in Cody that I'd love to go back and spent more time some day. The kids enjoyed collecting stamps in their passports and earning buffalo chips. I was grateful they had something to keep themselves entertained because the museum was not exactly geered for children. I loved the artwork depicting the journey of Lewis and Clark by Charles Fritz and the artwork of Yellowstone by Thomas Moran.

After the cabin, we went to our uncle and aunt's house in a beautiful valley near the Grand Tetons. My brother is an eye doctor and checked our eyes for us. Erin Joy has good vision and NO glaucoma (I'm so glad she will tolerate pressure checks without sedation now...she has to be screened yearly because of the location of her birthmark.) Rachel's eye sight has gotten a little worse. Sure wish she would wear her glasses.... My eyesight is a little worse, too, but thankfully I don't need bifocals yet. It is getting close...

We are now at my parent's home resting and doing laundry in preparation of camping next week.

This is a video of one of the many shows performed by wonderful actors and actresses in my parent's cabin:

Fun In Idaho

We were missing a few spouses, but all my brothers and sisters and all the cousins are in that picture. I sure love my family!!!

My kids are having a wonderful time with their cousins. They have played hard every day. We enjoyed a visit to the zoo yesterday and we are headed to Island Park/Yellowstone today. We are so glad Grandma and Grandpa have a cabin there. We are having a wonderful trip!

We're In Idaho!!

Travel Log:

We started our trip by visiting friends north of Leavenworth who live in a beautiful valley. We then went to Dry Falls State Park on our way to Spokane. We visited a friend while eating at McDonalds for dinner. We then went to a park and played with our cousins. We spent the night with our cousins.

The next morning, we stopped at St. Regis, Montana truck stop for ice cream and a look at the trout aquarium. We then spent forever at several museums in Deer Lodge. All the museums were included in one admission price, so we went to four museums. Rachel was terrified of the Old Prison. I hope that means she will never live in one:) I was terrified of all my old toys I saw in the "yesterday's playthings" museum. Sheesh...I'm an antique! The girls had a blast panning for garnets at the "prospector's playhouse." We were told it was easier to find garnets than it was to pan for gold. It was cheaper too. Rachel found a lot of garnets and Erin Joy found pretty rocks.

We drove through several thunderstorms and saw a lot of great lightning and beautiful rainbows. I wish I had a good camera and could have taken a picture of the Grand Tetons with the sun setting behind them, dark sky above them, and two rainbows right next to the mountains. It was spectacular. Rachel and Erin Joy weren't impressed. They were happy to watching DVDs in the back seat.

The girls traveled very well and watched a lot of Barbie movies. Over 900 miles of traveling in a car with no AC, is enough to make anybody crazy, but the girls handled it very well.

We are excited to be in Idaho and excited to go to reunions, play with cousins, Grandma and Grandpa, and relax. Yeah for summer!!!

Ready for Summer!!!

We have the car packed and ready to visit family in Idaho and Utah!  We decided to take a break from cleaning the house and mowing the lawn to go to the Children's Museum today in honor of our first day of summer vacation.  I made a quick movie with a few pictures from today's activities.  I still need to mow the lawn...

We are so glad school is over for the year and we are very excited for summer!

Fluffy the Fork

I love it that my children are so easily entertained.  Here is a little video of how we entertain ourselves at restaurants....

My Birthday/Another Preschool Graduation

Erin Joy "gradulated" from her afternoon preschool!  She has been attending two preschools and now she is ready for kindergarten.  Sigh.  My girls are growing TOO FAST!!!

I made her pose by the honeysuckles which just recently bloomed.  They smell so good.  The hummingbirds think so too.  There were three hummingbirds helping themselves to nectar when I grabbed my camera, but they were too fast and I didn't get any pictures.  Shucks.

LOVE THAT SMILE!!!!

Notice the "jump for joy" shirt...I'm a sucker for anything with "joy" on it...

Imagine a hummingbird in this picture...I tried....

I had a wonderful birthday.  It started on Saturday when one of my friends took my girls and I out to the movie, "Up."  It is a wonderful movie.  I recommend it for all ages.

On my birthday, another friend who has a birthday the day after mine, went out to dinner with us.  I bought her meal and she bought mine.  Perfect:)  She then gave me a beautiful outfit and helped my girls buy me an orca Webkinz.  Yes, I like Webkinz (virtual pets).  I used to play games on Rachel's then decided I needed my own.  I was excited to get an underwater pet and especially an orca.  I am naming her "Granny" in honor of the oldest whale in the J-pod...my favorite whale.

I told another friend that I would be home at 7:00 and she could bring dessert.  I feel really bad that I was having too much fun and forgot about her coming over until 7:15.  I called her, but she didn't answer.  She didn't answer because she was already at my house with other friends.  They were going to have a surprise party for me.  Ooops.  I missed my own surprise party because I got home too late.  I feel really bad about that.  My surprise party has now been rescheduled for Friday....

Even though I didn't show up for my own party, my friend was kind enough to leave flowers and a card by the door.  Rachel was happy to pose with my flowers and Webkinz.  I suppose I should have gotten in the picture since it was my birthday...oh well.  Rachel is cuter:)

Enjoying the Sun

I was so glad to finally see the sun, however, it has been extremely hot and I hope August isn't even hotter.  We tried to escape the heat by swimming and playing in the river.  It worked.  The water was very cold, but very refreshing.  I sure love the river this time of year...no threat of flooding during the summer...

Building sand castles:

Erin Joy and her friend decorated all the sand castles with lovely flowers:

Let the Sunshine In!

After a miserable, cold, snowy, rainy, spring and winter complete with flooding and a landslide, the sun has decided to finally come and stay.  It has been sunny for about a week now and the forecast is incredible!  It was in the 80s today and it is actually supposed to hit 90 later this week.  90?  No way!!! That typically never happens until August. I usually get too hot after it hits 80, but 90 actually sounds nice.  I am so grateful for the sun.  I am so grateful summer is almost here!  I'm watching the countdown to the last day of school very closely:)

The girls have been asking to get the pool out and we finally did tonight.  It has been fun to watch them enjoy playing outside.  They stopped long enough to pose for a picture with one of their friends.

SUMMER.....SUMMER......SUMMER.......