Wonderful Weekend

This past weekend, my sister invited us to come and spend some time with them at her in-laws cabin. Their cabin is in Island Park, Idaho on the shores of Henry's Lake. It is about 15 minutes from West Yellowstone and the surroundings are so beautiful. I really love it up there. I have fond childhood memories of spending time up there with my family and my parent's friends and their kids.

It was short notice, and Mark couldn't take time off work, so the kids and I drove up by ourselves. Mark flew up on Friday after work - lucky guy! I am quite proud of myself and them, after all, it was a five hour drive! The drive went really fast, and we only stopped once in Pocatello. We left on Thursday and arrived at the cabin around four o'clock. Just in time for dinner :) My brother in law Jon is such a great cook. We had burgers and fresh trout that they caught that day. Shortly after arriving, we walked down to the lake for a little fun.






Friday morning, Jon woke up Will and Ben and took them out fishing on the lake, early in the morning. Will caught the biggest fish, but wouldn't touch it. They both caught fish and went out the Saturday morning with Mark, as well. I stayed in bed with Max. I'm not a morning person.




That afternoon, my sister stayed home with Max and her little one year old, Charlie so they could nap. I took the kids and Terese horseback riding at Harriman State Park. Terese is from Sweden and she is here this summer, spending time in the U.S. and helping Karyn with her kids. Her dad works with Jon and they came last summer and toured the U.S. Terese wanted to come back, and Karyn loves the help. She is a sweet girl and we'll miss her when they take her back to Sweden in a few weeks.









It was a two hour ride, which was way too long for an old girl like me. My back and bottom hurt for the next two days. After the ride, we went back and I got ready to pick up Mark from the airport. I was so excited for him to come. We hardly ever spend time apart and I missed him and his help with the kids.

Saturday morning, the boys went fishing on the lake again. When they got back, we went into West Yellowstone for lunch and Mark and Jon went fly fishing.



After lunch, we headed back to the cabin so the little ones could nap. Karyn stayed with them again and I took the kids and Terese on a float trip on the North Fork of the Snake River at Mack's Inn. They drive you up the river, about five miles, and you float back to Mack's Inn. The float took about three hours. We all had such a great time. I sunblocked the kids well, but only did my arms. Needless to say, I got burnt on my face and thighs. I'm still feeling it two days later :(



While floating, we were talking about scuba diving...Suddenly we saw Ben's head in the water. It freaked me out. He went "scuba diving". What a dork!


Can you see the moose? We saw two on this little boat ride. Thankfully it wasn't a bear, I would have peed my pants.


For our last night, we went to a rodeo/dinner show on the other side of Henry's Lake. It is just a small operation, but the food was really good. Dutch oven, steak, salad and peach cobbler. The first part of the evening was the rodeo. Apparently they put on summer camps for kids all over the West, and the kids put on the rodeo. Wouldn't that be fun to go to a rodeo camp? Will really wants to, but you must be nine years old. Maybe next year!

The kids nine and older got to go out and chase around a cow. There was a ribbon tied on the cow, and whoever got the ribbon, got a prize. I lied about Will's age and let him go. I have to admit I was a little worried about his (broken) leg and running in the dirt. The first cow ran right out the other end of the field, through a crack in the fence. They tried again, this time with a larger cow. He ran around for a bit, but escaped as well. Everyone that participated got some candy.




Fun times. Max was a little shister the whole night. There was a little stream that he couldn't stay away from.




After dinner, they had a singer (ye-haw) and a little lesson in line dancing. We had such a great time! Thanks Karyn and Jon!

Father's Day

~Happy Father's Day Markie~

We had a great day spending time with our family. Isn't that what it's all about?

Mark made us the best dinner. I helped, but he got a new smoker for Father's Day and he wanted to try it out. We had a Brisket in the freezer from a cow that we bought and split with my sister and mom, and it turned out delicious. I'll let him cook anytime, and if it's something he is really excited about, he'll cook more often. He seriously spent so much time this weekend searching the net, figuring out how to do it just right. It paid off, and it was so good.

After church and dinner, we went up to Mark's parents for dessert. Scott and Lisa were up there with their two boys, Josh and Brady. The kids had a great time running around, playing with their cousins.

Mark, Scott, Les and Sue. Kim and her family moved to Kansas this past week and Ryan is in England, on the mish.



Without a nap for Max today, he was done, ready to be put in bed.

Patriotic Program

Friday morning we were lucky enough to be invited to Will's program at school. With Flag Day on Saturday, a program about the flag was fitting. The program was fabulous. Will has the best teacher this year, her name is Mrs. White, and she is wonderful. You could tell that she spent so much time with them, practicing their songs and parts to recite. Each of the kids had to recite a small paragraph about the flag. They all did such a great job! I can't believe that next year I'm going to have a 3rd grader!

Sad Day

I enjoyed watching and listening to him on TV. He seemed like such a great guy.

A Great Day

Today was a joyous day. The weather was so beautiful and I was able to go on a ride this afternoon in our beautiful mountains to Park City. We were able to visit with a certain doctor up there and he removed Will's cast. Yes, it was a joyous day. The stench that cast exuded was unbelievable. Horrible. His feet are all calloused where the cast rubbed his feet. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. We are all titillated that it's gone.

Last night, during his bath, I got a washcloth and tried to get up as far as I could in his cast. There was a thin layer of dirt up his whole leg. Yuck! When his cast was finally removed, we were laughing because there was grass up his leg. Maybe that was what stunk so bad. You know that stench that your garbage can holds after moist grass clippings sit out in the can for days in the hot, sweltering sun.

He stood right up, with a slight bit of hesitation, and walked right on that leg. It is still a bit tender and he really needs to be careful. So, no jumping around like a crazy man for a while. He doesn't want to break it again, which he could, very easily. The doctor suggested that I get him some high tops to help support his ankle. He said that the juvenile ankle braces on the market aren't that great. These came to mind...

Do you think Will would ever be caught dead in these? They would be very supportive.

Maybe some nice Chuck Taylors?


I'm sorry. When I think of high tops, all that comes to mind are those boys that wear these...


Talk about a fashion faux pas. You can't even tell if there are socks being worn. I wouldn't let my kid be caught dead in those. I think we'll just take our chances.

He was so excited to run home and show all of his friends and I weeded and raked our flower beds. Ahh...summer!

Must Have...

Doesn't everyone love the chewy edges of brownies just out of the oven. They are definately my favorite part to eat. This pan is perfect! You can buy it on Amazon. Why didn't I think of this?

Back to Normal

I'm finally starting to feel better. I did sluff church today and convinced Mark to take my nursery lesson for me. Luckily he was able to switch with someone else. The lesson was I am thankful that I can smell and taste. I helped him prepare the lesson by placing about twelve different things to eat in baggies, enough to share with all of the children. The thought was to have them smell and taste the food while blindfolded and to try and guess what they were eating. It didn't go over as planned...funny thing, it never does. They have the shortest attention span. The lessons usually last about one minute. They didn't love the idea of being blindfolded, and most couldn't tell you what they were eating. They didn't know. There aren't many three year olds in the class, it consists mainly of two year olds, who are just starting to figure everything out.

I enjoyed my three hours alone at home. It was nice. I caught up on some Conan that I've had on Tivo for a while. I always tivo Conan, I love him, he is hilarious. I don't watch all of them, I usually fast forward to exciting parts and delete the rest. I saved this particular episode which featured Colin Firth. I love him. Remember him from Bridget Jones' Diary?



I also spent some time searching the net for BPA free sippy cups for Max. I am a little obsessed with that lately. I bought some new BPA free Camelbacks at REI a few weeks ago. But, I need some for Max. I'm thinking about getting the Sigg with a sports top, or a Kleen Kanteen with a sippy top. While searching I realized how many products could potentially carry BPA. It's a wonder were not all dead!

Tonight we went up to Mark's parents to celebrate our niece Hailee's ninth birthday. They are moving to Overland Park, Kansas on Wednesday, so we also said our goodbyes. I'm excited for them to embark on their new adventure. Just glad it's not me!

Last year we remodeled our kitchen and in February we replaced our front door. Saturday, we replaced the wood on our stairway to match the rest of the wood in our house. We tried staining it, but it looked horrible. I wish that I had taken a before picture, but here is one without and one of the new railing. I'm surprised that we didn't have a serious accident on the stairs. It was off for nearly a week!

I really need to straighten my pictures

I'm happy that I am feeling better. Hopefully the weather this week is warmer, so we can go and do some fun, outdoor activities. I really need to weed my flower beds. It's never fun being sick, but it was nice to catch up on some sleep!

I'm SICK

Yes, this was me last night. I have the flu. YUCK! Thanks to Mark, he has been helping me out so much. He just took Max grocery shopping so I could rest. Last night, he was rubbing my back while I was puking. What a sweet, loving husband I have. I am so lucky!

The people I assigned to teach the Nursery lesson just called me to inform me that they can't find a sub and they are in Bryce Canyon and won't be back in time for church tomorrow. Nice. I would send Mark, but he has to teach the Priests. Hopefully I am feeling better tomorrow so I can go to church and throw a lesson together in the morning. Thank goodness for 1:00 church!

Happy Birthday Maxie Poo!

My sweetheart MAX is TWO and I can't believe it!!! He is a complete joy to have around. We all enjoy him immensely. He has the sweetest little personality and is extremely loving. I love him so much! He loves to play outside. His favorite show (he's just now starting to watch TV) is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He loves popsicles. He asks for Mickey and popsicles constantly. He loves nursery and loves his friends. He is a mommas boy, which I love. Isn't it great to be needed!! I am the Nursery Leader right now in our ward, and he cried every time I have another child on my lap. I love him. He is a great eater. He'll eat practically anything. Although, since it's been a little hotter outside, he hasn't been that great, but then again, who has much of an appetite when it's so hot. He loves to repeat every last word that anyone says.

We had a great birthday weekend. Sunday night we had a big party at our house and invited our family over for homemade burgers and lots of great food. A party at our house isn't complete without a delicious custard filled cake from Granite Bakery.

It was a little cloudy and windy when we were getting ready to light the candles and sing. Luckily when it was time for the blowout, the wind was there to help Max with his "wish". "Again" was Max's response. So cute!

We gave Max his own four-wheeler. We have a John Deer tractor ride on, but it is still a little too big for Max. He doesn't have the steering thing down yet, so this little toy should help. He didn't want to share it and he was so excited. He kept crashing into things, which made him pop a wheelie. Luckily he didn't hit his head.





Opening presents. My sister, Karyn, helping with that annoying toy packaging. Seriously. Look how intently the kids are watching. (Karyn's little girl Lily and my brother's little boy, Camden with Max.)

Max and I

My brother Kenny's newest addition, Emerson, or as Max likes to call him "Epperson". He is a doll!

Karyn's little Char Char (Charlie). He is just starting to walk at 14 months.

Tonight, for Max's actual birthday, we went out to dinner and took Max out for his first flavored, purchased snow cone. (I make them at home for him a lot.) My mom's school is just up the street and they just installed new playground equipment. We totally broke through the fencing (no trespassing sign) and enjoyed the playground with other law breakers. Max loved his snow cone and didn't even go down one slide. He was too busy consuming with his fingers. Yum!




Notice Will's new cast. Yes, it is ALREADY duck taped again. We took him up last Tuesday and had his old cast replaced. It only took two days for this one to start looking pretty sad. So, out came the tape and Mark went to town. I will so happy when it is finally removed once and for all. It is driving me crazy, I can only imagine how Will feels about it.



I couldn't resist snapping a picture of one of Marks distinguishing qualities. Yip, he is already going grey. I know that it is because of me, and I'm so sorry.