Vacation, Day 1

Today was the first day of our 15 day vacation. We left Prescott bright and early this morning to get to Phoenix. We got through security and sat down at the gate. The kids were most excited to get wifi again. It's been out at our house for 6 days. The "new" modem came last night and it didn't work. Nice. Thanks, Century Link. So, they are sending another one. In any case, Emily was so excited to get back on youtube to upload some new videos she made. She really, really missed youtube. Yesterday, she was snippy with her brother. When I asked her what was wrong she said, she was really stressed out and doesn't have youtube. Yikes, it's like a drug. But, honestly, we were all missing the internet after 6 days. There is only so many games of hide n seek and simon says a 9 year old can play with her brothers.

I digress....

Our plane had a mechanical issue, and was delayed 2 hours. Emily didn't mind. Actually, they ended up getting another plane and we all boarded. We got to Spokane without incident, went to Costco for pizza and then on to my Dad's and Suzy. Ahhh...it feels like home. The kids made a bee line for the trampoline. We were supposed to get here at 3, but it was past 6 when we got here. But, I think we got an entire day of activities in the 2 1/2 hours we were outside. Luckily, it stays light here until about 9:00.

Oh, first up was waiting for the luggage. My Dad was giving the kids rides on the luggage cart. Ben asked if that was legal. Um, actually Ben, no not really, but it's FUN!


It's going to be warm here this week. High's in the 90's and after the trampoline, the kids were hot. I told them to get on their suits and get in the lake. So, they happily did. I think we will be living in swimsuits over the next 5 days.


Even David went swimming.


And this throwing happens no matter what body of water these boys are in.


There was jumping off the dock.




Emily just kind of hopped off at first.


Then, she got the hang of it.


Time for jet skis.






Noah likes to go slow.


I wasn't sure if 3 was a good idea.


I thought for sure Ben would fall off.


He realized quickly to hold on for dear life.


Noah's style was sitting on the end of the dock with David and I putting our feet in the water. A boy after my own heart.


Then, there was more trampoline jumping. This time with the sprinklers on. I couldn't decide which one of these of Emily to post, so I put them all up.






Then, Emily took out the kayak.


My Dad and the boys joined her.










Suzy put this cute table and chairs on the dock. Adorbs.


They laid in the hammock and then, Noah fell out.


Since we had pizza at Costco so late, we just had salads for dinner on the patio at sunset.


Then, it was time to dress up like a ninja turtle.


And on that note, we are done for the day.


I think we crammed 10 hours worth of stuff in under 3! Now, time to rest.

Welcome to 1985

We've been without Internet for 5 days. Our modem took a hit in a storm. We have our phones but they barely work in our house; hence, the new tower that's going up in a few months.  

We were all okay at first. We played more with the kids and did random chores like cleaning the garage. Now the kids are getting bored. Emily wants to be on YouTube on her tablet. Ben wants to watch superhero cartoons. I've been going to our friends house to use their wifi for work.  The kids are playing hide and seek now. Up next, I'll break out the Atari. Welcome to 1985 kids!

Camping Trip #3

Three camping trips in 6 weeks is almost too much for this city girl. But, they are fun and the kids have a blast. We won't have another camping trip for 11 months and I'm okay with that. But, I love these camping trips. I love that we all unplug and spend time together for a few days. I love the trees, the fresh air and the stars at night. It's a great way to spend a weekend.

Almost all of our friends have RV's, but we are fine in our tent. It takes us an hour to get everything set up and an hour to get everything taken down. Our tent cost $150 and should last several seasons. That's about as much as we want to spend on these trips. Plus, we love the time at the end of the night when it's all 5 of us in the tent together snuggling under sleeping bags and blankets. We talk about our days, our favorite things and end with a prayer for God to watch over us and for bears to stay away. Hey, every little bit helps!

We got to Payson and got the tent all set up.


Then, it was time to relax.


Gwynne, this is the chair your birthday money bought. David is too long for all of these type of chairs, but he likes them. We put a pool noodle where his ankles hit the bar.


Our friends brought their dogs and Noah really likes them. Although, this pen is a nice idea if Noah misbehaves too!




Noah was really good with the dogs and "helped" take them on a walk.


We took a little day trip to a local fish hatchery. This is where they grow all the fish that they use to stock local lakes.


This was some kind of trout. I was totally grossed out. I hate fish. Well, unless I'm scuba diving and they are pretty.


Each bin held different size trout. This one had smaller ones in it and the guy said there was 24,000 trout in there.


Here are some of the girls.


We found a watering hole along the creek and the kids went fishing. Guess what we found? More crawdads! We can't escape these things. Mark is holding one up for the kids to see.


It was a little chilly, but it was hot out so the kids didn't mind.


They made their way up the creek.


Here are all the kiddos.


More swimming.




Then, it was time for an afternoon nap. Don't they look cute?


Noah sleeps so well on his Dad like that. Literally, he'll be out in seconds.


The kids had a secret spy group going on.


The next day we tried to find a different watering hole. But, we haven't had any real rain here in 6 months. We drove around and around and found dry creek after dry creek. We ended up at the same spot we were the day before. The kids didn't mind. The girls were making up a Frozen dance.


The highlight for Ben was driving to the bathrooms.


Noah had to get in on the driving action too.


The boys dressed up. Ben's costume has turned into capri pants, but he doesn't mind.


It was another great camping trip with family and friends.

Now, we leave for the lake in Idaho, sightseeing in Banff and to the beach in Vancouver in 7 days!

Driving

I have lots of camping pics to share, but I'm busy working and other stuff. In the meantime, Ben's highlight was driving to the bathroom. There was an outhouse about a 2 minute walk from our camp. Or we could drive to the main facilities on the camp and we had flushing toilets. It took about 3 minutes to drive there, so I bet you an guess what I opted for. Ben got to drive to the toilets. It was the highlight of his day.


Then Noah had to do it. The kids have never been so excited to take a poop.