Idaho, Day 1

When we came to Idaho last year, we had a layover in Salt Lake. It was supposed to be 2 hours. There was a delay and it turned into 7 hours. It was awful. We missed a whole day of our vacation. So, this year, I thought, let's go out the evening before we usually do. We don't have to take anymore time off work and we can just get there at midnight. It'll be perfect. What I didn't think about was the monsoons. The day before, Phoenix was pounded by a storm.

Today, we get to the airport and see the beginnings of a haboob. Does everyone not in Arizona know what a haboob is? It's a huge dust cloud that consumes the city. When I saw this, I started to panic. But, it passed quickly and we were able to get on the plane.

This was the gorgeous sunset out the window at Salt Lake.

Noah was out cold on the way to my Dad's.

When we got here, they set up the back bedroom so Emily could have her own space. She usually sleeps with her Dad, but she's almost 14 and that's not the cool thing.  We all needed a good nights sleep.

We all got up and enjoyed the beautiful lake. Gosh, I love it here. The first thing we noticed when we got of the car last night was the pine tree smell. It's just amazing here.

The boys jumped on the new jet ski.  Papa and Grandma Suzy got a new one since one was kind of old and my Dad had patched it a few times.

Then, we took everyone out for a spin.

Noah tried to catch tad poles.

Noah drinking a Coke. I love the sky here. It's so pretty.

My handsome Ben.

Ben doing the stand up paddle board. I told him he's supposed to stand up.

The boys played king of the raft.


Noah walking the logs.

Then, the other jet ski has a fuel injector problem. So, my Dad put back in the patched jet ski. It came off the trailer too fast and David jumped in with clothes on to save it.  It was funny.  I tell you, this jet ski has been patch and pretty much paper mached and you know what? It's probably going to last another 10 years.

You can drive a jet ski by yourself at 14. Emily is a month short. But, she really wanted to try it. So, David took her out and let her do all the driving and he sat in back and just gave her tips when he needed.  She did really well. She even parked it perfectly.



Then tonight, the river was empty and she wanted to go out by herself. We said ok.  I was so nervous. My baby girl is driving. But, I had taken a run with her earlier also and knew she drove carefully.  So, we let her go.  And she did just fine.

Meanwhile the boys tried to fit both of them on a child kayak and almost sunk the thing.

Suzy made a delicious dinner of chicken, corn, salad and potatoes. 

It was pretty much a perfect day.

I stepped on a bee and got stung on the bottom of my foot. I could've done without that, but other than that, it was perfection.

Ben's Flips

When we first got a trampoline, I thought Emily would be on it the most. But, she's on it the least. She's on her phone the most. Ben is by far on the trampoline the most. He's not reckless and he tries things over and over and over.

He tried a front flip first as going backwards is scary and they tend to a lot of front flips on mini tramps at their Park Fitness class. He wasn't afraid to flip forward, but it took him awhile to finally land it.

Then, came the back flip. He's been trying to get it for weeks, but throwing yourself backwards is scary. I'm glad he's not reckless and hurts himself. Last night at Park Fitness, one of the coach's worked with several times on doing a backflip into the foam pit. Ben wanted to try it on the trampoline as soon as we got home, but it was raining and lightening out.

In true Ben fashion, he got to work this morning and he got it.  And he landed it!  He was so proud of himself. I love his victory pose when he lands it. I'm so proud of him!

Fools Hollow Camping

We really enjoy our camping trips every summer. This is the third summer in a row that we've gone to Fools Hollow Campground in Show Low. It's about a three hour drive East of us, but it's so worth the longer drive.

As soon as we got there this monkey had to climb a tree. I don't have a picture, but at one point him and Savannah were in the very top of a tree watching the sunset. How adorable is that?

 

We pretty much spend all our time in the lake. It's too hot to hike around or do much of anything else. But, we are good with staying in the water all day. 

 

It was windy, so when you got out, it was cold!  The boys were trying to warm up on the dock. 

 

There are small motor boats and kayaks on the water, but we just swim around. The water was much lower this year since we haven't had much rain, but there was still a nice spot to jump off the end of the dock.

 

We always swim to the other side of the lake. The kids call in Gina's Frog School.  Every year, they graduate to a new frog status.  At first, they were tadpoles, then speckled frogs, then bull frogs, and poisonous tree frogs. I don't know. They have fun with it.  So off Gina's Frog School went across the lake.  Actually, it reminds me of my Mom. She taught lots of kids in our neighborhood to swim. I could swim at 9 months.  Well, she'd toss me over the side and I could get to the steps. We had a pool and she wasn't about to let me drown, so she made sure I could hold on to the side and get myself to safety. Now, I'm encouraging these scared kids to swim half a mile in a murky lake.  

 

And this is the view on the other side. I had my underwater camera.

But, I don't get out unless I have shoes on and my water shoes broke. There is too much moss on the rocks and it's just nasty. So, I float and wait for everyone to warm up before we swim back.

Then, the kids just play and eat and have fun.

 

 

We had a truck full of toys!  Next year, we are all getting inflatable kayaks. 

 

And here's our tent. It looked like a tornado went through. Emily slept in a tent with her friends for the first time. So, we had a little more room in our tent. We also have full hook ups, so we bring a fan. We don't have a trailer, but we still like electricity!  Well, the only thing we use the plug for is the fan and the coffee pot.  I have my priorities straight. Oh, and to charge our phones.

 

 

The second night we were there, we went to the lake at sunset. It's a 2 minute walk, but the kids all rode bikes.  

 

David always says the kids have my smile. I typically don't see it, but I do in this picture. 

 

The next night the kids said they wanted to go for a swim at sunset. So, why not?

I love this pictures of the girls jumping in. That's what summer is all about.

 

 

 

 

Noah got out and was freezing, so I gave him my jacket. 

 

We woke up the next morning, got packet up and headed home. These are the faces of three tired kiddos who had a great weekend! 

 

Till 2019 Fools Hollow....we already have our reservations made. 

Our Sweet Kitty

Our sweet kitty turned 3 last week! We've had him for almost 2 years.

When we first got him, he definitely preferred women. So, Emily and I were his favorites. But, somewhere along the line, this sweet boy won over the sweet kitty.

 

We have more pictures of Rio on our phones than anything else.  

 

On his birthday he got a can of tuna, well, not the whole can. But, tuna is his favorite. 

 

We'll likely have him after all the kids are grown and off to college. That's a crazy thought!

Happy birthday Rio!