A Weekend Away

So this year we decided to take the kids down to the see Boise Balloon Festival. All the balloons were laid out flat on a big grassy field and when given the green light they all began to fill at the same time. The kids thought it was cool to watch as they began to grow and stand up. At the stroke of 8:30 the crowd counted down to burn and all the balloons lit up at the same time. It was a pretty cool sight. 

Saturday morning we spent a little time with Poppy juicing some grapes and swinging on the swing before we packed up and headed for Rexburg. 

We drove the long ol' road over to Eastern Idaho and found the Fujimoto farm just the same as we left it. The weather was pretty grey on Sunday, but that didn't slow any of the 4x6 riders. 

We laid around and played bingo and dominoes and ate Sunday dinners and called ourselves lazy. 

The sun came out on Monday so we played with kitties,

and told grandma about school while waiting for a turn on the 4 wheeler,

and you can see what the kids did the rest of the day. 

And well, even us old kids got in on the action. 

Good times in the Burg. 

And They're Off

It's going to be a good year. Everyone was so excited about their teachers and this morning there were no tears or anxious kids, just excitement and ready to get this thing started. Bring it on 2014-15!!

I'm in total denial that I have a fifth grader and this is her last year at elementary school. She's such a beautiful girl and so responsible and so ready to do this thing called 5th grade. 

Oh and having your BFF in your class doesn't hurt either. Watch out boys, they're gonna break some hearts!

And then there's this guy. He used to be my shy, anxious, cling to my leg and cry for weeks at the thought of school kinda kid. Those days are loooong gone.  He couldn't shake his picture taking mom soon enough today. He came home and told me that he's still the fastest runner in second grade. He challenged the second fastest runner to a race at recess today and could still beat him. He was glad he didn't lose any 'fastnest' over the summer!

Oh and I love his jack-o-lantern face! And I really hope second grade doesn't teach him how to say his r's. 

And finally, the guy who has been waiting his whole life to start kindergarten. He had his backpack on most of the morning and literally counted down the minutes to head out to the KINDERGARTEN PLAYGROUND!! It was officially his to play on. He met 5 new friends and thinks Colby will be his new best friend. 

He's convinced that although his shoes are awesome- they don't have springs in them and he's worried that he won't be able to jump as high as Colby. 

I think this kid is gonna be just fine!

Redfish Lake 2014

So there are some vacations when everything seems to fall into place and a good time is had by all-- this was not one of them. I look forward to Redfish every. single. year., but I feel like this year things just seemed to work against us. For the first part of the week I was scheduled for jury duty and if all went well and I would get dismissed by Wednesday and join Mimi and Poppy on Thursday at the lake where they were hopefully holding a campsite for us and Andy.  Of course, Gage woke up with a fever and a sore throat, so as I was off to the courthouse, Dax was off with Gage to the pediatrician. As luck would have it, I was quickly dismissed and Gage's strep test came back inconclusive, but armed with amoxicillin just in case, we thought we were in the clear.

We packed the car and thought we were on our way. Not so much.  Van spiked a fever and started throwing up about an hour into the drive, we had to make stops for him about every 45 minutes to clean him up, and after sitting on the highway for road construction for 30 minutes, tired drivers and crabby kids, it was an ugly drive to say the least!

But it is just so worth it.  It really is a beautiful place.

We got right down to making sand castles and throwing rocks, even before we got our swimming suits on.

After a pretty miserable night of fevered and cold kids, I knew the next morning we just weren't in it for another night  As it turns out Mimi and Poppy had a pretty awful night as well and decided that they were headed home too. We tried to make the most of the day and headed down to the beach for the afternoon.  It was a beautiful Redfish day, although Van slept most of it under a towel fevered in the shade.  

We had a sick kiddo that we needed to get home, but not before we climbed the big rock,

sat in crooked trees,

and rode Mimi's bike all over the campground.

Although it was definitely not the best vacation of the summer - I still say it was worth the 24 hours. There's something about Redfish Lake that just soothes my soul. And although Dax isn't quite over it yet, my memory always fails me and I'm sure we'll be headed back next year!

4th of July in Arco

While Megan was still in town we all decided to spend the 4th in Arco. And why not, they have a great parade that actually throws candy to the kids, good company and a great fireworks show. So we jumped in the car and drove to my favorite small town.  The view always gets me.



As it turns out grandma and grandpa were actually still in SLC waiting for grandpa to return from his trip from Alaska with Wes. We decided we would party at their house without them! 

We put on our best red, white and blue and headed into town for the main event.

We headed back to the house for a picnic with Grandpa Bourne and Donna. It was an all American bbq with hamburgers, potato salad,  peach cobbler and homemade ice cream.

The next day we decided to take a field trip to the Craters of the Moon. The kids were in total awe and couldn't believe a volcano actually existed in Idaho!  

But the caves were the absolute highlight. I think my boys were born to be spelunkers. 

And even though I haven't been there in years, it was just like I remembered it, hot and windy, but a good time was had by all.

We headed home and finished off the holiday with fireworks on the driveway.

Happy Birthday America!