What would I do without a cell phone? I’m sure I would find some way to manage, but I certainly wouldn’t have any proof that we did anything fun this summer since every time we went somewhere I left my camera home. And since I’m way behind on updating my blog, here is my entire summer, as told by my 2 megapixel cell phone camera (unedited and untouched; I figured if I spent a bunch of time editing photos, I’d never actually get around to posting them on the blog).

We've been going to the high school track quite a bit. David can run as fast as he wants, I can run slow (or walk, which has been my preference), and the kids can do whatever. And we still feel like we're doing something together. I love this pic because Samantha looks like a real runner, and not just a two year old (which also makes me kinda sad). She was trying to keep up with David, even though he was on Lap 3 and she was just finishing Lap 1. But she ran the entire lap by herself.

We've spent lots of time at the park, though less time at local parks since we've also been travelling a lot. Climbing this rock was lots of fun for the kids until one of them slipped on the way down and landed in some mud at the bottom. Then we had to tell them no more climbing.

David and I went to Vegas for our anniversary (we had gone there on our honeymoon and wanted to go back to see what was new). My brother and his wife came with us, which ended up being so much fun, because I got to know my sister in law a little better, and she is one cool lady.

This is the crappiest picture ever, but that right there, ladies and gentlemen, is the one--the only--Brian Regan! David and I went to see him live, and it was so great! I actually love his older material more than his new, but I was still laughing my abs off. For real. They hurt like crazy after the show.

I should probably turn the following into an entire other post, but I've already uploaded the picture to this post, and don't want to do it again. So here goes:

(This sounds alarming, but it isn't because the Railroad is a crazy place to work:) David was fired at the beginning of June which, long story short, means he has two months of paid time off. At the Railroad, fired means suspended, and terminated means fired. So he was just basically suspended. And he gets paid from the Union, since he has been paying for job insurance since he got hired five years ago.

I think I just made a short story long. Anyway. We decided to take advantage of the time off and hit the road, going to see various friends and relatives that we don't see in person nearly often enough.

So we headed North; first to Coeur d'Alene, then to Moscow (where U of I is), then to Cheney, WA, then back up to Sandpoint, ID. It was a long, fun week.  

Around the city center in Coeur d'Alene are four moose statues, each representing a different part of this moose's story. Here, for example, he's resting at the park. I don't think he gets much rest, because kids are always climbing on him.

Next stop on our tour was to visit David's sister. We had a blast hanging out with her and her husband and their cute little girl. We walked around downtown, where all the local, non-Walmart shops are. There is an amazing toy store there, that the kids loved. I loved it too, honestly. I could have happily spent all day and a lot of money there.

There is also an arboretum run by the University. It was a hot, hot day, and the path through the arboretum got pretty hilly in some spots, but it was definitely worth it. So gorgeous!

 

 

The kids were so excited to see a "lake!" Really it was a small pond, but they didn't care. And there were goose droppings everywhere, but that didn't bother them either. In fact, Drew picked one up and threw it in the water. And a fish ate it! We were thoroughly grossed out, but Drew and Owen thought it was hilarious once we told them what it actually was.

I was smitten with the Arboretum from the entry to the exit. Definitely a fun way to spend an hour or two, and if it hadn't been so hot, I could have easily spent an entire afternoon there.

From David's sister's place we headed to his aunt and uncles. They live on a lake near Cheney, WA.

     

 I loved waking up to the sun sparkling on the water. It was so beautiful. The kids had a blast "fishing"--basically they were just holding the pole.

     

David and I took the kids out on the paddle boat, which they loved, once Owen and Samantha got over their initial nervousness (or, in Owen's case, terror). David tried his hand at fishing too, but even though we saw fish jumping everywhere, none of them wanted what we had to offer. We did get to see an osprey catch a fish--they don't offer bait; they just dive down and snatch. We took note of where it landed, so we could get out the telescope and watch it eat the fish. Drew was fascinated by that. So was I, truth be told.

                

I also loved how still the water got in the evenings. The sun reflecting off the water was gorgeous, but in a totally different way than it was in the morning. It felt more peaceful, less cheery, completely, calmly happy...

Following our stay at one lake, we headed North again to visit friends in Sandpoint. They live quite close to beautiful Lake Pend Oreille, so we got to spend an afternoon there, playing in the water and taking a lake cruise on a little boat. We always have such a fun time with these friends, and I left wishing we'd had more time there. I also left a bag of dirty laundry. Sorry, Abs!

 

 

They were selling these cute little pirate hat and eye patch sets on the boat for a dollar! Can't beat that.

 

This was taken on our way home, at one of the scenic view pullouts. There were several different openings in the trees where the view of the lake was spectacular. I had been trying to rest, but David kept saying, "Grab the camera!" every two minutes, so I didn't get much sleep until we got to Montana. Then we hit a Canadian goose, and I couldn't sleep after that. Sadly, the goose had no chance of survival, but at least it provided food for a coyote or something. And luckily it didn't damage our car at all.

Such a fun week it was. Still I was glad to be home, to get back into the routine of things, if only for a day--we went to Lagoon the following Monday. I actually remembered my camera for that trip, so as soon as I get pictures uploaded I'll post them. I promise to do it soon, at least before we head to Colorado again to visit my brother's family. After our time in Colorado, David's suspension will be over and life will resume as normal. I'm almost looking forward to it. But not as much as I'm looking forward to seeing my bro and his family--and my new niece!

An Update on Grama

About an hour after I finished my previous post, my mom called to let me know that my Grama had passed away at around 6 o'clock this evening. Looks like we'll be heading to Colorado in the very near future.

It's strange to me that although I do feel sad, I also feel very peaceful and a little relieved. I think because I've been spending the last couple weeks sort of expecting this I feel like it's okay, and it's for the best, and Grama is better off now than she's been the last few months. 

I also feel really blessed to have such great family. It'll take me a while to rustle up some pictures, at which point I'll do a little memorial post about Grama. In the meantime, I'm feeling really grateful for my wonderful aunts who have kept constant vigil at Grama's bedside for the last month or so. And I appreciate their families who have been supportive while they've taken care of Grama. 

I'm grateful for David, who held down the fort when I went to visit a few weeks ago. He really stepped up and took care of the kids and the pets and his own job, and the house was even clean when I got home. 

I'm grateful for my kids who have been very sympathetic, even if they don't entirely understand what is happening. They understood that my Grama was sick and that I needed to go visit her. And I think Drew and Owen sort of understand that she has now passed away, and that she went to be with Heavenly Father and Jesus. Samantha doesn't understand much except that, as she says, "Mom's Grama died. And Jesus loves us." Which, I think, sums it up about perfectly. No matter what happens, Jesus loves us.

April Showers

I have come to the conclusion that I need to get back into blogging, since it's the only record I've got of what has been going on with my family. I was feeling overwhelmed with it, thinking that there's so much to record, and I don't have a ton of time to do it (well, I've got plenty of time, I'd just rather be doing something else). I decided that rather than playing catch up, I'd just brush over a few things and then resume regular posts. And this will be a picture post so I don't have to write as much.

April is the month of the annual Spaghetti Dinner/Cake Auction at church. All the proceeds go to the Boy Scouts' summer camp, so people are generally pretty generous with their cake donations and purchases. This year I made a chocolate chip cheesecake covered in caramel and chocolate, and with an Oreo crust. It sold for $50, which was pretty good. (Better than my previous entry a few years ago.) Drew and Owen saw this Construction cake that they just had to have, so I told them they could bid on it up to $25. We ended up paying $27 because Drew kept raising his hand. He was so pleased with himself for "winning" the cake!

This beautiful tree is in front of my aunt and uncle's house in Colorado. I love magnolias, but even though the map in the gardening catalog says they will work in my zone, I kind of doubt one would flourish in windy ol' Pocatello. 

The purpose of my trip to Colorado in April was mainly to say goodbye to my maternal grandmother, who is nearing 90 years old, and has been having some pretty serious health problems. I had heard that she was looking like she might pass away at any time, so I wanted to go give her one last hug and kiss before it was too late. It was a good visit; she was awake for a few minutes for me to chat with her, and she recognized me as a grandkid, though I don't think she knew exactly which one I was. She still has the same strong, throaty voice I've always loved. And she still appreciates a good pun. So far Grama is still hanging on, though from what I hear she still doesn't eat much--like, a bite of food a day and a couple sips of water. So we'll probably be making another trip out to Colorado in the not too distant future.

Also while I was in Colorado, I got to see my brother Jeremy and his family. They recently moved into a great house (and a neighboring house is for sale, so I've been trying to convince David that we should buy it), so while we visited I helped unpack some boxes and put books on shelves (I added some great titles to my reading list!) and helped set up the nursery for the new baby girl that will be joining their family real soon.

We've had a lot of rainy days the last few weeks, but we've also had plenty of sunshine. The kids will spend entire afternoons on the sunny days out of doors, playing with the neighbor kids and riding bikes,

and playing with swords and generally having a great time. 

I love these days too because my friend and I can just sit on the lawn, soak up the sun and chat while all the kids run amok.

On rainy days, we stay inside and drive each other crazy. But we have a lot of fun, too.

And a lot of weirdness.

March Madness

March went by way too quickly. Not that I'm complaining. I sure am ready for some warmer weather, but I'm not quite ready for how fast time seem to disappear.

We had a fun, busy month. Last week in particular was really hectic, but in a good way. We went down to Salt Lake on two separate occasions for basketball games. Monday David and I went to the Jazz/Celtics game, then Thursday the whole family piled into the car and headed down for the NCAA tournament games. I had no interest in watching the NCAA games; I'd already been to three basketball games this year, which is my limit for watching a sport for which I care very little.

So while David went to the games, the kids and I hung out at my cousin Heidi's house. We had loads of fun! My kids loved playing with her kids. Owen especially enjoyed playing with Rachel, who was a really good sport about playing with the "little kids."

We also went to the Mayan, which we discovered was a little over-hyped. Sure, the divers were cool, and the pool into which they dove was precariously narrow, but the shows were too short, the food wasn't remarkable, and the place was too dark. But the kids had fun, so that was a plus.
Saturday we got to spend some time at a park while we watched Heidi finish a half-marathon. That was lots of fun! I admit I got a little verklempt as she crossed the finish line. I just admire the dedication it takes to train and run that far. And also, it reminded me of when my cousins Carrie and Emily ran the Salt Lake Marathon five years ago, which is a memory I'll always cherish.

Also this month, I started getting more serious about toilet training Samantha. It's been a fairly smooth transition from diapers to big girl underwear, and there have only been a few accidents. I haven't even been doing rewards or consequences like I did with the boys. I think Samantha is just ready to move on from diapers, and she has a better understanding of her body's signals than the boys had of theirs.
The last couple days, though, she's been acting like she doesn't want to sit on the toilet. Instead, when she "has to go" she brings me a diaper and says, "I just wanna wear this diaper." Of course I tell her, "Nope. Just go sit on the toilet." And she'll go pretty willingly. It's thrilling to know that when the big box of diapers in our bathroom closet is gone, that's it! (Well, we might have to buy a few here-and-there for nighttime, just in case) No more spending loads of money on something that's going to get pooped in and thrown away!

The Good Ol' Days

I saw this article over on ParentDish.com. It gave me a good chuckle and, even though I'm not part of the "Over 30 Crowd" mentioned, I remember the days spoken of in the article. Days before MP3s and cell phones and Call Waiting. Days before realistic video games. I love how she describes it:  We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... Forever! And you could never win.. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE! 
I won't paste the whole article here, but here's a link: "PaRant: I AM That Mom Who Says, 'You Kids Had it Easy.'" It's good for a laugh!

Their Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Well, they were smiling. But I guess they got tired of saying "cheese."

I was looking through past blog posts and saw the green eggs and ham that I made for St. Paddy's day a couple years ago. I was less ambitious this year, not to mention my kids didn't seem thrilled about the idea of eating green eggs. We wore green, but that was about the extent of our St. Patrick's Day celebrations. 

I did spend a little time contemplating my kids' eyes, thinking about the song "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." My kids' eyes sure steal my heart away. 

I've been playing around with my camera lately, trying to get better at taking pictures. I just have a little Kodak point-and-shoot, which I'm trying hard to be happy with, so I've been fiddling around in Picasa too. I figure if I can learn good editing techniques, maybe I can make do with the little camera I have. 

I happened to discover that our bathroom has really nice lighting for pictures between the hours of 4 and 5 in the afternoon. So I made my kids sit on the edge of the tub so I could take some portraits. Owen and Samantha were pretty cooperative. Drew was less so. He thought it would be more fun to monkey around and ham it up. At least it was entertaining.

Here are a few of the best ones:

Owen:

This shot is straight out of the camera. Not too bad, but it doesn't look real special.

I clicked "I'm Feeling Lucky" in Picasa's editing tool. I kind of like the result.

Another "I'm Feeling Lucky" treatment.

Samantha: 

Again, "I'm Feeling Lucky" treatment, plus I used retouch to make her cheeks less blotchy. I know, they still look blotchy but they were even worse before. We got a lot of sun that day.

All I did to this one was a crop and a Retouch to get rid of blotchy cheeks and some Cheeto stains I noticed on her sleeve.

Drew:

No editing here.

SOC

Another "I'm Feeling Lucky" treatment.

SOC

And if anyone is making a horror film and needs a picture for the cover, I've got just the thing: 

Samantha jumped right as I took the picture. Isn't it scary?! It gives me nightmares. Drew and Owen thought it was hilarious so they asked me to take a "ghost picture" of each of them. Theirs didn't turn out, though. Some things are just hard to do on purpose.

Signs of Spring

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous (today isn't bad either, though it's a little windy for my tastes). I had planned to go to the store and get the boys some zip up hoodies that they can wear this Spring, along with some new Sunday shoes since they've grown out of the old ones, and some more "four-year-old underpants," as Drew calls the new underwear I finally got for him and Owen (because the "two-year-old underpants," which actually were almost two years old, are "just too small"). 

We got our sweaters on and headed out the door, and made it as far as me backing the car out of the driveway and parking it on the street so the kids could ride their bikes around the driveway. We ended up spending about two and a half hours outside, just playing and enjoying the warm sunshine and the uncharacteristic lack of breeze. 

While we were out, I decided my flowerbeds could stand some attention, so I got out my gloves and went to it, pulling weeds and other dead plant matter that had piled up in the Fall and had been sitting there all winter. It was pretty gross. But I'm sure all that stuff helped keep the bulbs warm underground, since we didn't really have much snow to insulate them from the cold.
The kids had a lot of fun helping me clean up the flowerbeds. It became a sort of treasure hunt as we discovered new life poking up out of the dirt. 

We found my amaryllis:

Which, in the summer will look like this:

We found my crocuses (croci? I'm thinking not, because my spell checker isn't liking that word. Who knows):

Which, in a few weeks will look like these:

We found my tulips:

Which will soon look like this:

(The bunch of leaves on the right is what the amarillys looks like in the spring. All those leaves will die before the stalk with the flowers pops up.)

We found some new strawberry leaves and shoots, and a lovely ladybug crawling among them:

They'll look like this in a few months (not that the lady bug will magically become a strawberry--that'd be weird):

I'm looking forward to Spring so much! (Or, as Samantha would say, "mo munch!" I love it when she tells me, "Teenk oo mo munch!" when I do something for her.) Today was just what I needed to get me through the last few days of Winter and the crazy weather that always accompanies a Southeast Idaho Spring. For example, Sunday it snowed, Monday was upwards of 50 degrees and sunny with nary a cloud in sight! 

Vacation; Days 9-10

Day 9: What I Call Vacation

We had a really laid back kind of day on our last full day of vacation. It was the kind of day I like the best when I'm on vacation: just hanging out with good friends, chatting, watching the kids have fun together, and doing nothing in particular. 

We went to McGrath's Fish House for dinner. I ate New Orleans Catfish, which was sooooooo yummy. The menu describes it thus: Petite Prawns, Andouille Sausage, Mushrooms, Scallions, Peppers, Tomatoes and Cajun Cream Sauce over Blackened Catfish. I describe it as pure deliciousness. 

Then Madeline and I went through some old photos she took a couple summers ago when they were in town. We came across the following gems:

Lunch at the park.

Drew, wearing Madeline's glasses.

Owen, waiting for his turn on the swing. I love how chubby their little arms and faces were! Look at Owen's elbows...

Evie and Samantha sharing a swing.

Samantha doesn't like to swing too high. Or relinquish food in order to play.

She loved the swing if it wasn't moving. She's still like that, even now. But she'll go down the tallest slide she can find all by herself with no second thoughts.

Drew climbing on a little jungle gym.

Day 10: On Our Way Home

We started our trek home on Wednesday, February 10. We stopped in Portland on our way out of Oregon, so that I could go to a Thai Market I learned about online. It was everything I hoped for and more! They had plenty of ingredients for Thai food, lots of yummy Asian candies and they even had a deli where I could purchase some already made Thai food. And I got to practice my Thai with the people working there, which is a rare occasion for me. Owen even practiced his Thai (he can say "hello" in Thai; the employees thought it was pretty cute).

It was pretty late by the time we got out of Portland. We were hoping to drive straight home, but we got a little less than half way and ran into a blizzard. We stopped for the night, and when we woke up in the morning, most of the snow was gone! Weird. After a few final hours in the car, we made it home safe and sound. It was such a fun trip. I loved Oregon (this trip was the first time I'd been further than about 20 miles into Oregon). I hope to go back soon!