Lava Hot Springs

Well, another back track to another fun summer activity.

We went on a little family getaway with Colby's family to Lava Hot Springs at the beginning of August. I was dreading it a little bit...let me explain. I hadn't been to Lava for more than 15 years and all I remembered of it is a way crowded pool with no grass space to sit on. So, needless to say, I wasn't looking forward to fighting crowds with my kids and the rest of Colby's family when we have my mom's perfectly wonderful private pool right here! But, I went, because, you know, it's a family thing.

The camping was everything it's supposed to be...tetherball, volleyball, plenty of lounging, and, oh yeah, a few downpours.

Holt and McKinley in a friendly tetherball playoff!

Porter, Korinne, Reagan, Kennedy, and Cass ready for olympic volleyball.

We staked out good spots at the pool right at opening, set up our canopies, and hopped in the water. The kids stayed in for 10 hours, only getting out briefly for potty breaks and to eat a little lunch and dinner. Their energy reserves are unbelieveable!

Porter wasn't too concerned about turning into a prune.

We couldn't keep Korinne off of the high-dive...she loved it! She's quite the swimmer. She was begging us to let her jump off the platforms, but we weren't quite ready for her to take that plunge yet!

Good food and good company...it doesn't get much better than that, right?

School Time

Yeah! School's back in and we're all so excited! Korinne got the teacher she wanted for 2nd grade, Mrs. James, and most of her best friends are in her class....what could be better!

And I was definitely ready for school to be back in. I love the summertime and all the fun activities we did, but it's nice to be back in a routine, and I must say, there's a little less fighting going on since one of the parties isn't here! Porter is sad that he hasn't gone back yet, but I just told him that he gets 10 days more of summer...hooray!

Korinne and Cambree

Ashley, Korinne, Emma

Bear Lake

We went on our annual camping trip to Bear Lake last weekend. We love to camp in the Sunrise campground, and then spend the next day just playing on the beach. Maybe when the kids get older, we'll enjoy jet skiis or get a boat or whatever, but, for now, it's perfect the way it is!

This pretty much sums up the camping part. We love to hike and have scavenger hunts while we are hiking.

A perfect day on the beach!

Like father...like son!

Sand dunes...here we come!!

Another late entry about our summer activities...

Memorial Day weekend is always our annual trip to St.Anthony's (near Rexburg, ID) to camp and ride the four-wheelers and motorcycles with Colby's family. As always, it's an exciting (albeit dirty) weekend for everyone. This year, it was quite cold and rainy, but did that stop us?

Not one little bit! We're not scared of a little rain!

Once Korinne and Porter get on the four-wheelers, it's pretty hard to get them off. But they each get a turn learning how to drive.

Holt is totally in his element! A four-wheeler (they make the coolest noise, VROOM!), and a cookie, what more could a guy want?

Okay, how about another cookie?

After we manage to get Korinne and Porter off, Holt finally gets his turn for a ride.

We have to get off and explore the vast sand!! And maybe take a little with us in our shoes!

Let's go on a train ride!

So, this entry is a little late, but summer isn't for sitting in front of the computer, right?

This was in early June....we took the kids on the Frontrunner down to the Gateway.

We thought they would want to eat somewhere fun down there, there are a lot of yummy options, but what did they choose? You guessed it, McDonald's. (sick) So, Colby and I just decided to have Costa Vida (yum). Then, instead of wanting to go to the planetarium or something like that, what do they want to do? The fountains, of course!

But, hey, they had a blast, so that's all that matters, right?

Just one of the numerous fun activities that have occupied our summer so far.

I'm sitting here enjoying a beautiful, rainy summer day with my kids. We actually went outside in the rain for a little while just to feel it fall on us and enjoy the clean smell....I love summer rain!! Now, the kids are playing "pioneers". They've built a handcart, set up a tent, and have been pulling and pushing all over the basement. What a great way to spend a rainy summer afternoon. But, since they have started playing, I was reminded that I have not shared our experiences of the Trek that Colby and I just went on with our stake last week.
We were asked by our bishop and Stake President in January to be a Pa and Ma, so we've been preparing for months. I had heard that it was a really good experience, but that is such an understatement....it was absolutely incredible! We have been reading books and studying stories of the Martin and Willie handcart companies for a few months, and then being able to walk in the actual places that they walked, and suffered, and died....the feelings are really indescribable. It waw a lot of work, but extremely rewarding.
We had 7 "children" , one of which has cerebral palsy. She wasn't in a wheelchair and was able to walk a small amount, but she did have to ride in the handcart most of the way with all of our equipment and everything. I'm sure it was extremely uncomfortable, but she was so sweet, she never complained. This also meant extra work for our youth that were our "children", but they also, never complained. They would just pick up the handcart and go, singing songs and playing "20 questions" along the way. I had been worried before we left that the teenagers might just complain and mope the whole time, but none of them did! They were awesome. And all of them helped in the camp where they needed to and then went the extra mile to help our girl with difficulties, all without being asked. And when one of the girls from another "family" got some heat exhaustion, she climbed in the cart with our other girl, and the boys ran them almost 2 miles to get her to a place where she could get an IV and get cooled down. Later, they said the experience was incredible for them because they felt like they had some unseen help running the cart that far in the heat as fast as they did.
It was amazing to have our Stk. Pres., Pres. Jardine and his wife Diane as our trail bosses. They led us our and trekked with us the entire time. Our Trek was around Martin's Cove and Rock Creek Hollow in Wyoming. There were couple missionaries all along the way and they were amazing. They had stories to tell us and pointed things out to us of where the pioneers had been. Some of the places we went were dedicated, sacred ground, just like the temple and the spirit there was just as amazing. The kids were all reverent and reflective in these places and many of them said they didn't want to leave when it was time.
Rock Creek Hollow was one of the most amazing places because we saw where President Hinkley had dedicated that area and also the grave where 13 people were buried in one night after crossing Rocky Ridge. The sacrifice these people made for the sake of the gospel, and for us was ultimate, and I am deeply grateful for them and for the opportunity that I had to be there and feel, even just a tiny bit, of what they may have endured.
I'm going to record what we did every day, just for my own memory, or I might forget in years to come.
Day 1: Met at Stk. Center 5:00am, our families were assigned, had a devotional from Pres. Jardine, then loaded school buses for a 7 hour ride to the Visitors Center at Martin's Cove. Once there, were issued our handcarts for each family, then had an orientation, then on our way. Trekked 3 miles to our camp. Set up camp, had a delicious dutch oven dinner, then sqare dancing that night.
Day 2: Breakfast, cleaned up camp, then had festival of pioneer activities (butter making, doll making, tug of wars, skeleton walking and other pioneer games). Then, loaded up and Trekked 7 miles through Dan Jones Cove and Martin's cove. Then, boarded buses again to head to next camp site. Set up camp, had another delicious dinner, then company testimony meetings which was awesome.
Day 3: Breakfast and cleaned up camp, got our handcarts loaded and headed out for our 10 mile trek. Did the women's pull this day which was awesome. I can't believe how real it felt when our men were called away on the "Mormon Battalion" and left all of us women to do the pulling, we were sobbing as they marched away. We then had a message from Diane Jardine about the priesthood and then went 3/4 mile up a long dusty hill to reach the men again. They weren't able to help us at all, but just stood along the trail with their hats off watching....it was incredible! This day, we also did several crossings of the sweetwater River. The first one was one of the spots that the pioneers actually crossed, so it was sacred and we had to be reverent crossing. The next ones after that, everyone was able to play in the water and get cooled off. After our 10 miles, we unloaded the carts, got back on our buses and headed to Rock Creek Hollow. Here, we set up our camp, had dinner, then went to the sacred grounds of Rock Creek Hollow for a devotional and learned about the handcart rescues.
Day 4: Breakfast, cleaned up camp, had a devotinoal and testimony meeting, then on the buses and on our way home. We were so thankful for AC in our home and healthy kids, our own beds and showers!!!
I would definetely do it again if asked, and I hope my kids get the chance when they get older.

Memorial Day 2008

Waking up to such a rainy, dreary day threatened to ruin our Memorial Day plans...but it actually did just the opposite. We had planned to spend a small amount of time at the cemetaries delivering flowers and then spend the rest of the day at my mom's house swimming and cooking out and just relaxing after our exciting weekend at the sand dunes. Well, the rain foiled that plan, so we had to come up with something else for the holiday. Since we couldn't really go outside, we spent most of the morning just playing with the kids...whatever they wanted to play. We don't get the chance to do that very often, so it was nice. Then, when we caught a break in the weather, we finally made it to the cemetaries. But instead of just placing our flowers and leaving, we spent time and lingered at each site. We told the kids who these family members were that we were visiting and then shared stories and memories with them. It was so nice to just take the time to remember those who have gone before us and shaped our lives in so many different ways. We also spent some time explaining to the kids about why we have memorial day and what it means to live in a country with all the freedoms and opportunities that we enjoy here. So, at the end of this memorial day, I am very thankful for the rain and the time it allowed us to really reflect on this day and what it means. And I am very grateful for the meaninful time spent with the kids. I don't know if they will remember it, but I will.