Mother's Day Weekend Camping Trip

Despite the rough start- the flat tire, spending the first night in a hotel, the extra several hours of driving to get another spare, and little man throwing up in the car- we ended up having fun on our camping trip to the Pahsimeroi Valley. We were just about 30 minutes away from our camp spot Friday night, when the flat tire graced us. The boys didn't mind the extra time watching dad work and playing in the sagebrush.
Around 4pm on Saturday, we finally made it to our camping spot. Here's our new 9-man tent. Actually, it fits the four of us quite nicely- room for Little Man's pack-and-play, our queen-size air mattress, and the single mattress for Bugga.

The boys just loved being outside. Little Man pulled this stake out of the ground and was happily tromping around camp with it. In the meantime, Bugga helped Daddy collect wood for the campfire...

Isn't that the cutest pic of the three of them hauling the wood? The gathering trip before this one, Noah actually carried some wood himself- I guess he was getting tired at this point and wanted a ride on dad's shoulders. I don't blame him- I would have, too!

It got down in the 40s on Saturday night, but we slept pretty well. Plenty of blankets for everyone. The boys woke up around 7:30 and Jas graciously took them hiking and let me sleep in...

Here's Noah, the hiker. He loves to go on trails and see all the sights. At one point, they heard a noise and he said, "You hear dit? Wha's dat?" Jas told him it was a squirrel. Noah replied, "A squirl? Let's get outta here!"

I woke up around 9:30 hearing these words outside the tent, "Boys, don't squish him. Be gentle. You squeezed him too hard- now he's pooping. Don't put him in your food!" I thought, "what in the world?" I got up and the boys had found a fuzzy little catepillar crawling around. Of course, they couldn't keep their hands off. On the far left, they're just watching him crawl around. The next pic, Noah is trying to feed the catepillar a berry- saying, "Eat, eat!" Jonah's poking him with a stick. The poor thing actually lived through it all and we finally released him back into the "wild."

Above, part of the hike with dad... did I mention that they love it?
Part of the purpose of our trip was for Jas to get some hydrology work done at four stations there in the Valley. We hung out and played around while he worked. The boys were never bored- far too many rocks and too much dirt for boredom!

Noah told us that his alligator likes to eat rocks. Here he is shoving the appropriate-sized rocks down the gator's mouth into his belly. I wish I had a picture of the hand-full of rocks that I dug out of that poor animal! We tried to get a good Mother's Day picture of me and the boys. Bugga wouldn't hear of it, though. So, Jonah and I got a quick pic- isn't the backdrop gorgeous?

Luckily, daddy's boy would take a picture with him. Here are my boys- all three of them. Thanks for being troopers through a rocky trip! I loved just being with y'all.

Swimming for the fishes!

Thanks to Grandma, our boys are in swimming lessons! It was part of her Christmas gift to them, and also a Valentines gift. We are halfway through our second session and the boys love it! Since they are both so young (and only 15 months apart), they are in the same class- a mommy and me class. Luckily, Ms. Sue (their instructor) is able to help out with N while I hold J. Otherwise, it would just be chaos!

I love seeing those smiles while they are learning to feel comfortable in the water. Sue does a great job making the learning part a lot of fun!

Bumper boats are one of their favorite activities. What boys don't like to slam into each other?
One of the things I like most about these lessons is that the boys are getting accustomed to wearing life jackets during part of the class. This will be especially useful when we spend time at the lake this summer!

Here they are in the "boat"- I keep waiting for one of the kids to puke when we spin it around. That will be the day that I quickly exit the pool and building- hopefully Jas will be there to handle the kids if that happens!
After every lesson, the boys get a gummy fish from Ms. Sue. This is by far their favorite part of the hour! So, yes, I've been bribing N to get him to attempt to blow "nose bubbles." We're making progress, though!

Thank you, Grandma Janice! What a great gift- not just for the fun we have, but also the skills the boys are learning. It's so important that they learn to be safe in the water.

Grown-Up Purchases

So, I guess I'm really an adult now. I'm opting to spend a decent chunk of change on a vacuum cleaner. Of course, I'd rather save and buy a new couch, but I'm tired of the poor job our Hoover Wind Tunnel is doing. We are in quite the debate in our house over this purchase. Do we buy a Dyson- the commercials brag about "never losing suction" and in the demo at the stores, they seem pretty functional. However, one vacuum salesperson I spoke with said that buying a Dyson would be a mistake.

So, HELP! What kind of vacuum do you have- and are you happy with it? I'd love some feedback. I'll keep you posted on how this ends up...

Spring Break?

Well, we've had quite the busy couple of weeks around here. We began our move on Wednesday night (two weeks ago) and finished up that Friday. My parents arrived that evening and were such a huge help. Dad helped the hubby finish the last unload of the U-Haul and then they helped unpacking. My sweet mom unpacked and organized my entire kitchen!

Throughout the move, I was fighting a cold, and then of course, the boys both got it. Easter Sunday we were quite the sight with all the runny noses. Nevertheless, we had a great Easter service at church, a delicious dinner, and the boys loved the egg hunt in the backyard.

Monday evening, we headed up to McCall for a couple of nights... my dad, my husband, and my brother all went skiing in Tuesday (thanks to some fresh powder Monday night). By that time, my cold had turned into a sinus infection and I was down for the count. I was so disappointed about missing out on the skiing. But, I did enjoy some snow time outside with the boys and my mom. Little man was pelting his big brother with snowballs, and Noah would respond "Be careful, Jonah, be careful." I don't think he ever realized that Jonah was intentionally targeting him!

Wednesday we headed back to Boise (my dad & Jas by way of Hells Canyon to do a little fishing) and I headed straight to the doctor. Thankfully the antibiotics helped tremendously. We did a little shopping at the mall on Thursday, and then had swimming lessons that evening. Friday morning it was time to take the family to the airport for their flight back. It was an extremely busy visit, but it's always so good to be with my family. It was hard to say good bye, but we'll see them again soon- the boys and I will be making an early summer trip. When you have another visit on the calendar, it makes the good-byes easier.

So, that, in a nut shell, has been our spring "break." Good times!

Moving

Well, it was not quite a year ago that we moved back from our brief stay in Twin Falls. And now, we're moving again- but only a couple of miles away! So, you may not hear any more from me until all the boxes are unpacked- and the pictures are on the wall. That's just the way we seem to operate.

Oh, and my parents and youngest brother will be here to visit this Friday! YEAH! So, I should have plenty to post about soon!

Our Expedition Expedition!

Last Friday, hubby and I took off to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to pick up the Ford Expedition we are buying from my parents. It was our first time away from the boys overnight and it felt like we were dating again- no responsibilities, no little ones to feed or entertain! Here's a little bit of our three day road trip!

A good family friend, "Aunt Nise," picked us up from the airport and took us to her house in Broken Arrow (where the Expedition was parked). We visited for a few minutes and then hit the road...


We stopped in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, just outside of Tulsa, to grab a bite to eat at Carl's Jr.- in honor of my little brother B. He's a big fan.

We really enjoyed the open landscapes of Oklahoma- and the quiet. It's been a long time since we've traveled without two little ones in carseats requesting "Bob & Larry" or "Blues Clues."

That first afternoon/evening we drove to Hays, Kansas. Luckily, we found a hotel room for the night, despite the fact that the Special Olympics were taking place nearby and many places were booked! We found a great restaurant/brewery in downtown Hays that had some live music. We were exhausted, but so happy to be enjoying each other without interruptions!

This was a really neat old homestead on the trip. We thought Kansas was beautiful.

Saturday morning, we continued our trek across Kansas and into Colorado. We stopped in Fort Collins and walked around their Historic Downtown and enjoyed some Ben & Jerry's icecream. Unfortunately, we didn't take pics while we were there, so this is all we have to show for it... Too bad, really, because the mountains in Colorado are incredible and we both love Fort Collins. Just imagine a restored downtown area with lots of people out and about enjoying the 70-degree weather on St. Patricks Day!

We continued on into Wyoming- it was gorgeous! We stayed that second night in Rawlins, Wyoming.




















Here she is... our "new" expedition- looks like she's enjoying that Wyoming vista, too- huh?

We learned a couple of things on Sunday during our drive through Wyoming. Mainly, we learned not to trust any of their all important roadsigns. Mainly the signs that tell you how far until the next "services," which translates "fuel."

According to the gauge on the Expedition, we had around 40 miles left before Empty, so we started looking for an exit with gas. We passed up one option that was a gas station/exotic dancer/bar building. The signs said that there were more services 16 miles away. Since we supposedly had over 30 miles until empty, we kept going. When we got to that exit, however, the station was closed. Not just closed, but the gas pumps had been removed altogether. Yikes! By this time, the gauge was reading 5 miles until empty! To say that I was nervous is an understatement. The signs showed that the next services were 20 miles away (and I was hoping that was accurate). At this point, it didn't look like we even had enough gas to go back to the exotic dancer station. We decided to continue heading west for as long as possible, and then we'd have to call our roadside assistance (available through our American Express Gold card). So, I kept careful tabs on the gauge- which quickly showed 0 miles to empty- and the cell phone coverage that we had. Luckily, most of the miles were downhill. Thankfully, we made it to the Conoco station at Point of Rocks, Wyoming. I don't know if I've ever been so happy to see a gas station! We put in 26 gallons of gas- the exact amount that the tank holds, according to the owners manual! Whew, a little too much excitement for me!

We also learned that Wyoming doesn't have very good signage for scenic overlooks. Later that morning, we drove about 40 miles out of our way and never saw the turnout for the overlook for Flaming Gorge. It was a nice drive, but we didn't get to see what we set out to see!

Despite the excitement that Wyoming held for us, we pressed on into Utah! The canyon we drove through was amazing- so rich in color with the clay-colored rocks and the green vegetation. The pictures never do it justice!








We arrived back in Boise right about 8pm Sunday. It was a long trip (over 1500 driving miles), but so fun to be together- to see the landscapes, to stop at the visitors centers, to listen to music, and books on tape together, to just hold hands while we're cruising across the West! We were so excited to see the boys- although they had so much fun without us that they didn't want to go home!

Thanks to our dear sweet friends K&J and D&T for your help with the boys. We appreciate you taking care of them and loving on them while we had a great 3-day road trip together! I suppose the next time we head out on the open road, we'll bring the kiddos with us- we're pretty familiar with which rest stops have playgrounds now!

Brotherly love

One of my favorite things about having our boys so close together (15 months), is watching them interact, play, talk to each other, wrestle, and love on each other. After nap times, they are so excited to see each other and for the most part, they get along really well. These pictures are from last week- it was a spontaneous moment- I didn't make them pose! They really do love each other. I'm eager to watch this sibling friendship grow through the years- I'm guessing they're going to be best buds!