Boating with the Hormans.

Monday night. 6pm. Meet at the Hormans. Destination: Blacktail Reservoir.

The kids were so excited to go boating. They had no idea what this even meant, other than being in a boat in some kind of water. Reservoir means nothing to them. A river or lake it is not, but I settled on lake b/c they could get that the best, and its kind of like one. On the drive to Blacktail (15 minutes away) the kids were chattering endlessly about boating. They were so excited. Coleman was proudly holding his life jacket and was talking all about the boat and water. When we came down the final hill and you can see the reservoir below, Ashley and Coleman kind of started freaking out. They thought our car was just going to fall off this cliff and drown.

We parked the van and jumped in the back of the boat. We forgot everything in the van. Camera, Towels, my sunglasses. Luckily for me, Wendy had her camera so we still got some pictures of our children's first boating experience.

Coleman and Ashley were initially very nervous. Ashley curled up by Wendy and felt safe there. Coleman had a look of panic for a good 5 minutes. He was holding on tightly to Josh and did not move or show much facial expression. I started to worry that he would never relax, but he did. thank goodness. He is asking to go again. He has told everyone he sees all about the boat. About his dad "flipping ober" and him "not big enup yet".

When the boat started out and we started picking up speed Justin had a range of emotion. He was laughing and squealing with excitement/panic and it was so funny. I wish I could have recorded it. I can still here him and I am still laughing. He was holding on tightly to the side, his mouth open, seeing only those big teeth and the giggle/squeal of panic and enjoyment. It was fun.

Justin was the first of my kids to try out the tube. He again experienced the fun mixed with a touch of nerves and you can see it all over his face. He loved it though and wanted to go every time we switched. He is now saying he's got to learn to kneeboard like Julia.



Mitchel was not feeling as brave. He climbed in but did not seem to like it quite as much. He also gets coldest the quikest and I should have been more mindful of that. They have a lovely hot air hose that can quickly warm you from the freezing water. He never complained he was cold until we were done. We could have helped him out with that and then he may have wanted another ride. As it was he was content to enjoy the ride and observe. Which is pretty fun too.

Josh bribed Ashley to get in the tube. She is my nervous cat and this was no exception. I was just amazed she wasn't freaking out in the boat. She rode for a little bit in the tube - very slowly-yet still felt terrifed. Poor girl. She did earn herself a few petshops. I think it was worth it.



Coleman thought it was fun to help "dribe".
Josh and the boys in the tube.



The kids thought it was very cool to see Steve wakeboard and Julia kneeboard. They had a good cheering section from the boat. remember, this is all very new to my kids and this was so cool.




Josh was feeling youthful and decided to give it a go. Yes, its been over 15 years since he skiied, and yes, he weighs um, a lot more, but he was determined. He never could get up on the ski. His children were worried for his life with tons of "are you alright dad" when they would see the rope finally let go and their dad go under! Do remember this boat has 13 passengers. some are little, but still. Briggs finally had him give the wakeboard a try. Although Josh has never wakboarded, he gave it a go and got up on his 2nd try. You should have heard the cheering this time!




It was such a fun night. So fun to be doing something out of the ordinary for us. So fun to be with the Hormans. The kids are anxiously waiting for the next invite. Thanks you guys! You are the best.

Cousins.

I think this is a word Coleman will be using for weeks to come. We enjoyed a memorable weekend with many many cousins. Everyone went home yesterday, but Coleman is still asking "where our cousins?" and "Cousins sleep here." Cousins we call them, although its really like 2nd cousins and 2nd cousins once removed and great aunts and great uncles but hey, when you are as close as we are, its just cousins. This bunch of people seriously make me overjoyed, delighted, just plain happy.

My aunt Carol is actually my grandfather's little sister. I've loved her for as long as I can remember. You need only be around her for like 25 seconds to know why I love her so. She is happy and energetic and full of love. She is known for her hugs - they are long and tight and full of feeling. I absolutely love them. I often forget how "old" she is getting b/c she is hardly slowing down. Her husband Joe is pretty great too. I often feel like he is in the background, much more quiet, content to observe and watch. He is kind and warm and loving. On many occasions I find my children in his lap.



Together they have 4 children. They are all grown with families of their own. I love them all. They all are the kindest and most fun people. I often think that I would be elated if my 4 children could grow up and be like any one of Joe and Carol's kids. Seriously, they are amazing people. And we just spent the entire weekend with all of them. It was wonderful. That sounds inadequate. Um, lets try joyous, blissful.

The occasion was that Spencer was receiving his Eagle Scout and Steve was speaking in church before departing on his mission for our church. These 2 boys are the sons of Wendy (Joe and Carol's oldest daughter). They live here in Idaho Falls. You may have heard me mention the "Hormans" before. This would be them. They live about 3 miles from me. We love this family. We spend most every Sunday night at their house. (there really needs to be a post about sunday nights there. another day.) They babysat my kids for the entire week I was at the hospital during the kidney transplant. Enough said right. They are amazing. They have 5 children. We love them all. The way they treat my kids and play with them (despite the age differences) is one of the greatest things I've ever seen. When we moved here I knew we would enjoy doing occasional things with the Hormans. I had no idea the impact this relationship would have on my life. And the life of my family. Undoubtedly one of my family's greatest blessings. The past few Sunday evenings we've been trying to help Wendy plan this big weekend. Trying to help out where we could b/c we're talking about food and housing for like 70 people! It ended up that Wendy's 2 brothers would be staying with us. Both are married. Jeff and Cari have 2 children 13 and 11. Paul and Annie an 8 month old. I have not seen either of these cousins for several years and it was such fun to catch up. My kids were instant friends with new cousins.

Family began arriving on Friday night. We went to my dad's new airplane hangar. We had pizza there, the kids played Wii and ping-pong and everyone enjoyed seeing the hangar.

Dad with Uncle Joe and Jeff. They had lots of airplane talking to catch up on.



Josh challenged the boys to ping-pong.



Mom enjoying her aunt Carol and sharing some transplant quirks. (Carol had her transplant 1 year ago this August).



It was then over to the Hormans for more catching up and always wonderful food. Nachos around 9 - nachos with grilled chicken and cheese that is. At about 10 pm Paul was ready for ice cream. Wendy was prepared with the biggest container of ice cream I've ever seen! And ice cream is just not complete without Cari's homemade hot fudge. Seriously delicious. I was having too much fun and being too much of a pig to snap any pictures. The kids played night games and I think it was nearly 11pm when we headed for home. Way off normal schedule, but I was not letting these moments pass by. When we got home the kids all grabbed their DS's and headed to the boys room for some MarioKart (all linked wirelessly). How fun is that? Yes it was 11 but I didn't care. My kids were so happy. Julia decided it would be more fun at our house than her own, so she slept over too.

pardon Ashley's underwear.




Saturday started with an enormous breakfast at the Hormans. We're talking eggs, hasbrowns, bacon, pancakes, fresh fruit, and grits (courtesy of Josh). The rest of the morning was spent with the kids off playing and the adults visiting. Good food and company does it get any better? By noon, the soft serve ice cream maker was wired into the garage for power and from then on you could have ice cream pretty much whenever you wanted. Divine I tell you.



Saturday afternoon my kids and some cousins went swimming for a few hours. Josh took Coleman home to nap so he'd be ready for another late night! It was then off to Spencer's court of honor for his Eagle and then to the Horman's for a BBQ. Hamburgers, hotdogs, tons of different salads and of course, ice cream cones. Yes, I comment a lot about food. I love food.

Sunday before church Josh took some family pictures. Its not every day that Carol and Joe and all of their children and grandchildren are together, so it was worthy of photos for sure.

Joe and Carol.


Wendy and Briggs. Brittney, Sam, Steve, Julia, Spencer.


Jeff and Cari. Garrett and Karlee.


Stacie and Pete. Ty and Hailey.


Paul and Annie. and baby Aiden.



Church was wonderful. Steve did a very nice job on his talk. He is such a good kid. I love that my boys have him to look up to. It will be fun for them to get to write him while he is on his mission and for them to see what serving a mission is all about. It has been a while since a family member has been on a mission and my boys were so much younger then. They will understand more now. The day could not have ended better than it did. All of these cousins are so musically talented. I am so envious. As a little girl I would sit by Stacie on the piano bench as she played and sang. I dreamed of one day being like her. She was so pretty and nice and man could she sing. I loved it then and I love it still. I asked she and Briggs to sing me a song. Man was I in for a treat, they got into it and they all ended up singing of nearly 2 hours. The little cousins joined in and they of course can sing also. In between her parts, Stacie danced with Ashley and for sure Ash was on cloud nine. In fact she told me last night that dancing with Stacie was the best part of the entire weekend. So, for 2 hours there we all sat in the living room at the Hormans. The baby grand being played masterfully by Wendy. The voices of Briggs and Stacie, Julia, Hailey, and Brittney (once - you're still not off the hook girl!!) singing out some amazing songs. Man, I was seriously in heaven.

Blissful weekend. My soul so at peace. Feeling greatly blessed.

Confused.

Coleman had a moment of total confusion this morning. He brought me a picture Ashley has on her wall in her room. It is a snapshot of Justin at age 3 1/2, Mitchel at age 2 and Ashley at 3 months. They are sitting on my lawn in Sioux Falls. (My scanner is not cooperating or I would include it with this post.) He pointed to Ashley and said, "this Ashley". I agreed. He then pointed to Mitchel and said "that me". I said nope, that is Mitchel. He said, "no it not, it me.". We went back and forth a few times, I tried my best to explain it to him. He then gave up on me and took the picture to his dad. He pointed to Mitchel and Josh said, yep, that is Mitchel. Coleman looked at him and with all seriousness said, "he took my shirt". I thought I would roll on the floor laughing. Bless his heart. He just could not figure out why Mitchel was wearing his clothes! Man, I love that little guy.

Weekend in Boise.

Thursday after work we loaded up the mini-van and headed to Boise to spend the weekend with Kendall and his family. This was a much anticipated event. I think the kids talked about it for weeks. Finally the day arrived and there was much excitement to be had. We were barely in Pocatello (45 miles away from home) and they were wondering if we were there or at least if we were close. I guess they had forgotten that Boise is 280 miles from home and takes 4 hours!

Coleman continues to be our worst traveler. He has never liked road trips and that hasn't changed much. Well, he no longer screams, but he does whine a lot and make up stories about a hurting tummy, owies on his legs, and needing yet another drink! Basically he just doesn't like to sit still! But we made it! A nap and a Barney movie were the biggest help. Actually snacks are always the biggest help, he just inhales them so quickly they are short-lived! The big kids are totally content with their DS's and movies. And for the first time they got into our travel and interstate BINGO cards. That was very fun. I have high hopes of great car traveling in the next year or two.

It is always so fun to arrive at family's house and have all the kids pour out of the van and house - the excitement of being together written all over their faces. I love that.
The kids fall right back into playing with one another and Josh and I enjoy the opportunity to just sit and visit with Jan and Kendall.

Roaring Springs Waterpark was the weekend favorite.
We had been telling the kids that we would spend Friday at the water park, but they had a hard time envisioning what exactly a water park was. They haven't been to a water park since they were toddlers. They kept asking if it was a big pool with a slide. I told them to trust me. I knew they would love it. And love it they did.

The water park was the perfect size. BIg enough to have some really fun slides, a lazy river and wave pool. Yet, it was small enough that the kids were able to find there way around and I was not overly paranoid. This is always good.

The kiddie area was perfect. There were little slides for Coleman - even some that didn't have spraying water to navigate through. There were also some slightly bigger slides. Ashley needed a little encouragement from me and Jan initially, but once she had experienced the tube slide, she felt like a big girl and must have gone down the thing 75 times! She said the lifeguard was nice and held her tube for her while she got on. At first she needed me at the bottom, but soon she was totally doing it all on her own. She was content and I was a happy mama.

Coleman was very hesitant at first which really threw me off. He has always been the somewhat fearless one. Once he got in the groove he started having a blast and I was delighted.

Mitchel and Justin had the time of their life. Considering this was the first time they have been on water slides like this, I was so proud of their fearlessness!

After 5 hours of sun and fun, my sister in law loaded up all the little ones and took them home. Yes, all 5 younger ones. She even took Coleman so I could go enjoy the big slides with my big kids. Is that nice or what? I'm so lucky. She rocks.

The last 3 hours of the day were spent enjoying the big slides with Josh, Justin, Mitchel, Kendall, and Annika. We had so much fun. I loved being able to spend that time with the boys. Its not very often I get time with just them. It was fun to share in their fun. I think they were shocked that I was brave and could have fun like that! I usually assume mommy role and let dad take them. I don't mind my mommy role. I enjoy seeing Coleman and Ashley having fun too. And I know they feel good when mommy is close. But, it was really fun to just hang out with the big kids and actually do more than observe the fun.

Some of our Idaho Falls cousins were also there for half the day and its always fun to see them.

On Saturday we went to the Snake River Stampede Rodeo. This was the first rodeo the kids have been too. Coleman did not like it like I thought he would. He was more interested in climbing on the seats and drinking pop. But Justin, Mitchel and Ashley certainly found it fun. Not as fun as the water park, but still fun! We could not get enough light for any action pictures to turn out (indoor arena) so you just have to trust me that there were some seriously talented riders and some good bucking horses. Watching the rodeo sent my mind reeling back to Carey and rodeos with my grandpa. Love those memories.

It was a great weekend. I am still in awe of the fact that we can drive over in just 4 hours and spend the weekend. It sure is nice living closer to family. Thanks Kendall and Jan for all the hospitality!

Josh and I with our big kids. Mitch with his chlorine burning eyes.


the kiddie spot


Coleman and his favorite dolphin slide. Seriously he did this over and over and over.




Josh and Justin. Justin wanting some freestyle points.


Josh and I on the Avalanche. Serious speed. Seriously steep. Definitely most fun.




Ashley on her "big kid" slide.



Just chillin'.




Miss Independent.


Rejuvenating with some snacks. Boys and Horman cousins.


Justin's first funnel cake. Overcooked. Disappointing.



The Miller's and Dippin' Dots.



Coleman and his "cold" ice cream. "warm it up mom."



Snake River Stampede Rodeo.

buttons.

Coleman recently learned how to button. He is overcome with excitement at his new found ability. The first night he discovered he could do this all on his own he sat on his bed and "practiced" for 30 minutes! I would peek in his door and he was just sitting there, buttoning and unbuttoning! It has been nearly a month since he made his discovery and the "newness" of it is just beginning to wear off - meaning he will now allow me to put him in pajamas that do not have buttons! For that first month though, he wanted the christmas penguins every night for the sheer sake that they have buttons!

Breakfast. At Smiley Creek.

Nestled in the Sawtooth Mountains, there is nothing quite like a Saturday morning breakfast at Smiley Creek. Flight in Grandaddy's 206 takes just about an hour. The grass runway puts you about a hundred yards from the restaurant. There are often other planes there, but this was the biggest crowd they have seen yet. Josh's good friend Brad went along this time to see what all the talk was about. Josh and my boys think this is what outdoor living is all about. I've yet to find out for myself, as all the trips thus far have been for boys only. I'm thinking I'd agree though. Just look at this place.

shaved ice by the river.

After an eventful morning at the library, Maryann and I decided to take the kids down to the river for some yummy shaved ice. It is such a refreshing treat and the kids enjoyed walking along the paths by the river. I love the falls and I love seeing the temple.