Family Vacation, Day 2: Chillin' in Utah

After our first day spent at Lagoon, staying up after Lagoon to watch Hook, seeing that it was supposed to rain the next day, and falling into our beds in the wee hours of the morning, we decided to sleep in and relax for day 2.  Our initial plan was to go to Hogle Zoo but we didn't want to do it in the rain so we put it off for the last day and it all worked out perfectly.

Levi, Daymia, Erika and Bret left for downtown SLC.  Bret and Erika wanted to go to temple square because they had not been there in the eleven months since their wedding, Levi and Daymia wanted to go see Daymia's sister and they all wanted to do a little shopping.

As for the rest of us, we went bowling!

 Vivien hadn't been bowling before so the boys showed off their very best skills.

Vivien was doing great but she seemed to be getting frustrated half way through the game (kinda hard to be last place).  I wasn't bowling because I didn't have any socks with me so I borrowed Vivien's shoes and stuck my feet in those ugly nasties to finish the game for her.  I didn't do much for her score and those shoes did nothing good for my bare feet but we had a good laugh as I guttered the ball just as much as she did.

There's something about bowling shoes, the music, the lanes, and the crashing sound of the pins that always pulls out
the wackiness in our family.

There were many more embarrassing photos but most of them were of Vivien and I and since I am the one keeping this record of our family I'm going to leave those blackmail photos in the archives.

After bowling we decided on Chick-fil-A for an early dinner.  Big Mistake!!!  We had never eaten at Chick-fil-A before so we hadn't kept up on any coupons or promotions taking place.  We walked right into a restaurant barnyard full of human cows.  We found out that anyone who was dressed up like a cow would get free chicken.  There were garbage bag cows, sheet cows, poster cows, white t-shirt cows, all with black spots all over them and some with udders hanging right in front of Nathan and Hyrum's faces. It was so crowded that we had to push our way through the people who were standing to eat because all seating was taken, just to order and then when we tried to sit down milkshakes were spilled around us, kids were crying, screaming and making a mess and all those dressed up cows were out of control!  We decided to take our food across the parking lot to eat on the grass under the trees.  I have never been so grateful to eat outside before!

We didn't just enjoy dinner (Chick-fil-A food was very yummy) but we were able to have a calm break before we met up with the others.  After reading for a while, Vivien and I ran over to the mall to find her some shoes at Vans while the boys relaxed, read, and played with Rubik's cubes and the iPod.

 
We met up with Levi, Daymia, Erika and Bret at the theater in Sandy to watch

We loved it!

Family Vacation, Day 1: Lagoon

We were all very excited to leave all worries behind to hang out with each other for a few days. After packing ourselves into two vehicles we made our way to Utah to stay at the Boyd home.  Kellie's full basement with a kitchen was perfect, so much better than sharing hotel rooms would have been.

In the morning we made it to the entrance of Lagoon shortly after it opened.  The older kids took off together to find the adrenalin rush they'd been hoping for while LeRoy and I kept Nathan and Hyrum.

The boys loved the rides!

Their very favorite ride was the Dinosaur Drop.

The first time we went, Hyrum looked like he was going to wet his pants, cry, and scream all at the same time.  I told him it was okay to scream and on the next drop he responded with a scream of the highest pitch I had ever heard.  I went with him several times and then he was fine to go with Nathan.  The two of them kept going between the Dinosaur Drop and the Ladybug Bop, which were pretty much the same ride, running to whichever line was the shortest. They stayed at these rides for 40 minutes while LeRoy and I sat on the bench watching them.

Before we met up with the others for lunch we took a train ride to see the animals. We all laughed when we saw the lion, Bengal tiger and white tiger all sleeping belly up just like Harrison does.

My favorite ride has always been the swings.  I love having the wind blow in my hair, my legs dangling freely as my chair gradually climbs into the air, and the calm peace I feel as I relax into the swing.  I convinced Nathan to go on the swings with me and after getting over his initial hesitation he found that he too loves the swings.

We went back a couple of times and then, after meeting up with the older kids again, we went a couple of more times.

Though we didn't have much wait time in lines we still had our down times.

While waiting with Nathan and Hyrum we tried on a few hats.

And, when they had had enough of the stores they played in the fountains.

We took our coolers into the park for lunch and fed our hungry bellies, building up the energy to go for the afternoon.  For dinner we left the park long enough to go to Subway nearby and then spent the evening, right up until closing, catching as much fun as Lagoon could offer.  As dark came I was somewhat kidnapped by Vivien, Bret and Derek.  I think their goal was to get me to scream....and they did.  We started off with Wicked and it completely lived up to it's name.  A straight drive up and then a speeding gravity fall down just does not seem logical and as I yelled out "this is not right" the kids just laughed around me, getting their own thrill out of my reaction.  I was crazy enough to stick with them while they took me on the Spider, Colossus, and Samurai. The kids didn't seem as interested in the rides as they did my reaction to them and that was okay.  It was so much fun to be with them!

We had a wonderful day!  Everyone came away with some kind of stuffed animal or souvenir and plenty of memories to laugh about all the way home and for days to come.

Storms

September 17

A huge wind and rain storm started in the middle of the night.  HUGE!  I had to get up and close windows, rescue blinds, pick up scattered papers, wipe up puddles, untangle curtains, and take a middle-of-the-night minute on the porch to witness the awesomeness of such a storm.  My mood patterns couldn't live in a place where this was a daily/weekly occurrence but every now and then I love a good storm.

While we were reading scriptures and eating breakfast, the storm raged on.  Even with all the windows closed we could hear the winds roaring through the trees and see the rain pounding against the windows in a threatening downpour.  We would jump and then giggle as the thunder would crash and we had a hard time focusing in the scriptures with the powerful jagged lightning drawing our eyes to the beauty of a storm tossed sunrise.  We kept checking each door looking for the cats, knowing they would be running from their nightly hiding places expecting a refuge with us. As the lights flickered there were whispered hopes that the power would go out.  My children have somewhat picked up my love of a powerful storm.

Then they scattered for school and work. I was left with my thoughts as I again stood on the porch smelling the refreshing rain, inwardly smiling at the little girl in me who got such a thrill out of Mother Nature's morning show. I went inside to put on my fuzzy socks and soft hoodie to warm me through the chill of the day and I began to wonder.  Why do I love a crashing, flashing storm?

I like knowing that I'm prepared for it.  I feel confident as I face the pounding thunder without fear, teaching my children to do the same.  I get some weird kick out of the power going out, sticking my neener-neener nose up as I pull out a stash of flashlights and cook dinner over a gas burner in the garage and if it goes on too long we fire up the generator in an attitude of "you can't get us down".

Then I took my shower, one of the places that I do the most thinking, planning, observing and even receiving inspiration and answers, and I wondered again.  Why don't I love the spiritual storms that come?  The windy storms that knock us around as a family, forcing us to establish a new normal.  The frightening storms that pick at our beliefs and really test our love for one another.  The fierce ones that stir up our faith in a Father who cares when all we can see is the downpour of doubt that floods over us, the thundering of trials that shake us and the flashing of worldly lights that distract us from what is most important.

The phone rang, the cat wanted out, the rest of my day was calling.  However, my mind wouldn't give up and I kept analyzing.

I love a powerful rainstorm because I'm prepared for it.  Do I not love the spiritual storms because I am not prepared?
Searching for the answer forced me to take a closer look at my spiritual self.

Why can't I stand in the face of a thundering spiritual storm without fear, and teach my children the same?
Why can't my flashlight of testimony be enough when I feel that my spiritual power is flickering off?
Why can't I keep my focus in the scriptures when lights from the phone, computer, and TV flash around me?
Why can't I watch continually for my children, knowing that they will be coming to me looking for refuge?
Why can't I have a backup generator ready to offer power?

The truth is, I can!

I am getting better at standing confidently with faith in the face of a thundering spiritual storm rather than fear and I'm doing my best to teach my children that they can do the same.

I do have a flashlight of testimony that I need to be better at shining in the dark and I need to keep my batteries charged.

I desire and strive to have my focus in the scriptures, not on the world.

I do watch continually for my children and I do try to provide a home of refuge from their own storms, going to my Father's home of spiritual refuge to learn how to do that in a loving way, His way.

I do have a backup generator called Prayer and if I'm willing to turn it on I will have power to face any storm that comes.

I also have the Holy Ghost and the love of my Savior and Heavenly Father to be my spiritual fuzzy socks and soft hoodie to warm me against the chill of these spiritual storms.

Just like I don't go out in the yard on a beautiful warm summer day hoping for a thunderstorm to interrupt our summer celebration, I'm not sitting here in our peaceful family refuge hoping for a storm to come pounding on our door. I am thankful for the time this morning to evaluate my spiritual survival kit and to see that I have more prepared than I give myself credit for and I know the areas that I need to work on to be even better prepared.  Having fumbled through spiritual storms in the past and knowing that there will be storms ahead, I still somewhat doubt that I really am prepared but I can almost hear my dad's voice quoting once again, "all things are possible to him that believeth".  And, I declare as the humble father told Jesus, "Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief".

It's Always Fun When Cousins Come,

When Cousins Come to Play
July 18th-21st

During a phone call with Kara I spontaneously invited her to bring her boys for a visit and she spontaneously decided to come.  For sisters with the same plan-ahead-and-over-organize-everything paranoia this came as a wonderful surprise to both of us.  Of course, the two of us would have a great time together but having our boys have fun together is an additional bonus.
And, have fun they did!

Max and Zane are all about "vehicles".  They know the names of nearly every construction truck and train car and when we pulled out the car mats they led the way.  We haven't had the car mats out since Levi moved into the toy room over a year ago and my boys have hardly missed them but once their cousins imaginations took over they zoomed around on those mats more than I've ever seen them do before.  The ping pong table added even more driving space and a perfect runway for the planes.


In the garage they were entertained by the basketball game, both for shooting balls and for monkey climbing.

During the hottest hours of the day Max, Nathan and Hyrum relaxed in the house with games, videos and Netflix . . .

and Zane was entertained by the sink.

On Sunday morning they looked like mini-missionaries and since we had them all suited up early we put the 

Book of Mormon video on for them.   It gave the mom's just enough time to finish getting ready.

After church they had a picnic on the porch and then waited patiently, catching every last
minute together, while the truck was loaded.

We tried to get a few age/height pictures of our adorable little men but that just led to silliness

So, to the sound of their laughter, having had a great few days together, they were off.  As soon as we walked back into the house Hyrum asked, "when are they coming back?"

Idaho Summerfest

July 8th

We have only made it to the International Dance Festival in Rexburg once because it has always been held the same week as the Fullmer Family Reunion.  The year that we did go we had an exchange student by the end of the month.  Since the city changed the name to "Idaho Summerfest" and did it during the first week of July instead of August, we made a point to go.  I suddenly had a wonder half-way through the event if we'd also have an exchange student this year but our exchange student - turned daughter - was already with us for the show so I figured that would count.

Hyrum was excited for the dance party on the field like we had after the Dance Festival two years ago so he was all gusto about getting there and boogied in his seat nearly the whole time.  Nathan wouldn't put his book down, even while we were walking through the parking lot.

However, when the Chinese Acrobats started Nathan was mesmerized just like the rest of us. These two dancers had us holding our breath the whole time, with an occasional gasp here and there.  He balanced her on his head the entire time with her spinning around, balancing on top of the hoop, doing pull-ups and dance like moves in the center of the hoop and making Vivien and I really jealous of her arm and ab strength.


Our other favorite part of Summerfest was the police car parked near the entrance. 
I don't know how anyone stopped by a policeman in this car could take them seriously.

Herbert Ghost Town

July 7th

On a Sunday afternoon drive, the older kids went to the Herbert ghost town just a few miles outside of Rexburg.

As we found on the Back Country Secrets website: The school and store in Herbert were mostly for the farmers and miners in the area. At it's peak, about 150 people lived here. The townsite became abandoned in the 1940's as most residents moved to Rexburg and Rigby. Most of the houses are found along the creek and are not visible from the road. The two room building on the bluff was the store and operated until the early 30's.  Automobiles pretty much killed this town because the store and school were no longer needed as Rexburg was close. Not only that, there are very hard winters in this area.

What else would they do in a ghost town but put on their most haunting faces?  Derek wins this competition!

Old stuff can be so cool!

Vivien has such a talent for taking beautiful photos!
It looks like Justin has traveled through time or jumped into a painting.

 We had heard rumor that Herbert was on private property and that the Walker's owned the property but we weren't sure which family to call so I reminded the kids that if the owner came out complaining that they might be on private property and to just be respectful. After a good time exploring, the owner did show up in a rather upset mood.  Bret did most of the talking explaining that they weren't there to do any damage and didn't mean to intrude, they just wanted to see the ghost town.  The owner ranted about them trespassing and was blaming the college for passing on legends of the place which brought a constant stream of nosey, bothersome college students.  The kids were told to stay put while he called the police.  So they did.  They waited, and waited.  Finally, they went over to the owner and he asked what they were still doing there.  We think the police threat was just to get them to leave faster, he didn't really expect them to stick around.

I understand the owner's frustration with private property being trampled, especially after hearing from the kids about the terror stories they have heard at school about the place and he probably has concerns about liability problems since the buildings aren't necessarily safe.  However, there are three websites that we found detailed directions on and none of them list anything about trespassing or private property.  Also, the Post Register Recreation Summer Guide for 2013 has the Herbert Ghost Town listed as number 45 on their list of things to do, with directions.  One of these days I want to go on a picnic date with LeRoy out to Herbert and have my Recreation Summer Guide with me and a Thank You basket for the owner for his part in preserving part of history.

"R" Mountain

Also known as the "Menan Butte" 
July 6th

This summer the unspoken theme in most of our activities was being in nature.  Justin, Nathan, Hyrum and I began with morning "hikes" during the month of June to prepare for the real hikes ahead that we wanted to do.  We went on hikes (a very loose use of the word) to the Nature Park, Eagle Park, Beaver Dick Park, and even the adventurous, difficult hike around Hibbard Elementary.  Really, the idea was to just be out and walking and we accomplished that.

Our hike up and around R Mountain was our first real hike. I had never been up R Mountain but LeRoy, Derek and Justin had done it numerous times with different scout groups.  They were positive that Nathan and Hyrum could handle it.

The beginning was more strenuous than I expected and I wondered if LeRoy's back would be paying
for this trip for the next few days.
 

Our  half way up stop shows the angle we were walking.  For Hyrum's little legs this was a big hike! And you can see in Nathan's face that it was already wearing him out.

Once at the top the fun really began.  We had made it past the uphill battle and the top rim was all about rock climbing and sight seeing.  The valley below us was beautiful all the way around.

The lava rock formations surrounding the entire rim provided plenty of daring climbs and more
than enough panic moments for me.

I was so proud of myself for maintaining my adventurous side with only a few sharp reprimands in Nathan's direction.

Derek and Justin had been on this mountain many times before so they took off with Sierra to do their own exploring.

Nathan found a rock that he said was his GPS so we let him lead the way for a while.

Hyrum wanted to be just like Nathan so he found a similar ipod looking rock.  I had to hide my laugh and take him seriously when he informed me that his PBS said to go another direction.

LeRoy, Vivien, Nathan, Hyrum and I stayed together the last half of the rim. Then LeRoy got a phone call.  Seriously?  On top of the mountain?  Of course, he answered it.  I kept trying to get his attention to make sure we were going the right direction and he would just nod (I don't think he was even listening to me).  I hadn't even been up on this mountain but I was pretty sure we were off the trail, especially when I could see people over on what looked more like the rim and we were down on the rocky side.  When LeRoy got off his phone he looked around like he was surprised at his surroundings but without saying anything to Vivien and I he just kept leading the way.  He didn't really give us time to catch up to him so between Vivien and I we slowly and carefully crossed the slippery, near vertical rocks the best we could.  In some places we had to do a crab crawl to cross.

The picture doesn't show at all how scary this was, especially worrying about Nathan losing his footing and me carrying Hyrum in many spots.  Still, it was a little terrifying.  Finally, LeRoy realized that we weren't keeping up with him and when we started working together with the little boys we were able to move faster.  We weren't trying to hurry to get off the mountain but we were trying to beat a rainstorm that we could see coming. We had definitely taken the long route but we finally made it back to the rim.  We could see down the mountain that the others were already headed to the van, probably assuming that we were waiting for them.

Again, LeRoy took off, this time with Hyrum.  LeRoy doesn't do anything slow and isn't the best at recognizing the little legs struggling to keep up with him so Hyrum was having a hard time.  At one point he fell and hit his head on the rocks as LeRoy grabbed him to break his fall.  Nathan and I were too far behind them to help so I had to let it go, hoping that Hyrum would still like hiking by the time we were done.

When we got back to the van I asked the boys how they liked their real hike, praising them for doing such a hard thing and having a positive attitude about it.  Nathan spoke up, and Hyrum readily agreed, that they would do it again but next time they would follow Derek, not Dad.  Poor LeRoy.  He is such a go-getter that sometimes he forgets to enjoy the journey and see that the others with him are finding joy in it as well.  It was still good to have him with us but he did pay for it in pain later.

By the time we got home all frustrations from the trip were gone and all we remember now is the fun that we had, the rocks that we daringly stood at the edge of and the fact that we did it!  Even Nathan and Hyrum climbed to the top of R Mountain!  From a distance it may not look very intimidating but it was perfect for our first family hike.

Parade, Picnic, Pyrotechnics

That's how we do a 4th of July celebration at the Edwards' home

It was great to have Kate, Mike, Korben, Logan and Brooklyn here and it was fun
to share our USA Independence Day traditions with Vivien.

After the very long parade we headed back to the house where the men could not wait to get going on their fireworks.  "Fireworks" is a bit misleading since these were more along the lines of quarter sticks of dynamite.  After blowing up one squishy watermelon that exploded all over the driveway and part of the yard, they were hooked.  In Mike's words only seconds after the first blast, "honey, go get four more watermelons".

  

I told them I wouldn't pay for anything to blow up so my very resourceful children decided to go dumpster diving.  I hung my head in embarrassment while LeRoy encouraged them, exclaiming their idea to be a brilliant one.  Daymia and Vivien went but stood back in disgust, taking pictures.

Among several overripe watermelons, a science gem of a cantaloupe and random shelves and

 buckets for blowing up, they found these beauties:

Halloween will be easy this year....after I wash them 4569874 times!!!

Back to our regularly scheduled post . . .

We had a blast! Pun totally intended.  I usually hide in the basement during all firework happenings because the lack of supervision that comes at the cost of excitement has me far to worried to watch. . . and I can't keep my mouth shut about it so it's usually better for everyone if I'm not there at all.  This year it ran a little differently.  The "little" kids had each other (thank goodness for cousins) to hang out with and they got to watch from a (fairly) safe distance.  The "big" kids could see the power of the blast so for the first time in 23 years I felt like they were at least considering safety.  And, it helped that I wasn't the only one concerned about little kids.  Kate, Erika, Vivien and I managed to tactfully maintain boundaries without interfering with the fun.

After a couple of hours of so must blasted fun we had a picnic.  

LeRoy grilled chicken and steak to go with our favorite fruits and chips, giving us the perfect 4th of July meal.

While waiting for darkness to come, the adults snoozed or played games and the kids continued 

to run all over the yard burning off energy.

We were all easily entertained by the variety of bright, colorful, noisy, spinning, sparkling, whipping fireworks.  Logan, Korben, Vivien, Daymia and I all got to do our first Whips. I was nervous and ended up with a few minor burns on my feet but I have to admit it was a bit exciting having sparks flashing all around me.  

 Once Brooklyn finally gave in to her droopy eyelids she slept through the rest of the noise.  The younger boys tried to stay awake until the last firework went off but their day had been non-stop.  One by one they slowly drifted off.  

Kate, Mike, LeRoy and I went out to lunch the next day and the main topic of discussion was all the possible objects the guys could blow up.  Trips to dumpsters and DI came up. Heading out to firing ranges were mentioned (because of the dents left in LeRoy's shed due to shrapnel).  And next year is already in the plans for all of us.  Our little boys are going to have great stories to tell when they get older!

SHE'S HERE!!!

July 2, 2013

After a year of talking, planning, dreaming, e-mailing, hoping, wishing, praying and anything else that might get her here,
Vivien has made it back!

I was a little nervous that we would spend our entire seven weeks together getting reacquainted but when Justin and I picked her up at the Salt Lake airport it was as if hardly any time had passed and we were picking her up after one of her short USA field trips.  She was exhausted from the travel but her laugh and sarcasm picked up right where it left off and I couldn't help but smile the whole drive home.  It felt so natural to have her with us again.

Harrison couldn't seem to get enough of her, though at times she had enough of him and his shedding fur.

Nathan, Hyrum and I couldn't quit taking random photos of her grabbing whatever camera, phone or ipod was available.
Even the most mundane bits of summer were better because she was part of it.

Some pictures she wanted (yes, the Mountain Dew truck), some I snuck up behind her to take, and others she tried to get out of but overall she was a good sport about our paparazzi habits.

Now that all of us are together again we are ready to party through our summer list.