Solar Eclipse 2018

Our once in a lifetime event did not disappoint!

Our party began on Sunday evening as family members arrived from Utah and Idaho. The wait Monday morning was full of games and hopefully, building memories that will last a lifetime.

We all became children as we played and waited in anticipation. I'm always impressed with Levi's ability to pull together a bunch of kids and have them laughing, wrestling and running in crazy happiness. There were more than just a couple of crushes on the oldest cousin of their generation.

Sabrina, Becca's baby and the youngest cousin, was definitely a favorite with our family!

As the shadow of the moon started to cover the sun, the temperature began to drop. To those of us used to cool Idaho temperatures, we hardly noticed a thing but Grandma Fullmer had to grab a blanket for the quick thermometer changes.

Mommaclipse 2018
The Momma Cousins: Hannah, Jessie, Cami, Kara, Kate, Trudy, Kimber, Becca

In organized chaos we had everyone sign Eclipse mini-yearbooks so that each kid had one to take home. My boys loved spending the next couple of days doing the learning activities in them as they reviewed their memories of the event.

While we waited for full eclipse we were busy looking for shadow snakes and moon shaped shadows in the shade of the tree. We found both! Science is so wonderful!

As full eclipse came, the world around us became even more beautiful! There was a dusky sunrise effect but not as we see with a sunrise or sunset in either the east or west. It was a full circle of pinkish light surrounding us along the horizon with a deep blue sky filling the skies. In a matter of three minutes it was over but it was spectacular!

We went from full afternoon sun to a 360 degree sunset to yet another full sun.
The temperature changed.
The birds became silent.
We became loud with cheers and exclamations of awe.

After the first minute we stood in almost a calm reverence, nearly whispering as we looked around glasses-free directly into the sun and the resulting changes that the moon's shadow had brought to our earth.

Two minutes and seventeen seconds of wonder and amazement!

I couldn't help but wonder if this phenomenon in the sky was similar to what the Nephites experienced during the sign of Christ's birth.

Levi captured several phases of the eclipse on his phone. The full diamond ring (bottom left), a crescent sun at midday (bottom right), the shimmering shadow band that caused what looked like squiggly shadow snakes on the ground (top left), and Bailey's Beads (the little pink beads in top right).

Even Charlie was impressed!
Check out his jaw hanging open.
We'll pretend it is an expression of amazement, not just a yawn.

What a joy to share this event with family!
We couldn't stop talking about it.
We looked up when the next solar eclipse will cross the United States (Texas 2024) and made tentative plans to attend.
Even when the trips home should have taken 4 hours and instead took 9, there were no comments of regret.

Another important moment took place at the end of the day. I caught our preteens in a final attempt to build connections while the adults packed up to go home. It was wonderful to hear them share their favorite parts of the eclipse, discuss movies, school subjects, and any random topic that came up. My hope is to foster these relationships so that they have these same friends in their adult lives.

MTC and Provo Temples

Brooklyn, Korben, Hyrum, Zane, Logan, Max, Nathan

We had such a great time in Provo as we joined up with cousins to tour the Mission Training Center (MTC). They loved the big world maps, the scriptures and quotes all over the walls and the beautiful pictures of the Savior that we have not seen before.

After the MTC tour we split up because Nathan and Hyrum wanted to go the the two temples in Provo (the others went to lunch and we ate later).

These boys are so fun together! I love seeing their admiration for the temple and for each other.

They were a little sad that we couldn't go inside this temple again (we did for the open house) but we still admired it's unique style and beauty.

I couldn't help but see my young men as missionaries. As they wandered the grounds and admired the pictures and statue in the visitors center I could only see them as a companionship, sent here to teach our family.

Our final stop was to visit Grandpa Fullmer who had been struggling for several months with pneumonia. My heart hurt as I saw my dad so weak and aged. I'm grateful that my boys have a relationship with him and admire both their Grandma and Grandpa Fullmer.

The Big 50

Yup, his brain may tell him that he's still in his mid 20's but the calendar says it's been five decades or in other words, half a century. In Hawaii he qualifies for the senior discounts.

He was quite happy with birthday tickets to the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert coming up in Utah even though he would need to wait a month to cash in the tickets.

Nathan gave him a Texas Rangers hat that would surely make his Texas Papa proud.

For his birthday we took the day off and went to Jackson for a ride up to Rendezvous Mountain on the tram and gondola.

Standing at eye level with the Grand Tetons with a 360 view of Wyoming and Idaho was spectacular! However, my three boys were shivering as we climbed 4,139 vertical feet in a matter of twelve minutes and the temperature dropped from 82 to 64 degrees.

It didn't help that the winds at that elevation were blowing across leftover snow from winter.

Once we had hiked our share of the mountain we headed down to the city of Jackson Hole. LeRoy spends so much time working there that it was nice for him to just play tourist.

As a bonus gift at LeRoy's request, we decided to get old fashioned pictures taken.

Hyrum absolutely hates to have his picture taken but as soon as they had him dressed up and gave him a gun he was in character and he let them snap as many pictures as they wanted.

It brought back memories from a long ago trip to the same photo shop (circa 2003) when we had similar pictures taken with our four older kids before Nathan and Hyrum were born.

The Book of Mormon and Uncle Ben

Nathan set a goal in January to read the Book of Mormon. He was doing great until he got to 2 Nephi which is full of Isaiah and he started to get frustrated. We discussed how sometimes we need to adjust our goals so that they are reasonable for our capabilities and he decided to read from the Book of Mormon for Young Readers. It isn't simplified reading, it's all word for word scripture, but not every verse is in there and all of the pictures and thoughts in the side bars make it feel a little less overwhelming.

In July, he finished his goal!
It seems appropriate that he reward himself with a set of battle axes considering he just finished a book full of battles.

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Uncle Ben Whisnant (Robin's husband) sent the boys a package from his home in Georgia. The boys were thrilled to open the huge box to find a walking stick for each of them. They were hand carved by Ben with incredible details, a compass on one end and a secret compartment on the other with flint and steel to start a fire.

They have packed these around everywhere, not only as walking sticks but also as weapons and just because they are "super cool".

I printed a picture of each one of them so they could make and write a Thank You card to Uncle Ben.

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These boys have no idea how easy they have it doing dishes for only the four of us which is why they still try to get out of even the most simple chore of emptying the dishwasher.

I asked Hyrum if he actually had the money and gum to give to Nathan and he gave me a mischievous grin telling me he did not. He admitted that he had the money and the "pack" of gum...just no gum in the pack. It opened a brief lesson on honesty and deceit, which he handled well, already knowing that he was being a sneak.

Fun with the Boyds

We were so happy to have the Boyd family visit for a few days before they left again for Malaysia. I hope that such a short time together builds memories that will carry these cousin relationships throughout their lives.

With each child being an animal lover, it was easy to choose the petting zoo at Bear World for an outing.

Bear World is as close to an adventure park as we get in the Rexburg area. The roller coaster may be small but it still offers a belly flopping experience and the boys spun around so fast on the spinning bears that Hyrum briefly passed out and squeals had to have been heard for miles.

We'll see how much they've all grown in bear comparison in the coming years.

Summer heat, sprinklers, trampoline, and sun screen all make for a perfect summer afternoon.

Poor Hailey had to avoid the water a little until we finally wrapped her cast in a bag and she couldn't jump because of her broken arm. She still found ways to referee the games and play, even on the sidelines.

Hyrum wanted to share his baking skills with his cousins so he made up a recipe for "Cheesecake" to share. I was a bit confused with the name because it was more of a muffin and had no cream cheese in it but the creator gets to name the creation.

He made up his recipe from a combination of recipes in his book, mixed all his ingredients from scratch, baked, plated and served it with many happy bellies as the result.

4th of July and Kailee Jo

The 4th of July was the usual celebration of parade, food, friends, family and fireworks and summed up in a beautiful hot day.

Hyrum was excited to hand out flyers during the parade and he did a great job!

We were blessed to have Kailee stay with us for a couple of days while Bret and Erika took an anniversary trip. 

She loves shopping, especially for clothes and kitties (which Grandma couldn't resist buying for her)!

A visit to the orthodontist was entertaining with Moana, Lego and a short ride in the dental chair.

Evidently, we provide good nap time entertainment as well because when I went in to get her the entire container of wipes was pulled out, her bedding on the floor and she had created a stand in her attempt to escape.  Not a bit of remorse was evident as she declared "mess" as she reached up to me for rescue. 

Our outdoor adventures included a snack in the raspberry patch. She learned quickly that white berries are bitter and after that only red berried made it to her mouth. She had to be quick though because Charlie was right there with her, "sharing".

To wash away the grass and raspberry stains we headed to the bath where she soaked the floor in giggling splashes and had us laughing at her silliness.

As soon as Grandpa got home from work the bath was forgotten and another trip was made to the raspberry patch. 

3rd Annual Fullmer Reunion

This reunion has easily become one of our favorite summer events!

Our trip highlights included an Idaho crop duster buzzing right past us on I-15 and the Utah highway did not disappoint in the crazy department as a big boy trike sped by.

We played so hard that on the way home the boys were knocked out and snoring before we were even ten miles out.

The flames of a campfire draw us all in and the reuniting begins.

Saturday was full of water play, games, a hike, delicious food, and the making of memories to last us until next year.

Hyrum felt so grown up going out on the lake by himself and even got a bit of meditating in. Bret taught Nathan and Kailee how to balance on the waterboards and Justin pushed his gym skills in his attempts to get 20 back flips on the waterboard for his team challenge. A few bruises and welts later he came extremely close, and then finished on land.

Derek also spent some time on the lake but found his true skill when balancing a cousin (Jeremy) on his shoulders while juggling. It was definitely a comedy act worth watching!

Nine Square was played constantly with kids and adults both involved and then Fawn pulled all the younger kids/teens in for some minute-to-win-it type games. I loved watching the kids all work together, compete, and laugh.

It was obvious who our pet lovers were. Emily was both ready to cuddle and eat that poor baby snake and the boys made a quick friend in their little chipmunk. Landon and James took him home because he was so friendly and seemed like a pet. To this date, nearly a year later, the little guy is doing great and will hopefully be at the next reunion where they are considering letting him go.

The glue that holds us all together, the Vern and Reva Fullmer kids, our parents
Evan, Sandra, Sylvia, Alice, (Mary)

Grandpa and Grandma Fullmer (my parents) have a good relationship with all their grand kids and I'm grateful that we are close enough for them to have that relationship. The bottom picture looks like a good senior magazine cover but it really just shows how worn out Dad was. He was still recovering from pneumonia and would so quickly run out of breath. It was hard to see him struggle and made me realize how every moment is important.

Evan Fullmer Family

Top: Alice Fullmer Sullivan family and Sandra Fullmer Dubose family
Bottom: Mary Fullmer Carr family and Bill Fullmer family

All of us left thumb print leaves and our names on canvas to make a family tree for each of our parents/grandparents.

I'm so very honored to be part of this big Fullmer Family Tree! Though we only see many of them once a year, there is an immediate connection that only family can bring.