Rigby, ID

Horse rides, 4 wheeler rides, making homemade popsicles, air hockey, eating homemade popsicles and getting super sticky (especially Jayda), gorgeous sunsets, ice cream from Reed's Dairy, picnic by the falls, feeding geese, lots of cousins, homemade ice cream, jumping on the trampoline, swinging, roasting miniature marshmellows around a fire, picking asparagus from a ditch bank, experiencing a "Titanic" exhibit at the museum, late night shopping without the kids, Sadie's first bee sting ("Mom, I tripped on the flower so the bee stung me!"), Cole singing his heart out to both verses of "Called to Serve" in Sacrament Meeting.

Mountain Home/Boise, ID

Riding horses, riding sheep, milking a goat, going camping (sort of), hail while trying to camp, flat tire on a suburban, playland at Carl's Jr., playing at the park, egg carton lunches, jumping on the trampoline, playing with cousins, sleeping in a tent, sand dunes, kids swimming in pond with their clothes on, running a 5K, card games, sweet chex mix, laughing, watching episodes of "Wipe Out" and laughing even harder, making and devouring s'mores and tin foil dinners.. we enjoyed our visit!

Missoula, MT

We've had a great week with Bart's family. The weather has been chilly, so we've done alot inside...riding the carousel, watching the 3D movie "Up", which was super cute, enjoying the train playland at the mall and tonight we went fishing. Cole, with Grandpa's help, caught his first fish! He was SO excited! Cole held it for a picture, until it started squirming and then the fish ended up on the ground. When we got home, Cole watched Grandpa "clean" the fish. When Grandpa asked Cole if he wanted to help, Cole said "Sure, I'll help wash the fish." What he didn't know what that "washing" the fish was only part of what "cleaning" entailed. Cole was suprised to see all the insides of the fish and he actually thought it was pretty cool. He is all boy!

While in Missoula, Bart, Cole and I got to hike up to the "M" on the mountain. It is a switchback trail that goes straight up in the air 300 ft. Cole was a trooper! He made it all the way to the top! It was such a gorgeous view. I hadn't been up there before, so I was happy that we were able to squeeze the hike in.

Cole and Sadie got their wish to return to the bowling alley. They both did a super job... maybe thanks to the bumpers that popped up on their turns. :) I have to brag that I beat Bart... that doesn't happen to often.

We love our Grandpa and Grandma Stratton! They take such good care of us when we go visit them!

Logan, UT

I've decided that I am going to do some posts, even though I won't be able to add pictures for some weeks.

We started out our trip in Logan, UT for the Randall Family Reunion. 2 parents, 10 siblings, 10 spouses and 41 grandkids. Absolutely fun and crazy! We stayed in dorms on the USU campus... did rock climbing, canoeing, hikes, 4-wheeling, grandkid olympics, a talent show, eating, laughing, talking and ending with a huge family picture (I bet you can't wait to see that!) It was awesome! Cole and Sadie were in heaven having so many cousins to play with. Thanks, Jesse and Ashley, for planning such a fabulous weekend!

Here We Go Again...

So, we left on our trip yesterday. It was another memorable, but best forgotten, flight. What a nightmare.

We were dropped off at the airport in plenty of time to catch our 5:20 flight. The kids were happy and we thought we were pretty prepared for the 4 1/2 hour ride. Little did we know what was to follow as we boarded the plane.

After getting everyone loaded, we were ready to leave on time. We sat at the gate for a bit before heading out to park near the runway. The captain gets on the PA system to tell us we are going to wait a bit for a storm to pass so they kill the engine. Never a good sign. For the next 4 1/2 hours, yes, you read that right... 4 1/2 hours, we sit in the same spot waiting for the tower to decide if we are going to stay or go. They wait for a couple storms to pass over us, waiting to see if it is going to clear for us to be able to take off. Apparently they had about 75 planes in the same position that we were in. No one was taking off.

The kids did really well, considering we ended up being on the darn plane for almost 9 hours (9 hours and we didn't even end up in Europe or somewhere more cool than SLC!). They were all past bed times, so when we finally did get to take off and the lights were turned down, all 3 of them crashed. I ended up having to hold Jayda the whole time and Bart was trying to get some rest sharing the seats with Cole and Sadie. By the time we landed around 12:30 am, neither Bart or I had rested. After gathering the luggage, we headed toward the rental car center and were fortunate enough to find that we beat them closing by 15 minutes. Thank goodness!

We were in our pj's laying down to sleep at my sister's house about 2am (Utah time). What a day! And to finish it off, Cole and Sadie woke up at 5am (if that had happened in VA, 7am would be sleeping in for them!)

So, we are not starting this vacation off very well.... but it can only go up from here! RIGHT?!

Down the Hill

So, we have the hill going up our neighbor's driveway. The kids love pushing their bikes up the hill and coming down fast. Today, Bart had Cole and Jayda squeezed into the little red/yellow car. He was pushing them down the hill and Jayda could not have been any happier. She was squealing with delight. Of course, Dad had to do it over and over again! What a great Dad!
Everyone going up the hill.

Sadie coming down on her trike!

Dad coming down with Jayda sitting on Cole... sorry to cut off your head, Bart! They were coming down the hill SO fast!

Jayda wanting to get out... her leg was stuck.

Days of May

These are some random pictures of the last few weeks...

Jayda likes to stick her pointer finger into the "o" of the cheerio and then stick it in her mouth. It is so funny to watch her.

We finished planting and protecting the garden Saturday. Birds were swooping in to eat our strawberries, so Bart put netting over the top of the cages too. So, we lift off the cages to weed or pick veggies. We got all of our tomatoes planted too, so now the fun begins....what will grow so that we can eat it?!

The kids made a chain yesterday to count down for our trip. They can hardly wait to see all their cousins and grandparents!

The kids and I on my birthday.

Jayda getting busted standing on the printer.

Jayda put on Sadie's cowboy boots all by herself. She was very proud of herself!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today has been the BEST day! I love my husband. He is incredible and made today the perfect day. He started it by taking the day off. He and the kids dropped me off at a spa this morning for a massage and facial. Incredible. I was so relaxed in the massage that I came pretty close to falling asleep. :) I especially love getting facials. They are my favorite. When I walked out, I felt so refreshed and re-energized. We brought the kids back to the house for naps. I then got to go shopping, by myself, and found some fabulous running shoes.

Bart took care of the kids all day so that I could join in the fun with them or just relax doing whatever. Cole kept calling me "the birthday girl" all day and Sadie continuously sang the "happy birthday song" to me. I loved it!

The plan was to eat at the Olive Garden and then go to Baskin Robbins. Bart unexpectedly caught me off guard again by having the waiters come in and sing to me while holding a cake with a lit candle. He totally tricked me. I had no clue. When I heard the singing coming from behind me, I thought "Some poor shmuck is getting embarassed with all that singing!" Little did I know that I was the shmuck!

When we got home, they had some presents waiting for me.. the Twilight soundtrack, some desperately needed slippers, wooden spoons and some workouts DVDs. I was spoiled rotten today! I have the most wonderful husband and sweet kids. They took good care of me today and I really appreciated every second of it! Maybe turning one year older isn't so bad after all! :)

Thanks to everyone for your emails, phone calls, and little notes! It made my day even more special! I'm lucky to have such divine friends and family! Love you!!

Air Show

Bart and Cole went to the air show at Andrews Air Force Base on Saturday. They had gone last year and loved it. This year was just as fabulous. Cole was in heaven having his "guy time" with Daddy!