Evidence of Naughtiness

I forgot to put the bar stools up again and later found these pictures.

And yes, his shirt is always that dirty by the end of the day.

Only 1 1/2 more months 'til the "terrible twos" start. HA.

Pajama Day

Ollie and I were the only ones who got dressed today. Gabe was throwing up in the morning, preventing us from leaving the house, and then happy, playful and eating after a little nap, so I knew I needed to do something big to keep the boys from bickering with boredom the rest of the day. We turned their room into The Best Tent Ever.

The boys first declared it to be a movie theater, showing Princess and The Frog

and later decided it was a gun shop.

*Updated* I was going to take detailed pictures showing everyone how I made it, but Chad didn't know and took it down today before I could. Basically the center was the ceiling fan blades. I tied the corners of king and queen size sheets to the connecting parts of the blades (towards the middle) and then secured them on there with yarn, if that makes any sense. I fanned the rest out in circular fashion and secured the ends however I could - shut in the bottom of the window, shut in drawers, tied to bedknobs, etc. If the sides overlapped I put safety pins on to secure them together. Then I strung some Christmas lights through it.

Flying Woes

Here are Gabe, Ollie and Chad early in the morning on the 4th of July, waiting for our plane in Spokane (headed to Phoenix and then onto Charlotte) . When I took the picture I had no idea that we would still be waiting and waiting and waiting...way past when it was supposed to depart. There was a broken part in the cockpit and they had to fly a part to fix it, so the plane was delayed by about 6 hours, which of course made it impossible to catch any connections from Phoenix to Charlotte. So we had to re-book for the same flight the next day.

After three hours at the airport, with hotel and food vouchers, we went back to Chad's parent's house for a few hours and then went to the hotel for the night. We figured that way no one from Chad's family would have to transport us to the airport (yet again) at 6 in the morning.

It was a long long day and we didn't even get anywhere. It was so frustrating knowing that it would be followed by a long long day traveling with kids. We let the kids run around at the hotel and tried to have fun with our food vouchers but even room service took over an hour to get because the hotel was overwhelmed. That building behind the kids?

There were five different pools and a waterslide in there! Of course we had to be stranded there on a Sunday. I was very tempted to let the kids break the Sabbath just this once in the name of sanity.

This is the second time we have had to be put up in a hotel because of airline delays. The first time we got stuck during our connection in Salt Lake City and since Aaron and Jamie were living in Provo they came up and paid us a visit in our hotel. Chad was supposed to start a his new job with Bank of America the day after we got back and had to call and tell them he wasn't going to be there until the next day. That was 2007

And then of course there was the time when we were in Blythe and the airline we had tickets with went out of business two days before we were supposed to go home. I know that three major incidents doesn't sound like much, but we fly as a family ONCE a year and all three incidents have taken place over a three year span. BLAH.

Here is the positive though - as miserable as experiences like this are, they are well worth it for our Spokane trip. My kids get to know their grandparents in a way that living across the country doesn't easily allow. Truly priceless. Also, thank heavens flying is so safe that every single instrument in the cockpit gets checked (and fixed, if needed) before take-off. How lucky are we that we can span thousands of miles, quite safely, in a matter of hours?

Recipe for a good night 's sleep

Go to Knapp's Farm

Bring the kiddos, of course

Pick 10 lbs of strawberries, even if they say they are "picked out." Look hard and you will be rewarded.

Stop by the store on the way home for ingredients.

Make five of these pies!

Load the kids back up

Deliver the pies to various relatives


Come home exhausted but satisfied

Cut a slice for yourself. Enjoy.

World Traveler

Here's the story:

When I was a sophomore at Brigham Young University, I decided that I was going to volunteer to teach English in China for a semester. I applied and got my assignment. I bought some cassettes to teach myself a little Chinese, got my passport, and prepared to leave in early January.

Chad was coming home from a mission for our church (in Santiago, Chile) in late December. Despite two years of dating prior to his mission and being totally crazy about each other, our relationship was very much up in the air as I prepared to go. I had been dating other guys (maybe dating isn't even the right word - "hanging out with" is more like it) and neither of us could really say what things would be like between us after two years of not seeing each other.

I would be leaving days after Chad came home. My decision to go was a little bit of a pulling away from the relationship. I knew it and he knew it, and after all he had put up with from me already, I knew that my chance with him might be past when I came back.

In November, I was thinking it over and started to have some strange feelings.

Feelings that, although I hadn't seen him for two years and felt a little anti-men at the time, I really really needed to stick around instead of going to China.

Basically, I felt strongly that I was going to marry Chad.

I prayed and I canceled China.

Chad came home December 28th. We got engaged February 2nd, and married April 26th. It was fast, and a little scary at times, and I have to admit that if I had only made the decision with my head, I don't know what I would have done.

It was the best decision I have ever made.

My passport expires this year and it has never been used.

I love my life and the road that I have chosen,

But sometimes I feel a little like a country bumpkin

A 29 year old who already has three kids but no stamps on her passport.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I have never in my life left the country, even though I grew up near the Mexican border in a time when it was very easy to cross.

So when I heard that the house we were renting was a mile away from the Canadian border, I said,
"I'm crossing! I am GOING to Canada! I don't care if I go alone, I am going!"

And then amidst all the list making and packing for everyone and myself, I left approximately three minutes for finding my passport, and of course it wasn't in our files where it should be (and really, where should an unused passport be anyway?). So I left without it.

I was undeterred.

"I will hike into the woods and across the border if I have to!" I told everyone. My brother-in-law Bill, who served a mission in Canada, felt the same about getting across, even if it was illegally.

When we got to Idaho, our turnoff for Fliegerhaven was right before the sign that said, "One mile to Canada" but there was a river and mountains between us and the border. Gulp.

After a couple of days of looking at maps and seeing Border Patrol driving around, I pouted to Chad that it just wasn't going to happen.

I had given up, and then on our last evening Bill called to Chad and I and asked if we wanted to go check out the border. We hopped in the car, leaving the kids with the grandparents, and took off. The plan was to see if there was some sort of turn-off close to the border where we could at least get a picture with a "Welcome to Canada" sign.

There were several duty-free stores, a US Customs office, and a post office before the Canadian border inspection, so we parked the car and started walking in the direction of the border, very slowly, waiting to see how far we could get without getting yelled at.

With no one really even eye-balling us, we started strolling along the empty street when we noticed, right in front of us, the US/Canada boundary marker.

Right there, free from any border patrol officers, and yards away from inspection. Was that really the country line?

Sure enough, we glanced to our right, up the mountains, and the boundary was marked all the way up.

I ran over the Canadian side laughing, raising the roof, and had Chad snap my picture like the country bumpkin that I really am, hair undone and not a stitch of make-up on. Then my sweetie crossed over to Canada with me.

I fully realize that Canada isn't exotic or exciting, but Canada plus Chad for all eternity? Wooeeeeeee, baby!

Copper Falls and Spruce Lake

Hiking with kids can be a lot of fun, but it always worries me a little. Is the trail going to be easy enough? Short enough? Am I going to be carrying a 22 month old while prodding my 4 year old the whole way?

Thankfully, the hike to Copper Falls, which was only a couple of miles away from Fliegerhaven, was the perfect family hike. Short, easy enough for everyone but Ollie, with a huge reward. This picture doesn't even do the waterfall justice. It is still early summer in this area, with snow still melting in places and lots of recent rain, so the water was gushing over the cliff.


After Copper Falls, we decided to hop back in our cars and follow a road up the mountain to Spruce Lake,which is at about 5,500 ft. It was only about 8 miles away, but it was all up up up, on a winding road, often with a huge drop-off on one side (I was remembering many Jeppson family trips with Mom telling Dad to slow down). After about half an hour, we knew we had to be getting close to the lake, and all the sudden we started to see snow on the side of the road. It got thicker and thicker until the point were we had to stop completely.

We didn't get to see the lake, but a snowball fight in the middle of June made the drive worth it.

Fliegerhaven

Our last four days were spent in a vacation home in Northern Idaho with Chad's parents and his brother Bill with his wife Cathy and kids Hailey and Cole.

This was wilderness with a touch of luxury.






Listening to the Moyie River rush by as you fall asleep.
Firepits and s'mores.
Blue skies and rainstorms.....

but with

beds for everyone, hot showers, refrigeration, not to mention....


satellite TV in all the bedrooms
a hot-tub (that got used a lot)
and a media room.

The only roughing it that took place was 9 people sharing the upstairs bathroom.

I can highly recommend Fliegerhaven as a vacation home. The owners were very kind and accommodating, and the price was excellent compared to other homes that we looked at. Click here if you would like to know more about it.

Picture of the Day

Colin took this picture of a bee taking off at the garden the day we left for Spokane. He was pretty proud of it.

Picture of the Day

Yes, this is what will motivate me to buy from you.

Keepin' It Real Wednesday - Picture of the Day

Chad has the kids of the house

I decide to have a leisurely lunch in the peace and quiet of the empty house

No kids begging for forbidden soda

Tacos with guacamole

Breaking my own rules by eating in the living room

Watching "Say Yes to The Dress"






Soda explosion all over the couch.

Shhhh, don't tell Chad.

Picture of the Day

Gray or Purple?

Chad says purple and refuses to wear it.

What do you think?