second, third, fourth day of school

Grace has become such an independent little thing. The third day of school she decided she wanted to try hot lunch, walk in by herself, and ride the bus home... all on the same day. Watch out world. This may not seem like a big deal for some kids but considering Grace's history of being a little on the shy side it's awesome.

I'm not going to lie, I am nervous about her riding the bus with all those older kids. One night I was telling her that I wished she had an older brother who could take care of her on the bus. Her answer was classic, " I don't need a brother, I can take care of herself." (Duh, why didn't I think of that.) I love all her new found spunk and confidence. I'd say that is one of the most important school supplies a girl could have in her "pencil box of life". Her first day, she didn't like riding the bus all that much because it was "too crowded" but after a full interrogation she changed her mind and wanted to keep riding.

My dad used to ask us every night at dinner, "What did you learn at school today?" Of course our answer was always the same, "Nothing." So I thought I could be sneakier and get more info by asking, "What was your favorite thing about school?" and later, "What was the worst thing that happened at school today?" This was Grace's response; "Nothing bad. You don't have to ask me that. I will tell you if anything bad happens at school, you don't have to ask me all the time. Why do you ask me those questions?" I told her, "You are away from me for a long time during the day, I miss you and want to know what is happening with your day." I think she took mercy on me and decided to grace me with a daily report. Jeese, the things a mother has to do to extract a little information from her kids.

Eleven Years

Matt and I have been married for 11 years on August 21. It has gone by so fast it feels likes it's just been two minutes...underwater. Ha Ha, Just kidding. I heard that joke the other day and couldn't resist using it. The last eleven years have actually flown by. I love being married to Matt. He's my best friend, my protector, my provider, my teammate, not to mention the best kid bather and chicken griller of all time. We celebrated with a lunch buffet and a walk around Matt's work. In all the years he has worked there we haven't ever had lunch together so it was nice.

First Day of School

Where did the summer go? Some people might like it when school starts again. I admit there are some benefits such as getting back into a routine and the whole "education" thing. But the truth of the matter is that I love having all my kids at home with me. If I thought that I had enough discipline or that it would be better for Grace I would probably homeschool my kids. But sadly, I can barely get McCade to do an alphabet worksheet once a day, and then there's the fact that I can barely add and subtract.

I did all I could to help make her less nervous for starting school; we met her teacher last week, she seems really nice. Grace's best friend Dani is in her class. Her clean backpack was hanging in the hall, full of fresh school supplies and her newly decorated pencil box. But she was nervous about... lunch. It's the unknown that is the hardest.

When we picked her up from school she was so happy! Her first day went great, lunch was no problem. Her favorite part was having two recesses. When she got home from school she was sad that she had missed out on all the fun stuff we did during the day like "play do and watching t.v. " She spent the rest of the afternoon trying to catch up on all the things she had "missed"

These boots were made for walking

One of Bella's enduring and endearing quirks is her love for boots...shoes...other people's and her own.

Climbing Mt. Borah (Joy in the Journey) 2007

Me & Dad, having a moment

My dad was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor last July. The neurosurgeon told him it might take a little while or he could just slip away any day. (Trust me, my dad was totally banking on the latter.) The family closed ranks immediately. Cousins, uncles, a few of my dad's missionaries flew in to Billings for...(strangely enough) a party. Although it was devastating it was hard to mourn while he was alive and in such high spirits. Before Matt left to come back to Idaho my dad took him aside and gave him his hiking boots, Danners that were one of his prized possesions. It was a poignant moment because Matt and my dad had put a lot of miles on those old boots.

After a few weeks with all the clan, our little family had to come home. One Saturday morning we were sitting in the kitchen when we got a phone call from my dad. Matt, "Your dad want's us to send him his boots back, overnight mail." So I went to the post office and mailed them (I was actually chuckling, thinking what a cool blessing it was that I was mailing his boots back because he was with us for a while longer.) I think my dad found himself...bored and still very much alive. So he decided he would climb a mountain or two.

So...Mt. Borah is the highest peak in Idaho12,600 ft (straight up I might add). Jeff (dad's best friend) had been working on his goals of climbing the highest point in every state. So they came up with this plan to climb Mt. Borah. I was game, of course Matt was on board (he is part mountain goat). My mom contributed by watching the kids, Dad was soooooo exited. We had rooms at this tiny little hotel in Mackey the night before the hike. Dad and Jeff examined their gear, Jeff bought Dad a new backpack (a small one so Dad couldn't pack too much stuff.) They distributed the rope (Dad really wanted us to have enough rope in case he died up on the mountain. Seriously, he really wanted to die on a mountain. I think he pictured himself sitting with his back against a tree, his face towards the sun, just slipping away...) Sorry, I digress. So dad and Jeff were like little kids, checking out the hiking poles Jeff brought, the backpack, the food, etc... We started off early the next morning. I kept picking up the rocks that were on the right side of the trail because I was just sure one of those rocks was going to be THE rock that took Dad down. (He had lost the majority of the right sided peripheral vision in both eyes.) (The funny thing about me picking up the rocks is that about half way up, the whole trail IS rocks; shale, slippery rocks.) We hiked, rested, watered up, snacked, rested, hiked... Dad was so happy. We made it up pretty far before we had to turn around. Then it got tricky. Going down was harder than climbing up. Dad fell a few times (I made a lot of alarmed gasps until I had to walk in front of him because it was too painful for me to watch.) Then we got a system. The system was that Matt went directly in front of dad, who hooked his hands underneath the backpack straps. Two tugs meant go, one tug meant stop. That is how we made it down the mountain. It was very slow going but everytime I would turn around I would see Matt, a look of intense concentrationon his face, and my dad, his face exuding the happiness he felt to be on the mountain.

At Dad's funeral Wynn sang a song called "Joy in the Journey." Here are a few choice lyrics. "Every rock we stumble across can be a stepping stone, there are precious hidden treasures scattered all along the road. And there is joy in the journey, joy in the climb. Twisting and turning, reaching for the open sky. Carving out each footstep, in the struggling we find, there is hope, there is joy in the journey."

Toby

Such a handsome boy. Nice hair cut!
Toby the gaurd dog.
Hairy beast

I can't beleve he was ever that small.

Some of you may not have met the hariest member of our family. Toby has been part of our family for over a year now. He is Matt's dream dog. For years he would spend hours surfing the net, checking out Newfoundland dogs. He completely sold me on the breed with the whole "good-natured" "gentle giant" thing. That and an ad in Better Homes and Gardens showing a little girl holding the leash of a huge dog. Sadly, his training was a little neglected. Half way through the winter Matt and I took an ad in the local paper to try and find him a new home. He was driving us crazy; roaming the neighborhood, jumping out of his pen, driving the neighbors crazy etc. Obviously we got no takers, just a couple of calls from some serious Newf lovers, offering their assistance with him. Matt reinforced the fence and Toby mellowed out a little bit so we let the "free to good home" thing drop. Then there was the problem of the hair. So much hair! Matt consistantly groomed him, but alas, he was fighting an uphill battle. Enter, the hero of the story; a dog groomer with a southern accent. Now, Toby is so handsome with his new hair cut and we are all much happier. He still scares pretty much everyone who comes by, but the truth is he really is a gentle giant. My favorite thing about him is how protective he is off the kids. Not aggresively protective, just "get in between the kids and the trouble" kind of protective. What's not to love about that. So, even though he is a giant, he's our giant and we love him.

Still learning

Hey blog readers!
I know everything is backwards but I am totally new at this so please be patient and I;ll keep working at it. At least there are pictures.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Tuesday- We went swimming at the hotel pool. Kim, Calvin, and their boys left, Chad and Ashley headed out to see Chad's family. Some of us went to Batman at the matinee that afternoon and then we all went fishing that night. The kids all caught fish and Bella got filthy in the dirt. McCade begged to get his feet wet and "accidentally " stepped in the water. Grace proved to have the patience and compassion for fishing (she hated it when we hooked a fish too bad to let it go.) Wed- Matt, Devin, and Megan got up early to try their hand at Silver Creek. The rest of us went swimming at the hotel. After Val and Tami checked out we went to the "Rusty Potatoe" (It's really called the "Wicked Spud" but Val couldn't remember the name so he called it that and it stuck for the rest of the day.) That afternoon Val and Tami (and girls left). Matt, Devin, and Megan went down to the river fishing that night, while Candice and I watched episodes of "Without a Trace" after they got back from fishing Megan joined us and we stayed up watching until we were falling asleep on the couch. Thurs- Matt had to return to work. Devin and Megan went fishing again. Fri- Matt got off early and we went to Twin Falls to the Temple open house, then to Johnny Carinos for some family style dining. It was sad to say good-bye, but we sure had a fun time while everyone was here.
McCade, Bella, & I in the hotel pool
Katelyn & Sadie fishing @Lakecreek
McCade- "My first fish, I caught my first fish!Grace, Sadie, Maddie, Katelyn...and McCade (always surrounded by women)

Uncle Devin showing Megan the finer points of fly fshing. She looks pretty darn cute in those waders.

Monday

Mon- We drove to Redfish Lake for more fun in the sun. Lots of tube rides and boating. Matt's brother Val (Tami and girls) met us there. It wasn't too hot and I thought I might catch hypothermia after I went swimming in the water but the kids didn't even seem to notice the cold, even through chattering teeth. And Ashley and I got cute matching t-shirts at the lodge. Matt was the picture of a patient boat-driver, giving rides the whole day, teaching how to ski or wakeboard etc. We had a hot dog roast and s'mores that night when we got home. But sadly, we were to tired to play Mafia.
Grace & Maddie in their matching life jackets @ Redfish


Bella giving Uncle Val loves

Our fun week cont.

Sat- we went to Alturas Lake, a beautiful (but cold) mountain lake, we had a beach all to ourselves and had a glorious, relaxing time. Everybody loved the tube rides and Matt had a so-so wakeboard pull. (Too many boat waves, for once it wasn't my fault.)
Matt the boat driver

Megan, Ashley, & me

Chad and Devin ready for a tube ride

Sunday- Matt's sister Tami came over with family and brought with them a delicious pot roast dinner. We wasted the day away playing games and eating in the back yard.

Summer Vacation

Our brother-in-law, Devin, came for a visit with his 3 daughters; Ashley (and her husband Chad), Megan, and Maddie. They picked up our neice Candice at the airport. They stayed for a week so we had some serious fun. I love it when people come visit us because it is like we get to go on vacation but without leaving our own beds.
A rundown of the visit; Friday- Matt, Devin, Chad, and Megan went for a hike up a mountain and fished and came back very tired. I had prepared food and forced everyone (of course by everyone, you know I mean Matt) to be festive and fun when they got back even though it was dark and they were exhausted. We had a "southern boil" ; potatoes, sausage, spicy vegies, corn, and shrimp all get thrown in a pot to boil. When it's done it gets spread on the table (covered in paper) and everybody eats with their hands and has a grand time. The clean up is a breeze. While they were hiking we (Ashley, Candice, and kids) went down to the river and also went to the water park later that day.