Island Park Madness

This post is a little late, seeing as how this trip happened the first of June, but it is worth blogging about....even if it is a little late!!

To celebrate the oncoming summer, we decided to make a dash for it!! Us, and a group of friends headed for the trees of Island Park, ID. After a month of email correspondence between the 4 families, the day for us to depart finally arrived. After a quick trip to Little C's kindergarten graduation, and to yank the kids out of their last day of school, we piled in our "vacation vehicle" and began the 6 hr drive - which turned into a 9 hr expedition!

The first stop on our adventure took us to a rest area on the outskirts of Boise as we waited for the rest of the party to make an appearance. After a round of potty trips, and a few pics we were on our way...for reals!!

The next big stop was "Grandma Cella's"!! We made a quick stop at my parents house to say hi, and use the facilities. This stop was a quick 20-30 minutes, and we were back on the road. Of course before we officially got back on the road we had to give everyone a tour of my husband's and my stomping grounds, and fill up the wagons.

We decided to stop at Big Jud's for dinner. Now the other families in our party were smart and shared a Big Jud & fries....but my husband decided to think with his stomach instead of his head!! We ordered..much to my dismay..2 Big Jud meals!!! The kids and I shared one, and my dear sweet husband took one on all by himself!!

Let's just say he was regretting his decision once we got to his parents cabin in Island Park!!

Once our tummies were full, it was time to make the last leg of our journey. It took us another 30 minutes to reach our final destination, and what a sight for tired eyes it was!!

We hauled in all our crap...and staked out our sleeping quarters. My husband and I ended up on a hide-a-bed in the living room. It wasn't so bad....aside from a "is someone watching me" incident on one of the bright beautiful mornings!! I woke up to a little set of eyes staring at me from another couch. BLEE was tired of sleeping and decided to watch others sleep instead. Well, we just happened to be the easiest targets!!

Anyways, Thursday morning was the day set aside to drive to Yellowstone Park. After our 9 hr excursion, we decided to wait until Friday. The thought of spending another day in the car was too much! We slept in, as much as you can with 13 kids under one roof, and then sent the men outside to get started on breakfast.

After breakfast it was time for the 4 wheelers to make an appearance!! If you can't tell by Little C's face, the kids were extremely excited!!

Little C and Miss K are ready to rock!! What's that....Little C is driving??!! I don't think so, but nice try!!

After a relaxing day of 4 wheeling, eating, sleeping, and yes a poker tournament, we went to bed ready to face another day.

We headed out for Yellowstone Park around 10:00 in the morning. We wanted to leave earlier, but it is not easy getting 23 people dressed, fed, and herded out to the waiting vehicles, so 10:00 it was!!

Our first stop was Howard Springs. This water comes right out of the ground, and the best tasting water ever...Seriously!! We waited while each kid took their turn drinking from the spring.

Grandma and Grandpa W gave our kids each a camera they could use to take pics along the way. Here is Little C taking a picture of me, while I am taking a picture of him.

Below are a few pics of the nature we encountered on the drive.

This is a Bald Eagle in his nest.

This is a far off look of the steam coming of the Paint Pots.

There was more than enough Buffalo to be seen!! I have never seen this many before. We came at a really good time.

Buffalo X-ing!!! We even had a buffalo try to climb in our van!! Grandpa W thought it was a good idea to open the door while taking his picture. I guess the buffalo wanted a closer look as well....he headed for the open door!! I "very calmly" told Grandpa W to close the door. The sound made them jump away from the van, at least long enough for us to make our escape!! What an adventure.

What a good little group of patient kids waiting for Old Faithful to sing it's song.

Miss K getting a good look at the scenery!!

The W family, including Grandma & Grandpa, and our dog KoKo.

One last picture of all the little rugrats present on our first ever Island Park vacation!!

This picture also explains the "Island Park Madness"!!

Scouts Honor

I, "Big C", promise to do my best

To do my duty to God and my country,

To help other people,

and to obey the law of the pack.

Big C just earned is Wolf award!! Well, not just....he received it in May's pack mtg. I am a little behind in posting this, but better late than never right?

This award is earned in the Cubscouts between the ages 8 & 9. Once they turn 9 they start working on the Bear. I only know this because I am the Bear leader in my ward!! Now I get him in my den!!

So we have a little bit of a ritual when it comes to scouts earning there awards. First off, the scout is announced and asked to "come on down"!! Here the Cubmaster presents him with his award, and askes him to invite his mom and dad to share in the advancement.

Mom then gets a pin and a hug for her help in his achievement.

Then Big C gets to paint a paw print, in the color of his choice, on his dad's forehead. Well, Big C has a little bit more room to work with than just the forehead!!

Needless to say, we are extremely proud of our little "Wolf Cub"!!

Eagle Scout here we come!!

A B-Y-U- tiful Birthday!!

Big C celebrated his 9th birthday over Memorial Day weekend!! Out of our 3 kids, his is the last birthday, so he was past the point of being excited!!

Of course we did our normal Golden Corral breakfast, where the waitresses sing, and the birthday boy gets to dance with his "salt & pepper" maracas, but even before this was the opening of the presents!!

Big C made out pretty well!! We received 2 cards in the mail. One from his Grandparents W, and the other from his Grandparents B. Each contained a card concealing the actual "loot". He was given a $30 check. and a $25 gift card to Wal-mart. Below is a collage of all Big C's birthday happiness!!

Then of course he had to dress for the occasion, wearing some of his new clothes.

Big C's Uncle N was here for the weekend, and offered to make his birthday dinner. We dined on Fettuccine Alfredo, Fluffy Chicken, and Asparagus!! It was wonderful!! For his birthday cake he wanted something a little different. Instead of a cake, he wanted, what we call, "Grandma Bars". These have a oatmeal cookie crust, topped with a creamy, fudgy goodness, then sprinkled with the same oatmeal cookie crust. Well, Big C decided he wanted the oatmeal part died "BYU" blue, and then instead of sprinkling the crust on top randomly, he wanted it to spell B-Y-U. Well, after using all of my blue food coloring, it came out a nice shade of....green!! Oh well, at least the words came out just right!!

Finally the candles were blown out, the "birthday song" sung, and the "cake", along with the food, resting miserably in our tummies, (we all ate way to much)!

Big C's birthday has come to an end. He is already planning for the big 1-0!!

Sigh........A mother's work is never done!!

Up, Up, and Away!!!

I know, I know!! Enough with the crying kids!! Well, this story was just too good not to share!!

We went to Red Robin for lunch when my husband's sister was in town. As we were leaving they handed the kids a balloon of their choosing. Of course Miss K choose a pink balloon. We tied it around her wrist, and she danced around the house with it!! She also thought it was fun to let it go, and then jump off the couch, or a chair to re-acquire the string.

Well, Miss K is......let's just say she is one in a million. She decided she wanted to let the balloon take her far, far away. She proceeded to take it outside, and jump into the air hoping the wind would catch her. In the midst of her adventures, the balloon slips out of her loosely closed fist and sails into the wild blue yonder. Miss K's adventure came to an abrupt end, as she tearfully watched her dreams of flying, drift out of sight. A distraught little girl came to let her parents know of her circumstances.

We calmly asked her why she would take her balloon outside, when she knows it could fly away. She informed us she wanted to fly away with her balloon.

Apparently, laughing was NOT the right course of action to take in this situation!!

Pampered

I have a friend who is going through a REALLY rough stretch in her life right now!! A few of us got together and decided she needed a "girl's day", and what better day to accomplish this task than on her birthday!!

One of the "girl's" is a little eccentric, and interjected the idea of pedicures!! She knew a great place, (red flag)!! Well, I had never had one before, so I thought, why not.

We went to a place in Eagle, (red flag). Eagle is a very ritzy town. The more wealthy people tend to navigate this way. Anyways, we get there and while signing in, we are asked if we would like anything to drink. They gave you the option of soda, water, coffee, or hot chocolate. I was a bit cold, so I went for the hot chocolate. One of the "girls" asked for the water......it came out in a wine glass, (red flag)!!! We were taken back and seated on a long curvy couch. In front of each section was a little sink filled with hot soapy water. We soaked, and talked, and soaked, and laughed. The spa ladies came back and clipped, and scraped, and rubbed, and finally painted. I decided to go with the French-Tip style. After about an hour of, hmm...heaven, we slipped on our flip-flops and headed to the cash register. So being the smart person I am, I never took the time to ask how much this was going to set me back!! We left the spa light on our feet, and $50 lighter, and that was the least expensive pedicure!!! Oh well, I guess I'm worth it every once in awhile.....right?

Lesson from the Unselfish....

My oldest, who is almost 9, has been having some problems with being selfish. The other day, Big C invited a friend in the house to play Playstation. Well it just so happens his little brother was in the middle of one of his games. Big C told Little C he would help him with one of his games later, if he would let him and his friend play now. Little C loves playing with his big brother, so he graciously handed over his controller. When it was time for Big C to uphold his part of the bargain, he broke his little brothers heart by telling him he had said "maybe" in their original agreement, and that ment he could choose whether or not he wanted to play with him. Once my husband and I heard what had transpired, we proceeded to give Big C a good tongue lashing. He was, until further notice, grounded from the playstation.

While this was taking place, Little C stood in the background and listened to it all. After the judgement had been delivered, Little C went up to his older brother, with tears in his eyes, and told him he didn't have to play with him if he didn't want to. He also came to my husband and I a little later and pleaded is brother's case, asking if we would please unground him!!

After the unselfish words of his little brother, we sat down with Big C, and helped him to understand the consequences his actions. I think, maybe, the lesson was learned. He seemed to show remorse for what had occured that day.

Don't get me wrong, Big C is a great kid!! Sometimes he just lets the world get in the way, as we all do!!

I think because of Little C's example, we have learned "a lesson from the unselfish"!!

We celebrated Little C's 6th birthday on May 2nd!! This was "his" day and he made sure everyone new it by declaring every few minutes, "I'M the birthday boy"!!

So first thing in the morning, Little C was ready to open is few birthday gifts!! He could barely contain his excitement!!

After the thrill was over, he struck a pose in his new gear!! He also received a BYU hat, and a new Nintendo DS game. From G-ma & G-pa Wright - a check for $30, and last but certainly not least, from G-ma & G-pa Borsella - a $25 Walmart gift card!!

Once his "photo op" was over, we packed up the rest of the family and, as per Little C's request, went to Golden Corral for breakfast!! He was pampered, and sung to by the G.C. waitresses. He was in heaven!!

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, until it was birthday dinner, and cake time!! For his dinner, he requested spaghetti, with breadsticks. This is his all time favorite meal!! He can sure pack that stuff away. Then he asked for a basketball cake. Mom is not the most creative person, (I am afraid my sister received all of those blessings), but I did my best.

Little C graciously led us in the Happy Birthday song....

....and the big finale....

....whew!!! What a day. All in all I think the day was a smashing success.

Happy Birthday Little C!!