Merry Christmas

We hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Love,

The Wrights

Happy.....Late......Halloween!!

I know this is coming late, but seriously - what else is new?!?

Happy Halloween - from The Wright's!!

A girl after my own heart!!

This year for Halloween, we told the kids we weren't going to buy them new costumes. We are just going to be creative, and create one with what we already have in the house!!

Well, Miss K had a party at her school and we were trying to figure out what to do. We went back and forth between Lady Bug, and Pirate, and of course there was the "princess" option - she has plenty of those costumes!!

As we were going through her dress-up clothes, I came across a one-piece slip, and the wheels started turning. I have been in a "rocker" mood because of an upcoming Rock Band party we will be attending, (more on that later)!! So here is what we came up with.........

Have a Rockin' Halloween!!

....and she's off!!

So Miss K was tired of waiting for mom and dad to find the time to teach her how to ride a bike, so she decided she was going to take matters into her own hands!!

One night, while working on my computer, a flash of pink outside my window caught my eye. I proceeded to walk out my front door to solve the mystery of the "pink blur" when much to my surprise I found my 4 yr old daughter riding the neighbor girls pink bike!! I inquired as to who had taught her to ride a bike. She informed me - in a very matter-of-fact voice - "well, I did mom"!!

We, (Grandparent's & Mom), decided that such a feat deserved a trophy. A bike of her own it was.

Next....shoelaces!!

A little "Risky Business" of our own!!

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away there lived a royal family and like all royal families, they went to church on Sunday's. Well it just so happens this story begins on a Sunday morning.

The royal alarm went off promptly at 7:00. The King and Queen crawled out of bed and quietly crept to each of their 3 children's rooms to announce their arrival with a spirited round of "Wake-Up Little Suzy"!! The Princes and Princess grumbled, but rolled out of their warm cocoon's to begin their morning hygiene ritual, and to don their royal church clothes. Once the King and Queen were finally able to reclaim their territory, they themselves began the long process that would eventually find them ready to face the other royal families at the local chapel.

Now you must understand that this kingdom was magical!! The children's belongings had legs of their own, and would play tricks on them by hiding themselves in inconspicuous places at the exact moment they are needed!! This especially pertained to their shoes, but it wasn't uncommon for this magic to affect their toys, blankets, and even pillows on occasion! Well, this particular morning they found out that was not the only magic their kingdom possessed!!

While the King and Queen were in the royal bath chamber, a surprising event occurred - a character straight, out of the movies, materialized out of thin air!!

He didn't seem to realize his misfortune, because he continued with his role playing without missing a beat.

We knew that we had to take immediate action!! This anomaly would send our fragile universe into an uproar. Time was working against us, but we knew we couldn't fail in our mission!!

We did the only thing we could in such a tight situation....we Googled it!! Of course "Mr. Google" didn't let us down, and we were able return our mysterious friend in the allotted time!! Not only that, we still made it to church on time!!

Well, how did you think it was going to end??

O-HI-O

My mom and I decided to take a trip to Dayton Ohio to surprise my little sister for her birthday!! She moved there the end of June last year, and has been feeling a bit homesick this last little while!! So we coordinated it all with her hubby, bought our plane tickets, and then did the waiting game until the big day arrived!!

Her birthday is on July 21, so that is the day we planned to arrive in Dayton. We had a couple days of travel before that actual day however!! So coming from Nampa, I wanted to break up the trip as much as possible!! The first leg of my trip was getting to Shelley. I packed up the kids and headed that way on Sunday 19th. Once there I was able to relax with my family for the rest of the day. Come Monday morning, I dropped the kids off with my in-laws!! They are just recently retired and able to watch my kids for a week, other wise this trip would not have come to pass so THANKS!! Then mom and I drove to SLC where we met up with more family. We ate dinner, played cards, and consequently learned a new phrase....RAM IT!!! We had great fun with that the whole rest of our trip!! We stayed in a hotel this night so we had a "free" place to park the car. Our departure time was a very early 7:15!! We figured we better hop on the hotel shuttle around 5:30. Unfortunately breakfast at our hotel didn't start until 6:00! Oh well, the Salt Lake airport was bound to have something we could nibble on!!

Sure enough!! After checking our bags and an uneventful trip through security we stumbled upon a Burger King! Now this would definitely not be my first choice for a well balanced breakfast, but when your hungry about anything will do.

Then our day truly began! We had a little bit of a wait before it was time to board the first plane of our trip. This plane would take us to DENVER!! I was really excited about this!! Why you may ask - well I am a Denver Broncos fan of course!! My husband has been since he was a little boy. I have only recently been converted however. To be honest, I never really saw the attraction when it came to football!! I know, I know - it IS pretty hard to believe! Anyways, I decided I could be a football widow, or I could join in the fun. I have been a football fan ever since!! Okay, back to the trip....so the 1 1/2 flight to Denver passed without complaint. We were all smiles for the anticipated reunion with daughter and sister. After a little reading, and a few intense games of cards we had finally arrived!

After getting off the plane, I ran a fade route straight to a "Broncos" gift shop!! I went in wanting to find something for my husband, or boys, but left with a cute pair of Broncos yoga pants! Yeah me - oh boy, I am starting to sound more like a cheerleader!!

One last 2 hr flight and we would find ourselves in the great state of Ohio!! My sister's husband graciously picked us up at the airport and taxied us to our home away from home for the next 4 days!! Now as I mentioned before, this was supposed to be a surprise, but a certain 6 yr old nephew of mine couldn't stand the anticipation a second longer!! No problem, at least we kept it a surprise until the actual day of her birthday. It was still a great present for her. We all acquired our mom's "high-water table" so the water works began as soon as we stepped out of the car and into my sister's waiting arms!! What a great day!!

After unloading our belongings from our "taxi" we had a few minutes to rest before we headed out for a "Yee-Ha" birthday dinner. My sister decided Texas Roadhouse was just the place!!

Of course we informed our waiter this was a special occasion. So he rounded up the posse, grabbed the saddle and they clapped their way through the restaurant ending at our table!! Sister dear was asked to climb on the saddle, sport the offical Roadhouse cowboy hat, and accept a vigorous YEE HA from the surrounding tables!! What a trooper!!

The rest of the pics show a few of the fun times we had together!!

Of course we had to get a picture of the 3 of us!! That doesn't happen very often, so a energetic friend of my sister stepped up to the challenge!!

The day after we got there it poured the whole day!! The kids were a little restless because they couldn't run off their pent-up energy outside, so we had a dance party!! I, being the nice person that I am, decided I would miss the fun and take the pictures!!

Those grandkids tuckered their grandma right out!! How many grandma's would get up and dance with her grandkids until near exhaustion?

Now, my sister and I cannot get together without being, well.....WEIRD!! We talked and laughed about a few memories we had as kids doing just that!! Namely grocery shopping, and a little poem called, "The Coconut"!! Good times!

Come Friday, my mom and I were just flat missing our husbands!! I know, I know how pathetic!! Well, when you have great husbands like we do, you tend to miss them a little when you are away!! I love you honey!! I also, if you can believe it, missed my kids!! Being around my nieces and nephews reminded me how much I love my kids. It's not that I have forgetten mind you, it's just.....sometimes I need to take a break and recharge my batteries!!

Our last day there we decided to go to the Air Force Museum!! This was a great place!! I wish we would have had more time to really explore the whole place, but we had 6 kids with us, and they didn't think spending all day there was a good choice. So we spent about 45 min. in the museum, and then headed out to the park to have a picnic!! It was a great day anyways!! Here are a couple of pics of me and the planes -

Well, Saturday came which marked the end of our visit. We were sad to leave, and had a long day of travel ahead of us. My sister and her family will be taking a trip to Shelley in September, so the farewells were not quite so tearful!! We said our goodbyes and headed into the airport to start our treck back to the home of the Russets!!

We arrived in SLC around 7:15 P.M. We gathered our belongings, and made our way to the hotel, and our waiting car!! Mom and I have the ability to gab, which made the drive to Shelley
seem short. Once there, we hauled in our stuff, and headed straight to bed. I, however, made sure to give my sleeping kids a kiss and an "I love you" before I retired to my bed and allowed the blackness to envelope me.

I obviously had one more leg to my trip.....the drive to Nampa. I popped in a DVD for my kids, made sure their headphones were up to the challenge, slipped in my earphones to my iPod, and sang my way home!! Consequently, my throat was rather soar once I reached my final destination! I was excited to see my husband, and equally excited to see MY bed!! What a great trip!!

I now had 2 days to prepare for my next adventure....Lucky Peak!! Ummm...I am almost ready for school to start so I can have a vacation from my summer.....Almost!!

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"!!