FAMILY...Isn't It About Time?

I'm currently hanging out with my grandparents following a great weekend in Eastern Idaho. Along with my family, I had a fun-filled day in Lava Hot Springs meeting and greeting relatives....some I keep in contact with regularly, a few I keep in contact with at least once a year, and many that I've never seen before in my life (that I know of....).

Each "family group" was assigned a color to wear and wouldn't you know that my great grandmother's color was RED. Now, I love the color red, BUT as a redhead you can imagine that I NEVER wear red nor look as good as blondes or brunettes wearing red. I know what you're thinking... Yes, Little Orphan Annie wore a red dress......however, she had a white collar on her dress, thus removing the color
red from against the skin of her neck/face {Exhibit A}. I ended up wearing a "not so bad" shade, but I was still looking over my shoulder for Ms. Hannigan the whole time.

I had an absolute blast tubing the Portneuf River with Bryn and her kids and a few cousins. I had forgotten about the many rocks under the water's surface (although my abs got a workout from lifting my "cheeks" off the tube) and I came away with a battle wound (skinned shin). Can you beleive that I smacked the same shin on two different runs! It hurt worse the second time....darn rocks! Nonetheless it was SO MUCH FUN!

We also spent quite a bit of time in the historic mormon ghost town of Chesterfield... (http://chesterfieldfoundation.org/history.html) My great great great Grandpa was one of the founders. It was neat to see some cabins restored, and to drive around the area with Grandma telling us some great stories about her childhood visits to the area. I learned more on this visit than any other. On the way home we stopped to see the Twin Falls Temple and the Shoshone Falls.

Chesterfield

Great Great Grandpa's Log House in Hatch, ID

View from the cemetery looking towards the Oregon Trail

Shoshone Falls

Twin Falls Temple

Counting Gpa & Gma's loose change w/ Hunter & Dad.

Grand total: $714.55

Lesson Learned: Save Change!!!

Playing Mommy

Two words....EXHAUSTING & FUN....my hat goes off to all of moms out there! I have spent a lot of time with children in my care, however I fall under the catergory of "I send them home to their parents." I have had an absolute blast this week taking care of two of my nieces (Malia & Keana) while Lisa is in Hawaii with Nakoa, and Kody has been working out of town. We have spent many hours with the Braithwaites because let's face it....it's always more fun to play with cousins. We got an early start while Lisa packed and headed straight to the "Spray Park" (which is the slide show above. I'm having trouble loading a slideshow into a post...any help would be greatly appreciated!)

Played dress up....

Went to the pool...

Visited the Darigold Cheese Factory...

Megan was here for a couple of days when we both decided we would love some squeaky cheese...remember the good old days of visiting the Swiss Village Cheese Factory? So we loaded up and drove 40 minutes to Sunnyside. The girls were happy to take a "road trip", but a little disappointed (especially because of the smell) when we got there. We took the elevator up one floor to take the self-tour and discovered that there really wasn't anything to see. Only 3 workers at most...and where was all of the cheese? Old photos of how they used to make cheese were hanging on the walls........that's what both Megan and I remembered seeing when we visited a cheese factory. I guess we'll have to stick to touring Tillamook.....because here in Sunnyside it's all new technology.

THEN & NOW

At least we had some good cheese curds to snack on the way home! :)
And ???? We still have 4 days together! :) Hmm.......what will happen next?

Slip & Slide Time!

Bodie got a Cars Slip 'N Slide® for his birthday! He really wanted to open it at the cabin, but knowing that we couldn't waste well water or take the risk of the kids stepping on any thistle in the yard......it didn't get set up until we made it home. I captured this video because I decided to stay the night in Hermiston to spend more time with Bryn and the kids......and I didn't want to go home yet. Amree, Bodie & Brittin were all super excited to try the Slip 'N Slide® and a neighbor girl brought hers over to make it more fun for everyone. Sterling did a great job setting everything up, and there is a perfect tiny hill in the backyard....just not a long enough runway. As you watch the video, be sure to listen for the sound of a 747 jumbo jet as Brittin flies by and look for Amree doing the army crawl to build up momentum......extra padding was soon added along the fence.....I just love these kids!

Fly Family Reunion

Another great 4th of July reunion has passed at the Fly cabin. It was great to see family, eat goodies, enjoy nature, and play "Ticket to Ride" and speed Scrabble! See Bryn's blog for more photos. This year Cascade, Idaho, was particularly crowded. In fact, I've never seen so many people squish their tents and sailboats onto the beaches/shore of the resevoir. It was absolutely crazy! At the risk of sounding a little negative....I feel the need to vent just a little. The mountain trails were also crowded, although seeing large clouds of billowing dirt gave a forewarning that I was about to meet up with another motorcycle or 4-wheeler. This year the "newby" wholagins (sp?) tried to block off trails near their cabins....most likely to try and keep the dust down.....which I found quite annoying. Afterall, I've been riding the trails for probably 25+ years and always have had access to any road/trail in the area. I think it's pretty sad how some things can change with time.

I remember when there weren't so many cabins on West Mountain, walking down to the HUGE creek and looking through the pipe under the road to find gold, buying Zots and Pop Rocks at West Mountain Lodge, zooming up the steep hills at the boat basin, and picking wild flowers without a care in the world. I remember just being so happy and singing, "My Heavenly Father Loves Me".... you know the one:

"Whenever I hear the song of a bird, or look in the blue, blue sky,

Whenever I feel the rain on my face or the wind as rushes by (favorite line while riding fast)

Whenver I touch a velvet rose, or walk by a lilac tree,

I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world, Heavenly Father created for me."

Now, the boat basin is fenced off and can only be accessed by foot (What good is that for a working boat basin? No boat trailers getting through!), somewhat "crabbie" cabin owners blocking roads with their vehicles (which they learned responsible motorists like me will find a way around...off road? No one will ever do that on an ATV....DUH!), going on a walk requires a hefty walking stick (club) to help protect oneself against dogs, dogs, dogs, and the West Mountain Lodge? The little store is gone.....now it is just a residence.

Next year, I will have to focus more on the peaceful mornings of sitting on the porch and sipping Tang while enjoying the view of cattle grazing in the meadow with the calm blue lake in the distance...or sitting around the fire pit to enjoy the quiet stillness of the night except for the crackling of the warm fire. Ahhhhh........

Some of my favorite moments this year:

*Fishing with Grandpa (We caught 7 perch and 1

small mouth....a good day!)

*Kody told Bodie to give a thumbs up sign---

only Bodie used his index fingers! Cute!

*Grandpa provided us with an alternative toilet.

Mosquitoes...spiders.....and ants, Oh my!

*Cassita, Keana wanted you to "see" her missing teeth!

Nakoa giving me a hug! I was looking through my pictures

with Bodie and he said, "There's Molly. I wuv her."

I'm an Aunt...Again!

Our family welcomed our newest member on Sunday, June 29th. Cassie and Mitch are the proud parents of Hallie Jo. I can't wait to see her in just a few weeks! I totally thought that she would have had red hair, but apparently Mitch's genes were just a tad stronger. Cass..I'm borrowing a few pictures from you so others can see your beautiful baby girl!