Sept. 2: My goal for this 4-day weekend: Make freezer corn. I did a batch of 50 ears of corn yesterday, I'm gonna do 50 more today, and if I do 50 more tomorrow, I'm calling it good for this year...
Sept. 4: I wish every work week was 3 days of school and 4 days off, instead of the 4 days of school and 3 days off!
Sept. 6: I feel so anti-everything right now. We've had indoor recesses for a week straight as a result of the smokey conditions, and it's really made me crabby and crazy!!! not a good combination!
Sept. 7: I have waited all week for today: watching Ammon's XC race in Idaho Falls, going shopping, eating food at the East Idaho State Fair, and watching Heart in concert tonight. And the best part is: I get to be alone with Josh for all of it!!!
Sept. 11: I'm wishing, hoping, and praying for rain. I can't stand all this smoke anymore! The indoor recesses are getting to me! And I feel so bad for all our friends are being evacuated from their homes. I hate all this fire and smoke!!!!
Sept. 13: A conversation today...
Kanyon: Do you know why the world is so big?
Josh: No, why?
Kanyon: Because it's 88 years old.
Me: How did you know that?
Kanyon: Because the space man told me.
Me: What Space man?
Kanyon: The one who wears white and visits me in my room. He tells me all about the earth.
Me: {speechless}
Sept. 14: After watching that hilarious skit on SNL a couple weeks ago, where they'd made a pretend commercial to celebrate Mothers Day and all the moms were reading "50 shades of Grey", I went and bought the book. If any of you have read it, did you find yourself googling on Wikipedia the term "submissive"?!!!
Sept. 21: homecoming parade today was so fun! There was no XC entry because the team left this morning for Boise. Ammon's first overnighter sports event! And we are missing it--the first one we've missed--because tomorrow is Jonah & Micah's birthday and their friend birthday party. Also, I'm SOOOO sad that there is no homecoming football game tonight due to the poor air quality from the fire's smoke. I have really missed attending high school football games this fall! We haven't been able to host any games here, and it doesn't feel like fall without it!
Sept. 22: happy day! 1st day of Autumn, Jonah & Micah's 9th birthday, Ammon's running at a XC meet in Boise, and I've decorated my house in pirate party stuff all day!!!
Sept. 23: so grateful for the wind this afternoon...because now I can see the mountains that are a mile from my home. Haven't seen them in a long time! I wish it was raining, though...
Sept. 24: Every day at dinner time, we all discuss the best parts of our day. 4 of 5 today said their favorite part of the day was outdoor recess!!! For the first time since the first week of school, all the recesses were outside today because the rain and wind cleared some smoke away. What a blessing!!!!
Sept. 25: in the 1st graders music classes today, we sang "Rain Rain, wont you stay. Please stay here for another day. Rain Rain, wont you stay. Little children want to play!"
Sept. 26: What has a bottom at its top? Your legs!!! I love laffy taffy jokes! Thanks Kacey Udy for the barrel of laughs that my whole family has enjoyed this week!! (Kacey, my HS friend, sent me a package with Laffy Taffy's--my favorite candy during my senior year).
Sept. 27: What goes up but never comes down? Your age.
Sept. 28: Nice job Ammon! He got 7th place at the XC meet today in Arco, and got a medal. He sprinted and beat another teammate at the finish line, too! So proud of my oldest boy today!
Sept. 29: What do you call expensive corn? A buccaneer.
Sept. 30: What can you throw but never catch? A party.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
our #1 {& only} summer camping trip
In the middle of August, we went on our longest camping trip ever, and it ended up being the only camping excursion we had this summer. Here's some explanation as to why it turned out that way...
At the beginning of June, I went to Utah with the boys for my niece's baptism. While there, I attended church on Sunday with my parents. That Sunday was testimony meeting, and I had the impression to share my testimony with the congregation. I had no intention of doing so, and I had no idea what I was going to say. I was the last speaker to get up before the meeting ended. I spoke about how I live in Salmon now and teach music at the elementary school. I told how I love to come home to my parent's ward and see ward members that I knew growing up serving in different capacities now, and how change is good and how wonderful the organization of the church is. I talked about the atonement of Jesus Christ, and how it applies and works for all of us, no matter what stage we are in life and my appreciation and love for my Savior for this gift he's given all of us. A week later, I received a phone call from a woman in my parent's ward that I'd never met. She told me her daughter was moving to Salmon the coming week to work full-time at the grocery store for the summer. The woman told me how she works as a cook at a scout camp near Salmon during the summer time as well, and happened to find a job for her daughter with the local grocery store as she was placing a food order with them. She said her daughter needed a place to stay, and when I bore my testimony at church and mentioned that I was from Salmon, she thought perhaps it was an answer to her prayers. I told her that I would ask around at church and see if anyone was interested, but if nothing else came up, I said that her daughter could live in our camp trailer for the summer. The woman also knew some other people in Salmon who said they would ask at their church, too. 3 days before her daugher was scheduled to work, she still had not received any offers for her daughter to stay with anyone, so she called me back and asked if it would be okay if her daughter lived in our trailer. I agreed to it, and said she could live there for the next two months. When her daughter came up, she said that she would be working until the middle of August. I told her we had a camping trip planned for the middle of August, and that she could stay here until then. And she did. I found another family in the ward that she could stay with the final week of her employment here because we needed to use the trailer for our scheduled camping trip. We usually go camping multiple times each summer, and it was difficult for me throughout the summer knowing that we couldn't until August. So when we were finaly able to go, we stayed longer to help make up the difference.
On Friday, August 10, we went to the ward campout north of Gibbonsville at Twin Creeks Campground. We had such a great time! It was the first time our ward has done this, and I hope they do it again! We ate dinner, played team olympic games, and told stories around the campfire. The next morning, we ate breakfast and the boys played with their friends until it was time to pack up and go.
We arrived at Reservoir Lake that evening and set up camp. That night we went fishing, ate dinner, roasted marshmallows & starbursts. On Sunday, we floated the lake and went fishing again that morning. In the afternoon, we took 4-wheeler rides. Throughout the day, the boys rode bikes, we played card games and read books, ate junk food, and relaxed. And I loved every minute of it. It was beautiful weather and a lot of people left the campground on Sunday morning, so it was very quiet and serene.
Ammon worked on making an outdoor bed the whole time we were there. He cut dead branches from nearby trees with a hatchet, and hacked off the limbs from them, and formed a makeshift perimeter around the bed. He leveled the ground and removed all the debris from inside the perimeter, then placed pine boughs as bedding. Then he put down a pad and sleeping bag, and put an umbrella on ropes that were strung between the trees that were next to the bed. He actually slept in it on Sunday night. The other boys wanted to sleep outside, too, so they helped pitch a tent and they put all their sleeping bags in it. It was the first time that we've gone camping that Josh & I had the trailer to ourselves for the night!
(Ammon asleep in his sleeping bag and makeshift outdoor bed on Monday morning)
(Josh checking in on the boys on Monday morning...
...they were all wrapped up warmly inside their sleeping bags!)
At the beginning of June, I went to Utah with the boys for my niece's baptism. While there, I attended church on Sunday with my parents. That Sunday was testimony meeting, and I had the impression to share my testimony with the congregation. I had no intention of doing so, and I had no idea what I was going to say. I was the last speaker to get up before the meeting ended. I spoke about how I live in Salmon now and teach music at the elementary school. I told how I love to come home to my parent's ward and see ward members that I knew growing up serving in different capacities now, and how change is good and how wonderful the organization of the church is. I talked about the atonement of Jesus Christ, and how it applies and works for all of us, no matter what stage we are in life and my appreciation and love for my Savior for this gift he's given all of us. A week later, I received a phone call from a woman in my parent's ward that I'd never met. She told me her daughter was moving to Salmon the coming week to work full-time at the grocery store for the summer. The woman told me how she works as a cook at a scout camp near Salmon during the summer time as well, and happened to find a job for her daughter with the local grocery store as she was placing a food order with them. She said her daughter needed a place to stay, and when I bore my testimony at church and mentioned that I was from Salmon, she thought perhaps it was an answer to her prayers. I told her that I would ask around at church and see if anyone was interested, but if nothing else came up, I said that her daughter could live in our camp trailer for the summer. The woman also knew some other people in Salmon who said they would ask at their church, too. 3 days before her daugher was scheduled to work, she still had not received any offers for her daughter to stay with anyone, so she called me back and asked if it would be okay if her daughter lived in our trailer. I agreed to it, and said she could live there for the next two months. When her daughter came up, she said that she would be working until the middle of August. I told her we had a camping trip planned for the middle of August, and that she could stay here until then. And she did. I found another family in the ward that she could stay with the final week of her employment here because we needed to use the trailer for our scheduled camping trip. We usually go camping multiple times each summer, and it was difficult for me throughout the summer knowing that we couldn't until August. So when we were finaly able to go, we stayed longer to help make up the difference.
On Friday, August 10, we went to the ward campout north of Gibbonsville at Twin Creeks Campground. We had such a great time! It was the first time our ward has done this, and I hope they do it again! We ate dinner, played team olympic games, and told stories around the campfire. The next morning, we ate breakfast and the boys played with their friends until it was time to pack up and go.
On Saturday, we drove the trailer up the pass and over into Montana. We headed for Reservoir Lake, a spot we'd never been to before. The drive took a few hours, and we stopped at the Ghost Town of Bannock as a welcome break to get out of the car and walk around. It was such a beautiful day, and a peaceful stop. We looked through the old buildings and read historical information. I truly enjoyed it!
We arrived at Reservoir Lake that evening and set up camp. That night we went fishing, ate dinner, roasted marshmallows & starbursts. On Sunday, we floated the lake and went fishing again that morning. In the afternoon, we took 4-wheeler rides. Throughout the day, the boys rode bikes, we played card games and read books, ate junk food, and relaxed. And I loved every minute of it. It was beautiful weather and a lot of people left the campground on Sunday morning, so it was very quiet and serene.
Ammon worked on making an outdoor bed the whole time we were there. He cut dead branches from nearby trees with a hatchet, and hacked off the limbs from them, and formed a makeshift perimeter around the bed. He leveled the ground and removed all the debris from inside the perimeter, then placed pine boughs as bedding. Then he put down a pad and sleeping bag, and put an umbrella on ropes that were strung between the trees that were next to the bed. He actually slept in it on Sunday night. The other boys wanted to sleep outside, too, so they helped pitch a tent and they put all their sleeping bags in it. It was the first time that we've gone camping that Josh & I had the trailer to ourselves for the night!
(Ammon asleep in his sleeping bag and makeshift outdoor bed on Monday morning)
(Josh checking in on the boys on Monday morning...
...they were all wrapped up warmly inside their sleeping bags!)
On Monday morning, we floated the lake one more time and fished again, but we never caught a single fish while we were there. Then we packed up camp and headed home. The drive was a couple hours' long again, and when we drove over the mountain and into the Lemhi Valley, it was filled with such extreme smoke from the local forest fires, that I just wanted to go back to our mini-vacation camping spot! It was the best camping trip we'd had for a long time! It was definitely worth the wait!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Williams Lake
We live about 10 miles away from Williams Lake, but for some reason we only ever seem to make it there about once a year. Sometimes I wish we had a paddle boat, because I know we'd spend more time on the nearby lake if we did! We spent one afternoon in August leisuring on the lake with our small inflatable raft and our tubes.
It's a beautiful and serene lake. You can tell in this photo that the smoke had already started to envelop the Salmon area back in August.
The small boat was barely big enough for the two of them!
Jonah and Micah stayed pretty close to the dock in their tubes.
Kanyon didn't want to get wet, so he sat by me on the dock for most of the time.
I love this photo of Josh!
I made the twins each jump off the dock! It was very cold water, and they weren't happy about it.
The lifejackets they used are older, and it was hilarious to see the boys after they jumped in the water, because the life vests went over their heads, and it made it even more difficult for them to swim than if they weren't wearing them--but they insisted on wearing them.
Kanyon finally agreed to let Josh take him out on the lake before we left.
It was another perfect summer afternoon: hanging out with our family and enjoying the great outdoors!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
the good, the bad, and the ugly
Ammon was going to go to week-long scout camp at Camp Bradley near Stanley, Idaho from Monday July 30 to Saturday August 4. He was so excited to go! It would've been the first time he'd gone, now that he's 12, and he was looking forward to going with some of his best friends from another ward in Salmon, too. He packed his scout backpack and was all ready to go early on Monday morning. On Sunday night, the night before he left, we got a phone call saying there'd been a fire that started near Camp Bradley, and that scout camp was cancelled. It was too late to switch to another boy scout camp, so the boys in our troop never got to go. Unfortunately, that fire that started 2 days before he was scheduled to leave has spread and is still burning. Ammon was SO disappointed. He laid around the house for those first 2 days watching the Olympics on TV. The scoutmaster decided to take the boys in our ward on Tuesday night for an overnighter camp to Wallace Lake instead. Josh went with them, too. They had a good time, but it wasn't the same as what a week-long scout camp would've been. And although they worked on passing off requirements, if Ammon had gone to scout camp, he would've completed several requirements as well as several merit badges. We are hoping that it will work out for him to go next year.
On that Saturday, we decided to take Ammon floating down the Salmon River. We've been waiting for years for him to be old enough to take. And since his schedule changed, and we had nothing planned for that afternoon, it worked out really well! He was so happy to go with us, too! We floated from the 11-mile access to the Shoup Bridge, which is a 5-mile stretch of the river. We used innertubes, and it took us about 2 hours. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon!
When we got home after floating, I asked the boys how things went while we were gone. Micah said "Good. Jonah got stung by a bee." Jonah looked like this:
There are some beehives in the field above our house, and he'd been walking outside in the field with Kanyon and got stung by a bee on his left eyelid. He pulled the stinger out himself while we were gone. We got home about an hour after it had happened, and the swelling was already progressing. I gave him some Benadryl, and rubbed Benadryl cream on his eye several times that evening, and gave him a second dose of oral Benadryl before bedtime. The next morning was Sunday, and I let him stay home from church so that he didn't have to be embarrassed about how his eye looked. I rubbed more cream on it and gave him another oral dosage before we left. And when we got home from church, this is how he looked:
He'd fallen asleep while we were gone, and when we came home, he woke up. His eye looked much worse, and he was acting very strange: he wasn't speaking very coherently and he tripped in the bathroom and laid down in the tub for a while. I decided I needed to take him to the E.R. Josh is allergic to bee stings, and now I knew that Jonah was, too. I convinced Jonah to go because I told him they would just give him medicine that would make the swelling stop, and then he would feel better. We were there for about an hour, and they gave Jonah an oral dose of epinephrine (he was so glad they didn't use the Epi-Pen shot), and put him on some antibiotics. This is what he looked like after we got home from the hospital:
It took several hours before the swelling finally went down, and his eye didn't appear fully normal for 3 more days! He was a good sport about it all, and he was so glad when he finally looked like himself again instead of Quasimoto!
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