The Tail End of Summer

School starts on August 30th here. I'm not excited about that, but I guess it's fine, not that I have a choice. We've been having fun while we still can though. Rik took most of the kids and some friends to Lava. They all had SO much fun (Taisha even jumped off the highest platform!!) Malia and I had to miss this one though, because she made the high school volleyball team, and they had two-a-day practices that she couldn't miss. (She is SO excited that she made the team, and found out today that she will be starting as outside hitter and middle back.)


Last Saturday (August the 21st) we decided to hike to Lower Palisades Lake. Kayden couldn't come to this one because he was doing this with his cross country team:

(Kayden is on the bottom, 4th from the right)

The team always has a blast at the Mud Run, and this year was no exception. Kayden and his friends spray painted t-shirts the night before the race..... Kayden's shirt didn't make it through the race, because it got ripped off for a flag.

The rest of us headed up to the Palisades Creek area. We had to walk through the horse trailer parking lot to get to the trail head, and I was trying to remind the kids to watch out for the piles poop all over the place, by telling them to watch out for the "car poop." Of course the kids immediately caught that mistake, and mocked me the entire hike. So sad how my mind works.... we're in a parking lot, there is poop, it must be "car poop."

This hike was over eight miles and took us six hours from start to finish. It was really hot for the first part, so we let the kids cool off in the creek that followed the trail for most of the hike (that was Anaya's favorite part!) We spent about an hour at the lake, along with a family of moose. It was really pretty up there. Anaya was a little disappointed to learn that there were no palaces at Palisades Lake. I guess according to her, if it's going to be called "Palisades," it should have palaces. *sigh*

Rik and McKay fished on the way back, and caught a fish 30 seconds after they put their hook in the water! McKay was THRILLED... and was then bored with fishing just that quick. Because they stopped to fish, they were about 30 minutes behind the rest of us, so we left them pine cone and rock notes along the trail.

Once again, I was so proud of my little kids for making through the whole hike. Eight miles in six hours is pretty good for a six and seven year old! After we got home and cleaned up, we sent everyone to bed. Malia and Taisha both got up about 3am though, because they said it still felt like they were hiking in their sleep. They watched TV together for about an hour before going back to sleep.

We have a trip to Ross Park still planned for this week, some odds and ends of shopping, and, yippee, we are having new family pictures done this week!! Overall this summer has been one of the easiest I have had in years, and I am going to miss the slowness, but even McKay says he's ready for school to start..... and that says a lot right there!

WooHoo!! 17 years!

Rik and I celebrated our 17th anniversary last week. When I was looking through the old pictures I came across lots of pictures from our dating days. They brought back all sorts of good memories!! I loved our big hair! I was so completely head over heels for Rik, I could barely think straight! I remember feeling almost dizzy when I'd see him. When we were engaged, I was living and working in Idaho Falls, and he was living and working in Soda Springs. At the time, this was a monumental trial for me. I {embarrassingly} remember having meltdowns at work to my supervisor, begging him to let me off early so I could drive to Soda to see Rik. It kind of makes me laugh now (or possibly gag), but I couldn't imagine being with anyone else, and hated being apart. I still can't imagine being with anyone else and still hate being apart. I missed him so much when he went on the high adventure hike, and when he mentioned that he may have to go on a business trip the end of August, I had a small meltdown very similar to the kinds I used to have when we were engaged (my poor supervisor!) I guess not much has changed.... except maybe our hair!

I love you!

Zzzzzzzzzz

So we've been trying to get everyone to bed earlier because school starts in less than 3 weeks (bummer!!) This got me thinking about every one's quirky sleepisms.

When Kayden was a baby, he had 2 favorite blankets. They both had a ruffle and he would find one of the corners, grab the ruffle with one hand, put his thumb from his other hand in his mouth, and fan the ruffle across his face. He'd be out in seconds! He was the easiest of all my babies to put to sleep. Now that he's older he likes to sleep right next to the wall. Also, he's always been in a better mood when he gets to bed early, and wakes up early. He hasn't slept past 8:30 all summer, and is usually up before 8.


Since the ruffle blankets worked so well for Kayden, I made a couple for Malia too... only she didn't like them. She loved ALL THINGS SILKY!! When she got big enough, she would reach her hand into my drawer, feel around until she found something silky, and then carry that around. After a few embarrassing situations, I made her a pink satin tricot quilt. This did the trick for the whole month that she had it.... she lost it and then went right back to my unmentionables drawer. It was SO nice when she outgrew this!! Here's Kayden with his blanket, and Malia with a silky something she got out of my drawer.

(I don't have many pictures of Malia and her "blankies"... imagine that!)

Malia was a night owl when she was little, and it doesn't seem to matter when she gets to bed or how much sleep she gets, she's always pretty happy and perky. Now though, she likes her room cold, and a million heavy blankets on top of her.

Taisha didn't get attached to anything when she was little, and she also didn't sleep through the night until well into her third year (coincidence??), and even then, she woke up several times a week. Rik and I used to take turns sleeping in her bed with her. I think Rik and I were her "blankies." She just wanted to sleep near us. She has had the most sore legs and ears at night. Even now, when she's tired, everything hurts on her.... her eye, pinky toe, elbow... whatever! She does better when she gets to bed early, and wakes up after a full night of sleep. She also likes the really soft microfleece-type blankets.


When McKay was a toddler he got attached to two blankets. Both are made from t-shirt fabric, and have a similar feel. When he was a baby he liked to sleep with these blankets on his head. I was always worried he would suffocate, but somehow he found air in there! Even now he sleeps with his head wrapped up in his blanket, and his feet sticking out the bottom. He still has his two favorite blankets. He told me he likes it when I put them by his wall so they get cold. He likes to stay up late and sleep in late, and is SO grumpy if he doesn't get enough sleep!

(One of his blankets has a permanent pin 'cause it doubles as a cape.)

When I was pregnant with Anaya my mom was going through old boxes in my grandma's basement, and came across a box with some old children's fabric. My mom took some and made them into large burp cloths. I had such pretty blankets when Anaya was born, but she got attached to the large burp cloth made from the old fabric! She has to sleep with it and Barry, her stuffed dog. The blanket it so thin, and stained, and has holes and snags all through it. It's so small I can wad it up and the whole thing fits in my hand. A really nice thing about Anaya, is when she is tired, she puts herself to bed.

Rik is able to sleep anywhere and through anything... like kids screaming, puking in the bed next to him, me changing the sheets with him in it...etc. The other night at about 11:45 I text Kayden to remind him to get home by midnight (this same text gets sent out just about every night, cause when you're 16, you forget that), and then I went in the bathroom to wash my face. Rik had just fallen asleep, and so I closed the bathroom door and turned on the fan. Kayden's friend brought him home, and he tried the front door, but it was locked so he repeatedly rang the doorbell and knocked. I didn't hear it.... Rik didn't hear it. He then used the keypad and came through the garage door, but the house door was locked. He knocked and knocked. I didn't hear him, and Rik still didn't hear him. Kayden ran around the house, and pounded on the locked sliding doors.... no one heard anything. Just after that I came out of the bathroom and noticed that it was 12:04 and Kayden wasn't home yet, so I started texting him angry texts informing him that it was 12:04 and that he better get home or else. Right then Malia came upstairs, all shook up because Kayden had pounded on her window to have her let him in. So I opened the front door and Kayden came stomping in yelling all sorts of nice things! Rik slept through that too. *sigh* Rik is the only person in our family who sleeps with socks on though.

When Rik and I got engaged, his grandma, an accomplished quilter, started asking me what kind of quilt we wanted her to make for us. She had made some of the most beautiful and complicated temple quilts. She probably died when I brought her my hunter green and white striped fabric for her to quilt in straight lines. This is my blanket though. It's been on my bed ever since we got married. I've had lots and lots of comforters on top, but every night the comforters get put on the floor, and we sleep with the same hunter green quilt. It is the perfect weight and has just the right feel for me. I don't know what I'm going to do when it starts looking like Anaya's blankie!

Happy Birthday Anaya!!

Anaya turned 16, um, I mean 6, yesterday!! She wanted dirt for her birthday dessert and when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner she asked if we could go to one of those, "you know, dinner places," so we went to Johnny Carino's. Here she is in her new outfit, new long earrings, and you can't tell, but she has her fancy long nails on too (all as per her request). She's growing up so fast! It seems like just yesterday when she was just a little girl!

High Adventure 2010

July 27th through July 31st, Rik and Kayden headed off to the Big Horn Crags in the Salmon National Forest for High Adventure. They said it was some of the most beautiful country they have ever seen.... and also some of the most rugged. They backpacked 24 miles over the 5 days. Rik hurt himself the day before they left, and even said that maybe he should borrow a satellite phone just in case he got worse and had to be helicoptered off the mountain. Needless to say, we were all glad he made it home safely! Sorry for so many pictures... I actually had a hard time picking through all the pictures because there were so many beautiful ones!