Camping Out

Usually we've had our annual Memorial Day Weekend camping trip planned for a LONG time before we go. This year we decided a week ago that we would go camping, but in a FAR different location.

Usually we head to the hills (mountains) and enjoy a weekend by the lake, watching movies, riding 4-wheelers, and enjoying a campfire. Not so much this time.

This year my parents have decided to take an extended vacation with my grandparents. They're headed East. The trip will last about 2 weeks, in which time they will miss our Memorial Day Weekend camping trip, Steve's birthday, and Jake's birthday. (We will be missing my mom's birthday.) If I had the chance to take this trip with them, I would. But since we aren't going, I'm not sure that we could have gone camping by ourselves (I mean, we COULD have, but we would have missed the fun stuff that we do with my parents and siblings.)

SO our camping trip this year will be in my parents' backyard. Yes, still in town, and not real FANCY, but should be fun. We've got things set up for a wiener roast and s'mores. I think it will be fun. A lot of work for just sleeping in my parents' backyard, but will be fun. :)

Spring Break

This week is Spring Break, and I'm not quite sure whether Cameron is excited about it, or upset that his schedule has been altered.

Today's activities were watching videos while mama napped. (I never said that I didn't like Spring Break!) :)

Tomorrow the plan is to take Cam bowling. That ought to be fun!

Vacation to Arizona

We're back!! (A full day ahead of schedule because my uncle is REALLY sick.)
It was a full and eventful trip!
Day 1:
We left town early so that we could spend some time with Steve's parents and cousin. It was a fun day, although it did seem to last a lot longer than we had planned.

We got to see Jayden and how big he's gotten. He's 10 months old...isn't he cute?

After leaving Steve's parents, we took a quick side trip to Salt Lake City. Steve hadn't been on the roof of the Conference Center, so we took the tour so we could see the roof. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, Jacob decided that he was STARVING to death, and so I got to nurse him in the really nice, cool mothers' lounge in the basement of the Conference Center. I was ALL alone with him and it was quite nice.
Then we took an abbreviated tour of Temple Square, seeing the reflection pool and the Christus statue.

That night we thought we were lost trying to find my aunt's house, but we stumbled across it. That's where we slept that night. (That night my parents discovered that the a/c in their motor home was NOT working, and tried to fix it themselves.)
Day 2:
My dad called the Fleetwood manufacturer to see what we could do to fix the motor home's a/c, and the nearest repair shop was in Las Vegas (many, MANY hours away from where we were!) So to get there before they closed we packed up as quickly as possible and left. We drove quickly and while on our way, my dad decided that even if we DID get to Vegas in time, they wouldn't be able to get the part anyway until the next day, so we should continue on with our plan to see Bryce Canyon. My mom called my uncle who lives where the reunion was and he told her that even though we were going to Arizona, the weather was cool and a/c wasn't NECESSARY. Mom and dad decided that they'd buy fans and try to get by. So we went to visit beautiful Bryce Canyon.

To get to Bryce, we drove through Red Canyon (which really lives up to it's name! But you can't see it in this picture!)

That night we camped in Kanab, Utah. And in the middle of the night I rolled on top of my glasses and broke off the ear piece... they're still wearable, but they're totally trashed! :(
Day 3:
The next day we drove and drove and drove to get to Show Low, Arizona. Half-way there, we stopped to gas up and so I could feed Jacob, and he'd blown through his diaper so bad that it was all over the car seat and him. He'd stuck his hand in it and wiped it on his face. YUCK! (This was the second time that he'd blown out while in the car seat!) We ended up moving him up ANOTHER size in diapers. My 2-month old baby now wears size THREE diapers!!! He's also had to move up to 3-6 month size clothes! He's getting SO big!!

hen we were driving down the highway to Show Low the sky was dark and full of lightning. It was so pretty! We had heard people tell us that we were nuts to be going to Arizona in August, but my aunt and uncle told us that it was actually a good time because it was monsoon season. I'd never thought that Arizona could GET monsoons...but now I KNOW they can!

We decided that we'd sleep in the double-wide building that was on the property. It was almost like a giant slumber party! Here's a picture of the beds piled around, but you can't QUITE get the full feel of it. The first night it was bed-to-bed! Then some family members moved out.

Day 4:

We spent the day relaxing. Cam spent time in the pond with cousins. I talked with aunts and cousins. Steve and Cameron went on a hike to see some petroglyphs. It was a day that some funny things happened.

My mom and I also did a TON of laundry. I'd done many errands for her as well. We took my car, and not her motor home (wouldn't that be something to see...) It didn't take us too much time to do the laundry, but we did meet a few interesting ladies! Laundromats are interesting places!
My cousin caught a duck. Yes, a DUCK! (I'm hoping he set it free, but knowing this family, they may have kept it.)

Cameron and another cousin caught some lizards, and when Cam showed me the lizard he was holding it in his open hand and I told him to hold it differently or it would jump out of his hand. Almost as soon as I'd said that, the lizard DID jump and it scared Cam almost to death! For the remainder of the trip, Cam REFUSED to touch any lizards!

Day 5:

The adults, who could, went to the Snowflake temple. The session was lovely, and the temple was gorgeous! We took some pictures, but not with our camera! (We'd left it in the diaper bag with the baby!) So these are from my aunt's camera.

As soon as we were done with the temple, we picked the kids up and took a day trip to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.

Now, when I'd heard we were going to the Petrified Forest I thought that it would be a forest of hard trees. (Like a regular forest, but rocks....) I didn't expect what it really was....a bunch of petrified logs lying around. It was interesting, but quite HOT! The petrified wood was really cool, full of all sorts of minerals and colors. The wind was blowing like crazy....and I thought I'd show you all what a bad-hair-day, inspired by the wind, looked like!

That night my uncle Scott put together a slide show of everyone's pictures from the reunion. We stayed up past midnight to watch them. I wish I could show you, but I don't have that kind of computer savvy-ness to do it! :P
Day 6:

We packed up and left the family reunion. It was a sad time, but also a time to get ready to do other things.

We spent the majority of THAT day driving to the Grand Canyon. When we reached Flagstaff we hit a HUGE monsoon. It was kinda freaky driving down the road and NOT seeing the road! This picture doesn't do it justice, but just IMAGINE! It was bad!!

When we finally got TO the Grand Canyon it was raining like crazy! I guess the monsoons followed us. We tried to do a little bit of sight-seeing, but eventually decided to find a campsite and try again the next day.

Day 7:
It wasn't raining!! So we all made our way into the park. We did a lot of walking around to see the canyon and took lots of pictures. But in the end we were overheated and decided to go back to camp. I figured most of the canyon looks the same anyway....

That night we took a quick walk across the street to the IMAX theater and watched their movie. It was amazing. Poor Steve though! My grandpa was there with us, and he had to go to the bathroom half-way through the movie, so Steve took him and missed about 10 minutes of the movie that we paid $15 to see.

That night my poor uncle was throwing up like crazy, but he'd been doing it the whole time...and we decided that it was enough for a vacation and decided to head home the next day.

Day 8:

We drove straight home from the Grand Canyon. We left the park at 9:30 their time (10:30 our time) and got home around 1:30 in the morning. It was SUCH a long day, but well worth the bed at the end!

I'm so glad I went. I hadn't planned on going after I found out that I'd have a 2-month old baby, but I'm glad I changed my mind. It was such a fun time and now I have a TON of wonderful (and not so wonderful) memories!

SO TIRED....

....and I think I need a break. Guess I should take the next week and relax.

See you all in a week and some! (I'm sure I'll have more to report when I return!) :)

Currently....

Jacob is growing like a "bad weed, in a good way." I walked with the boys to church on Sunday and my neighbor (nice man) came up and said how the baby was growing like a bad weed. I added, "But in a good way, right?" He amended his comment and we had a little giggle.

Almost 3 weeks ago now, he weighed 11 pounds 2 ounces. I KNOW he's bigger than that now, but I couldn't tell you how big he is. He barely fits into some of his size 0-3 month clothes, and has moved up to size 2 diapers. I had nearly a whole bag of the size 1's but I found someone who could use them! I wanted to use the whole bag up, but the kid pooped through 3 outfits in one day. It was time to move on.

My baby now eats like a pro. Thanks to the eating, he's chunked out. His thighs are just rolls! It's so fun to have a chubby baby.

He has been trying to hold his head up on his own since the day he was born, and is ALMOST there now. He's super strong where he can stand on his legs with just a little help standing up. It's like he's got things to do and he's ready to do them.

Cameron is also growing like crazy. He's SO tall. It's insane for me to think that at one time he was Jake's size. Although he's tall, he's not big. He's still skinny and I constantly have to remind the boy to pull up his pants otherwise his butt will hang out.

My baby brother is leaving tomorrow for the MTC. I'm going to miss him, but I'm sure he'll be fine. And who knows, maybe the time will speed the way the last 7-8 years have for me. Tonight he'll be an "official" missionary, and I plan to get pictures of him with the boys so they'll have a way to remember him for when he gets home.

My uncle Ben has been taking care of my grandpa. It's been such a blessing to not be worrying about grandpa all the time. I'm sure it's not easy for Uncle Ben, but he's doing a GREAT job. I guess the new plan is that Uncle Ben will move into grandpa's house and take care of him full-time. What a great blessing for Grandpa to continue to live in his house. Even though he still doesn't remember, I'm sure the transition into this new life without Grandma will be easier in his own home.

Even though my uncle will be living with my grandpa, my OTHER uncle will be moving out of Grandpa's house and into my mom's. Uncle Aaron is handicapped and needs as much, if not more, care than Grandpa. He's told my mom on more than one occasion that he can't WAIT to move into her house. He says it will be SO fun! We'll start moving him in on Thursday.

We're preparing for our trip to Arizona. We will be gone all next week. And Steve is SO ready for a vacation. He's been planning and saving for this trip for 2 years. He really deserves it!

Otherwise, life goes on....and we TRY to keep up! :)

Cows?? I Can Tell You About Cows!!

Before I tell you about cows....let me answer the questions from the weekend....they were all good ones too! ;)

Nikkie said...
Question: Coke or Pepsi?

Nikkie:

Neither....cola makes me wanna puke!!

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One Scrappy Gal said...
What's on your Christmas wish list this year? Besides the usual peace on earth and good will to all?

Scrappy:

Christmas?? I don't even want to THINK about that holiday yet!! Fall just got here, woman!!

I REALLY want a Dyson vacuum cleaner, but I don't THINK I'll get it....unless Santa thinks I've been REALLY good this year!! ;)

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Sketchy said...
Why do they make video games with obnoxious repetitive music? Are they trying to drive me insane?

Sketchy:

Is it working???

Then YES, they do it to drive parents insane!

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Now about COWS!! Yes, I want to tell you what I've learned about cows!

Cows, despite popular belief, are social creatures. Choosing to converse in "moos" and moans in the WEE hours of the morning. And, quite like humans, cows will have ONE cow who dominates the conversation. The exception to the conversing cows fact, is that when coyotes are awake and howling or chirping, cows are silent.

When I was camping, and attempting to sleep, at least three cows were conversing, VERY loudly, mind you, about the food they would eat that day. I KNOW that's what the conversation was about, because, come on, what else do cows talk about!? The funny part of the whole conversation came when convo-hogging, cow would mumble and giggle about what the other cows had said!! She's not very nice, but they all deal with her, because she's related....and you have to be nice to relatives....there's an unwritten rule.

Another cow fact: Cows like to walk VERY slowly in the middle of a busy highway, but if it's a mildly busy highway, ALL the better, poop is inevitable then!!

We went on a short day-trip to a beautiful lake that was about 20 miles down the highway, and 5 more up a mountain. About six of those 20 highway miles were riddled with cows and cow doodie. Big cows, little cows, black cows, brown cows....all walking slower than a slug, and poo covering their bums. Luckily, my dad, who is an EXCELLENT driver, slowed down enough to not actually KILL any cows, just scar them for life! The funny part??? When one smart-alecky cow, probably a convo-hogging cow, smacked my parents' suburban with it's poo covered tail!! *WHACK!*

Cow fact #3: Cows, who are easily confused, should NEVER be barked at, they will run directly TOWARD the sound!

My brother, who is more like a giant teddy bear than a dog, decided it would be hilarious to make the cows move by barking at them. For most of the cows, it worked. For the ones who had drool hanging from the sides of their mouths?? BIG mistake!! We barely made it through the cow traffic without a major collision! (But I was laughing hysterically at the barking sound coming from my brothers!)

And our final cow fact of the evening: Even if you THINK you can get away from cows, you can't!! They're EVERYWHERE!!

Overall, my weekend was WONDERFUL!! I got to spend time with my family, laugh at some DUMB memories, make new ones (that included a redneck costume, and a troll mask), and just have a fun time. The best surprise of the weekend came when my little sister, who moved to Nevada, showed up. We weren't expecting them to come, in fact, I think she had told us that she probably COULDN'T come.....when I saw her, I let out a squeal of excitement. We all laughed until our heads hurt, and our bladders wanted to explode. It was GREAT FUN!!

We went on a quick trip to Meadow Lake (the jaunt when we nearly hit 30 or 600 cows) and a shopping trip to Kings and Alco in Salmon. The highlight was our finds at Alco: the LONG Halloween masks, and the troll mask, and a redneck costume. All making for a fun weekend.

I did lose Cameron's glasses on the first morning there, getting me grouchy, but calmed after Grandpa helped him find them. Then I freaked out when I thought I had lost my camera and cell phone, but was RELIEVED when I found my aunt had taken them into her trailer for safe keeping!! Oh, and arguing with crazy aunts ALWAYS adds an air of fun to any trip!! *dripping with sarcasm*