{4th of July} Warm River Camping Trip

Ryan and I both love the outdoors.  We want our children to love and respect our Heavenly Father's Creations, and there's no better way to do that than to get out there and enjoy!!!

Usually my dad and mom plan the camping trips and we go together with all my siblings and parents.  We don't *do* campers in my family....we just have AWESOME tents and equipment to make living in the wild that much more fun.

Because Ryan was able to get time off of work, we decided (kindof last minute) to take advantage of the 2 1/2 days he had and make the most of it.  We planned our FIRST EVER SOLO camping trip!  No friends.  No family.  Just.Us.

Tuesday Morning, July 3rd

We packed up both our cars (because we don't yet have ONE vehicle that can take it all!  LOL!) and headed to Warm River, in Ashton, Idaho.  Brace yourself for pictures.  I only took 600, but I think I narrowed it down to less than 60.  Go me!

We got to our camp around noon...just in time to eat lunch and set up and explore.

As it got hotter and hotter (I did NOT feel good...Had just started an antibiotic for a nasty UTI that had kicked my butt for a month.... this atomic bomb, so to speak, landed....and it wasn't pretty.) we headed up the road to see Mesa Falls.  Thankfully, the sweet Forest Ranger Volunteer Lady let me charge my camera battery in the visitor's center while we 'explored' in the air conditioning...even after the trouble to have a charged battery, I got ZERO pictures of the falls.  I was just too tired and sick.

Putting water in hats to keep cool.

Scoring a drink!

After seeing the falls, we met Grandma and Grandpa Poulsen at our camp for a hot-dog roast.

It's always nice to cool off on a hot day...just not the way Kortlen did. We were all standing on the bank, near our camp, throwing rocks in. I turned so that my mother-in-law and I could talk without the sun in her eyes, and then Taylor told us that Kortlen was in the water.  (Nobody even heard him fall in!!!)  Luckily, it took only half a leap and I was in the river and scooped a surprised and wet little BREATHING boy into my arms...Both of us were soaked.  But calm.  I am so grateful!  It was the nightmare I tried to avoid as I was packing the night before.  I'm not sure I really "saw" what happened, but I "saw" what I had fallen asleep worrying about.

We were at a spot in the river that was fairly slow moving, only 18 inches deep (still, deep enough for a child to drown!), and about 2 yards down stream was a build up rock 'pool' where you can store watermelons, cans of pop, and other stuff to keep cold in the cold water.  The grass was fairly tall and thick, so my guess is that he stepped into it and tried to walk, but the current was just enough to tip him over.

Even now, when I talk to him about it, I will ask him, "Kortlen did you fall in?"  And he'll say a concerned ,"yeah".  I ask him what he did when he fell in, and he's quiet, but moves his arms like he's swimming.  It breaks my heart!  But at least he was trying!!!

We are so glad the incident wasn't worse!!!

Our smoky camp.

While Grandma and I did dishes, Grandpa and daddy took the older two upstream to throw BIG ROCKS in the river....and they came back soaking wet!  All four of them.  :)

This is how you get a toddler to sleep when he doesn't have his crib.
An umbrella stroller, then rocking on a sleeping bag
while singing primary songs when his brothers woke him up at 10 pm. 

Wednesday, July 4th

Happy Independence Day {2012}!!!

Katelyn is currently writing a paper for her English Class about leaving no trace.  We definitely left NO TRACE while on this camp trip!  We had minimal garbage, washed our dishes, and burned our fuel to ashes.  Doing dishes was a treat for me, because it meant my hands came out sparkly!  I honestly don't know how my hands got so dirty.  I didn't play in the dirt, and washed with water, then sanitizer after every bathroom run...maybe it's because I was holding onto little hands the whole time. :)

After breakfast, we drove to Rexburg for the parade and to celebrate such a wonderful day!

After the parade we made our way back to G & G's house for lunch, naps, and some play time.

Check out my festive Cool Whip Salad!  It's the best I could do.  LOL!

Since everybody had a well deserved nap, we rewarded the quiet break with the Rexburg Splash Park!  Our boys are at the perfect age for this, and clearly had a BLAST!!!

Grandpa and Grandma love to come watch!
We love having them, too.  :)

The best part about getting wet on a hot day, is drying on the hot sidewalk!!!  The boys thought they were so cool as they were "Sun Baving".

Grandma and I were wiped out (though I was feeling better, I just felt like being lazy...yay for meds starting to work!) so we decided to pick up some pizza, which proved to be harder than we thought! I grabbed some cupcakes, too....

By now, it was time for fireworks....We were already a few hours late getting started, as Ryan wanted to do them at 4 pm.

We were 'cheap' this year and bought 3 fireworks....lucky for the boys, G & G's neighbors did more, and let our kids watch. :)

After this excitement, we headed back to camp...and met the resident baby skunk and a fox.

Thursday, July 5th

We woke up with this crane looking for breakfast...

...and this fox...who scared me to death the night before when it was dark!  He/she kept going through our camp, around our fire, WHILE WE WERE SITTING THERE!!!  So crazy! (We were in "Bear Country", so we had to take food to the car each time we left camp, or at night...this fox thought we had left him a treat!)

We saw a TON of wildlife in the few days we were here....Deer, a baby skunk, Fox, Crane, Pelicans, Various Fish, Hawk with fish, Osprey with fish, and TONS of pretty little birdies. :) Luckily Bears didn't make the list. :)

Tanner was a big helper, getting water for our morning dishes.

For Christmas a few years ago, my dad made us this awesome camp kitchen! (see below)  The slots are perfect for every non-food item you need while camping. Behind the paper towels are the plates & a cutting board. Behind the bottle of water and syrup are the wash basins, soap, and towels for doing dishes. Above those are the utensils rolled in an awesome cloth organizer, and there's firestarters, nick-nacks, and bandaids there, too. The silverware is in the top left slot, with mugs and matches below that. The bottom left compartment is for our water bucket, teapot (to boil water for hot cocoa), and a canister for mixing pancake batter. The far right section is for our lanterns, flashlights, and crayons, and paper (go figure....we didn't even use them! Hooray!). The front of the camp kitchen folds down to be a counter top...totally awesome, if I don't say so myself!!!

 — 

Check out the Utensil Pockets. :) So when you're NOT in bear country, and can actually pull everything out, this hangs off the front of the kitchen, or in a nearby tree....it's got everything you need for cooking. :) Knives for cutting, serving spoons, spatulas and a wisk, pliers for handling hot lids from dutch ovens, paring knives, a cheese grater, and clothes pins. :) I'm telling you...my dad know's how to camp!!! Who needs a camper when you have THIS!

Upon finishing breakfast, we packed up, and drove to Bear Gulch.

I had fun taking pictures of weeds:

...while we made our way up the railroad grade to see this abandoned railroad tunnel. It's now completely closed off, but when Ryan and I were dating, we were able to go through it!  It isn't long, but it's dark!  Now there is an ATV trail around the tunnel...

Walking back down the grade....the same one we biked down (remember that 50 miler?!) last fall...

...and more pretty weeds...

All in all, we had an amazing time!!!  It was a HUGE success; when we got home, the boys spotted the cars I had unloaded from their suitcases while packing.  Tanner commented to Taylor, "Mom is so smart!  We didn't need our cars to have fun after all!"  So glad I could be of help, son!

Happiness and Joy

For the first time, in a long time, I felt happiness and joy today.  And was humbled.  And felt beyond blessed.  I want to weep, I'm so happy.

We went to our local zoo this morning, and I'll be honest; anymore, I dread going out in public with my children.  For whatever reason, I feel scrutinized, judged, and mostly helpless as my children act like wild Indians.  I have a bad habit of reprimanding in a loud manner, because I don't want onlookers to think I'm a parent who does nothing.  I scold as if the end of the world were in a mere few hours.  The wrath of this mother is not to be mocked, toyed with, or brought out, because once it is present, it brings with it a cloud of doom and gloom and embarrassment.

So I braved the brewing storm.  I made a picnic lunch.  Loaded the stroller, sunscreen, bottles of water, searched for and found hats, matching socks to wear with shoes so boys could avoid blisters, and we buckled up for the long haul.

I had a good idea before leaving, and I might venture to say it was pure revelation.  I grabbed four quarters and two pennies, and put them in my pocket.  I explained to my crew, that they had the opportunity to earn some coins while we went on this adventure.  THEY had the choice to save it or to spend it.  It was up to them.  And it kept me sane, and them on their best behavior.  (I will come back to the coins...)

It typically takes us less than 20 minutes to observe the animals in our small and local Zoo.  However, today we spent two hours enjoying, commenting, learning, and {gasp} GETTING ALONG!!!

However, it was not without a small glitch:  While picnicking, Tanner wandered to the food-vendor's trailer, and I turned to check on Kortlen and when I looked back, Tanner was gone.  I figured he slipped around the corner, so I gave him a moment. (I am desperately trying to NOT hound him and breathe down his back every.single.second; so I wanted to give him A CHANCE to come back on his own.)  He did not return as I had anticipated, so I calmly approached an employee, and asked for the help of others to find a boy "this" tall, with blonde hair, a colorful, plaid shirt, red sneakers, and khaki shorts, in addition to his age and name.  I was not worried sick, yet.

Five nerve-wracking minutes later, he was found, "looking at a cool animal!" and "could we please go see it"...  As calmly and sternly as I could, I explained that because of his carelessness, EVERYONE had to stop what they were doing to help me find him.  I told him I was SO glad he was safe, but he needed to be reprimanded.  We live in a wicked world, and my mind always wanders to the worst case scenario.   From then on out, he was very obedient to stay by me.  Be still my heart.  It only took him six and a half years to learn that....and hopefully the lesson learned today will not need to be repeated.

We saw everything.  Even the smallest bird...and the biggest tortoise!  We walked.  We didn't run.  We didn't rush.  That is so hard for me...not to rush.  I think it was difficult for the boys, too, but we tried it, and by the end, they had the hang of it.  The key?  ENJOY.  BREATHE.  OBSERVE.  Be.STILL.

Kortlen viewing the camels, while Tanner and Taylor
 explain to us where we are on the map, and what we should see next. 

He spotted us.  We woke him from his nap.
After he stretched and yawned and showed us his big pointy teeth,
he sauntered to his man-cave to get some more shut-eye.  

This and the next two photos made me laugh...their facial expressions are awesome....
and I tried in vain to get Tanner to unbutton his top button on his collar....
I did succeed in convincing him to wear tennis shoes instead of
cowboy boots with his shorts.  :) 

Heeee-Haaaaaaw!  What are you all about, Mister?!

Who taught Kortlen how to "bawk"?  I makes me giggle
so hard I almost pee my pants.  Here's my little birdies.

Those flamingos are sure stinky!

Can you see how much fun we had?!  I was pleasantly surprised.

So as we did these simple things, they boys earned two quarters and a penny, each.  By the crocodile habitat, is a coin machine, that squishes a penny into a token.  The boys had seen it earlier, and asked if they could make a 'cool penny', and I pointed out how much it cost, and how much they had.  They were so excited when they finally earned that second quarter, and got to make their souvenir.  I was excited to let them do it.  To see them happy.  Proud of their accomplishment, and actually talking about what other things they could use their monies on, was a good parenting moment.  A proud one!

The fact they they're all STANDING STILL and being patient is so awesome.
Seriously...they were so calm...and it was so great!

Just like the sun was shining and making us warm, we felt sunny and warm fuzziness inside, and I KNOW my kids noticed it.  I thanked them for being so well behaved.  I thanked them for being such good little boys.  I told them that I would love to bring them to the zoo again!  And I'm looking forward to it.

**********

Another tender moment today:

Ryan and I had planned to go on a date.  We called one of two sitters in our new ward (apparently there are not many girls of baby-sitting age in our new neighborhood), our bishop's daughter, who is starting at BYU-Idaho in the fall.  She is a gem, and did really well.  She shared with me an exchange she and Tanner had just before he went to bed.

Tanner gave the sitter a handful of coins (probably forty-something cents) and said, "These are for you, so my mom doesn't have to pay you a lot of money."  He continued with, "Will you tell her I tried my hardest to be good?  And that I love her?  And that "Tanner" said that?".

My heart melted.  This little, sensitive, unconditionally-loving, patient, rambunctious, murmmuring, tease of a little boy I have is trying so hard.  The sitter said there was the usual sibling fighting, but that they were generally good.  And I believed her.  I know she wasn't saying it just to make me happy, or to sugar-coat the truth.

For the first time, in a long time, I am looking forward to another day of being a mother.  I'm not dreading tomorrow.  My heart is overflowing with gratitude, and humility.  Because I have the best family in the world!  We are far from perfect, but the efforts that were shown today, and the Spirit of Christ in our home, was overwhelming.  Completely overwhelming.

We didn't read our scriptures together as a family today, and we left without saying family prayers this evening, but I just picture HOW MUCH MORE AMAZING our home could be, when these simple acts of devotion are coupled with the wonderful behavior I was privileged to witness....and all I can say, is I pray with all my heart and soul, that we strive for this {Happiness & Joy} every day.

Today I saw a glimpse.  And my heart is full.  There.is.hope.

can you believe it?!

...i fell off the blog-wagon...Ryan thought this day would NEVER come.  tee-hee!

I have so many pictures and so much to share.  Just not enough time to shout it about to the world, even though I want to.  :) The last month has been full to the brim with so many wonderful events.

My {heart} is full.  Even though there are hard days, long days, and sometimes very frustrating days, I am thankful.  We are blessed.  We are thriving.  And life is good.  GOD is good.  Always has been, and always will be.  I just need gentle reminders every once in a while.  I need to have more faith.

Thank you, Karly, for the adorable pictures!!! Visit her site [here]. 

Our house now feels like a home, because my amazing mommy and baby sister came to help me put everything together.  I have 3 pictures and 4 boxes left...all in my bedroom...and I don't remember what is in the boxes, so it somehow doesn't seem important.  But because of their help, I feel much less stress.  I'm talking about NO BOXES in the living areas or my kids' rooms.  NO blank walls.  But then again, I HAVE WALLS!  In our apartment, there was something on every wall, sitting on the floor, up against every.thing...we now have room to wiggle.  And lots and lots of giggles because of it.

I took the kids to the park today.  Skyped with my sister, Katelyn. We played in the yard.  We made a salad for a potluck  together...and even attended said potluck without our daddy, because he's working so hard for us!!!  It was a wonderful day.  We wrapped it up by my sister-in-law calling me and saying they were coming our way...the whole family...just to see us!!!  It.made.my.day.  Thanks, Tricia!!!  (and everyone else!)

Happenings {Awning Skirt & Ducklings}

We.have.been.busy.  I feel like each post should start out that way!

In no particular order, the last month has included:

I started coaching on the Piranha Swim Team and love it!

Kortlen copies what everyone says...good or bad, but won't talk when asked a question.  He grunts, and through a series of grunts and points, he gets what he wants.

Ryan has put many miles on his bike (not a dirt bike, but a mountain bike) driving to and from work because his car is having "health issues" and guzzles gallons of oil each week.

Tanner refuses to swim or is easily distracted when I am on deck, which makes for a very frustrated mother...

Taylor rides his bike OR Tanner's like a champ...to the pool and back, which is a 5 mile round trip ride.

I took on the sewing of 5 darling skirts for a wedding:  The Awning Skirt, as seen here, but foolishly only charged $20 a skirt...what was I thinking???  My "Client" found the material at Ikea, and *I* made the pattern (it's a rectangle...oooooooh!  Super hard! LOL!)  They are turning out adorable, by the way!  In addition to that sewing, I've altered a HANDFUL of dresses for Mrs. Idaho, who is adorable, and the skinniest eight-month pregnant lady I've ever met!  She's been so fun to work with, and has had a bajillion weddings this summer so needless to say, that has kept me VERY busy!  I'm so  excited that her daughter and nieces are loving the skirts, as well!  (Wonder if she'll let me buy a few of the extra yardage off of her?!)

Long bike-rides are a must, and everyone is so excited to go, until about 2 blocks into the ride we hear "My legs are tired!" or "I need to use the bathroom.  Like right now!" and we just keep pushing on.  It often has its rewards, though:  tired kids, refreshed parents, and the sighting of little ducklings that wouldn't leave us alone!!!

Unpacking. Unpacking.  De-junking.  Unpacking.  Lots more De-junking.

Changing our contact information on all.our.mail....absolutely unreal!!!  Especially since we filled out change of address forms for when we moved apartments (to the basement apartment) and then did then filled them out again when we moved into the house.

Oh!  We CLOSED on our house on the 31st of May!!!  Yeah...4 weeks after moving into it.  Something about a re-conveying of the deed from the previous owners like 22 years ago.  Big hassle, yet big savings for us.  We had very gracious sellers!  We are proud owners of two very nice ball-point pens after signing all that paperwork!!!

There is so much more, but it will have to be saved for another day.  I just typed rof instead of for...I'm tired...obviously. (And happy to say I'm NOT expecting, as somebody stared me down with my baby, who is almost 2 *gasp!*, and I feel the need to report that I've indulged in one too many a package of sugar wafers.  I'm tired because I'm running around like a crazy woman.  That's all.)

New Territories

The LAST day of school was filled with joyous yips and yells, a little anxiety for new friends in a new school in a new neighborhood, and some sadness for completing Kindergarten....not to mention {Summer Break}!

First day of Kindergarten:

Last day of Kindergarten:

After moving into a new house just three weeks before school let out, we had our share of tardy's...Notice the black socks, LONG hair, uncombed hair, and "really mom?" expression compared to the first-of-the-year "YAY!  SCHOOL!" expression?  I felt how he looked, in both pictures, on both days.

Watch out Summer Break, HERE WE COME!!!

Graduations {Tanner & Taylor}

Taylor graduated from Apple Preschool on May 17th!  He sure was excited, and loved preschool with his friends.

Teachers Miss Becci, Miss Amy, Miss Jamie,
Miss Tawnya, Miss Kari and Taylor and his little friends. 

Tanner graduated from Hawthorne Elementary Kindergarten, on May 30th.  Mrs. Holton was so patient and kind! We both loved her and are going to miss her when we go to our new school.

Tanner HAD to stop and have a discussion about his diploma with the principal. 

Tanner and Mrs. Holton.  

We are so proud of our graduates!

Beauty All Around

There is beauty everywhere you choose to find it.

Getting settled in.  Working out some bugs.

Coaching on the swim team leaves less time for internet that is too slow to be bothered.  Sorry.  It's life.  This thing {the blog} might slow down...who knows...maybe my paycheck will be 'enough' to get GOOD internet.  LOL!  I was hoping the giant news towers and satellite dishes in my 'back yard' would get us good reception of some kind.  Maybe I could dig in the night, with a plastic spoon, an underground tunnel to the news station's connections and tap into their totally awesome powers.

or I could just sleep peacefully, now that the kids are on THE OTHER SIDE of the HOUSE and I don't hear them in the night and they're too scared to come find us through the maze of 15 remaining boxes that have yet to be unpacked.

Either way, there is beauty all around.  Now that preschool is over, and I'm not planning lesson plans, I'm finding time to ENJOY my children.  Even the water fights.  Even the massive amounts of laundry they go through EACH DAY because they change more than teenage girls.  I'm trying to find the beauty in each MOMENT, because I've rushed through too many moments in the last while.  I will never get those moments back.  Not EVER.  So here's to enjoying them in the NOW!

Moments like this one...when Ryan kindly pulled over because I mentioned once how beautiful the water was and I'd LOVE to take a picture.  I was captivated by it's blue-ness.  (Sorry, Heidi!  Wish I had one of your darling family on Savannah's Baptism Day!).

Anyway, yeah.  Beauty.  moments.  Enjoying all of that.  It's good.  Despite the hiccups, it's good. :)