What a Weekend!

The much anticipated day finally arrived last Thursday. My parents made it home from their 3 year mission to Oklahoma City. This last month has gone by ever so slowly as we counted down the days till they would be home. But it finally arrived and I can't describe what a sweet moment we had when they pulled into the driveway to all of their kids and their spouses and Grandma Shirley and Aunt Linda and 22 grandkids with balloons--all yelling WELCOME HOME!!!

Mom and dad climbed out of the car and were bombarded with hugs from all the little grandkids. Mom had an especially bitterweet reunion with Grandma Shirley and her sister Linda. Grandpa Shirley died just five days before mom got home and so everyone's feelings were extra tender.

It is so nice to have mom and dad back home. I felt like I wanted to move home for a while so I could witness them re-experiencing everything. However, that can't be so I am back in my own home.

After we had a little hour long reunion we ate a meal provided by the Sugar 4th ward relief society and then we all got in our Sunday clothes and went over to the funeral home for my Grandpa's viewing. Terry and I walked in with our kids and they immediately were at the casket trying to touch grandpa. We let them look for a minute and then we pulled them away so the other people who were there could see and visit with Grandma.

It was immediately apparent that the kids had to go. They were running around pews and cutting in and out of people in line so they could see grandpa over and over again. Terry was kind and took our kids and some of Jodi's kids away. The other in-laws took the rest of the kids too and so my brothers and sisters and I were able to all sit and have a nice visit for an hour and half. That doesn't happen very often that we get to sit and talk with each other uninteruppted.


We were laughing at this pose my dad was making.

The next day was Grandpa's funeral. It was really a beautiful service. Grandpa was a very good man and it was fun to hear stories about him that we had never heard before. The things that stood out the most to me were that he never stopped learning, it was important to him to show gratitude, he endured his trials well, and he and grandma were a match made by heaven.

As I sat and listened I was overwhelmed with gratitude for Heavenly Father's plan for us. I felt I was witnessing His plan at it's best. Grandpa had come to earth and recieved his body. He had been taught the gospel and he lived it. He had trials that he had to endure and he endured them well. He passed his tests. He had a family that he was sealed to for eternity. And after he had lived his life, it was time to move on to the next step. Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ I know he will be resurrected and be with his family again.




Anyway, the spirit at grandpa's funeral was very strong and I felt certain Heavenly Father was pleased with Grandpa's life. We will sure miss him!

Spring Break

Over spring break our family went on a fun little vacation. It was a last minute deal. Terry and I had been talking about going to southern Utah for a while but I kept saying we shouldn't do it because we hadn't really planned for it and hadn't set any money aside for it. But Terry guaranteed that we would not spend much. I was skeptical, but shouldn't have doubted. On the Saturday before spring break Terry made a deal with some people down in Brianhead to swap their condo for a little timeshare we have in Island Park. So we ended up getting our housing at no extra cost.

Once that was set up--and it wasn't finalized until we were walking out the door to leave for Utah, we headed down to Spansih Fork on Tuesday to stay with Jodi and her family for the night. We had fun visiting and the kids had fun playing. We ate some great Chinese food and watched the Princess and the Frog.




The next morning we headed on south by way of Manti. Terry wanted to take the scenic route and see the temple there. Now I just have to say here that when we travel, some major differences between Terry and I come out. He is spontaneous and I am not that way at all. I normally hate spur of the moment decisions and Terry loves to be really flexible and take advantage of whatever opportunity presents itself. So usually I ended up being sulky (I hate to admit it) because we make all kinds of unplanned stops. But after a couple of days of my bad attitude I tried to get a little more rational and to chill out. I did a little better the last two days.


Anyway, we stopped at the Manti temple and the kids wanted to roll down that great big hill. But I said, it is the temple and we should be more reverent here. But again Terry and I differed on our opinions, so the kids were running and rolling down the hill. So we took a few pictures and you can see a few of us were having some bad attitude.




When we were on our way back to the car, Abby said her stomach hurt and she was going to throw up. Terry tried to quickly get her to the grass--but he was too late. She threw up all over the sidewalk. Gross!! We told the groundskeeper who was weeding close by and he said he would take care of it.

So we got back in the car and I told Abby that probably not many people could say they threw up on the grounds of the Manti Temple.

For the next three hours, poor little Abby was wretching ever few minutes. Luckily we had a cup and we didn't end up with any big messes. The bad part is, Ainsley started crying and complaining that her stomach hurt too. She wasn't as quiet about her discomfort as Abby was.

We finally reached Brianhead where we were staying and as Terry was checking in, Ainsley threw up. So we got up to our room and those two sat on the couch there and were sick all night long. So we just sat around the condo and watched TV. Terry took Ellie swimming down at the pool.

We were afraid we would have a bad night with them, but they slept really well and were better the next morning (although I think Abby threw up so much that her stomach was irritated for a couple of days).

The next morning we drove to Zions National Park. It was beautiful and we told the kids that they couldn't watch any movies while they were supposed to be looking at all the pretty scenery. They were good sports and really loved all the cool rock formations.




Terry wanted to drive through this tunnel and I rolled my eyes a little at that, but it was a pretty neat mile long tunnel through this mountain. The kids loved going through it too but were a little scared becasue it is so dark in there.

We got out and walked a little bit and I had to laugh at Abby and Ainsley. As soon as they were out they felt it was a good setting for an imaginary adventure. They quickly picked their names--one was Rebeccah and I don't remember the other's name. And they set off through the dessert with their walking sticks--acting out being stranded or lost or something. They were sad when I said it was time to head back to the car.




After that we headed to the Emerald Lakes Loop and we hiked the lower loop. At least Sam, Ainsley, and I did. The rest of them said they were going to just go up a little bit further but ended up taking a longer loop back. So while we were waiting for the others, Sam and Ainsley were being wild and crazy. Here are some pictures.





Ainsley decided she had a great setting for some modeling.

We stopped in Cedar City and ate at Applebees on the way back to Brianhead.

That night we went home exhausted and dropped into bed.

The next morning we woke up to a major snowstorm. Brianhead already had 6-8 feet of snow on the ground and they got another 10 inches on that day. We decided we wouldn't head to Bryce Canyon like we had planned (good thing too because the road was closed). So I exercised that morning while Terry cooked bacon, eggs, and toast and then we took the kids swimming. After that it was nap time and so I volunteered to stay at the condo while Isaac napped and Terry took the kids to find a place to sled.

They came back a couple of hours later and hadn't found a great place to sled. Terry was in the condo for about an hour or two and I could tell he was starting to get grouchy. He just can't sit in a place for long without getting restless. By that time I was ready to get out so we got all the kids dressed in their snowclothes again and went out and found a long hill right next to the ski slope and we sledded down it. At first I had to push myself down cause the snow was deep and it caught at the sled. But after we went over our track a few times we got so we could go pretty quick. It was fun except it was so hard to walk up that hill.






Sam and Isaac sat at the bottom of the hill and played in the snow. They were pretty content unless a glove fell off. Sam can't stand to have any snow on his skin and so he starts screaming his head off when he feels some. His gloves fell off a few times so we had to run and rescue him.

Anyway it was good for us to get out and it was such a beautiful afternoon. Everyone had gone home from the ski slope and we were the only ones around and it was barely snowing and the wind had stopped blowing. It was so pretty and peaceful and we were having great family fun.

That night I took the girls swimming again and then we came home and went to sleep.

Saturday we headed back home. We stopped (spontaneously--but I didn't sulk this time) at Cove Fort to see the place President Hinckley's grandpa had built to protect the settlers there as they were coming and going. It was interesting because they thought they would use it as protection from the Indians, but they never had a problem with the Indians because they tried to treat them fairly and honestly. So the fort was really just a stopping place for travelers.



After that stop we continued driving and stopped to see Terry's sister Cheryl as we passed through Salt Lake.

We made it home Saturday night. When I was growing up my family didn't go on many vacations and I think that is a little sad because I have really loved the vacations my kids have been able to go on. It seems like we have so many positive memories and we tend to forget the bad. Anyway, I am glad that Terry pushed us to go down the Utah because we had such a great time.

Other odds and ends

Some other things that have happened in July that I want to remember but am not going to go into lengthy detail about are the following:

My 33rd birthday. Terry treats me great! We went swimming and had some family over for a barbecue.

10 year anniversary celebration. Really our anniversary was in June but we went to Park City last week and left our kids with releatives (who we were very grateful for). We spent two nights there and had fun running together and mountain biking and eating and shopping for our kids school clothes (how romantic). We were also able to go to the temple the first day in Provo. So it was nice, but I was glad to see our kids again on the last day.

Gee family reunion. I love my reunions with all my cousins. I have always had them growing up and I have thought I have such a fun family. It was fun to see everyone and everyone's kids. We went to Rigby Lake Friday and it was windy and rainy but the die-hards were there in the water. I was on the sand out of the water.

Nate and Dawn were also able to make it out for a week. They haven't been home to visit for about 2 or 3 years. So that was fun.

So those are the things we have been doing.

Just a random thought I had yesterday. I really hate mopping floors. So it is a good thing my kids spill so much on the floor because it forces me to wipe up the spilled on areas and keeps it a little bit cleaner than it might otherwise be if it had to wait for me to get the ambition to clean the entire floor.

Hail Storm

We got back from our camping trip on Friday night and on the 4th we took it easy in the morning and then drove up to Rexburg for lunch with my family. Suzette, David and Kelley, and Grandma and Grandpa Shirley were there. After that we drove back home and Terry got off work around 6:30. At about seven I noticed the sky was getting darker and I watched these clouds roll in. They were swirling and circling and I started thinking--is that going to turn into a tornado? Anyway, it started to rain and then to hail and it poured and poured for about 30-40 minutes and by the end, all our flours and shrubs and trees were hacked up.

The kids ran out and put on their winter boots because it looked like it had snowed. And we saw a rainbow come out over our house. Then we noticed neighbors out and about with buckets. They were going door to door because a lot of people were gone and they were bailing out the window wells. Ours were checked and what do you know? Our basement flooded. So Terry and some other neighbors got to work and ripped up the carpet and dry-vacced (sp?) all that water out. Then another neighbor who has a restoration business made sure that our carpet was cleaned and relayed in the next two days. So we were fine. Even though it was a bad thing, I felt like it was a holiday sort of because all the neighbors were out working together and there was so much community spirit.

They ended up cancelling part of church the next day and sent everyone home to make sure everyone in the neighborhood was okay and didn't need help. There were a number of roads close by that were closed because the water had backed up so bad and there were lakes here and there. Anyway, it was all a little exciting.

Summer Vacation

So I guess it is time to blog about our summer outings. We have been gone quite a bit and it has been fun to have some family vacation time together. And I have really enjoyed being with my kids while vacationing which is amazing because I have really not liked traveling with them up to this point. But they have been fantastic.

A couple of weeks after we went to Oregon for Terry's triathalon, we went back up to Washington and stayed at Ensign Ranch for 4 nights. We went to this ranch a couple of years ago which is owned by the church and had a good time. So we decided to go back and enjoy a longer stay. We stayed in this family cabin which is pretty bare bones, but it has beds with mattresses (not too comfortable, but better than the floor) and a refrigerator and microwave and little counters and picnic like tables inside.

There are a lot of things to do and so we stayed busy each day. We took all of our bikes and I thought that was the funnest part--just riding around all their roads as a family.

The first day we got set up and then went into Cle Elum for some dinner (we were really roughing it).




The next day was Sunday and so we went to church and heard some really good talks by the missionaries serving at the ranch and they talked about American Independence. We went home and ate a roast dinner (because there was electricity in the cabin and so I cooked roast and potatoes and carrots in the crock pot all day long). We took it easy the rest of the day and just went for a little family bike ride. I think that night we had a fire and roasted marshmallows.


Ellie and Abby before church


All of the kids right before church

The next day we took the kids over to ride horses. They loved it a lot and I was surprised that Isaac even enjoyed himself. It was the cutest thing to see his litle chubby body up there on that big horse.



Later that evening Terry took the girls over to the slip and slide. It was only open during odd hours because there were girls camps that had priority. So I think we just hung around our cabin and rested and threw rocks in a creek that was about 100 feet away from our cabin. The girls loved this area.






That night we had a fire and roasted marshamallows again.

The next day we went to the lake and put our whole family into a canoe and paddled around the lake. We have never tried it with everyone, but all the kids did fine and we had a good time.




This is the outhouse that was our second home. I don't know why we have a picture of it.

After the canoeing we went over to the slip and slide and played for a couple of hours. We got everyone on three tubes and went down together. My kids really think I am a party pooper most of the time and so they were so delighted that I was participating in all these activities. But I have to say to defend myself that usually we have had a small baby or I have been pregnant. So . . .


I forgot to mention they had this swing that swung out over a lake. I had to show Terry how daring I could be so we went over there and I swung right into the lake.



During most of these mornings, Terry and I took turns running in the mornings and it was so nice to run around the ranch through all the trees and around the lakes. We both enjoyed it.

The last night we went back in to Cle Elum and ate pizza. We packed up the next morning and got ready to head over to Oak Harbor Washington for Terry's family reunion. But when we went to start the car, it wouldn't turn over. I guess the battery died. So we got someone to jump our car and then once it was running we discovered another problem. It kept quitting whenever it idled. So we said a prayer and drove off towards Seattle where we were going to pick up Terry's sister Cheryl. We made it okay, but Terry had to do some fancy footwork to keep the car running. We decided to cross (or I should say Terry decided) over to Oak Harbor on the ferry. I thought we shouldn't risk stalling where all those cars would be stuck behind us. But would he listen to me? Anyway, when we drove on to the ferry the ferry worker was waving us up one side to a second floor and our car stalled. So he said, never mind. Just drive straight ahead so that it would be easier to push us out. Anyway, we made it to Oak Harbor and got the car in a shop and it was fixed with a little cleaning of the fuel pump or something like that.

We stayed the next two nights and had a good time with Terry's family. The first night everyone just gathered together and visited. We stayed in this nice hotel with a pool and all the cousins had fun swimming together. The next day we had lunch at Terry's sister, Carol Ann's and then we headed over to the church where she had booked a DJ for a family dance. Ellie, Abby and their cousin Kayla thought it was the greatest thing in the world to stand up on the stage in front of everyone and sing the songs and dance for us all(I am sure they were pretending they were Hannah Montana). Sam was busting some pretty mean moves too. I wish I had a video of it because he is so uninhibited and totally throws his whole body into it.




After the dance we went back to the house and ate dinner and celebrated Ellie's, Kaylas, and Liberty's birthdays with cake, presents and a pinata. And the pinata was filled with some good candy. I had to fill up a back for Isaac (wink wink).






Anyway, the next morning we loaded up again and took off by 7 AM because we had to drive all the way back home so that Terry could get up and be to work by 6 AM the next morning.

So that was a summary of this vacation.

Oregon Triathalon

Terry did a triathalon last week. His first. We went to Oregon and spent a night in Hermiston with his cousin and we visited some old friends. Then we travelled on to the Dalles where we stayed with our friends the Loughmillers. Unfortunately, Terry got the stomach flu and was sick all night. Loughmillers were kind and ended up giving us their bed (which was super comfortable) and Jenny slept on an air mattress in the living room and Russell slept in the yard in a tent with his two kids and my two oldest kids. We also took over their kids room. I tell you, they are great hosts!!! We felt really bad for staying at their house, especially since their two kids ended up getting sick a couple of days later.

After the night at the Loughmillers, we went on to the coast where we rented a house in Seaside. Loughmillers joined us that night. We had a great time and the boys stocked up on their carbs with a spaghetti dinner. Then early the next morning we all drove back to Portland where Russell and Terry raced. Here are some photos:
These pictures are ordered backwards, but I am too lazy to switch them. So here is the end of the race.

Terry starting off on the run.

Terry finishing biking

Terry finishing swimming in his groovy women's wetsuit.

Just before the race began. I thought this looked cool. I love the atmosphere at races. And this lake area was really pretty that they were swimming in.


After the race we drove back to the coast (I know it was a lot of driving) and stayed another two nights. Our friends the Westovers drove over from Eugene and stayed a night too. We had fun getting together with our old friends. And the kids were really entertained--especially because in the garage there was a big dog cage and they loved pretending they were animals and they were locked in the cage.

The Loughmillers and Westovers left Sunday afternoon and my family drove up to Astoria and over to Cape Disappointment. I like that area a lot because you drive over this really long bridge and it feels really daring to me. :) This area is where the Columbia dumps into the ocean and it is supposed to have some of the most dangerous waters in the world. We went on a little walk through the woods to get a view of Cape Disappointment and the kids liked that alot--not. Sam and Ainsley were at meltdown point because they were soooo tired. But they cheered up part way through. On the way back to the house we all sang along to The Music Man.

Monday we drove to Boise where we stopped in a hotel and swam (the Holidome--where I remember swimming as a kid and I think we even may have stayed in the same hotel room with the same sliding glass doors). Previous to this experience I have dreaded staying in hotels with my kids because they were so hard to get to sleep when they were all in one room. But the kids were all so tired that they all just laid down and went right to sleep. I didn't hear a peep all night.

Tuesday we drove the rest of the way and were happy to be home. That was our great vacation to Oregon. Our camera broke while we were gone so we didn't get a whole lot of pictures.





One last story. Terry and I had one little arguement while we were gone. It all started when we had to stop in downtown Portland so Terry could try and find a wet suit to rent. I hate driving in cities--really hate it. Especially in a big suburban with bicycles hanging of the back on very narrow streets. Terry parked our car in underground parking that was very crowded. I asked if we would be blocking traffic because we stuck out. He said, it might be tight but we were okay. He hopped out and left. So in comes a car and stops right behind us and I got out to go apologize and see if I could direct the person through. It was a lady who was not pleased with us. But she was able to barely get through.

I got back in the car and two more cars drove in and stopped when they saw us sticking out so far and then they backed up and left the garage. Maybe I am weird to get so stressed over this, but I was VERY STRESSED. And I was really mad at Terry for putting me in that situation. So I ended up leaving the garage and driving around in downtown Portland in my big huge car. The kids were all crying because I was so mad at Terry (I let them know I would get over it fast) and Terry ended up being mad at me because I was so mad at him. But once he got back in the car and we got on our way, it all blew over and we were happy again.

Ainsleys Birthday

Ainsley had her 5th birthday the end of last month. I promised her a birthday part so we threw one together. It turned out to be quite fun. She wanted a swimming pool cake so she got one.

We had one boy we invited and he had no problem being the only boy. Didn't phase him a bit. The kids played pin the ponytail on the birthday girl, had hoola hoop contests, and water balloon tossing games. Ainsley got some fingernail polish and the girls wanted their nails painted. I said no, but Terry ended up giving them what they wanted. I think he painted all the kids toe nails. Then they had cake and ice cream. A fun time was had by all.