Getting skunked

We went to Ririe Reservoir to try to get some crawdads. There's not much to say other than it is same to assume that we didn't get anything. I think it wasn't early enough. It was hot...and windy!

We tried switching spots to fish and still nothing. Oh well, it was still fun.

Afterward, we went to the world famous Big Judd's. Mmm!

We had talked about going to the drive in. We realized with kids and all of the activities going on that it would be hard to go. Instead we decided to have a movie night at our house. We brought our TV outside and tried to make it like the experience of going to the actual drive in. It worked and it was so much fun. During the movie; Mike, Bryant, Kari, and I played The Train Game.


Quinn has a new best friend. Yep, this is Madi. During the time she was here she loved spending time with the one and only Quinn. She doted over him and tended to his every need. Quinn got to the point where I would say Madi's name and he would get all excited. In the car, when driving over to Mike's parents, all I would need to say is that we're going to see Madi. He would immediately settle down. When he saw her, he would practically jump out of my arms to see her.

It was nice. He wasn't so needy and dependent on me. He did wonderful with the kids. They'd be playing for quite some time and didn't even think twice about me. The only worry was; what am I going to do when Madi leaves?

A Walk Down Memory Lane

We were so lucky to have family come visit. It is Mike's brother Bryant, his wife Kari, and their 3 kids Madi, Max, and Maya. We thoroughly enjoyed their 2 week visit with us.

Our first activity as a family was going up to the dry farm to shoot guns. This is actually something I quite enjoy. So, I was way way way excited to go.

We thought that it'd be hard to bring Quinn so he was with Caryn and Jacen during this time.

I thought that we'd just go straight to our shooting place, set up, and then shoot until we had run out of ammo. That was not the case. We stopped every so often. The first stop was to enjoy and marvel the scenery around us. I'm glad we stopped because, even though it's dry and Idaho, it is actually quite pretty. It's its own kind of pretty.

"The View"

Our next stop was a little bit of a history of Grandpa Dale's life growing up. By this time, we had been driving around for what seemed like a long time. Especially since we didn't know that we'd be making these stops. So, we assumed that this was where we were going to be shooting. Nope, it was to show us where Grandpa Dale went to school as a boy.

The area in back is where the kids would sit to have their lesson.

Can you believe this used to be a school? For me, it's hard to imagine. At the same time, it's cool to think about all the changes that have occurred in his lifetime. It helps me to appreciate all the modern conveniences we have. A lot of the time we take them for granted.

He used to ride his horse from his house to school every morning. He was about 6 years old.

The third stop was to see the house he grew up in.

Obviously, it has gotten new siding at some point. It is now used like a cabin.

Their "El bano" and the barn


This is where we did end up shooting. Targets, pop cans, and pop bottles were being shot. The kids did great!

I got attacked by Bryant's shells since he kept pulling the trigger so quickly. I had to be careful! (In picture 2)

I loved shooting. The most exhilarating by far was shooting Bryant's service gun. (Bryant is a cop in Phoenix, AZ.) It scared me to death. It's a beast. I don't know how on movies it seems like it's no big deal to shoot these guns. They yank the arms off of ya and they are SO loud. We each put earplugs in. (In the last 4 pictures we're shooting his service gun.)

I kept wanting to put my fingers where they shouldn't be. It was hard to concentrate.

Getting back was a lot quicker. We didn't make any stops. Mike, Grandpa, Gene, and I went back early. We wanted to get back so Quinn could get a nap before going back over for dinner later that night.

Quinn's 1 year photos

This is one of my favorites.

and this one...

and this one...

Little Birdie Obsession

My mother had invited me out to dinner for my birthday dinner. Oh by the way, she went all out and got crazy. We had some way good ribs. Can you believe that? That was way nice for her to do that for me.

Anyways, we were outside relaxing. Mike had learned there was a nest of birds in the tree. He got curious and decided to climb to see them. He had his fun and eventually got down. Well, some time later, he HAD to go up and visit the birds again. He was telling us about how they had their mouths open like they were ready to eat. I said, "You should feed them a worm!" He dismissed me. Then Marlise says, "I'm sure there are lots of worms in the garden." Mike was getting all excited. He stated that he wouldn't have even thought about getting worms if it wasn't encouraged.

It was then time for pie. My mom came out with the most delicious chocolate mousse pie ever. They noticed Mike with a shovel in the garden getting ready to dig. They were like; Um, "What are you doing?" He shyly responds, "Looking for worms." Lucky for him all they said was to wait after singing Happy Birthday.

Well, Mike was successful in finding a whole bunch of worms to feed these birds. He very excitedly climbed the tree and took lots of pictures for proof. Let's say the mama Robbin bird was not too thrilled but he didn't get pecked to death or anything. He just chirped a lot at him.

Here are pictures of his adventure.










This was a very good day. We had lots of fun and lots of laughs.

It made me miss Ririe and having space to ourselves. I miss my family too. I need to make it a point to visit more often. It's not like they're super far away.

I had a BiRtHdAy!

I went to sleep last night to the sound of someone getting something ready for me and then giggling to himself about it. I was so tired that I didn't even look to what he was doing. He agreed to stay in the room as long as I was good and didn't peek.

I woke to my birthday surprise of animal crackers! MMmmm! I love animals crackers. I hadn't had them in for so long. There were writings all over the bag. It makes sense why he was cracking himself up. Please remember, it was late when he was doing all of this.

Better yet...I had love notes all over the kitchen for me. It made me feel so special.

Then Mike had to quickly leave to help his dad. Then I was left with the day to myself.

I started cleaning the house and doing my normal routine. Then, the thought occurred to me, "Why am I doing this?" It's my birthday and I should do as I please. My plan didn't go quite as planned since I had some errands to run. But, nonetheless I found some things to do that were out of the ordinary.

For our date we went to Texas Roadhouse. I got a lovely "Ye-Haw" for a birthday song and some ice cream. I tried eating it but I was so full.

Our movie didn't start for another 1.5 hrs. so we went to the mall just to kill time. I ended up getting a massage. I always thought it'd be weird to get a massage in the mall where everyone can see you. Once you're in that chair and you're face is looking down so you can't see anyone...well, it's heaven. I practically fell asleep. I was only there for 10 min. for my free sample.

All in all, I had a good birthday. I got lots of birthday wishes through text and facebook. It's good to be remembered. Thanks everyone for making my day special...and a special thanks to Joy for baby-sitting and Karen for making me a cake.

P.S. I am SO old now! Augh!