First Couple-a Days

This post is a little backwards. The beginning of the Idaho stay starts at the bottom and works its way up...

We are puttin' gramps (Conner's Great Grandpa) in the car to head to the hospital then home. Why you ask. Well, me and my family of pigeons brought a funky virus with us that wiped everyone out for at least 2 days. Gramps was miserable and just wanted to go home...he tripped in the middle of the night on his way to the bathroom and scraped his elbow up really bad (hence the hospital trip). We missed him.

There are all kinds of things you need to wear ear protection for on the ranch.

There's an old pine tree they cut down on the ranch and had made into boards. Uncle Roger was giving some to Bapa W so he can make a dining room table. Uncle Roger had plenty of help cutting the boards down.

Aunt Marion raises bees and has lots of bee boxes on the property. She has made quite the hobby of extracting, jarring, and selling the honey at the local Farmer's Market. It's super delicious and she sent a bunch home with us. It really does taste different than that stuff you get in the plastic honey bear bottle...
The boys have learned a little about what the bees do in the box and they got to watch her check to see if honey was ready.

While I was sick and laying on the couch the whole first day of our visit, the boys played with their Great Grandma LulaBelle outside (isn't that such a great name?! She's from Texas) and went riding on the four wheeler with daddy.

Here's one of the crops on the backside of the house. Alfalfa. Which brings lots and lots of deer throughout the day.

Don't They Look So Old

We Begin Idaho with the Drive

You know how drives go. Long and bum-aching. We made it a two dayer with a night at Jess' in Utah. They treated us to root beer floats! Yum!

The boys watched movie after movie and we did a lot of car seat bottle and food feeding for Emmett.

While Josh did this...I had a lot of time to think and actually enjoy the scenery. This year I stopped worrying about having to get there in a hurry and just drove. I didn't even pay attention to the time -just admired the land and the cities and towns.

I always thought the dry hot flat parts of Idaho sucked. This time I changed my opinion. It wasn't just dry and hot and boring. There were things to look at - farms and irrigated fields in the middle of nowhere, jagged rocks and looming mountains. It was beautiful in it's own way.

I do, however, think that Idaho gets WAY more beautiful after you start going North of Boise. Forest and wildlife and rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes, mountains...I could go on...undisturbed...except by the crying baby...no, he wasn't bad. All the boys did really great actually. Thank Heavens.

Somethin' About a Few Boys a Dog and a Frog

If You Know Me, You Know About My Ghost Problem

I have this thing with ghosts. A little infatuated in fact...but have recently laid off watching the ghost hunting shows for fear of attracting bad ones to my house that would scare the kids. No, really, I am totally serious. You might think I have problems...I agree.

Anyways, I have taken picture after picture after picture and never seen what I consider to be an orb...until now. Taking pictures of my kids this summer out at their Great Great Grandparent's ranch, I spotted two pictures with tiny circles "kissing" Emmett's lips. I looked at the pictures before and after these pics - all taken from the same spot, quickly one right after the other - no "orb," no reflections of light, no bugs flying around. Call me crazy, but I think we have someone watching over us. It makes me smile to think that they are kissing him. Like I said. Call me crazy.

Have You Seen This Kid Lately?

Goofiness and Forts

Conner has his father's imagination and I'm glad of that. After assembling these "correctly", I gave him these goofy glasses, he flipped the nose over and wore it like this and other places on his body.





Yesterday we went to the beach, he saw an older Latino gentleman walking with cowboy boots and said, "Mommy, why does that man walk like a penguin?"


I also had Conner hold Emmett for a brief few seconds while I pulled up my pants in the bathroom (tmi?). Emmett got his fingers in Conner's mouth and dug his nails into his gums. After I took Emmett back, Conner looked up at me and softly said with concern, "I don't think we should do that again."





Conner calls brown sugar oatmeal salt.

When we start to go on a green light in the car Conner says, "Come on Mommy that guy is beating you up! Go faster you need to beat him up!" (Instead of just beat him...)

There's some other things he says that I'm trying to remember...get back to you on that.

Our super dark under the table fort...which was more fun to build than play in.

Before and After

Before we left for Idaho, the hairy beasts got haircuts.

This is sooooo Wyatt.

Playing Together

Wyatt is finally at that age where the two can play together pretty well. He almost understands everything Conner is talking about...and agrees to most of what he suggests. Ha Ha. He'll learn.
*Yes, my kids' feet are dirty...they go barefoot most the time.

*Wyatt is also starting to potty train. Went uckies on the toilet today! He's VERY motivated by candy!!!!!

Banana Boats at 10am?

YUP! :)

Bushed

A few days ago, this little lad swam for hours and had no nap. This was the 6:00pm crash.