Sheep(ish) Falls

A couple of weeks ago, we thought it would be a grand adventure to hike down to Sheep Falls and have a little bonfire.  It didn't go as planned.

We got stuck.

REAL stuck.

The actual frame of the truck was propped in the snow and no matter what we tried, those tires just spun. As you know, this isn't our first rodeo stuck in the mud/snow/whatever. My husband likes to push his limits and majority of the time, it lands us in a wild adventure that we otherwise wouldn't have had access to. I love his adventuring spirit. This time, however; it landed us into the snow.  Every time we do get stuck, I am impressed with John and his positive outlook and ingenuity through the whole ordeal. 

The below picture is the beginning of our grand adventure. By the time we left, the tires were buried another six inches in the snow!

It was a hot day, so playing in the snow was actually kind of fun for the kids.  The kids and I searched for rocks to lodge under the tires while John dug with a stick.

Two hours later we still had no luck in the stuck-vehicle department.  The kids and I played lava tag on the lava rocks, made snowballs, searched for bobcats, and read books in the car; but that suburban was not budging.
We finally caved and called in back up.
While we waited for friends to arrive, we decided to have a little bonfire. Despite the soggy wood and pine cones, we got a fire going strong enough to make us some very luke warm hot dogs. The kids thought it was a success, so that's something. Haha. As John was working to start the fire, Matthew and William would blow air into the flames just like their dad. Their serious concentration kept John and I laughing. What would we have done without their help?

Our friends finally arrived and they were met with a bunch of kids jumping up and down like they had been stranded for two weeks. Long story short, we broke a couple tow ropes and eventually John was able to go back with another friend and pull the suburban out with a massive chain. We have wonderful friends.

Personally, I found the overall outing to be quite an adventure. 

I know John was pretty sore the next day, but I imagine deep down he had a grand ole time spending the day in the partial wilderness with me. 

Isn't he dreamy?

Let's Go Ride a Bike

Thursday night John and I decided is was finally time for William to graduate from the creepy little tricycle he rode around our parking lot.  Every time we go to Walmart, William runs to the bikes and says, "Oh yes, this is my bike I want for my birfuhday....no...wow, THIS is the bike I uh weally want for my birfuhday." His face expression when I suggested we just buy it today? Priceless. He made all sorts of promises of never being mean again to keeping his bed clean (he's a hoarder, so this was a big deal.) 

William, Caity, and Johnny took to the parking lot on their bikes as soon as we got home. Caity and Johnny were so attentive to their little brother teaching him how to break (albeit unsuccessfully) and how to go over bumps in the concrete without falling over (again unsuccessfully). Their effort was so touching to this mother's heart! While they were riding fast and furious around their turf, Matthew and I sat on the porch playing with " 'cary guys and good guys".  With the sun setting, it was a perfect end to the day.

Saturday seemed like the Day of the Bikes.  

We woke up early and rode a bike trail to McDonald's.  One of my all time favorite views is seeing everyone in front of me riding and laughing. For a brief moment, all seems right in the world, you know; until someone runs into a trash can or something.  On the way home from McDonald's, John and the older kids played at a bike park with dirt mounds and jumps; I'm always so impressed with their lack of inhibitions- they get that from their dad! For the last leg of the journey, John asked William to show us the way home.  He squared his little shoulders and he was so proud of himself peddling his little heart out.  He took the responsibility seriously.

Every time I'd help Wiliam over a bump or up a little hill, he'd say "Thanks Mom," and always turn around and say,  "Do you need help now, mom?" I must say, I was flattered by that little gentleman! 

It was just a great outing for all the kids. 

Johnny would fall behind on purpose just so he could pedal as fast as he could to pass everyone.

Matthew sat with his hands in his pockets in the seat behind John, giggling whenever John raced up a hill.

Caity rode in the back with me for awhile just talking to talk, "Yeah, Matthew in my class has a crush on me. I know he has a crush on me, he knows that I know, and our whole class knows; but I just tell them: 'Look guys, a crush just means you think someone is really cool. It's not a big deal, you can still be friends and stuff.'"  (I just love her.) 

We went on a couple more bike rides to places throughout the day, and it was just an all around great way to spend a Saturday. I'm grateful for John for making us get out of the house...now, five more days until the next Saturday!

Livin' for the Weekend!

This weekend was another good one. I'm tellin' ya', not studying for the BAR is awesome.  Saturday morning was spent at a church service project and in the afternoon we headed over to the Rigby Car Show.  It was so much fun, and they had quite a fun variety of cars.

When we first got there, there was a vintage fire truck that would lift people into the air, it was cool, it was freaky, and it was definitely the kids' highlight.  It was fun while we were up there to hear the kids point out their favorite cars- Johnny liked "a mater truck with with a flag on it." Caity liked a turqouise car, mostly because I think she is trying to prove a point that her favorite color is no longer pink (PSA:that is now her third favorite color.) William loved the huge red tractor.  John's favorite (and you can see it in the front row on this picture) was the Ford pick up with the extended cab. He wants one of those so badly, and I'm struggling to get on that bandwagon, or wold we sat band-truck?.  He also liked an old Camaro that reminded him of Dr. Dollar. (A good friend and dentist he worked for in high school.)

We love car shows and this one was no exception. We had a blast.

Here is every single picture we have of that adventure:

In other news...Matthew! This little wanderer is always keeping us on our toes!

Eagle Park

It only took us all summer to finally get over there, but Eagle Park did not disappoint.

Who would have thought such an oasis exsisted in our little town?

(Probably everyone who told us we needed to go there, haha.)

We waded in the water, walked up stream, threw rocks, raced leaves, and just enjoyed the sweet summer breeze.  It was a nice little break from a busy week.

 

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The Hiawatha

The Hiawatha Trail.

It has been on our bucket list for a few years now. When we lived in Moscow, Idaho, we were only a couple of hours away, but the timing never seemed quite right. Now in Rexburg, we are six hours away and realized the timing was probably never going to be perfect so...BAM...we made it happen. A huge thank you goes to John especially for keeping it in our sights.  The Hiawatha trail used to be a railway that when it was no longer in use was turned into a 17-mile bike trail. I have always wondered the scenery available to train conductors, so it was kind of a cool exprience for me in that way. 

We got up bright and early so we could get there in time. I loved these two pictures of Caity and Johnny. I think it just encompasses "them" so well.

Our friend sent us his view from the beach, so we sent him ours on the road! haha, I think we are some of the only people in the world who find this wide open space beautiful. Not a beach...but still beautiful, you know?

Getting ready to start!!

And we were off! (from John's angle)

(from my angle!)

In the first tunnel. It was so cold! All of our fingers were numb by the time we got out.

There were seven tunnels along the way, this first one was 1.7 miles long!

Stopping for a picnic

There were a TON of wild flowers bordering us on both sides, it was breathtaking.

That view though!

Caity on one of the bridges.

The boys. (Matthew was sleeping in the trailer.) Johnnny got a little burnt out for a while and because we were in a time crunch, we couldn't rest too much. So John, bless his heart- pulled all the boys and Johnny's bike for a good four miles!

So I may be afraid of the dark. I totally had a more flashlights for the tunnels than anyone else on the trail (including my kids.) 

Yes, we crossed that bridge! There were quite a few like that, it was so cool!

Look at that rock! Isn't it breathtaking? We really came to appreciate the craftsmanship that went into these tunnels.  It was so cool riding through mountains.

Awkward picture of me....but for memories sake.

I love Caity's face in this one.

Matthew!! He was so chill as long as were riding. As soon as we'd stop he'd demand to get out so he could play in the dirt/eat rocks.

Such a fun experience and totally something we hope to do again!