Steam Engine 844

We had the opportunity to make Parker the happiest little man ever!

Steam Engine 844 was coming to town and Matthew got asked to be the engineer from Green River to Pocatello. The next day his Dad and brother, Nathan, were asked to be the engineer and conductor from Pocatello to Nampa. Matt asked if we could ride to Nampa and they said yes. Parker was so, so excited to be able to ride a train. It was pretty fun, but I will admit that it was a super long day. We had to be there at 7am and didn't get to Nampa till about 3pm. By the time we got to our car, got it started (the battery was way dead... it took awhile to charge) and ate we didn't end up getting home till 10 that night. Yipes!

Parker and Grammie. Right after we got on the train.

Park and Uncle Anthony

(good thing for photoshop. anthony was flipping the birdl okay, okay. he was waving.)

Brooke, Anthony, LaRae, Me, Matthew and Parker. Waiting to leave Pocatello.

Up in the dome car.

Playing with Daddy.

FINALLY he fell asleep. We had a rough night before and he was getting a little cranky.

We made it to Nampa! Yay!

This may have been one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences for us. It was pretty exciting being able to ride the train and meet the crew. They were all so nice. They pretty much run the steam engine full time and are sometimes gone for up to 6 or 8 weeks at one time. They do a lot of Operation Lifesaver events as well as make appearances at big events like Cheyenne Frontier Days. What a life!

CFR 20-10

Same time, same place.

Every year over Labor Day weekend we have a family reunion for my Mom's side of the family. It is held on one of the homesteads that Papa grew up on. The theme was 'Stars and Stripes and Families are Forever.' It was pretty fun to decorate our camp with red, white and blue. I went a little crazy at the dollar store buying some pretty sweet decorations. Haha. My poor grandma didn't want me to throw them away when it was time to go, so she kept most of them in her trailer to put up next year.

We didn't take the dogs with us this year so it was nice to not have to worry about them up there. We just had little man to keep track of. We also got to meet Rory's girlfriend. She is super cute and seems like lots of fun.

I'm noticing a pattern of us being RETARDED and staring out family gatherings by running. This time it was the 2nd annual (meeks cabin) Dam Half Marathon. This year there were 18 crazies participating in the 1/2 and 11 crazies in the 5k. This is me at the finish. Yuck. I'm gross.

Who would have guessed and 80yr old would be completing a 1/2?

Here's Papa.. Crossing the finish. He walked and jogged the whole thing.

Rikki, Me, Papa, Caitlyn and Leslie

Misty was so sweet and came over to get Parker to help him make a bird feeder.

Grandpa reading to his boys.

Ugh! I need a new camera. Mine survived the Bear Lake baptism.

Rikki.

Leslie and Matt - playing 'Minute to Win It.'

Caitlyn - Minute to Win It.

Les - Minute to Win It.

Grandpa and Parker

The old homestead.

Tucker and Parker

Dogpile!

Leslie missed the blue memo.

Good times!

Can't wait for next year...

Same time, same place!

A Summer Recap

Summer.

Is it really over?

Ya... It's September 22nd... I guess it really is over.

This summer flew by so fast. We've had some really good times, and some sad times that put things back in place and give you a new perspective on life and the experiences you want to have and share with others while we are here. I know they help us learn and grow, but I don't like it. I'll just say that this summer had about 5 too many funerals... I am so thankful for my forever family. I am so thankful for the knowledge that 'the end' isn't the end. 'The end' is a beginning. A new beginning. I am thankful for the opportunity that I have to be a mom... To raise my sweet little boy... I hope and pray that I am doing a good job... That I am teaching him and helping him learn and grow. Sometimes I really question that.

Well, on that kind of depressing note... Um... here are a few random pics from the rest of summer.

I love taking pictures of my little man sleeping. This one made my heart happy.

This boys LOVES water!

We developed a pretty good family yard work system. I would mow the lawn, Matthew would weed-eat, Parker would push around his mower and eat popsicles, and the dogs would lay in the shade... and try to steal licks from Parker's dripping 'sicle.' How did I end up with the hardest job?

We had quite a rainstorm one afternoon and Parker obviously loved the end results.

Sunscreen anyone?

Tyler and Carrie left us for Hawaii. :( This was the morning they left. So sad.

But they are loving life right now, so I'm glad they are happy.

Maybe someday we will be able to go visit them.

I found Parker like this at 4 a.m. Poor guy. I think he hates his bed.

Well, there you have it! A few random pictures from a bittersweet summer.

Oh, and one super good thing - we are completely done with the pacifier! Yay! I went to visit my family at the end of August, and Parker was a BEAST about going to bed. He would throw his paci out and then scream because he wanted it back. I get fed up, and when we got home somehow they all got 'broken.' I snipped the tips on all of them. Evil, I know! But I'm glad we are done with them. I was tired of trying to keep track of them.

Christmas in July!

So since we had the big 'Stomache Flu of Christmas 09' pandemic, we decided to have a Christmas do-over. We went to the parental's house in Wyoming over 4th of July weekend and had a ball.

The big weekend opener was the Freedom Fun Run on Saturday morning. Everyone except Rory (he was at work, but let's face it... he's too LAZY to run a 5k... LOL!) ran it. Including Mom & Dad!

Way to go, team!

Park and Caity

Rikki and Leslie

Us and the 'cool' prizes we won... Yeah...

After the fun run we showered (thankfully) and went on a scenic drive and picnic. We even got to see the campsite that helped lead to the disengagement of Rory and Psycho-Face. Good times. Haha!

After the drive we stopped and ate at a park and played.

It looks like someone hit the eject button! :)

Awww!

The next day was Sunday! Look at these two cuties! We didn't even have to plan and buy the same suits... It just happened. BTW - It is sooo hard to get these two to pose for the camera. They are BUSY boys!

Me, Rikki and Parker. We are waiting for the fireworks. Just so you know, Evanston fireworks are AWESOME! Since it is right over the border from Utah there are several firework stores that sell 'the good stuff' so I think they donate quite a bit to the city show. Plus all the U-tards that were in the parking lot lighting their own... It was a fun (but cold) night.

Monday was Minnetonka Cave and Bear Lake day!

Cait and her boys.

The cave entrance.

Some of the formations.

The family after the tour.

Rik and Les - waiting for the pizza to arrive. So this pizza place was really good but interesting. We ordered a GIANT pizza for all of us. It must have been pretty impressive to the group of Asian people at the table next to us because they actually got up and started taking pictures of our pizza. Weird? I think so!

I have such beautiful sisters, don't I?

Little man swimming.

Um...

This is the last picture I took before my camera got dropped in the water!

Me and Mom.

What a fun weekend! I wish that Matthew would have been able to go. He misses a lot of family stuff because of work. Especially around holidays. :(