Muddy Buddies and such

This post is mostly intended for my own cleansing purposes. I'm trying to clear our camera before Disneyland and these were some of our favorite things about this week. As mentioned earlier on Wednesday we went to Virginia city and then spent hours at a nearby pool/water slide. By Thursday both Gina and I were pooped, and I think the thought of taking the kids somewhere without the Dad's was exhausting. Gina decided to show us a place called Jump man Jump. It's was this warehouse basically filled with all sorts of giant inflatable Astro Jump type toys. It was SOOO much fun. The kids were contained and they could literally bounce around and jump until their hearts content! It was the perfect activity for the kids. Gina and I both enjoyed the slides a time or two ourselves. Sam enjoyed this place so much I caught him Skipping from bounce house to bounce house!
Apparently Jessica thinks she can dance:)

Abby was brave and contended with total strangers in fighting matches. She didn't ever defeat anyone, but she enjoyed wearing the little safety helmet. Even funnier was watching Trevor do this. My 3 year old nephew never lost a match. He was so small, and he just stood there holding that heavy pole, yet he stood so firmly that other people would take a swat at him and they'd be sent off their pillar. He was so proud of himself too.
My nephew took this family photo of us this morning. I really wanted a picture simply because my girls looked a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e in their new dresses. (thank you ROSS:)
And this is a picture of Aaron and Gina's yard. You may not know what it looked liked before, but it was your basic Nevada desert clay. It was amazing to me how John and Aaron made it look so different. They worked on lots together, and I think John enjoyed dappling in the landscaping world again.

Well it is official. Aaron and Gina have officially made it one week through with our little family. They've been amazing to us. I have a lot to learn from Gina. There is not much that she stresses about, and she's so great with the kids. Sam LOVES her. I have such amazing sisters, and sister in-laws who are all so good to my kids and I'm so grateful for that. Aaron of course has pulled off some amazing Hardy style meals. I think it needs to be said that Aaron can do a mean BBQ! (Roast, Chicken, Salmon and Steak all done on the grill) Warm weather, great food, awesome company...can you think of anything better.

I can. All of the above...only in Disneyland. We leave tomorrow morning and it seems as though Aaron and Gina have made all the arrangements that will make this an amazing time. We can't WAIT! Gina showed me how to make Muddy Buddies. If you have not heard about these tasty little crunchies then you are truly missing out. What you do is melt 1/4 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and 1 cup of milk chocolate chips. Add 1 tsp of vanilla to that and then pour this over 9 cups of Rice chex, coating each one. Then you coat it all in icing sugar. Hmmm mmmm. We made them for the kids, during the 10 hour trip - but I think I've dipped into them more than I should have.

To all of our family back home (Max, Kendall...Jeremy...my sisters..thank you for all that you did to pull up carpet and tend to our house issue.) When we get back...MUDDY BUDDIES FOR YOU ALL!

"FIRE, FLOOD OR GUSHING BLOOD" Only call if it is one of those three things...

You know when you are on holidays the last thing you want is to be notified of ...a problem, but I got a phone call today (down here in Reno) from my sister Jewel. I had recruited her, along with my Father in law Max, to both look after my garden and yard while we were away. I was really worried about weeds overtaking the garden, or things not being watered enough so I really tried to make sure that I'd prepared things well. Jewel had asked me if I wanted her to check in our house at all and I assured her that it would be fine left alone, that she only needed to worry about the garden. It's a little ironic that when Jewel called me today it was news about our actual home. I laugh now at how tentatively and cautiously she explained how there must have been some kind of break in a pipe or something in our Master bathroom and that things were a tad bit flooded in our house. They found out about this when max noticed water leaking FROM the inside of the house into the garage. AHHHH!!!! Luckily, Kendall, Max, Jeremy and Jordan went over and all helped to move out furniture and try to pump/ vacuum out lots of the water. It sounds as though there is no damage to the walls, but we are waiting to hear if the carpets and underlay have to go. Here is the saddest irony. The day before we left for our trip I spent the morning STEAM CLEANING our carpets so our house would be immaculate when we got back.

Well I suppose it hardly seems appropriate now to blog and tell my family about all the awesome fun things we've done the past couple days. I don't need to mention the great food, swimming, giant kids play zones, and other such activities. I probably shouldn't boast about the beautiful weather and the awesome time we are having with Aaron and Gina. Nope I definitely won't mention the fact that we leave for Cali in just a few days. I'll leave all that unsaid.

Well I guess to my amazing brother in laws, Max, and JEWEL and CRYSTAL- THANK YOU for dealing with that mess. We love you!

A fun little dot on the map

So through the course of this trip we have driven through some interesting towns. We drove through one town that has officially and aptly dubbed itself the “armpit of America.” There was this other town that John referred to as “just another boil on the buttocks of the world.” You know the type. They're those sleep little towns where you might miss it if you happen to be blinking at the time you're driving through...

But today I saw a town that is seriously straight out of a movie. It’s an old fashioned all American, gun slingin, saloon kinda town. Virginia City is the name of it. Gina took us there because she thought I might get a kick out of it.


As soon as we rounded the corner and I saw the "city" (if that's what you want to call it) I laughed. This town consists of two streets. That’s it. You drive up one street, down the other and that’s it! Really though that isn’t it because in those two streets are crammed the neatest shops, with the most interesting people. At the back of one shop is an old fashioned bank vault and then beside it was an entrance to a real mine. They were giving tours and it was fun to go down into this dark damp tunnel and really see how a mine worked back then. The dead canary they had on display made me a bit nervous☺ We were stopped by people dressed up in western theme who referred to our kids as little buckaroos.

There were simulated gun fights, panning for gold, ice cream…and what would an old western town be without a good ol candy store. It was the kind of town that was chalk full of personality and entertainment that would take an entire day just to walk up and down all two streets. Mark Twain once lived in this town. In fact it was while living here that he actually took up his pen name of Mark Twain. Prior to that he went by ...oh I forget...Clements something...uh Mr. Clements I suppose. Is that right? ...Clements? Unfortunately the kids kept me from really delving it to some of the shops and museums but it was fun to get a little glimpse of the good ol west!

Thanks Gina

I had to post this picture of Abby with her cousins Ethan. They've gotten to be great little buds!

The second half of our drive (from Idaho to Reno) was a little more eventful then the first. I’d mentioned earlier that the kids had all been amazing in the van – which they had. And then…we reached the dessert! You guys …it is hot here. I’m not kidding, it is hotter then H-E – (you know where)! My kids had never felt that kind of heat and neither had I so I knew we were in for it. Halfway into day 2 Sam and Jess were traveling like this:



(We actually stopped somewhere before reaching Aaron and Gina’s to dress them a little) Every time we pulled over to gas up the kids got slurpees, Popsicles, smoothies…whatever it took to keep them happy for the next stretch. Still though, I think they did a great job considering they were so EXCITED to see their cousins and that moment just wasn’t coming soon enough for them.

Some things I enjoyed about the drive:
1) The gas stations I’m not even lying- there is some good shopping to be had at these American gas stations. In Canada you go to gas up and you can also buy snacks. Down here you gas up and you can also buy – men’s shorts, fake diamond jewellery, flip flops, glass figurines, chair cushions, fireworks, movies, and cd’s. All of the said things were items I had in my hand at the till. I was however keenly aware every time of John’s disapproval of me spending our money entirely at a gas station so most of the above things were returned guiltily to their places on the shelves.

2) I have enjoyed seeing the different terrain as we’ve now driven through 4 different states. I could not quite wrap my head around the vastness and emptiness of the Nevada desert as we traveled. However in the past few days the terrain, as well of the heat have grown on me. This red rock and all the mountains surrounding this city really are beautiful. Today we took a drive to the funniest little town ever (see future post) called Virginia City. The drive up through the mountains was exactly like driving over Logans Pass. Only there was not much vegetation. Oh and everything was red…rock. So I guess what it had in common with logans pass was simply that it was high up…windy…and pretty.

3) Target, Ross, and T.J. Maxx. - Need I say more.


We’ve had fun getting to see this life of Aaron and Gina’s. They have such sharp boys and my kids are enjoying every minute of it. Their oldest boy Kaden has been fun to visit with. He’s always teaching me all these random facts and I never know if they are true or not. I just follow along as if I was half as smart as he is:) Plus he’s an aspiring magician and he’s filling me in on all the secrets to every magic trick ever done. Yes I now know how to make a person levitate!

One Day in...all is good!

Greetings from the middle of NOWEHRE! Actually to be more specific – we are in Pocatello. We started our two and a half week long vacation this morning,, and I quickly realized that if we are going to remember everything about our trip I was going to have to maintain a journal. A travel log of all our adventures, no matter how small! I figured it would be a good way for our family and loved ones specifically to stay on top of all that we are enjoying and doing, and to reassure my very thoughtful and worried sister that we are alright. Crystal – so far ….all is well☺

The first day of driving went amazingly well. No arguments…no tantrums…no carsickness (touch wood). Of course that might have something to do with the fact that the kids were each given 2.5 mls of Gravol before we left. Not sure if they needed it or not. …Don’t judge me.:)))

We got to the hotel here early this evening and it is so much FUN! I LOVE LOVE LOVE staying in hotels.. Yeah I know they don’t wash the comforters but I don’t care. Something about a hotel stay just makes me so excited. As soon as we arrived the kids …and their mom.:) …started jumping all over the place. On the bed…off the walls…. I think we were all glad to be out of a van.

Some things we’ve learned since leaving the promised land: (Canada that is)

• Doritos and Dora Fruit snacks can go a long way and work miracles.
• The church website’s (www.lds.org) ward info and meeting times are not updated. Just in case you are ever traveling on a Sunday and think you could catch a sacrament meeting somewhere. Don’t count on it.
• I take for granted the No Smoking bylaws that blanket Alberta.
• John is usually right. Although it is true that in a marriage “teamwork” is important- that does not apply to reading maps. In such cases, I should just let John do his thing.
• The Idaho Falls temple is beautiful!
• Being “stuck” in a car with John and my kids …so far…has been heaven on earth!



Well I guess that is all for now. We will update this later once we have some “Real” adventures to write about.

Jewel…how’s the garden? Just kidding. I’m really not worried.

Gotta go now. We are going swimming. Yeah I know it is Sunday but after spending all day in the van…the kids have earned it. Besides, John agrees – so that makes it right☺ I LOVE holiday John – he’s so fun!!!

Road Trip

We can hardly wait! I've mentioned our upcoming holiday before but I've never been too specific about it. I didn't want to jinx any plans. :) In a short while we'll be loading up the van and driving down to Nevada for the rest of the month. Actually that is not true. For one week we'll be in Disneyland California! AHHHHHH!!! I'm getting so excited for this and my little pile of things to pack is building. Hats...sunscreen... hopefully NO bug repellent. I don't know what I'm most excited about. We'll be visiting with John's brother and their family the whole time and I'm really excited to get to know them better and see their home. I'm travelling outside of Alberta... that's always rare and exciting. We'll be away from everything that makes us busy - that is going to feel GREAT! I'll get to see the OCEAN! So many things to look forward to! Abby has been telling everybody about this trip for months, and now I find myself doing the same thing!

I'm a little bit sad to be leaving my garden behind but our house and yard will be left in good hands! My biggest fear is about the two day drive it is going to take us to get to Reno. Now, if any of you know me...and if you know Sam...the thought of being in a van for that long has me terrified.

I've been working on building up a supply of new (dollar store) toys, and candies that I can pull out for the kids along the way. We hopefully will stop during the trip and explore some of the places we are passing through. I'll pack some movies, treats, and everything else I can possibly think of. Still though - I'm not looking forward to that.

This is our first BIG trip. So all you expert parents I have a couple of questions:

1: What are your favorite songs to listen to on a road trip. (You know the kind of songs that make you feel glad to be driving in a car. I need to make some CDs that are chalk full of that "life is a highway" kind of stuff. Oh yeah and maybe share some great kid songs as well)

2: If you've ever been to Disneyland I'd love some tips on how to manage our three small kids there. You know so we don't lose them forever or anything!

Wish us luck!

Canada Day

I just LOVE Canada day! I always feel so blessed to live in Canada, I truly feel that there is nowhere better. We celebrate this afternoon by going to our local "Party in the Park." They had set up so fun Astro Jump play areas for the kids, had a small petting zoo, and of course we were able to pig out on the regular carnival type junk food. Seriously no matter how much I've eaten before hand, hotdogs at a fair suck me in big time! Lots of fun.


Believe me, we had cuter pics of animals then this one but I loved how I caught Abby checking out this pigs bum. She was fascinated with their tails. (I think she was surprised to see that they really are curly)!



I think these are two great shots of Jess. She was content throughout the evening to just watch all that was going on. As long as she was free to roam that is. She is such a sweet girl! We sat to watch a couple of performances. She really liked watching the Aboriginal dancing, and she would just clap and clap when all was finished.




And then ...there was Sam! This little stinker threw such a fit because we weren't letting him go on the BIGGEST astro jump of all. It was intended for older kids and consists of a steep/tall climb and then a rather steep slide down the other side. Finally John let him on with the intent to watch Sam climb up and then run to the other side and be ready to catch Sam as he slid down. Only problem is...Sam never came down. Blasted little monkey. He stayed perched on the middle secction of the slide. As teenagers went crashing down on either side he was content to sit there and enjoy the view.

I think he just enjoyed the fact that he was up there and John couldn't reach him. He can be a very wicked little thing at times:) We sure love him though.




And last but not least- the fireworks. I played around with our camera a bit and learned a thing or two about shutter speed. I spent hours the other night trying to photograph lightning during a storm. Atleast I figured things out in time to get some fireworks shots. Sam and Jess were snorin logs by the time the show began but Abby enjoyed it. She kept commenting often about how I'd "never taken her to see fireworks before- their amazing!"

She's lying. I've taken her to see them lots before:) But they were Amazing!


Now it is back to normal. Party is over. Atleast for me and the kids. John left this morning for our Stakes Moroni's Quest. John was asked to play the part of Moroni. He's pretty excited - but we'll definately be missing him here! Actually I wish he was here and I was THERE, I'm so jealous.

Hope you all had a great Canada Day!!!

Happy Canada Day!

Here are some of my favorite pics taken during a hike yesturday. Enjoy the holiday.

You'd be sad too if you couldn't poor the ketchup by yourself!


This is a shot of Sam that I have wanted to take for a long time! Usually when Sam is upset he is not so subdued, sad, sweet looking. You'll have to click on the pic to really see how sad he is. In the moments that I've seen him like this I always feel torn. Do I run and get the camera or sweep him up in my arms and cuddle with him. I opted to get the camera:)

Today was a busy day. John's official FIRST DAY of summer. How better to spend it then cleaning the garage, yard work and even washing the van. I had to take a picture of the front of the van to show all the poor bugs that have perished because of us.
I couldn't help but think about our upcoming vacation.


The next time I wash our van- we'll be cleaning up AMERICAN bugs!!!

What four kids do when they are bored...

They play Chess of course. And when they aren't playing chess you might find Sam hunting on some back country road somewhere.



They're a pretty rustic group of kids!

What's GROWIN' on around here

Our garden is coming along beautifully. You might remember me writing about how my Father-in-law helped me plant the first half of the garden. It's a safe guarantee that anything he touches will grow. The second half John and I planted on our own and I wasn't quite as optimistic. I'm happy to report the only thing we are waiting on now is our row of bell peppers. Yeah!!!! These pictures don't really show how well the crop is coming but take me my word for it - our garden kicks butt!! :) I'm not trying to brag or anything. It's not like I'm doing anything special to it, just the usual garden maintenance - watering...weeding...you might find me lovingly stroking the odd leaf or two...singing to the plants perhaps...that sort of thing. Whatever the reason it has taken off. Therefore we've gotten greedy and decided that it's time to make things even bigger. Here's a picture of John adding 15 more feet.

Everything is in bloom and I love it!





An old roommate of mine came into town today. Her family joined mine for lunch and then we babysat for them while they went to a session at the temple. It was fun to reminisce about the old days. I loved attending school in Edmonton, and living with so many awesome girls over that four year period. I once sat down to count the number of roommates I'd lived with in total and it was at least 34. (35 if you count my brother who was homeless for one summer and secretly spent the nights up in the attic room.) Now, I only ever lived with 13 girls at one time, but some of those girls I sure grew to love! It was fun to see Karen today.




My sister in law Rachel has just gotten engaged. She let me take a couple of pictures of her and her fiance and let me tell ya, I had the FUNNEST time doing so. I probably had more fun then them, so kudos to the cute couple for putting up with me. We bought a swanky camera months ago and I'm just barely starting to learn how to really use it. But oh boy I'm having fun! Sure it helps when the subject your shooting is as beautiful as Rach is - how could a pic of her go wrong eh? (Hopefully she doesn't mind if I post some)
So I'm wanting to start taking more photos and learning more about this whole photography thing. Ideally my main interest is wildlife and landscape photography. However due to the fact that I'm extremely afraid of wildlife encounters I may have to settle for learning how to take a killer family photo instead. So if any of you are wanting some family pics, I'm wanting some practice. It'd be free! Totally amateur and mediocre...but free;)

A Whole LOT of fun and a plane crash

One of the highlights for our family this past week was the soccer tournament. Why was this a highlight? Well, because it means we are done! Abigail enjoyed being on a team this year, though she struggled at times when others scored and she didn't. She improved so much though, and during her last game she scored 3 goals!! Great job Abby. John and I enjoyed coaching, but it will be nice to have our Monday evenings back.
What a fun group of kids:)










Yesterday John and I decided to take the kids on their first "Real" hike. We brought two of our nephews along, who are pretty great hikers, and we knew having them along would make it more enjoyable for Sam and Abby. Sure enough the kids LOVED it. We did Blackiston. It is a very short, very EASY hike to some great Falls up by Red Rock Canyon. It was the perfect choice for my three first timers!
Here they are all enthusiastic to begin.


Overlooking Red Rock. Doesn't that look so nice. It was so hot and I wanted to go play in that water so bad. What I didn't want though were the other kids joining me. :)) (That would have been an adventure! Maybe with a few more adults to supervise sometime.)



Caleb took this photo for us at the falls. I was so glad the balcony was enclosed with fence. Sam would have loved to get a little bit closer. I could tell he wanted in that water! How is it that kids can be afraid of something imaginary (like a monster under their bed), yet when confronted with real danger, such as a cascading and crushing waterfall, all they want to do is get closer? That's Sam for ya, I guess.




Speaking of Sam, he managed to do the entire hike while carrying his toy Bow & Arrow. He walked with that Bow slung over his shoulder and the whole time would mumble something. Every once in awhile we'd hear, "Bear." "I do it." "Kill him." Apparently he sensed my caution about bears and felt the need to protect. Needless to say the bears stayed far away.



When we got back to the waterton town site we met up with some of John's siblings for dinner by the lake. It was a beautiful calm evening. The kids enjoyed making this lean to.

The parents enjoyed visiting. And then...tragedy struck.

You may recall in previous posts me talking about John's love for flying remote control airplanes. It's his brother Jordan who got him hooked on the hobby and ever since then these planes have been the activity of choice for John and his brothers. So last night Jordan is flying his plane and keep in mind he's pretty good at it. We're enjoying the show, watching as Jordan flys it over the lake and chases people passing by in motor boats etc. It was pretty fun to see, and John was debating whether to send his plane up her not.



All the sudden, (this is the tragic part), the plane nicked a tree limb and went plummeting into the lake. My initial instinct was to laugh my head off, but...oh wait..I did!




In hindsight, it really is kinda sad. (For Jordan that is) The plane shorted out and may need to be replaced entirely.

Jordan we are sorry for your loss! That was a very sad way to end a really great day!

Waterton Wildflower Festival

Today I attended a Sketching along the Trail course in Waterton. It was a morning long course that is held annually during the parks Wildflower festival.

The fun began on the way out, when I got held up by this:



Gotta love a good ol fashion down home cattle drive. Something about seeing all those cows walk along the yellow line- made me laugh for the rest of the trip!





As I reached Waterton I was amazed at how calm and pristine everything looked. It was the perfect day. Half way up the Red Rock Canyon Rd I saw standing right on the side of the road two very large Moose! Meese? Mooses? ...whatever. They were large and amazing and apparantly not too camera friendly because as soon as I pointed my lens at them - they were gone. Drat! This was the only pic I managed to get.




The course was amazing. A local artist led a group of us around Lost Horse Creek. We found meadows, and valleys of amazing flowers. She left us to ourselves to sketch whatever we chose and she would just go from person to person giving tips, advice etc. I learned lots about utilizing the "source of light" when I paint or draw, as well as excercising my ability to focus on the negative space surrounding a given subject.

I took lots of photos. The instructor talked about the importance of photographing as much as we can so that we will have images to refer to for accuracy etc in future work we do. This type of a collection that artists build up is apparantly called a "morgue." I spent some time before I left trying to build up my own morgue. It was fun to use the camera a bit. These were some of my favorite pics taken today.

What a great day! It was the perfect way to relax, unwind and get in touch with the things I really enjoy. I came home feeling like I'd spent the day at the spa or something. :) Only I reckon it was better!