Island Park 2012

I'm going to be bold here and say that Island Park is probably my favorite place on Earth.  I really really love it there.  It is beautiful, it is removed, it is serene, it is associated with family and friends, it is paradisiacal to me.

In August we spent a week there.  We spent the first few days with our friends the Hurds who lived by us in Kuna and moved to Island Park a couple years ago.  We went swimming, rode 4-wheelers around their cabin, watched the Olympics, and relaxed.  We also took a little trip up to a lake in Montana but apparently I forgot my camera? My pictures here are a little backwards but I'm too lazy to put them in chronological order.

We spent the second half of the week with the Bird family.  We spent a day in Yellowstone, and of course did the traditional boating and fishing.  Great Grandpa Bird is an excellent fishing mentor, and Cam and Eli "caught" their first fish.  I'm a little vague on the logistical details of said "catch."

I feel so grateful that my kids get to spend time with their great grandparents.  Ray Bird is one in a million and having had 5 kids, 20+ grandkids, 50+ great-grandkids, and 2+ great-great grandkids, he knows his way around a toddler. 

Oh yeah- this old lady can still slalom.

Getting the kids out on the tubes is totally unpredictable.  Depending on the day any particular child could be wildly excited to tube or terrifically afraid. 

Miriam had a turn or two on the tubes, but much preferred the safety of Grandpa's lap.

The epic first catch.  Look at that pride! Richard swore to me that there were fish in the creek behind the cabin, but I have spent extensive amounts of Zen time by the creek and I'd never seen one.  He rests his case. 

Whether or not we have helmets on in the picture- we ALWAYS wear helments when we ride.

Waiting her turn for a zip around the cabin.

I bet you can't imagine how cool this seven-year-old felt driving this bad boy.  It was pretty funny to watch at first, but he got the hang of it.  It was also pretty funny to watch the Hurd's dog chase the 4-wheelers. 

Richard's allergies in Yellowstone were merciless.  I felt terrible for him.  Also, our van kept overheating, so as we spent the August day in the park, with temps reaching record highs, we had the heater on in our car.  SOooooo awesome.  Makes for good memories I guess. 

Perhaps because of the unusually hot temperatures our wildlife viewing experience was nil.  Yep folks, a day in Yellowstone and we didn't even see a buffalo.  We DID see a bald eagle on our way out of the park and that was it.  One lonely bald eagle.  But here we are waiting in anxious anticipation for Old Faithful.  That's why she's called Old Faithful, even when the buffalo can't be counted on, the geiser shows up.

Those hot pots can be pretttttty stinky. 

Mim wanted a picture by the "pink dirt."  She is filthy at this point. 

We are now a true American family, with a portrait at Yellowstone National Park. 

Mid-way through May up to Today

Miriam might have cosmetology in her future.  Simon wasn't too interested in having his hair done by his big sister.  Sorry, bud, better get used to it. 

Eli is always quick to help me in the kitchen.  He's my little sous chef, which I was totally supportive of, because I'd heard that having your children who are picky eaters help in the food preparation might make them more likely to eat their dinner.  Not so with Eli.  That was disappointing.  He'll be the first chef to refuse to eat his own masterpieces.  Or maybe not, I suppose it's possible that such a picky chef already exists.  Miriam sticks around only long enough to sample whatever is available.

Simon managed to get his diaper snagged on a screw or something on the back of the changing table.  He was clearly upset and frustrated by the time I came to his rescue.  But of course I had to grab the camera, which didn't improve his disposition.  By the time I was done taking the picture he had taken matters into his own and hands and was long gone, leaving a soggy diaper behind. 

Eli graduated from pre-school.  He won the award for the best score on the pre-reading test and the most mileage on his eraser.  The kid is smart little guy, with a tendency toward OCD behaviors.  When they announced that he had the highest score Cameron made a big fuss about it, and Eli just shrugged as if to say "What's the big deal?" Such different personalities.

Cameron has the camera in this picture.  I'm in ongoing conflict about the benefits of proximity  (in that the kids play together a lot) and the drawbacks (the frequency of the phrase "Mim/Si is getting in our business!")

Just some photographic evidence that I do make the kids pull their weight around here. 

Another photo by Cameron.  Not too bad, not too bad...

Now ya see him...

now ya don't!

Cameron took also took pictures of all his library books.  This is the screenplay for Star Wars Episode 1.  Written out, well, like a play.  Cameron read it cover to cover.  Don't believe me? Just ask him about it.  I DARE you.  But be committed to hear all things Anakin & Qui Gon Jin for the better part of an hour.

Father's Day.  Don't they all just look so HAPPY. 

Simon has followed in Eli's footsteps of a perpetually bruised forehead. 

Si has a love/hate relationship with his hat.  Sometimes I can't keep it on his head and then sometimes he finds it somewhere in the house, puts it on and wears it around indoors. 

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

I'm the dorky mom who bought matching t-shirts for all her kids because they were on clearance at Old Navy and because I said "If all the correct sizes are here I'll do it" and they were so I did because it won't be long before they refuse to wear anything that matches but they actually all thought it was really cool and then I wrote a serious run-on sentence about it. 

We went out to Melba for the Old Thyme parade.  And mini-doughnuts and El Gallo Giro $1 tacos that are SOOOO GOOD. 

The kids are sitting the mult-purpose wagon that does it all.  You can fold down the seats and it makes a flat surface that Simon has slept on when he crashes at Eagle Island.  It also came with an umbrella which works great in the previously mentioned scenario.  Then you can fold up one side and it makes a bench, which worked great for this parade, and I'm told works well at sporting events like Cameron's football games, etc.  It's nice because which ever kids want in they can hop in or out, and we can also throw stuff in.  It's just an all-around hit.  I should get paid for this advertising. 

Miriam waved back at every single parade particpitant who waved to the audience. She basically waved whenever she wasn't scrambling for candy.  Love that little doll. 

Blog deprivation

Do people still read blogs?  I know that personally I've whittled my google reader down to a handful of blogs of people for whom reading their blog is an inferior second to spending time with them in person.  People who are either really far away (that's you Krista, yes the Krista that lives in the neighborhood next to mine), or really clever (that's you Mere), or have a really special place in my heart (that's anyone who ever lived with me or Richard). 

What with Pinterest and Facebook and Instagram and all, who has time for actual blogs? Blogs require so much more effort.  Whereas, on FB you can get such an immediate and brief glimpse, and be spared the long commentary.  I used to put great effort into my posts, desiring to entertain my readers.  But it seems like now we have even lost patience with blog posts.  (Anyone else out there a skimmer, like me?)  A quick shot with abbreviated captions on Instgram gives us our fix.  Right? 

I'm not condemning these things.  Just ruminating about the evolution of social media.  I just signed up for Instgram today, and got a little giddy over it.  But because I am a devoted combination of loyal and sentimental, I will probably blog forever, just modifying my audience and motivation along the way. 

But I went ONE MONTH without a post.  That's a record for me.  I'm going to have to attribute most of that to the sheer BUSY-ness of four kids.  But I am pleased to say, that I've been doing a significant amount of thinking in the last six months.  And I'm better for it.  Wish I could say I've been doing more reading and exercising and eating well, too.  But I can't.  And now I'm getting distracted. 

SOoooo.... I'm going to do this catch-up Adri-style without about 70% of her wit and humor.  One long post, with commentary as I feel inspired.