School Starts Again

Another school year starts!  The kids are excited to start a new year.  Kaydra is starting a new school!  I went to school with both kids on their first day.  It was a lot of driving, but worth it to see them start fresh!  Kaydra had a school orientation the week before school started, so she knew which classes to go to and where her locker was.  I think she was still a little nervous to be in middle school.  How did that happen anyway?!  She happens to have the exact same class schedule as her best friend – so that worked out well.  She starts the day with Mr. Couser for Pre-Algebra, then has Mr. Shanley for Science.  She then goes back to Mr. Couser for Advanced Language Arts for two class periods.  They are split with lunch in the middle.  She then has a class called Exploratory that will change every 6 weeks.  They rotate through different classes to see what they enjoy so when they are 7th and 8th graders, they will know which electives they want to choose.  I think it’s a great idea.  After Exploratory she goes to Mrs. Barnett for Social Studies and then has her Magnet Class.  This class is also one she was able to put in a preference for.  Each teacher at the school chooses something they are passionate about and then teaches a class on that subject.  The classes are combined with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders and they can’t take the same class twice.  They switch classes every quarter.  Her classes for the year are:  Horticulture, Strings and Things (a beading class), American Sign Language, and Anatomy and Physiology.  I would even like to take those classes!  She also has the option of going to Orchestra two or three days a week (it alternates).  She misses Exploratory on those days but it doesn't effect her grade in those classes.  It’s kinda like sneaking in an extra class!  Anyway, she is still playing the violin, so she was excited to be able to participate in Orchestra. 

Kanyon starts 3rd grade this year.  His teacher is a new-to-the-school teacher.  Her name is Mrs. Briggs.   She is young and has her hands full with a classroom of boys.  There are a few girls in there too but it sure seems like there are a lot of boys!   She really likes Ipods and she has several for her classroom with various apps on them for the kids to play after their work is completed.  Kanyon was very excited when he heard about that.    He leaves Mrs. Briggs’ class every afternoon to go to Mrs. Duncan’s class for ALP Reading.  It means he tested well on his ISAT and qualified to be in her advanced class.  He was excited about that too.  He really likes Mrs. Duncan.  Kanyon was also excited about going back to school because of his favorite game:  4-square.  He plays that game with a bunch of friends EVERY recess.  Who knew there were so many rules! 

Both kids are doing great and I am so excited to see what the new year brings. 

Labor Day

So while Leonard was fishing his life away in the remote wilderness of Alaska, the rest of us decided to go to Idaho Falls.  I didn’t have the camera so therefore, I took no pictures.  I will just have to steal them from my sister-in-law, Jana’s blog!  Thanks Jana! 

Uncle Paul was home to help us unload the car and help us settle in while Grandma and Grandpa were catching the end of Kalli’s soccer game.  Kalli even managed to score in the final seconds so that her team won!  Way to go girl!  We made ourselves at home and were excited when they walked in the door.  The next day, Thursday, we hung around the house and made pickles.  We canned 70+ quarts of pickles!  I brought the cucumbers from Coeur d’Alene and we spent the day canning them.  It was totally worth it because the pickles are amazing!  Courtney, Jana, and Dad all helped Mom and I throughout the day. 

The next day, Friday, Courtney’s kids had the day off from school so we went boating!!  It was a lot of fun and something my kids have been looking forward to for awhile.    Here’s where the picture-stealing comes in! 

Kaydra and Kanyon tried wakeboarding.  They both almost got it.  It was cool to see them try!

Kaydra

Kanyon

They are pretty proud of these pictures because even though they fell quite a few times trying to get up, these pictures make it look like they knew what they were doing!  Pretty fun!

Miranda would have been happy to spend hours on the tube.  Unfortunately, the rain came in the afternoon and we packed up quickly and headed home.

Saturday found us at the Eastern Idaho State Fair.  We go there mostly for the food, but it’s fun to do a few things while we are there too!

The kids rode a few rides and we visited the petting zoo.  They milked a fake cow (for some free milk!) and ate more food.  We also ran into a few of the Aldridge kids there, Jason, Pearl, and Charlotte and her husband, Robert.  Fun to catch up with a few cousins.  A few of the little kids managed to win a stuffed animal in the drawing they had because it was kids day.  We came home with a giant stuffed wolf-dog thing that Kanyon won.  Yay!!

Sunday we went to church and visited with our friends from our old ward.  It was good to see many of them there and nice to still feel at home there.   We also went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Great – Parry that morning and it was good to see them.  Then Sunday night, my dad’s parents, Grandma and Grandpa Great – Fuller, came over with Aunt Karen and the Aldridge kids to have a fire and roast S’mores.  We said goodbye and thought we’d seen the last of them but then they returned in the morning for breakfast after their car broke down on their way home.  After a quick shuffle of cars, they were on their way again and so were we.  We left Monday morning and headed for the long drive home.  The kids traveled really well and we didn’t have any car trouble along the way, so I feel blessed for that. 

It was a great trip and we wish that we could spend more time with all our family down there.  Sorry we missed many of you while we were there.  Maybe next time! 

Thanks for the fun trip and fabulous memories!

Gone Fishin’

Ever since Leonard and I met, he has wanted to go fishing in Alaska.  Every summer he would ask if he could go fishing in Alaska and every summer it seemed we had something going on.  Having a baby, moving, building a house, going to school.  It just never seemed to work out.  Well, this summer, he wouldn’t take no for an answer!  Just kidding – I actually said yes this time!

He has really been wanting to go fishing in Alaska with his Dad, and his brother.  It happened this summer.  They went with another family that they grew up in Coeur d’Alene with – the Livingstons – plus a couple other tag-a-long friends.  There were 9 of them total and they all slept in a cabin managed by the forest service on an island near Wrangell, Alaska.  Leonard had been planning this specific trip for the past few months and was so excited when the time finally came.  It started off a little rough….

They had to catch a plane at 5:00 a.m. which meant Leonard left home at 2:00 a.m. to pick up his dad and then head to his brother, Kelly’s house.  They got there around 2:30ish and were trying to get Kelly’s attention without waking up their baby.  They were shining flashlights in the windows.  Finally, Leonard texted Kelly to let them know they were there.  Leonard and Neil went in and brought out Kelly’s stuff to load in the pickup.  Kelly was in the shower so they were waiting for him to finish up when Leonard noticed a man in black running in the street with a GUN!!  He turned to tell his Dad to get out of the street when someone behind him said, “Police! Put your hands in the air!!” 

It seems from the neighbor across the street’s point of view that the house was being robbed!  Strange truck showing up at 2:30 a.m. …..flashlights going on and off….people carrying out armloads full of stuff to the truck… So he called the police!!  They thought they had caught a robbery in progress! 

It took a little explaining to convince the officers that they were going on a trip and picking up his brother.  Leonard said he thought they finally believed them when Sara came out in her bathrobe and admitted to knowing all three of them.  What a way to start a trip!  Thank goodness no one was hurt and that they finally made in on their way to Spokane to catch their flight!

They finally made it to Alaska!  They went grocery shopping for the week, got their licenses, and headed by boat to the island where they were staying.  Let’s just say they were a little excited!!

Leonard took so many pictures that I can’t put them all in the blog.  They had a great time.  They caught all different types of fish, saw whales, dolphins, and ate crab most nights for dinner.  It was a rough week for him.

While he was gone we spent some time in Idaho Falls.  I’ll write about that in the next post – but there won’t be as many pictures because he had the camera!  I am glad that he finally was able to go to Alaska – he’s already planning the next trip!

Kaydra’s Birthday

Kaydra turned 11!  I am not sure how that happened because I am not old enough to have an 11 year old BUT… she tells us that she is 11 – and she’s pretty smart!

We had a little family party out on our deck.  The biggest thing she wanted was to make her own cake – so she did!  She made (with a little help from me) an Oreo cake.  It looked like one big giant Oreo.  It was made with devil’s food cake and filled with cream cheese and smashed Oreos.  Then topped with a little of the filling and some actual Oreos.  It was actually pretty good and she was happy with her creation!

She got some wonderful gifts from family.  We got her bedding and curtains for her new room that will hopefully be finished soon! 

I think she was happy.  Kaydra is such a great daughter.  I feel like I can always depend on her.  She makes good decisions and is so helpful to me and her dad.  I know we don’t tell her enough how much we appreciate her and love her.  I know what it is like to be the oldest child and she works hard for our family without complaint.  She is smart and talented and we are so blessed to have her in our family.  She is starting middle school this year and I know that she will grow up so fast.  The past 11 years have seemed to fly by, so I can’t imagine how fast the next 11 will be.  I feel so lucky to be her mom.  She teaches me so many things.  We love you Kaydra and wish you a very successful year!

Happy Birthday!

Baby Steps

I am pretty sure that there is nothing in this world more adorable then a baby's first steps.  Especially if that baby has a little personality.  Timberlyn took her first steps today and we caught it on video.  It won't be long and she'll be cruising around the house.  How I love that girl!!  Enjoy!

End of Summer

Lots of catching up to do!  One of our final family summer activities was to take the kids camping.  We had been talking about going camping with them all summer long and we almost made it out one weekend in July, but other things came up.  Soooo, we finally took them up the Coeur d’ Alene River and spent Friday and Saturday there.  It was a beautiful weekend.  We camped at Bumblebee campground and had a great campsite that we shared with they Reynolds!  We were excited that they came along.  Our kids all get along really well so it was a great weekend for all. 

We started off by playing in the river Friday night.

We even had a visit from a bald eagle!  They are so pretty!

Timberlyn was happy to be outside!

That night we sat around the campfire and roasted hot dogs, marshmallows and had cast iron pies with homemade cherry pie filling.  They were delicious!

We were a little worried about Timberlyn sleeping in a tent.  Our experience with Miranda sleeping in a tent at this age was NOT good and we were pleasantly surprised that as soon as it was dark, Timberlyn went right to sleep!!  Much better then a screaming baby all night long.

Plus we had the added benefit of a happy baby the next morning!

We cooked breakfast over the campfire and then we wandered around the campground for awhile before we headed to the river again.  This time we put our tubes in about 3 miles upriver and floated down!  The river was cold, but the sun was hot!  I didn’t take any pictures because I didn’t want my camera to get wet.  We spent about 3 hours on the river.  It was calm and all the kids had life jackets on, so it was an easy float.  Even a little relaxing.  We had a great time and hope to be able to do it again next summer.  Thank you Reynolds for a great trip!

Boardman, Oregon

We were able to travel to Oregon to visit Markell and Andre and their family and see little Aika get blessed.  We were so glad to be able to be there for that special event.  It was a three hour drive for us.  A long three hour drive.  I think our mistake was telling the kids that it was not as far as Idaho Falls.  They assumed the drive was short and after about an hour were ready to get out.  We managed to make it safe and sound!  Leonard had been at scout camp and wasn’t going to come with us.  They ended up leaving camp early and he made it back just in time to throw a few things together and come with us.  It was great to have him along. 

Andre’s family was awesome and his mom, Sheila, served us a fantastic dinner.  The kids had a great time at their place.  They set up a pool and pulled out a HUGE tarp.  With a little dish soap, the tarp became a giant slip and slide.  The kids played for a couple hours in the water and had a great time.  Andre’s sister, Arianna, also took the girls on a horse ride. 

They were in heaven and now want a horse of their own.  

We then went to Hermiston and watched the parade they have to start the yearly fair.  Small towns are awesome because there aren’t any crazy parade rules.  Everyone throws candy – some were even giving away watermelons and cantaloupe!  Sheila joked that between all three kids I should have enough candy to pass out at Halloween.  Seriously….So…Much…Candy!!

Then we headed to the hotel where we stayed with Mom, Dad, and Jake.  Mom, Dad, Markell, and I  took the kids swimming while Andre, Leonard, and Jake went fishing.  All my kids loved the pool and we stayed there for awhile before we headed to our room for the night.  Everyone slept through the night – even Timberlyn—so that made it even better.

The next morning we went back to Boardman for Aika’s baby blessing.  She was given a beautiful blessing by her father and she looked so pretty in her white dress.   I stole this picture from Markell’s blog – I think she is so cute and this picture makes her look like Markell did as a baby.

She looks so much like Andre, that I was surprised to see this picture.  There must be some Fuller in there somewhere!

Here is the beautiful family after the blessing:

What a HAM!!

Thanks Mom and Dad for sharing your hotel room – it was perfectly huge!  Congratulations Markell and Andre and thanks for having us.  It was great to see you and be there for Aika’s blessing day!

Art on the Green

Every year, the first weekend in August, Coeur d’Alene has an awesome party downtown that they call “Art on the Green”.  It’s actually three events going on simultaneously.  “Art on the Green” is at North Idaho College in the park where they have live music and many, many artists that set up booths and try to sell their wares.  There are some truly amazing people that have intensely creative minds.  We saw metal sculpting, painting, photography, woodworking, and even a guy who makes fish out of bottle caps. 

At the city park there is “Taste of Coeur d’Alene” where various food vendors set up shop.  Finally, down the main street of Sherman Avenue there is a huge street fair that stretches 11-12 blocks or so.  We only made it to “Art on the Green” this year – but we made the most of it!  We met Neil, Kay, Kelly, Sara, and Bridger down at the park for dinner and to listen to the music.

This guy has been coming to Art on the Green for 14 years and builds a different sand sculpture each time.  Mostly castles.

He was carving near where we ate dinner and was pretty impressive to watch.  Kanyon especially thought it was cool.

We wandered around the park looking at all the booths and finished up by eating ice cream.  Timberlyn was pretty thrilled with her first ice cream cone.  She only got the end of mine but she would NOT give it back. I think it’s safe to say that she likes ice cream!

It was  a great evening with even better company!