Our Trip

Sunday we got home from a really fun, week long vacation. Sunday we drove up to Kalispel Montana and stayed in a pretty nice, but old hotel called the Kalispel Grand. We spent the next day exploring the Flathead lake area. That night we drove up to Hungry Horse Montana, right near the entrance to Glacier National Park. Our motel left much to be desired. It is hard to know what you are going to get when you book on the Internet, but there really did not seem to be any nice places to stay in that area at all. Someone really needs to open up a nice 4 star resort up there! They did have a fun playground and a pool which was nice. There is also a lack of good restaurants in the area. We drove for a half hour and got some sushi one night which was really good, however.

For the next two days we hiked and drove through Glacier National Park and WOW, we loved it! It is beautiful with endless amounts of hiking leading to even more beautiful scenery. The first day we did a 4 mile round trip hike to Avalanche lake and tried to fish. (We never catch anything) It took us 4 hours round trip but Zack did great and hardly complained. He is a great little hiker.

The next day we did a 3 mile round trip hike to see 3 amazing waterfalls, each one better than the last. Some deer came and hiked with us too! I was afraid we would run into some bears but we never did. Zack filled out a workbook, interviewed a ranger and was sworn in by oath to be a junior ranger. He was so excited and wore his badge every day for the rest of the trip.

On Wednesday night we pulled into Steve's family farm in Hillspring, Canada. Three of his moms siblings live there and Charles and Bernice are planning on building a log home on the property this year. It is quite remote, the nearest town of Lethbridge one hour away. The farm is nice and quiet and there is not much to do but relax and eat fresh raspberries with cream and sugar. We enjoyed visiting with Steve's family and catching up and on Saturday we took off to go home.

Saturday night we stopped in Idaho Falls to visit my old elementary school Friend Angela Maddock and her family. It was she and Tom's anniversary so we all went out to dinner at a Japanese restaurant to celebrate. We stayed up talking until late in the night and then crashed in their spare bed. It was really enjoyable to see where they live now and nice to break up our trip home.

Sunday, it was back home and back to our lives. We love to travel and see new places but it does feel good to sleep in your own bed! (Below are pictures of our time in Glacier but we forgot to take any pictures in Canada. I am so mad!)

The Flathead Lake Dam in Kalispel Montana

Zack didn't have his swimsuit at the moment so we convinced him that swimming in his big boys was OK

There was a really cool park at the Flathead Lake, there were ladders all along the cement wall you could climb down into the water

The other side of Flathead Lake

This was on our 4 mile hike to a lake in Glacier National Park

This lake is where our hike ended, we fished for a while and ate lunch

A view of the park from the Going-to-the-Sun Road

Waterfalls we saw on our 2nd day of hiking in the park

Mountain goats were all over the side of the road

Zack insisted on swimming in freezing cold Lake McDonald in the park

Zack loved the old school playground at our roach motel, I don't think he had ever even seen one of these!

Our friends Tom and Angela who we stopped to visit on the way home in Idaho

The things kids say....

A couple of funny things Zack has said lately that have made me laugh:

While shopping at Costco:
Z: Mom, would you allow me to have a pet monkey?
M: No.
Z: (spoken sadly) Yeah, cause it would probably rip your head off or something.

Snuggling on the couch on Sunday:
M: Kisses Z's head.
Z: You know what this means.
M: What?
Z: You're going to have to get a divorce. So you can marry me!

At church, staring at the cute baby in front of us:
Z: (wistfully) I wish we could have a baby like that!
M: Me too.

Upon waking me up a week ago:
Z: Are we going to the gym today?
M: No. (I took a break for a few weeks and got lazy)
Z: (Yelling) How am I supposed to play with my friends if we never go to the gym?! (It is sad to me that most of his friends are from the gym daycare, we really need to move somewhere with more kids in the neighborhood.)
M: Fine, lets go! (I sure feel better now that I am back in the game! Thanks Zack!)

While at the pool, a couple of weeks ago, he really wanted to jump off the diving board for the first time ever. We went together and I jumped first, when I surfaced he was running to the towel in tears. He kept trying but just chickened out. We went back to swimming and after a while he said to me: "Mom, I am going to do it! I am going to jump off the diving board this time and I am NOT going to quit!" And he did, again and again. Way to go!

Family Pictures

A while back my side of the family met at the park for some family pictures. It had been a really long time since we did this and we needed a picture for a quilt someone is making for my grandma Mary (my mom's mom). Here is my crazy fam!

The Final Product

Boys have a hard time focusing on pictures!

Hamming it up

Pool Time

We love going to the pool and Auntie Ali has one at her new town home so we go when ever she invites us. On the 24th of July, Steve had to work so we were on our own for the holiday and went swimming with Ali. Zack is a little fish! He is quite a good swimmer and this summer I banned him from wearing his life vest because he was becoming too reliant on it and not really learning how to swim with out it. I was a little worried the first time we went swimming, but now he does great, swimming underwater and venturing into the deep end a little. He is taking swimming lessons again which also helps. I don't want summer to end!

Exciting Announcement!

This past weekend, my only sister Allison got engaged! We are so excited for her (and Mike), we really like him, he is a great guy! He took her up to Park City and they went on a hot air balloon ride at 6:30 in the morning and he popped the question. Her ring is beautiful! They are planning on getting married on October 9th, in the Salt Lake Temple. I forgot how much fun planning a wedding was. They plan on living in her town house and renting his house out. I am really happy for her and hope they have kids right away! Zack really needs some cousins! Congrats guys!

I Love Summer!

We are having a great summer! For the past few years we have bought a summer pass to our local fun center. It is a little ghetto, but after working hard in the sun on a Saturday, we love to go to the water slide for the other half of the day. Zack is now big enough to ride by himself and tall enough to reach in the exit pool. They have just a few water slides, a kiddie pool and a huge blow-up slide. Steve and I have just as much fun as Zack going down the slides. So, if you are bored on a Saturday afternoon, head on over, we'll be there! Next week, we just might stay and go roller skating afterwards! (Sorry no pics, I forgot my camera.)

We are also planning a trip to Canada and Glacier National Park in August for one week. Steve's family is up in Canada on the farm and it is usually so relaxing and cooler there. We found out Zack is too little for the river run and horseback riding in Glacier but there should still be lot's of fun stuff to do there. We will be taking our bear spray! I will have a report with pictures when we get back. We always like to have a trip planned in the near future, the thoughts of an upcoming vacation keep us going when we get bored with the daily grind.

Also on the itinerary is Lagoon Day. If any one wants to join us just give a holler, the more the merrier! I have to work the night before so I may be a bit zombie-ish but I think it will be fun!

I keep thinking how Zack will be going to Kindergarten this fall and how we need to get in a bunch of fun stuff before this happens. I am kind of sad to think in another year he will be gone all day. I am thankful we don't have full day kindergarten here, I am not quite ready for him to be gone all day. He is such a good boy and entertains himself so well, like this pic of him just chillin to some music in his room. I hope everyone has a great summer!

Busy, Busy

I really should be working on my YW camp preparations right now, and my YW lesson for tomorrow, and my laundry, and my house cleaning, and the list goes on and on. Instead I am spending way too much time reading blogs and now blogging! I have recently realized how much I love these little blogs. It keeps me updated with people I only get to see once a year or so. Before I got mine going I had never even been to a blog in my life. For those of you who don't know, we are waiting patiently to adopt a baby, so after we were approved for the process, my great friend Shannon told me I really ought to get a blog for prospective birth parents to get to know us better. She told me what to do and voila! Thanks Shannon! I am the worst journaler so this is perfect! If any of you out there know any birth parents looking for a family in which to place their baby, send them our way! And for those of you who don't have blogs yet, get crackin'! I am going to YW camp on Monday, so it may be a while before I post again.

Friends, Fish, Fun

This last weekend we went camping and our good friends the Steeles came along for one of the two nights. We had a great time eating dutch oven enchiladas, talking around the campfire and fishing with them on Saturday, and they even caught a fish. We however, had no luck! But we will keep on trying! We each have our own fishing rod, including Zack who got one for Christmas. It was so cute to see him fish, he kept making Steve change the thingy on the end (what is it called anyway?) and Steve was very patient, changing it every 3 minutes for him because he was certain this would be the one thing the fish would like to bite. We putted around in Steve's "boat" most of the day and finally gave up. I have never caught a fish before so I am looking forward to the day! Maybe someday we will even have a REAL boat to do it from!

The Circle of Life

The other day while on the phone with my friend, I suddenly heard Zack cry out in alarm: "Goldie is dead!", followed by sobbing. I quickly told my friend I would call her back and ran to Zack's room to find him staring in horror at his sideways floating pet, Goldie-grey. Yep, the fish was dead alright. The day I had been dreading was here. After I consoled him and he calmed down I asked him what we should do with Goldie, flush him down the toilet or bury him in the back yard? His reply: "That's not a very good idea mom." He then insisted on holding the thing, who knows how long it had been in there, it could have been a week. (Zack was in charge of his fish and feeding him.) I took him in the kitchen, drained his bowl, put him on a paper towel, and told Zack he could pet him, which he did until his scales came off. Then, much to my astonishment, he perked up, smiled and innocently said: "Let's eat him!"

After I explained that we don't eat our pets, Zack suggested that we just put him in the garbage can. Rest in peace Goldie.

Do you ever feel like a bad parent?

We've had a rough couple of days. I am trying to see the humor in Zacks deeds, maybe if I talk about it, it will become more funny. Here are some things Zack has done lately that make me shake my head and wonder....

Thursday night: sneaks out of church building with his friend, attempts to climb on a scooter parked in the lot, tips scooter over, spilling gasoline all over his body. Casually strolls back into church and pretends nothing happened. (I only found out because while driving home I querried "why does it smell like gas in here?".)

Friday night: attends Steve's work softball game. Half way through game, runs to adjacent field, stands behind a very slender orange pole, pulls down pants and procedes to urinate. I pretend not to see, so as not to call attention to him. Then a mother stands up, points and says "hey! is that kid peeing!?" Everyone looks and laughs. I hang my head in shame. Luckily no one noticed that he was not "JUST" peeing.

Monday morning: wakes up, asks for shredded wheat cereal which I know he will not eat. Insists on having it and wants MORE milk too. I argue, he wins. Later, I tell him to brush his teeth, lets go. He agrees, stating he has just eaten a whole bag of gummy bears. In the kitchen, shredded wheat is still in bowl and 10x it's normal size, gummy bear bag in shreds and empty. He happily paid me $2.00 for wasting food.

Nothing new here

I am always telling myself I should go post something on our blog. But then I can't think of anything interesting to say, so....I wait. I am sure this will not be interesting but I do have cute pics of Zack to post. The first one is him on Easter Sunday in his cute linen suit. The other one is him doing his newest chore...poop scooper! We had FHE on jobs and running the houshold, etc one night and I had it all planned for us to all "pick" the jobs we wanted to do. I pretty much knew what he would pick. Then he surprised us, instead of cleaning the windows next to the front door he emphatically chose pooper scooper. I was surprised and didn't think it would last more than 5 minutes but he has been doing it and quite well I might add. He has his little gardening gloves on and two small shovels. It takes him a while as he dawdles but he gets it done! I am quite proud.

Steve has been out of town this week in Chicago so it has been Zack and I all by ourselves. Now I know how it feels to be a single mom. Steve just rolled in about an hour ago, scooped Zack up and they are off to the fathers and sons campout. Zack was really excited, I hope it doesn't rain on them. But, what do boys care about a little rain and mud? So it is just me and myself for the next 20 hours. What shall I do??? Maybe a chick flick and a salad for dinner. My fave!

Also, see below, I have added pictures from our Hawaii trip, finally!

Are we getting old?

Steve and I went snowboarding for the second time this season last Saturday.  It was so much fun and the weather was beautiful!  Much to my worry about my physical stamina, he got us all day passes.  (I say lets ease into it!)  I kept wondering why my muscles were burning, they didn't used to do that.?  Then there were thoughts of "why are we not wearing helmets, everyone else is?"  Steve had thoughts like "I hope I don't injure myself, it would be so easy to do.  A wrong turn here, a twist of the knee there."  Despite our worries and our advancing age we had a fabulous time and really "shredded up the slopes", without hurting ourselves.  We even stayed until the last minute.  Hopefully we can get up there one more time before summer comes!   

The year before last, Zack was a black widdow spider.  I think home made costumes are cuter than store bought!

The year before last I was the evil queen from Snow White and Steve was....?

We like Halloween

Last Halloween we decided to go with a Japaneese theme.