Captured: a day at the beach

One week. One picture. One memory. 

Baby chasing seagull; daddy chasing baby. 

Captured: bookworm

One week. One picture. One memory. 

The one good thing about a broken leg: more time for one of his favorite activities. 

Summer Vacation, Round Two

A few days after we got back from Chicago and Trevor got back from New York, we headed off again--this time to Island Park, ID for a big reunion on my dad's side of the family.

The first day we were there was the 4th of July. Because of the fire hazards, we couldn't set off our own fireworks. The local Island Park firework show made up for that though. Most the of the family decided to watch the show from the lodge we were at, but my brothers, Aaron's friend (who drove up from BYU-I to see him), Trevor, and I decided to venture out to find the excitement. Long story short, it was worth it.

Oh, on a related note, if you ever want to have a white-trash fireworks show, here are a few helpful tips I learned:

-Have the lone pyrotechnical setting off the fireworks interact with the crowd. Whenever he sets off a big run of fireworks, have him stop and wave his lighter up in the air while cheering at the crowd, who then cheer back.
-Make sure you have an excessive amount of fireworks. And by excessive, I mean make the show so long that people actually get bored watching them and go home. Turns out fireworks aren't as exciting after 1.5 hours.
-Have no rhyme or reason to the actual order in which the fireworks are set off. Have at least 3 false finales, in which people are cheering and clapping and beginning to leave thinking that must have been it, only to prove to them there are more. And more. And more.
-There should be one single firefighter there, one that looks like he is of the volunteer variety. This is definitely a good idea.
-Get a few older drunk women to shout "ooohhh" and "yeeeaah baby" with every firework.
-Don't put any sort of barriers or restrictions on how close people can get to the fireworks being lit. Let families and children sit within feet of the explosives going off in front of them. This will also make it more exciting as embers fall from the sky.
-Serve lots of beer. Call it freedom juice.
-Confuse the 4th with New Years and think you have to keep your firework show going up until midnight.

If you do all these things, you will have pretty amazing white-trash firework show. Trust me.

We spent the next few days frog-catching, horseback-riding, and keeping up with Thompson while he ran around outside ALL day.

My parents were generous enough to watch Thompson while we went horseback riding, the first time we had as a couple. Trevor's horse liked to eat, so they gave him a whip to keep it in line. He was pretty excited about his special whip, but he mostly used it to scare my horse away, who had a thing for keeping as close to Trevor's horse as possible.

We also went to Yellowstone, which, crazy enough, is pretty busy over 4th of July weekend. It wouldn't have been so bad if these guys didn't slow traffic for the first 1.5 hours of our drive into the park.

Trevor kept telling me "I bet there is a bison on the side of the road, and everyone is driving so slow to see it". I didn't believe it would slow things down that much, but sure enough, once we passed them, traffic was fine the rest of the way to Old Faithful. Silly tourists. We were lucky though. My parents got stuck coming out of the park when a family of bison were walking down the middle of the road, blocking all traffic. Silly wildlife.

We got to Old Faithful just after it erupted, which actually was a good thing because Thompson was pretty much done with being in the car. He was ready to eat and to play, especially with his adorable little second cousin. And by play I of course actually mean throw rocks at her.

After Old Faithful we decided to see wildlife the lazy way, at the Grizzly and Wolf Reserve.

I know it is kind of cheating to see wildlife that way at Yellowstone. But we were sick of being in the car. And I wanted to see a bear without being eaten by a bear. And Arrowleaf Ice Cream Parlor was right by. And the graphicness of this flyer kind of disturbed me. So the Grizzy and Wolf Reserve it was.

Up next, the Oregon coast with Trevor's family. And Oregon isn't even our last trip. Seriously, this summer is crazy.

Captured: first major injury

One week. One picture. One memory.

One sad, hurting little boy after a mishap at the park.  

Captured: tuckered out

One week. One picture. One memory.

Baby boy and baby bear exhausted after their long day at Yellowstone, ending a 3 week vacation marathon. 

Trip #1 of our summer vacation marathon.

This summer is the summer of non-stop happenings for us, it seems. For the last two weeks, Thompson and I have been in Chicago. Trevor was there for a week, and is back east now doing research for his thesis. We are home for just a few days, and then are off to Island Park, ID for a big family reunion. And then the cycle of craziness repeats itself, in various forms, until September. 

We spent the first few days in Illinois at my parents house, where Thompson couldn't stop moving for a second. Just having Trevor home for a week would have been pretty fun for him, but add in three uncles (one just back from his mission!) and a 5-year old cousin as play-buddies, and he was constantly wired. 

Oh, and if you ever wonder if your child will stop jumping off the couch when everyone gets tired of catching him and moves away so he knows the game is over, the answer is no. No, he will not stop jumping off. He will jump right off that couch, even though no one is there to catch him. But he will only do that once. 

We also loved getting to meet little baby Samantha, who is such a sweetheart. Thompson would always go give her hugs and kisses, point out her eyes & ears & nose, and would rock her swing or carseat. This was all adorable, but also reminded me why Thompson doesn't have a sibling yet. His adoration was a little intense at times. 

After a few days at my parents house, my whole family took a little vacation to Galena, Il. It is a cute little town in Northwest Illinois. Some might think this is blasphemous to say, but driving and staying there reminded me that maybe, just maybe, there are prettier places than Utah out there (despite what everyone here seems to tell me). 

Some memories of the week: wandering around the adorable shops in downtown Galena and buying the best dipping olive oil ever, Thompson's first alpine slide ride--a view of the Mississippi included, a boys-only golf outing on the windiest and hottest day of the trip, plenty of fireflies, trying/failing to get my stubborn child to smile for family pictures, s'mores & farkle, burgers & shakes at Durty Gurt's, my baby's hair as curly as ever in the humidity, and of course, the most memorable/disastrous family dinner out we have had in a long time. 

Captured: Trevor's solo church history tour

One week. One picture. One memory. 

Stopping by the Whitmer Farm while doing research out East for his thesis.