Babes in the Woods

We went wood cutting this past weekend. The weather was great and we had use of a friend’s pickup and it seemed the opportune time. Kevin decided to go up outside Ketchum where there was a fire two years back and there is tons of firewood within easy reach of the road, so Saturday morning we loaded up the kids, stopped off at the Flying-J for what the kids have dubbed “trucker breakfast” (aka Hostess chocolate donuts and Gatorade) and drove north.

We had everything we needed for a successful day of woodcutting, but there is always that one detail you forget. For us it was a change of clothes for the kids. I knew we’d all be dirty and dusty by the time the day was over but I figured we’d all be filthy so who cares? Unfortunately, I forgot to factor in water. See we parked up this canyon that had a creek…you know where this is going?

It was a teeny tiny creek with just a little  trickle of water this late in the season, but that was all it took. By the time Kevin got the first tree down the kids were making ‘Caveman Glue’ (aka mud) to build an epic mudding arena for their monster trucks. Realizing my mistake when they asked for something to scoop water with I had issued futile warnings to stay dry and not get mud all over their clothes….like that worked. Both of them ended up with wet shoes trying to scoop water out of the creek, so they took those off, which in turn got their socks dirty and wet so those went next. Then Jack splashed mud on his shirt, and being the loving sister she is and not wanting him to get in trouble, Emilie had him take it off and  ‘washed’ it in the creek for him getting her sweatshirt sleeves soaked in the process.’’ We’re not even there 30 minutes and we’re half naked in the woods…yep, these are my kids.

 

It was hard not to get too mad since that’s what you want them to do in the woods right? Have fun and get dirty. I just kick myself for not thinking to throw in spare clothes. That way you don’t find yourself putting your daughter’s half wet too small sweatshirt on your son because he didn’t bring a jacket and his shirt is wet and this option is better than trying to fold Dad’s button up to fit just so they are clothed when you go back into town. Screw dry, that’s not going to happen, but if you wring the pants hard enough they’re just damp and not dripping wet. Shoes are a lost cause any stops to be made will be limited to locations where bare feet are acceptable. Hopefully nobody requires a public restroom. *Sigh* Oh well, at least they had fun. Next time, there is always next time.

Into the Woods

These two little hooligans of ours are VERY enthusiastic about camping. So much so they’ve slept outside in a tent every night for about six weeks after school let out (seriously…every.single.night) We’ve been saying we’d take them camping but it just hadn’t happened between visitors, events, and appendicitis. This past weekend we finally made good. We wanted to update our family photos (it’s been 3 years) and the wonderful gal who has taken our last two family photos suggested doing a camping ‘lifestyle’ type session since she know we like the great outdoors. That said we figured if we were traipsing out the woods with a tent anyways we might as well make the most of it and stay overnight.

What a blast we had. The kids were little hams for the camera and I am excited to see what turns out. We took some ‘standard’ photos but also some fun stuff roasting hotdogs and marshmallows plus a pillow fight in the tent. Guessing it will be a tough decision on which images to make enlargements from.

Jack and Emilie played so hard that they actually put themselves to bed. We didn’t even have to remind them to stop giggling and sleep 50 gazillion times like we normally do. The put PJ’s on, brushed teeth, climbed into their sleeping bags and were out like lights. Wish I could say it was that easy for Kevin and I. We stayed up long enough to catch some of the Perseid Meteor Shower and went to bed around 11:30. Kevin erred and slept next to Emilie, who is a certified snuggle bug. At some point in the night she pretty much wrapped herself around his head, and once freed had to curl himself into a corner of the tent. Jack isn’t much of a snuggler at all so I did okay aside from the fact I was only granted about 10 inches of space between him and the tent wall only which half of was covered by my sleeping mat as Jack had passed out on the other half. It was a bit awkward, but I managed.

Next morning we were up with the sun and treated to a yummy camp breakfast and some less than stellar coffee. Seriously, it made convenience store coffee look high-end. Lesson learned: cheap, dollar store grounds are not worth the savings….. We mixed it with hot chocolate and survived but once again reminded ourselves that a French Press and better beans should go on the camping supply list next time. We also learned that Nutella should be packed with the dry goods next time. It took a warm waterbath to get it softened up enough to spread on pancakes after being in the cooler overnight

Once we broke camp we took our time heading home. Drove up to Pike Mtn overlook (Jack was very excited to say he was standing on top of a Mountain) and enjoyed what view we could see through the wildfire smoke haze (tis the season) then drove down and hiked in to Ross Falls. In a stroke of luck the falls were still flowing this late into the summer. Emilie looked for mermaids (All waterfalls have mermaids at the base right?) and Jack tried to take a shower in the flow.

A short trip in all, but I think their need to camp has been satisfied for the time being.

Summertime Blues

Anybody who follows the blog on a regular basis is well aware my summer blogging activity is somewhat lax. Too much here, there and everywhere goes on and I often just plain don’t have the time to post anything. This summer has been particularly stagnant in the blog writing area as once the main weeks of summer business passed I ended up with appendicitis (woo-hoo *inset sarcasm*) and spent a good two weeks going stir crazy on the couch. But more about that later. A brief pictorial recap of what has been going down since school let out.

1) 4th of July – My side of the family came for a visit and we enjoyed several days of just chilling in the backyard and hanging out. Blowing up a watermelon using rubber bands was a highlight for the kids.

2) Swimming lessons – No sooner had the family departed, when we started swimming lessons. This year we tried lessons at the Filer City Pool. It was a fantastic experience and I’m sure we’ll be doing it again.

3) Ice Cream Social at Ritter Island – A fun day of watch horses and antique tractors plow and plant, exploring the old dairy and waterfalls, plus a wagon ride, impromptu game of ‘Red Rover’ with other visitors and, of course, ice cream.

4) Malad Gorge – We had several water days out at this state park taking advantage of the flood irrigating of the picnic area. Water Safety put on by the park was a favorite. It was a free event and the kids (and adults) got to test out canoes, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards.

5) The Appendix Goes - I had felt fine at Water Safety Day pictured above, but the next day I woke up feeling terrible and thinking I had food poisoning. I couldn’t keep anything down. Around noon that part abated and I just felt uncomfortable and really bloated. Took some gas-x and ibuprofen and figured it would all work it’s way through. Monday there was still no relief and my lower abdomen felt like It’d been worked over with a baseball bat. Since nothing OTC was providing any relief I got an appointment to see my primary care physician. He looked me over and said, “Well,it could be a virus, but have you had your appendix out?” Since his clinic doesn’t have the equipment (CT machine) to diagnose appendicitis he told me to head over the the hospital ER and said he’d call ahead and talk to a Dr. friend who works the ER. I kid you not the guy’s name was Holliday….Doc Holliday, go figure. Anyhow, I got to the ER about 2:30. They had me back in a bed for observation and in live for a CT by 3pm. By 4:45 I was back for a CT scan and by 5:15 Doc Holliday informed me the appendix had to go. By 5:30 I met the surgeon, Dr. McKain (Who was AMAZING btw…if you need a surgeon I’d recommend him. Excellent beside manner. It’s obvious he really cares about his patients. I mean how many surgeons ask for a hug after your last follow-up appointment because they’re glad you’re okay??). By 6 I was in the OR and by 7pm all was said and done. I was in a room by 7:15 and up and walking by 9pm. They released me at Noon the following day. ‘

My appendix had ruptured, but it was only a “pinpoint perforation” so no major infection outside the appendix. Still got to take some heavy antibiotics for several days post-op. 4 weeks out I’m feeling about 90%. Two out of the 3 incisions are well healed and the third (the largest of the three…it was laparoscopic surgery) is looking really good. I’m moving well, there are just days where I have no energy still and I’m not allowed to lift more than 15lbs (which is harder than you think). Give me a few more weeks and I should be back to ‘normal.’ I was humbled by the support we got from friends and family. My mother in-law came a stayed for  a week which was enormously helpful, plus my parents and sister sent dinners even thought they live over 300 miles away. Plus some local friends stopped by with meals. It really did ease a burden and we are so grateful.

6) California Cousins Visit – For the first time since we moved to Idaho eight years ago Kevin’s brother and family came to visit us. Usually everyone just meets up at the folk’s in Washington and we see each other maybe once every year or so. Having them come to our place was a nice treat and we got a chance to show them some of the local “tourist attractions.”

This was pretty much just July – whew! Hopefully August is a bit more laid back, but knowing this family I doubt it.

Joy Riding on the Tractor

Hands down we have the most awesome neighbors ever, even if they have their quirks and eccentricities at times. Today our "neighbors in the rear" (they live behind and slightly south of us) brought over their tractor to move a couple rocks for us. Then they left it with us so we could do some dirt/compost moving and let the kids play on it.

Not only did both kids have a chance to drive the old Massey Harris, but they got to dig and dump dirt with it..and that is AWESOME when you are 7 and 5. Both kids are in heaven. Emilie has her pocket full of worms extracted from the compost she dug (it is honestly kind of gross seeing all those worms crawling all over one another) and Jack has his head full of farming dreams. Even Kevin, though he may or may not admit it, had quite a bit of fun driving the equipment....it's just like riding a bike, takes a few minutes to get back in the hang of it, but then you're golden despite the fact the darn machine leaks hydraulic fluid like a sieve.

As for me I've got compost spread on the garden, happy kids, and plenty of dirt to fill in the dogs' potholes in the backyard...what more could I want?

Gingineering, Lights, and Magic

It’s that wonderful time of years where the magic of Christmas is around every corner, but to truly enjoy you have to strike a balance between trying to do everything and getting burnt out (not hard to do at all) and hiding your head under the pillow and telling someone to come get you when it’s over (not really an option with kids…trust me I’ve tried testing this out on Saturday Mornings for the past 7 years and it still hasn’t worked ) The secret for me is flexibility. I make no promises and if we get to it great, and if not, no sweat.

This policy seems to be working so far and I was rather impressed that we got Gingerbread houses done (Thursday) AND went to holiday light parade on main street (Friday night) even with a tooth extraction (Jack…the kid is a tough cookie) squeezed in between.

I think part of the success has to do with the kids getting older. I preassemble the houses and the kids can pretty much do candy on their own now. (I think Jack was calculating the amount of chocolate one can squeeze on a gingerbread roof based on it’s load bearing capabilities and the weight of an Andes mint )

This year I went back to the old Gingerbread barn template. Haven’t done it in a few years and we’d found some gummy farm animals this year so it sounded like fun. Plus I designed a silo template and figured Kevin could decorate that and I could to the barn and we’d save on counter space when we display them (how efficient of me right?). It worked pretty well, though my vision of what the silo would look like was not what Kevin’s was, but I kept my mouth shut…well almost. I did mention that it had a somewhat ‘phallic’ appearance right at first…because it did (see photo)… c’mon, I just didn’t want an ‘R’ rated silo…there are kids viewing that people! The night kind of devolved a bit after that, but (Please note the kids were in the bath by this point so no tender ears were damaged). thankfully the final project is decidedly ‘G’, though I still giggle a bit when I walk by it.

So, finished products? Here you go. Jack’s is on the left and Emilie’s the right.

And here’s is the barn… In all its G-rated glory:

This was Thursday evening. Friday morning Jack had is impacted molar removed…finally (check that one off the to-do list). Side note: Jack coming off sedatives is fairly amusing. It’s hard trying to show the proper level of concern when he’s saying things (Am I dreaming or is this real?? I had a dream my tooth fell out.)  that make you want to bust up laughing. By Friday evening he was back up a running enough that we made it down to the Holiday light parade on main street. It’s your standard lighted parade, but this year we got a special treat, though I’m fairly sure the driver was probably sweating bullets trying not to gouge a vehicle, or, not to mention, take out a person who doesn’t seem to understand that a Chopper driving on a narrow two lane road lined with people, in the dark, is going to need you to step back and give him some space. (Remember the Lug Nut  rule people! He who has the most lug nuts wins…and a Chopper definitely has more lug nuts than a human being)

Parade pet peeve over…. The kids had a great time though and restocked their candy stash (Halloween Candy is just about gone). Jack is probably plotting how to put lights on his Bruder Chopper now and Emilie has the stress-ball cow someone handed her all tucked in bed (it has the flu apparently). Hope your holiday magic is shining brightly.

….Until next time…..

Happy Halloween

This year I couldn’t convince the kids to do any sort of group theme. They are big enough now that they have their own ideas on the matter. Jack wanted to be a ‘Construction Guy’ (NOT Bob the Builder….He corrected several people on this. He is Jack the Construction Guy!). Emilie was a princess riding Rainbow Sparkle Dash the flying unicorn (I have since learn that these are called Alicorns). In typical 4 year old fashion she couldn’t decided which dress and crown she wanted to wear so she ended up wearing one for our visit to the Fire Safety trunk or treat and another for Trick or Treating.

Yes, I said Fire Safety trunk or treat. Local fire departments do a trunk or treat and hand out candy and fires safety material. We’ve never been, but Jack brought home the flyer from school and (since he can now read what these things say ) asked several times if we could go see the trucks and Firefighter Bud (The Filer fire chief who Jack has met a few times and thinks is sooooooo awesome). Plus some of Dad’s coworkers were going to be there, including Smokey the Bear (Kudos to Stephen for bringing Smokey to life for the event )

 

Then it was on to Trick or Treating. We went over to our friends’ place in Kimberly, as usual. Ate waaay to much yummy food, as usual. A trick or treated until the kids’ feet wore (Emilie) or the bad got full (Jack).

Just Another Day in Paradise

So this happened…. Yep, it was one of those moments where you don’t want to interrupt the kids. They are so into what they are doing if you startle them it will break the magic. Kevin and I observed this from the living room window giggling and whispering like a couple of bird watchers (okay, I did go out at the very end with the camera). Thankfully, no “Naked Jay Birds” appeared, but they did get good and wet. Seems after the equipment was cleaned they figured washing each other off would be a fantastic idea too. Poor dogs, that’s their kiddie pool, and it had just been cleaned and refilled earlier in the day….probably why it became such an enticing truck wash.

That is an little metal excavator in her mouth…multitasking

Trucks are clean and so are they!

I love these moments…these unplanned events. These are the ones that we’ll look back on and laugh the hardest about later down the line.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

I know I’m incredibly biased, but aren’t they just the cutest? They’ve been in to playing dress up this week. Emilie is usually a princess of some sort and Jack is a brave knight or prince. Their tale tends to have a Hansel & Gretel feel to it though and I am often begged to be the witch. This usually means I end up tossed in a cauldron and melted at  some juncture. Kevin usually gets to be the big bad Tiger. All in all in involves a lot of squealing and running around the house playing chase. Lots of fun…

I will say last night they took a different path and Jack decided he wanted to be Rocket J Squirrel and Emilie was Boris Badenov. I was told I was Natasha Fatale (is this an upgrade from the witch role???). I guess that means Kevin gets to be Bullwinkle Moose? If you haven’t caught on the kids are really into watching Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends right now. In fact Fractured Fairytales sketches might explain the whole prince/princess witch thing……

Peppa Pig

Anybody who is ‘friends’ with me on Facebook or has run into Emilie lately knows that we recently acquired a Guinea Pig. Her name is Peppa, as in Peppa Pig, and she was a belated birthday gift of sorts to Emilie from her Aunt Mandy and cousins. We, as a house rule, don’t have any inside pets but after much consideration we decided to make an exception seeing as she lives in a cage and isn’t running free.

So far it is going pretty well. Both kids love to play with her so she gets handled regularly. Almost too regularly if you ask me, I’m constantly saying, “Let’s give Peppa a break…she needs a rest about now.” Honestly, if they don’t love her to death she’ll be a pretty tame critter by the time she’s full grown. She gets to watch Farm Sim with Jack, cook in the play kitchen with Emilie, and play ‘hide-n-seek’ under the couch in the living room (my least favorite game and we play it at least twice a day it seems). They build her Lincoln Log forts, and she goes for rides in the baby carriage. She also gets to be the baby when the kids play house. Several times I have found her tucked into the doll cradle a veritable “pig-in-a –blanket.”

An unexpected side-effect is the Jack like to ‘read’ tractor books to his pig pal. He enjoys reading but does like to have someone listen to him and the pig seems to work just as well as me so he’s actually been reading more lately because the pig is more than willing to sit and listen to him read.

 

Both kids are getting a good lesson in animal handling and care which will be a handy life skill I’m sure. They are responsible for feeding her and help me clean her cage. Aside from pig pellets she gets a wide variety of fresh veggies and fruit. Romaine lettuce is her favorite followed by cantaloupe and carrots. She also enjoys carrot tops, bell pepper, and peas (in the pod).

In all she seem to be a fun and welcome addition so far.