Idahome 2014

Idahome really sums it up.  In fact I love it when people ask me where I am from, because I am a proud Idahoan (even though I have an Ohio drivers licence).  Sadly, our visits are few and far between. Right now we make it home only once every other year.  It takes that long to build up enough sky miles to pay most of one way home, then we have to come up with the cash for the reverse trip.  It is something that we cherish though, because it is a rarity. 

On our last trip home we hit a few Utah highlights as well.  Chad didn't get to come until the last of the three weeks that we visited.  He missed spending a few days with some of our dearest and best friends from our time in Omaha, and Village Green.  It was so much fun to see how in only two years, so much had changed.  New babies, new jobs, new houses, and still as comfortable as ever!

Minus the double stroller with May and Asher, the little line up of kiddos all lived within feet of each other, and spend hours playing with each other!

I even got a surprise visit from my friend Ashley who lives in Phoenix, but was passing through at just the right time to have a quick dinner and catch up!  So awesome to see these awesome ladies!

Once we got to Idaho we started our visit in Preston to meet a new member of the family.  Aunt Deez!  She also spoiled us during our visit with some fun girl time and pretty nails!

I admit that I was excited that our visit would fall during That Famous Preston Night Rodeo weekend.  That might seem silly to care so much about a small town tradition (just ask Chad), but I was thrilled!  I loved taking my kiddos to the parade to pick up candy, and seeing how much they loved going to the rodeo.  I shared a favorite piece of my childhood with them.

My dad was so fun during our visit.  He wanted to capitalize on his grandpa time.  He was able to be home during most of our stay.  One activity he had on his list of to do's with the kiddos was to go fishing.  They were as excited as he was!  Sadly, they were having absolutely no success.  So, determined to make fishing a lasting memory, he packed us all up and drove to the other end of the county to try another favorite spot.  This time we hit the jackpot!  They were reeling them in one after another!

Grandpa Darrell made sure they each got to hook and bring in at least a couple each.

At one point during the our trip, Porter caught a trout.  Grandpa told them how that was one of the best ones to catch because they are so tasty.  Aimee folded her arms and closed her eyes and started praying right there on the bank that she would catch a trout.  We tried to explain that Heavenly Father doesn't always give us what we want.  It wasn't 4 minutes later that she brought in a nice trout!  That was followed by hooking one of the biggest fish Grandpa had ever hooked up the Narrows.  It was big enough that it ran the line and eventually got away.  Aimee loved telling the story!

Once we made our way up to Pocatello, it was Grandpa Williams turn to be the hero.  He had all sorts of things for us to do with him.  One day we went down to the county fair to see the animals.  It turns out it was pretty small, but to my city kids it was an event!

It had been over six years since we had seen Chad's brother Scott and his family.  It was a lot of fun for these cousins to get acquainted and have so much fun together.  Aimee and Kate especially hit it off.  There aren't very many girl cousins on this side of the family, and being only six months apart they had a great time together!

No trip to Grandpa Williams house would be complete without a visit to the farm, and a ride on Poco.  All the kids love this, but Aimee drinks it in!  I recently found several journal entries Aimee wrote at school about riding horses with Grandpa.  It melted me heart.

Grandpa even made sure they got to pick and shuck their own ears of corn right out of the field.

Once Chad was with us, we made the rounds to all of the Grandmas.  And we couldn't visit without stopping at the cemetery to make sure they know what a great Grandma they won't get to meet until we all meet in Heaven.

Not everyone would think to have Preston and Pocatello Idaho be a vacation destination, but for us, there is no place we would rather visit!

partners in crime

It all started out so innocently.  These two little girl cousins played together for the first time during the Ohio scope out visit.  At 11 months old it was really about which one could out-crawl the other to the most alluring toy, or hoping they didn't notice each others bows and try to pull them out.  It was adorable!  It was harmless.  And, it was fun to watch.

Once Mike and Saundra moved in with us, things began to change.  A couple of months older and a couple of months wiser, or at least more competitive.  Being around each other on a daily basis they began to treat each others as twin sisters.  Still adorable, but in constant competition for attention and resources (food, toys, lap space, etc.). 

And when they weren't trying to outdo each other, they were accomplices.  Partners in crime really.  For all of the sweet pictures in this post, there are an equal or greater number of occasions when instead of snapping a picture, we were rushing to halt catastrophe.  There are no pictures of them pushing chairs or stacking items in the basement to gain access to gnaw through bags of chocolate chips, brown sugar or marshmallows.  None of the occasions (with an s) when entire containers of laundry product were emptied onto the carpet.  Toilet papers rolls emptied or cold cereal trails giving away their location.  I could go on and on.  These two frienemies bring out the best and worst in each other.  And for as much aggravation as it has caused this mama, it has still been pretty fun to watch (and when it wasn't as least it made for a good story)!

summer fun

Even thought school wasn't quite out yet, summer adventures for us really started in May.  It was then that Chad's brother, Michael and his family came out for a visit and test run.  They were coming to check Ohio out to decide if they could handle the area, and probably us if they moved out to apply to medical school.  We must have not made it look too bad, because in July they U-haul from Idaho arrived!  Mike and Saundra, Carter and Kamry moved in with us!  While I would be lying if I said I wasn't more than just a little nervous about the whole thing, we had a really great experience.  I think we learned a lot from each other, made lots of memories, and had a whole lot of fun doing it.

We were able to take them to some of our favorite parks.  The one below is surrounded by woods and a stream with small fish and crawdads.  We always have to bring cups to try to bring home a few new friends to live in the fish tank.

Summer in Ohio isn't nearly as humid as Omaha, but still has enough heat and humidity at it's height to warrant some good sprinkler time.  The cousins had lots of fun soaking up the sun and running through the water

One of my personal favorites in the summer is cooking out.  It means fewer dishes, and less prep time.  Plus, can you really beat hot dogs for dinner?  No way!

Porter and Pratt loved having another bug/amphibian hunter on their team.  I save "bug jars" all year long.  But this summer I ran out early!  They had a great time filling them up with creatures and habitats.

This is one of my very favorite pictures (actually the black and white version with just the colored goggles is better), and it speaks volumes of the summer to me.

We don't golf.  But since Uncle Mikey does, it was fun to see him introduce it to the kiddos. 

Poco and Roni may not have been close enough to ride, but we figured out a way to still get a small fix in for the kiddos.  One of Chad's attending  owns a beautiful ranch.  She invited us over to meet her horses and a few walks around her training facility.

Aimee is basically the best big sister ever.  May has to put up with being dressed up from time to time, but she doesn't mind.  Aimee makes up for it by giving her some extra attention, and making things more interesting for her.

Sycamore Trails got a third Williams swimmer this year.  They kids had a great time playing in the water, getting their teachers to make exceptions for them, and actually learning a few things.

While I haven't made a great deal of progress in talking Chad into letting us get a trampoline, I'm glad the kids get chances to enjoy it our friends houses.

I can't even begin to count the number of times I got flowers from the kids.  Most of the time it is dandelion bouquet.  Sometimes a few other weeds make it into the mix.  Sometimes, I get really lucky, and Porter brings me the weed in its entirety.  That way I can enjoy it longer!

Did I mention that we ran out of bug jars this summer?

We live in a relatively quite neighborhood where our kids are definitely the loudest and craziest.  By the end of the summer, he made sure to add to it when he picked up bike riding.  That makes two boys who taught themselves to ride a bike!  It helped that he had this mini bike our neighbor gave him that made it easy to figure the process out.  It was the cutest thing in the world to watch this little three year old peddle at about 100 miles an hour to keep up with the big kids, but he had the will and found the way!

Now if only I had taken pictures of the rest of our adventures, one might get a taste of what a great summer it was!

dad gets 30

Most years Chad finds out his birthday is coming up because I bring it up.  He isn't exactly known for being a big partier.  I didn't want that to stop Chad from enjoying his milestone birthday.  About two months in advance I enlisted Chad's co-worker, Roman, to help make sure that on his birthday I would be able to pin him down.  I had my plan all set.  Nothing to crazy so he wouldn't be annoyed, but enough to make certain it was a memorable day.

That morning as I was cutting up strawberries for Chad's traditional strawberry short cake, I got a phone call from a frantic friend needing someone to watch her little boy so she could go to work, until her husband got home from work.  It was only supposed to be for an hour or less.  I could do that.  Sadly, the hour got longer and longer.  Two and a half hours later I started calling around to get this little guy home.  His dad had come home from work earlier but decided he needed a nap first after a busy call night.  By the time I dropped him off, there was no time to surprise Chad with lunch or pick up balloons.  We had to settle for just surprising him with cake to share with everyone who happened to be around, and listen to our kids tell others not to drink coffee or that they were going to the wrong church.  For Chad that was plenty.  And for me, I was just happy to be celebrating 30 years of the greatest dad and husband in the world.

dress like a cow day

I am proud to say that I am cheap!  When I heard that Chick-Fil-A was having their annual Dress-like-a-cow Day, you better believe I was all over the idea!  If you dressed like a cow you could order any meal you wanted!

I cut out a few patches of black felt, made five sets of felt cow ears and added a little face paint to make it extra fun!  My friend Julie, who likes free as much as I do,  and her five kiddos joined us for the fun.  Her kids are a little older and risk more embarrassment to do this, so I was impressed we had full participation.

As one might expect, the place was packed!  We didn't mind though.  After lunch we topped off the afternoon with some park time!  I kept the spots and ears so that we can make this an annual event!

hello dr. jody

First of all, I have to note that this is a very painful post for me.  I am supposed to be above all of this.  I am the one that tells other moms how to avoid this.  But, here I am, a flawed mother and hygienist.

Porter started to complain of mouth pain.  I admit, I initially wrote him off.  The truth is, with Porter it can be difficult to tell if he has just stubbed his toe or if the apocalypse is beginning.  When I finally decided it was legitimate, I called the office I sub in and made an appointment.  We had to wait three weeks to get it.  What did we find?  With the first bitewing ex rays he had ever had we were able to see that he had 8 cavities, one that would need a stainless steel crown.  For Porter, this meant he got to come back and get more prizes.  For me this was a blow to my personal pride as a mom, and a hygienist, and a blow to our pocket book.  We are locked in to our insurance for two years at a time.  I had hoped we could make it until renewal and save two years of dental coverage.  I should have known better.

(Porter all drugged up, and ready to get his teeth fixed.)

 

It was over a month before we could get him in (Dr. Jody is pretty popular).  A little bit of sleepy juice did the trick.  I am pretty thankful he had it because, while he doesn't remember, there were lots of tears shed.  They offered to do the rest another day.  Knowing that it would just be another episode, I helped hold him down to get the job done.  They usually have moms and dads sit in the waiting room because parents get upset seeing their kids struggle.  I just wanted to expedite the process.

Porter was back to normal in no time, and milking it for all it was worth.  I vowed to be better at practicing what I preach.  And the biggest blessing of all was that Dr. Jody gave me an employee discount, even though I only sub in her office 1-2 days a month.  It just made me even more grateful to have found such a wonderful office to go to when I do work.