Day Trip to Cabins

We spent yesterday in the mountains, doing some cleaning at the cabins, and retrieving a few more stored items to move to our house. Gary and the boys returned from an outdoor adventure with these photos.

We all spent some time enjoying the cool, refreshing mountain air.

Gordy and Grayson love going to the creek with Daddy.

So does Abi.

It was a beautiful day in the mountains!

Western Idaho Fair 2009

Our annual trip to the Western Idaho Fair has once again, come and gone. Here are some of this year's happy memories:

Gotta have a dose of some fatty, fried Fair food, of course. This year we split a footlong hot dog, fish and chips, and a greasy burger with ham, cheese, and fried onions on it. We washed down all that fat and cholesterol with some sweet, old-fashioned lemonade...and later, enjoyed ice cream treats for dessert. Yummy indulgences!

Up close and personal with various barnyard creatures -- the petting zoo.

This little calf thoroughly amused Gordon and Grayson.

Next up -- the carnival rides.

Here we are, scoping out the biggest of four ferris wheels.... Let's do it!

In line for about ten minutes, we got up to the front and were informed that both Gordon and Grayson were a few inches too short to climb aboard -- shoot! But...our consolation prize was a big, bright green praying mantis bug on the fence. I guess it was worth standing in line to see that?! Pretty cool. The boys love bugs, enough to stand in line to see one!

All set to ride the smaller of two swing rides; we all passed the height criteria to climb on board.

Wheeeeee...! This was pretty fun! It cooled us off, gave us some tummy flutters, and kinda made me a little nauseous toward the end.

Next -- the ferris wheel (the smallest of four of them). Grayson was getting tired, and was a little apprehensive about this decision.

He and I sat together in one car....

...and Gary and Gordon were in another. Gordon loved it, smiling throughout the ride. "Look, Mom ~ no hands!" Yeeee - haw!

Grayson didn't cry a bit, but kept a nice, firm grip on me during the ride.

We all enjoyed the view! Even the smallest ferris wheel gave us a decent overlook of the carnival lights.

Gordy and Grayson, brave ferris wheel riders!

It was a late night -- Gordy had taken a nice, long nap in preparation for the festivities, so he was still up for some stories when we got home -- but Grayson hit the wall in his carseat, just barely out of the parking lot. He didn't even stir during the car/bed transition.

Gordy's already been asking how many days until we go to the Fair again. 365 days, Gordy -- 365 days.... It will be here before we know it.

Swimming Lessons

The boys just wrapped up two weeks of swimming lessons last Friday. What little fish! These were their first lessons, and we are amazed at the progress they made. By this past week, they were both plunging under to retrieve objects from the bottom of 3 feet of water, have learned many safety rules, and have become much more comfortable in the water.

Oh, and boy -- did they have FUN!

Miss Kasia and Miss Jessica were a great combination of teachers. Miss K is soft-spoken, tender, and nurturing, while Miss Jessica is gregarious, funny, and challenging.

For all but two days, there were only three students in the class, so each new swimmer got a lot of teacher time.

Per usual, I went a little overboard with my camera...and of course narrowing down my favorites still left me with quite a bunch.

This time together also proved to be a bonding experience for Gordon and Grayson.

For most of our days at swimming lessons, we enjoyed a picnic in the park with Dave and/or Myra after lessons, followed by more swimming during free swim time in the afternoons.

Special thanks to Grampa Dave & Gramma Myra for the opportunity to enjoy these lessons. These classes were offered at their Swim & Racquet Club, and Myra got the boys all signed up.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

On the final day of lessons, Gordy and Grayson were the only students. Miss Jessica treated them to Otter Pops to celebrate their success.

Both Gordon and Grayson enjoyed jumping in!

One of many heartwarming moments for me happened during one of Graysons first jumps into the pool ~ Gordon politely reminded Miss Jessica, "Don't drop him." Brotherly love.

Grayson couldn't get enough of jumping in.

Gordon loved diving to the bottom and retrieving little toys and hoops.

This week we plan to spend a couple afternoons back at the pool during free swim, practicing the boys' new skills with Dave and Myra.

What a fun and valuable experience this has been...!