Weekend in Malad

We finally made it to Malad this weekend. It's been about two months since we were there last! The kids loved to play with the goats and swing on the swing set. Kim beat everyone in croquet. I might have won if Jess hadn't kept stomping my ball into the ground! We got to go visit Grandma Helen and Ellie cried the whole time we were there the little stinker. It was definitely nap time. I also got Mary's salsa recipe! Yea! I'll have to experiment to see if I can get it right. She might not have time to make it this year so we will have to be nice and share with everyone. We take bribes!

These are the goats. Ellie loved to feed them!

This is a funny picture I took today. Kaden said he has to wear this hat when he goes paintballing so he doesn't hurt his head. Ellie was saying "Cheese!"

This is the super cute sweater that Grandma Helen knit for Ellie. She is amazing! Jess and I got raspberry jam! Yum!
Thanks Grandma!

I got nothin

So I took a visit to Mesa, AZ with my mom, Grandma Hinchcliff (or as the kids call her, Grandma Hiccup), my sister Erin and brother Chris for my cousins wedding. Our flight was Saturday afternoon and we showed up just in time to help get ready for the wedding which started with pics at five and a ceremony and reception to follow. The wedding was a beautiful reception at sunset in their lovely backyard. Then we crashed at my Grandma's house that night and went to sacrament mtg in the morning and then back to the airport and back home. It was a short trip, our flights were exactly 24 hrs apart. Jess was nice enough to juggle the kids alone all weekend. It was a great break and fun to spend with family. One down fall... I didn't take one single picture! I kept saying "I need to get out my camera", and I just got too busy and kept forgetting. While I was waiting for our return flight I went and got Kaden and Ellie some presents. Kaden was disappointed he didn't get to ride on an airplane (or as he calls it, airplaining) so I got him a little airplane and Ellie loves to draw so she got the big pen. (Kaden was willing to let me have the airplane for the picture but I had to promptly put it back on his dresser when I was done.) So this picture is my lone proof of my weekend vacation!

Bear Lake

We went with our great friends the Edwards and Mitchells to Bear Lake this week. It was so much fun! We stayed in a cabin right by the lake which had easy access to a private beach and a golf course. The boys enjoyed three rounds and the girls had a night out on the course. It ended in disaster for me. I lost four of Jesse's balls and his glove by the second hole. I hate golf! The kids loved the water, the sand and just running around the cabin unsupervised!

This is the boys building a turtle on the beach. It looked pretty good!

Here's the hill that our cabin was on. It was so much nicer than living out of our trailer!

Kaden spent the majority of his time pretending to drive the four-wheelers. He keeps begging Jess to buy him one... but it has to be yellow!

Ellie LOVED the sand... she was able to sit and get dirty without mom getting mad at her! The only downfall to playing on the beach all day is that there's no place to nap!
We four-wheeled up through the hills. Kaden was in heaven and Ellie fell asleep. We were all filthy by the end.
My new favorite picture of Kaden.

Sunset boat ride on the lake. Ellie cried 90% of the time.

Old Faithful

Last week we went camping at Island Park. We all had tons of fun and actually none of us were ready to go home! We floated the river, went to West Yellowstone for ice cream and went to Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful and the geyser pools. One morning I went off on my own on a bike ride and went down a off road and wasn't paying attention and came right up on a moose. I was freaked out and peddled away as fast as I could. Another morning Minnie got in a fight with a male Mastiff (who was actually bigger than she was). Luckily Jesse had her on the chain and not me so everyone escaped without injury. Other than that it was a pretty relaxing trip!

The kids weren't as excited as I hoped they'd be. They were tired and hungry.

We were pretty lucky, Old Faithful erupted two minutes after we walked up. She explodes approximately every 90 minutes.

This is called Heart Geyser. It was very deep...you couldn't see the bottom.

Camping at Powerhouse

We went camping last weekend at the Malad Summit. It's nice because it's only a 45 min drive and it's a fun camping spot. It was the first time this year we've taken out the trailer. The kids had a lot of fun. We took Minnie with us and surprisingly she was very well behaved. I took her with me on a run up the canyon in the morning and while I was standing there enjoying the view I heard a rustle in the trees and a deer ran up the hill. Minnie came running over and hid behind me. I don't think she understood she was almost the same size as the deer. She's such a whimp. The only downfall was that there were TONS OF BUGS!!

Jess has to relearn how to set up the trailer every year! Isn't he cute?

Kaden and Ellie took advantage of the bug situation and caught butterflies. Ellie spent the whole day chasing butterflies around camp!

Our beautiful camp spot!

This is an illustration of how big Minnie is getting. The kids totally love her. When she took a nap in the shade they put rocks in her mouth. She's so laid back!

A day at Grandmas

Yesterday I went up to Idaho Falls with my brother and his five kids to my parents house for the day. My grandparents are in town from Arizona. It was nice to see them and visit for the day. We went to the Tautphaus Park Zoo. I love this zoo because it's shaded and it's not too big. After the zoo the kids played in the backyard for hours. My kids love their backyard.

This is Addie, Kaden, Sarah, Ellie and Ryan--they love the swing!

This chicken was at the zoo. Ellie loved it.

The kids were eating strawberries from the garden and getting drinks from the hose. Kaden of course took upon himself to be the waterboy.

This is Kaden and Ellie's great grandma Hinchcliff. She lives in Idaho Falls. They were eating radishes. Yum! :0)

And of course, Kaden spent the majority of his time with the lawnmower. He takes it out into the yard everytime he goes to grandma's. He pushes it around checks the gas level. The first thing he noticed when he woke up this morning was that Jess mowed the front lawn without him last night.
Jess couldn't come with us-he had to stay at home and do baptism interviews. He was called to be the second counselor in the bishopric on Sunday. He'll do a great job. He serves in the church very selflessly. I'll be released from my calling within a week or two. We'll have to get used to sitting by ourselves in sacrament meeting!

Fourth of July!

We had an awesome 4th. We went to the parade in the morning...the kids got bored after a while and went to play on the playground toys. Then we went back home and swam in the backyard pool with cousins. We had a full house-my sister came from Logan with her husband and two girls, my brother and his wife and five kids, my parents came from Idaho Falls and my grandparents are in town from Arizona. We all had a BBQ at our house for dinner. Jesse went to Fort Hall and got a bunch of "illegal" fireworks for all the kids. The black cats were way loud and the kids all screamed. Ellie didn't like the fireworks...she hid on the side of the house for most of them. Then we went to "The Biggest Show in Idaho" which is Pocatello's firework show. We had up front seats so the kids loved it (except for Ellie). Then we had an hour in the car fighting traffic to get home. We had a great day!