August 7, 2009

Today, we drove to Idaho Falls for a little getaway before school starts up again. For Christmas of 2007, my Dad and Ginny gave us a night at a Marriot or Hilton hotel and we are finally using it! Only it's even better becuase they gave us TWO nights!
We decided to come to Idaho Falls and ride our bikes on the trail by the Snake River, swim in the pool and just relax and enjoy being togehter.
Today was a lot of fun. We had fun on the drive and arrived here around 3pm. We checked in and were in a room that faced the parking lot, which was fine but we thought it would be really great to face the river and the temple. I called Dad to let him know we were here and he said it wouldn't hurt to ask, so Chad went and asked the front desk and they moved us! So, we are in a room pretty much straight across from the temple and on the top floor. So great!
This afternoon and evening, they were having some type of speed boat racing on the river which was pretty entertaining...and loud! I can't believe how loud some of those boats are and they go so fast!
We put our stuff in the room and headed over to the Titanic exhibit at the Idaho Falls Museum. It was very interesting but I just felt like crying throughout the whole thing. So many lives lost and so many children. I tried not to think about what it would be like to have been one of the mothers on that ship, slowly coming to the realization that your children were going to die, as were you. I tried to focus on the artifacts they had there, which were very interesting. It's amazing what they have recovered from the sea floor. My favorite part of the exhibit was the recreated first-class and third-class cabins. Carson's favortie part was the iceberg. They had an actual iceberg that you could touch. Of course, we all touched it and had the startling revelation "it's cold"! Chad was amazed at how so many things came from that time that we still use; nothing new mechanically has been made, we've only improved on what they invented.
We were each given a "boarding pass" when we arrived which had our passenger name and information on it. At the end of the exhibit, we were able to look at the passenger list and see if "we" lived or died. Carson and Chad's passenger names died, but mine lived. I was 22, married to a wealthy man and we were finishing up our two year long honeymoon. I lived, as did our servant, but my husband perished. It was very interesting and caused you to do exactly what the boarding pass meant to...imagine you were actually that person.
Cameras were not allowed in the exhibit at all so no photos from that.

After the exhibit, we hit Wal-Mart. Chad forgot his swimsuit. The end of summer is a good time to buy a swimsuit...it was five bucks! We ate dinner at Iggy's, which was delicious and then we went swimming.

All in all it was a great day. I just love being with my family so much. I am happy I get to spend this weekend with them.

7/19/2009 - Hike to Stewart Falls

On Sunday, July 19, 2009, we went up to Sundance, rode the ski lift up and hiked down to Stewart Falls. It was a beautiful summer day, hot in the sun but cool in the shade.
The ride up the lift was as beautiful as always and I took lots of photos. I love going up to Sundance. It is so peaceful and so close to home. When we leave, I feel like I've been on a vacation! We hopped off the lift at the top and ran "as fast as you can to the right" as we were instruced by the ski lift operator! I still nearly got hit in the rear with the chair. Those things are designed to be skied off of, not run off of!
We got settled with our backpacks and bug spray and sunscreen and we started walking. The hiking went well and the trail was nearly overgrown in some spots.
We got down to the falls and it was beautiful! The water was really crashing down. We took a few photos and then Carson was ready to get in! He was surprised at how cold it was and he jumped right back out at first. But, he wanted to try again and eventually got used to the cold. We crossed over the falls and snacked on pretzels, bananas, almonds, yogurt raisins and granola bars.
I decided to get in then and play in the water with Carson. Chad soon followed and we all had a great time. Carson really loves water.
After drying off our feet and getting our socks and shoes back on, it was time to head back to Sundance. However, Carson still had wet feet because he had walked right through a stream and so his socks and shoes were soaked as well - he didn't care!
Rather than hiking back up to the lift, we went down. Hiking down gives you beautiful views of the falls. I turned around to take a photo at one point and as I turned around to start walking again, I FELL and it was very scary as one of my legs went down the hill! The other one stayed up, though and I stood back up but I was freaked for a moment!
We got back down to the bottom; the trail came out right near the base of the ski lift. After getting our traditional suckers from the Foundry Grill (Carson chose rainbow and I chose butterscotch today), it was time to head home.
What a great Sunday and a fun time spent with family!

July 15, 2009

Carson went to his first Cub Scout Day Camp today. It was held at Camp Jerimiah Johnson. They got to do rafting, bb guns, archery, water fun and lots of cool crafts.

July 11, 2009

Happy 34th Birthday Chad!

Lucky Chad, his birthday was on a Saturday this year! He had the day off and for his birthday, he wanted to drive up to Vivian Park and ride our bikes all the way from Vivian Park to our house. It was a great day and we all had a fun time. The only negative was that Carson had a crash but he was a real trooper and was very brave about it.

Later that night, we went to my Dad and Ginny's for a birthday dinner and birthday apple pie. I had made Chad a wacky chocolate cake the day before, so Tina made him an apple pie.

It was a great day. Best Wishes to Chad for a great year ahead!