Friends in the Right Places

I have friends. They may not number in the thousands, but the ones I have are very loyal, close, life-long friends. Friends are handy. Friends are good for venting to, talking to, hanging out with, and a great laugh now and then. They are also good for getting into the drive-in for free.

So, in case you didn't catch my quite obvious hint, one of my good friends owns a theater and a drive-in. We have visited the theater frequently (it runs a summer movie program) but never ventured to the drive-in, mostly because the movie STARTS two hours past bedtime. I had mentioned I planned on going to the drive-in with my children on Thursday, and before I could finish my sentence my friend had shoved a gift-card in my hand for the drive-in and told me to use it for the entrance fee and any concessions we wanted. I tried to resist and tell her I had money, but she threatened to end our friendship if I didn't take it.

So I took it.

Thursday we took naps, hit our soccer games, then loaded up for the drive-in. Amelia and Cooper could just not comprehend how a drive in works, (how does the movie play outside? what if it rains? how will we hear it?) so I told them to just wait until we got there and all their questions would be answered. We arrived early and set up our chairs, snuggled into our sleeping bags and grabbed some popcorn (I didn't use the gift card for that---so we'll see if I still have a friend when she finds out!). Amelia and Cooper loved watching TV outside, and especially liked seeing the stars, moon, and bright lights of the city when we drove home later that night. It was a lot of fun and I think we'll try to squeeze in another trip before school starts!

Here's some pics:

Amelia tucked in her sleeping bag so no movie-loving snakes could slither over her feet or up her legs. Her words.

Getting darker, almost time for the movie to start!!

Cooper was thrilled to be out past his bedtime AND watching TV outside.

I-Jump

Late July/August get a little hard at our house, because the summer is starting to wind down, we've been to just about every park, gone on thousands of picnics, and done almost every summer activity possible. Well, that's cheap or free at least!
 
After convincing Amelia and Cooper to part with some old toys and clothes, we took the money from them and went to I-Jump in Idaho Falls. It's an indoor trampoline place. Trampolines are everywhere, with some ending in foam pits, and others being set aside for dodge ball wars with plastic balls. Amelia and Cooper had a great time and ended up tired, happy, and sweaty.

Cooper in the foam pit.

The kids patiently giving me ten seconds of their time to take a picture.

This is a picture with the tramps behind them. It was really a fun place, and next time I might join them!

 

After we left I-Jump we had a picnic in Tautphaus Park and played on the toys there. I don't have picture of that because I was too lazy to get out of the shade to snap any. They ended our trip by rolling down the hill. I don't have a picture of Amelia, because the little darlin' was checking every step for possible water and/or grass snakes. Sigh. Massacre Rocks has scarred her for life, I'm afraid.

Cooper picked up quite a bit of speed, and as he rolled I could hear him yell, "Ooo! Ouch! Ugh! Pine cones!"

After returning home we ran a few errands and settled down for a lovely pizza/movie night. Seriously, I sure love those nights. Pizza, Pepsi, kids!

Saturday we went out to help my mom watch the grandkids while my siblings and father floated the river. Amelia and Cooper went on a short ride in the canoes, while I stayed on firm ground. After they got out we played and ate lunch with Matthew, Lynnli, and Conagher before putting them down for naps and heading home. Why don't I have any pics of that? Didn't you read that last line? "Ate lunch with MATTHEW, LYNNLI, and CONAGHER."  It was.......fast, fun, and a little chaotic.

On the way home we noticed a sign at Burger King for 50 cent cones, so we HAD to stop in:

Amelia convinced me ice cream needed cookies to dip.

Cooper enjoying his ice cream.

The Future Mia Hamm and David Beckham

Soccer season has begun! Amelia and Cooper have wanted to play soccer for years, but never could because I happened to work on the nights the games were played. Now that I've gotten rid of that annoyance (although I miss the paychecks dearly), I signed them up this summer.

Their first games were this week, and both did really well. In the beginning Amelia was a little timid and worried about making the other player mad at her, but by the second game she seemed to take to heart the advice, "you're small, you're fast, and everyone has on shin guards."

Amelia at halftime.

Amelia had kicked the ball from the opposing team before he could. FYI, this made him MAD. He hadn't seen her come up behind him.

She ran.

A lot.

This picture shows just how much smaller she is than the rest of the players. I told her this gives her an advantage because they all look over her, so they won't know when she sneaks in.

Before their first game.

After their first game. 

Amelia and Cooper's games were held at the same time this week, so I started with Amelia and switched to Cooper's at halftime. I felt it wise to be with Cooper when his game ended to prevent wandering after the game that would inevitably turn into a search and rescue. I was a little nervous I would get to Cooper's game and find him on the sidelines from being red-carded, but luckily he behaved himself!

Cooper's games were a little different because they only had four players on the field at once, didn't play positions, and didn't have a goalie. A little less chaos. Just a little.

Cooper dominated the first game, scoring two goals and stealing the ball repeatedly--sometimes from his teammates. Don't worry, the coach straightened him out.

Look at that footwork!

See his arms blocking? I wish I could say he learned that, but it's natural. Unlike Amelia, he's bigger than most of the players so he uses his bulk to block out others.

He, again unlike Amelia, is not concerned for other's feelings towards him and is well aware the shin guards are there to guard the shins.....so why not kick away?

When not playing, Cooper took time to impress the girls with his wounds. Chicks dig scars, you know.

4th of July Weekend

Happy 237th birthday, United States!  I only have one complaint....could our founding fathers had picked any HOTTER time of the year to declare our independence?! Whew. Anyway, we woke up early and staked out our spot for the parade. Since we were out, we swung by and grabbed some breakfast. About an hour before the parade started we walked to our blanket and got settled in. We were at the end of the parade, which made the wait a bit longer, but the kids did okay.

The parade started and I can honestly say I didn't see hardly ANY of it. Why, you ask? Because of the kids running out to get the candy? No, no, no. Because the PARENTS of the kids were standing in the road, blocking everyone view behind them so they could make sure their precious offspring could catch and hoard the candy thrown. The ironic part is, most of the kids were 2 and under....and the candy was salt water taffy and bubblegum. How many two years old can eat salt water taffy without choking? Perhaps I should have exercised my independence and started punching people. No? Alright.

After the parade we went home and sat in front of the air conditioner for about an hour, then lit off a few fireworks that evening. I had considered taking them to a fireworks show, but when Amelia nodded off during dinner, I decided against it. They were both asleep by 7:15pm!

Cooper with the spy glass he made.

Ready to light off some fireworks. See how tired they already are?

Amelia the Safety Officer making sure all the fireworks are thoroughly cooled off and soaked through.

Friday we drive down to Blackfoot so I could get more help with my math from Professor Jackman. I think I am really close to passing this test, and no one will be happier than me when I do!  I did score a 85% on my practice test, so I have hope!!

Amelia and Cooper played in the pool at Nana and Grandpa's while I was gone:

Saturday we went out to Mom's school and went through ten boxes of books for Amelia. Two trash bags later, we came home. Amelia will not be hurting for reading material for a very looooong time!

We had a great weekend seeing everyone (Lynnli is my BFF now) and just getting out of town. Soccer starts up this week, so we'll be busy with two games a week for both Amelia and Cooper. Stay tuned for pictures, because they look awfully cute (and handsome) in their soccer stuff!

How Do We Beat the Heat?

By visiting the spray park and eating ice cream in front of the air conditioner, of course!

Call/Dalrymple Reunion 2013

Last weekend we journeyed to Massacre Rocks for the first annual Call/Dalrymple Reunion. I was excited to go because I hadn't seen my cousins for around 4 years, and I was looking forward to hanging out with them and their families for a bit.

We rented a cabin that overlooked the Snake River and surrounding area. This is a picture from the deck outside our cabin:

We arrived on Friday evening and had a lovely meal complete with s'mores before watching the stars come out and the moon rise. The first night was a little rough with Amelia worrying about all the nature noises we could hear. After assuring her our cabin was snake-proof, bear-proof, and coyote-proof (even if they swam across the river) she feel asleep.

The next day we went to Register Rock, which is a massive boulder the pioneers signed as they came through this area over 160 years ago. I was amazed how neat their writing was, especially since they had to use a knife to write. Overall, we were having a enjoyable experience until "The Incident".

Some of the names.

The names and dates on this section were really clear.

Amelia, happy to be out about, playing with Dalrymple's dogs......this was only moments before "The Incident".

Cooper with the older dog. He wanted to switch dogs with Amelia because "his dog doesn't DO anything."

As you can see in the picture with Cooper, there was a large rock on the left. Amelia wanted to climb it, so Cooper and I headed over to it with her. As we neared the rock, suddenly Amelia let our a blood-curling scream. I whipped my head around and saw a MASSIVE black snake slithering as fast as it could under the rock. The little darlin' had stepped on it. It startled me, (he was longer than I was with razor-sharp fangs and blood-red eyes that spewed pure evil) so I jumped back and let out a little scream of my own, quickly walking away while calling for Cooper to follow. Amelia's screams continued as she ran to where my aunt, uncle, cousins and Joey were standing and literally climbed up Joey while sobbing and screaming, "Snake! Snake! Snake!" The rest of the family went over to try and see the snake (he was long gone under the rock, probably having a little snake heart-attack) while I calmed down Amelia. Of all the people to see a snake, it had to be her! She spent the rest of the time on the high rock fence and then I carried her to the car. Cooper had returned to the car shortly after "The Incident" because his "ears hurt from Amelia freaking out."

After leaving Register Rock, we took a short hike to see the wagon ruts on the Oregon Trail. It was an east hike, only 0.8 miles and it went really well. We passed under the interstate twice and the kids liked the tunnels. Cooper and Joey went first to clear out anything that shouldn't be in there (snakes) while Amelia and I were second, then Jojo and Lynnli brought up the rear.

Amelia waiting for the all-clear.

Cooper liked to be in the tunnel when the cars drove over it.

The wagon ruts on the Oregon Trail.

Cooper at the wagon ruts.

Amelia at the wagon ruts.

 Wait.....what was that you said? That last picture of Amelia looks like she's been crying? Oh, well, YOU'D. BE. CORRECT. Sweet, sensitive, worry-some Amelia ran into yet another snake. Remember I mentioned the trail was 0.8 miles long? Well, at 0.75 she saw the tail end of another snake as it slithered away into the tall grass. This time she climbed up me and almost knocked me over. I carried her to the wall near the ruts where she saw the sign but didn't want to walk over to the actual ruts.

After a second snake sighting we packed it back to our cabin and stayed in snake-free territory....until supper. We walked down to visit Joey and Jojo and the Dalrymple's. I was chatting with my cousins when I heard Jojo telling Amelia to come this way and was leading her toward me quickly. What had happened? Joey had stepped on a bull snake only twenty feet away. We'd probably walked right past it! Luckily, Amelia didn't see it this time, and my cousin caught the snake and relocated it far, far away.

Cooper in our cabin. He was "relaxing".

MaryAnn and Dad.

The next morning we packed up and said our good-byes. The trip was so much fun (minus the snake run-ins) and I am grateful we could see family that I hadn't for so long! I'm looking forward to the next reunion!

Cooper and Amelia before we left. Right after I took this picture, Cooper snapped himself in the forehead with his headlamp, giving himself a huge bump.

Two Days After That

We are on Sunday, yes? Sunday was a much more laid-back, calm day. We attended most of church with Katie and David and I was struck by how similar things are, but so different. These differences have made me seriously ponder moving to Oregon after graduation. Anyway, after church we had lunch and then hung out the rest of the day playing the Wii, baking dessert pizzas that SOMEONE forgot to adjust for sea level, and cinnamon rolls. We got in bed in good time because on Monday Katie and David had to return to work while the kids and I ventured to the coast!

Monday morning we got an early start and headed west to Newport, OR. We arrived around lunchtime so we stopped at a beach-access park and ate before taking a quick look at the beach.

The beach where we stopped for lunch. It was a bit sunny.

We ate at a picnic table right by these trees. They were the coolest things.....no lower branches had leaves. Cooper isn't squinting in this picture, he's being a pirate because we're at the beach.

After lunch we went to the aquarium. We spent about three hours there, and saw each exhibit twice! It was worth the arm and leg I paid, and Amelia and Cooper not only had fun, but learned a lot. We especially liked the Hurricane Tube, where we experienced 75 mile an hour winds!

This sea lion was very friendly, and came back to the window again and again. We found out his name is Boots.

Cooper and Amelia with a sea otter.

Amelia piloting a boat.

Fishing off the boat. I'm glad Cooper had "safety first" in mind.

This exhibit talked about cleaning up the ocean, so the kids caught anything that doesn't belong in the ocean in nets to throw away.

This is Amelia and Cooper sitting in the shark tube. There was glass all around us and even windows in the floor, so the sharks would swim all around us and we could see them up close.

The creepy octopus.

 After visiting the aquarium, we still had some time before we could check into our hotel, so we drove north of Newport to see the tallest lighthouse in Oregon. I don't know if Amelia and Cooper necessarily cared, but I've always been a sucker for a lighthouse!  Unfortunately, we could walk up in it until the end of June, but it was still a lot of fun to walk around the base and Cobble Beach below.

Amelia and Cooper with nothing but water between them and China!

Yaquina Lighthouse

Cobble Beach. This beach was fun because as the waves came in and out, they would toss and drag the stones against each other and the sound was really cool.

The lighthouse from Cobble Beach.

We stayed at the beach for probably close to an hour. Cooper wanted to rest his feet and just stared out at the waves. At first I thought he was just mesmerized by the tranquility and peacefulness of the ocean, but it turned out he was getting sick. We grabbed some dinner and checked into our hotel. We settled in and Amelia watched a few shows on the iPad while poor Cooper crashed hard with a fever.

After a somewhat difficult night, we all slept in and hurried to make it to the hotel breakfast. We secured a late checkout and took our time getting ready. We had to have the car back by 5, but had enough time to venture south on Hwy 101 to see Thor's Well at Cape Perpetua. Cooper was feeling better due to my fabulous foresight of packing a small pharmacy, so we took off. Can I just add here---I didn't know how I would feel about not being able to pump my own gas, but turns out I really like it. Maybe I'm just lazy, or maybe I have a recessive "princess" gene that responds to the royal treatment I received at the gas pumps!

This is the path down to Thor's Well, Cook's Chasm, and the Spouting Horn. Isn't is SO pretty?

Thor's Well. It was really close to the ocean and there were sneaker waves everywhere, so I made Amelia and Cooper stay back while I carefully and quickly walked as far as I dared to get a good shot. Thank goodness for camera zoom!

Thor's Well not erupting.

Cook's Chasm. The Spouting Horn is there as well, but it was not spouting today. We missed high tide. It was still impressive.

Another shot of the path we took. Amelia was a little apprehensive, specially after Cooper asked me if Bigfoot lived in Oregon.

After we left Cape Perpetua, we sped back to Newport so Amelia and Cooper could spend a few minutes on the beach and collect some shells to bring home.

Sigh. I sure do like the ocean.

We arrived back at Katie and David's house, turned in the car, and started packing up to head home early the next morning. Cooper had a rough night with a fever and cough keeping us both up, but he traveled back home really well. We had a long day on Tuesday, going from Oregon all the way back to Rexburg in about twelve hours of shuttle, plane and car. As we pulled in to our garage, Amelia and I started carrying stuff upstairs, but Cooper went straight in and laid down on the couch. I asked him if he could go grab a bag from the car and he said, "I can't. I've been sitting too long. I need to let my bum un-crank."

We are happy to be home but miss Katie, David, and all we experienced in Oregon so much! I don't think I would mind living there at all. Hmm.....maybe in a couple years they'll need an Idaho teacher there......thanks to Katie and David for letting us stay with them and for all the fun, laughs (the living room light bulb, remember Katie?), help and experiences you shared with us.