Father's Day Weekend in Idaho

For the fourth time in 19 years, all of us siblings (there are 5 of us!) were together, with our parents, in Idaho.  We gathered for Father's Day to honor our Dad.  Here are some shots of the time we spent there:

John reenacting a scene from E.T.?  Or just being patient while Luci piles up every stuffed animal at Nana and Papa's house?

Papa getting some help from Luci and Laura, as they refill the squirrel feeder.  The temperature was chilly that day, only up to 60* at the time they were in the backyard.

Luci.

What Bryan and JT did most of the time.

Papa wearing his "Billy Ray Bob" hat, which was a stylish gift from his Alabama grandchildren.

Nana.  She looks great after a tough year.

Dad's medals from his time in the U.S. Air Force.  Really impressive!

Katie, Laura, Aunt Janet (hiding), JT and Luci at Vacation Bible School.  Mom and Dad's church rent space on Sunday so there is not a building to go to for VBS.  It was held in a park!  Next to the old Penitentiary!  The ladies put together a great picnic lunch of ham sandwich, chips, apples, natural fruit leather, cookies and bottled water.  We were only able to go on Monday.  It was a gorgeous day--and kind of cool.  Luci ended up wearing someone's hoodie sweatshirt. 

J.T.

The view from my seat.  We were right up in the foothills of the Boise Mountains.  There are houses mini-mansions on the top of the hill.  They have one of the best views in town.  Luci's class, preschool through K, were under that blue canopy.  The junior high and high schoolers are off to the left, out-of-scene.

Grades 1-6 at VBS

The adult class

The view I grew up with (5th grade, and junior high and high school, anyways).

On the way home--Devil's Slide in Utah.

Another really beautiful scene in Utah.  The amount of green was somewhat unusual.  I certainly remember brown hills and mountains while growing up.  So glad they've had lot of moisture this year.  Yes, that is snow!

And the view when I got home.  John made a Harding Swing for me for my birthday!  He made the stand for it from these directions here and bought the swing from Lowe's (I don't mind that variation at all).  I love this swing!

Favorite Photos Today

with Papa

and Nana

Bryan with Billy Ray hair


JT--my brothers told the staff at the Chinese restaurant that today is JT's birthday.  But it's not.  His birthday is  almost three weeks away.  The waitstaff came and sang Happy Birthday to JT!  Everyone loved it, and JT was a good sport.

Thoughts on Travel

First, I love driving. 

Wyoming is windy! 

Kansas can get boring (but the first half of it, going from east to west, is pretty).

I love our van--Honda Odyssey, with tons of cup holders and a DVD player.

JT is a great big brother.

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Luci-ism for the day, said as we drove through the wild, blank areas of Wyoming:

Mama, we are on the other side of the world!

From where?

From HOME!

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Q:  What do Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts (aren't you impressed that I can spell Massachusetts?!), Maryland, Maine, North Dakota, New Mexico, Rhode Island and West Virginia have in common?

A:  After 1,503 miles of driving, we have seen private vehicles with license plates from every state in our country but those.  Still have 484 miles tomorrow, plus the return trip to find those plates.  Come on, folks!  Get out and drive!  We want to complete our map!

This one's for Melodie~~

As we drive along the interstate, I see lots of McDonald's restaurants...and I think, "I've been there" about many of them.  JT has even chimed in with memories about some of the fast food places!

Luci-isms

Luci's studying The Creation (you know, the Seven Days of the beginning of the world and the Adam and Eve story) in Sunday School.  Yesterday she had this question, as she thought about the primitive way Adam and Eve lived:

Mama, you know water?  When you were little, a little girl, where did you get water?

We had this amazing thing called a faucet.  How old do you think I am, Luci?

Really old.  Like Eighteen.

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talking about her doll:  

Jessie likes to eat vomit-crats.

What is a vomit-crat?

It's from Africa.  It's a sammich made with chicken and cow.

Is it like a demo-crat?

Yup

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And this lovely from JT, as he, Luci and I drive through Missouri:

I am with the best two people in the whole world.

(anything he wants, don't you think?)

Luci's TreeHouse

Luci's treehouse is finally complete.  Today I painted a little "wreath" and Luci added her own inside with a marker.  The house is now complete with rings, a rope to climb, a swing, monkey bars, and a porch.

Digging Out

Much of today was spent cleaning Luci's room, which serves as a repository for most of the inventory of our local Toys-R-Us store, as well as every museum shop we've ever visited. 

This photo was taken long before the room was done.  JT helped me.  I asked him to get everything out from under the bed, and he went at the task whole-heartedly.

Rearranging Furniture

We are talking about changing Luci's room around.   Here's part of the conversation from tonight:

Mom!  Daddy wants to make me sleep in a BUG BED!!!

Um,  Luci, he said, "bunk bed."

Spelling Bee

This week is our Vacation Bible School (sensory overload for me, but so much fun). 

Last night, Luci asked me this question:

Luci:
Can you say V B S?

Me:

V B S.

Luci:

Can you spell V B S? 

Me:
Um, you go first.

Luci:
V  E  S 

Wish I had this much self-confidence...

This morning Luci and I went to Frontier Days at Pope's Tavern.  As we parked, Luci said,

"I know everyone is going to see what a beautiful daughter I am."

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We saw a woman spinning wool into yarn; another weaving a seat on a child's chair (I got her card so I can call her later about fixing my little red rocker); a man weaving baskets; a uniformed somebody (didn't get to talk to him so I am not sure "who" he is supposed to be--perhaps Mr. Pope?); a spinning wheel (just like Sleeping Beauty's, Mama!), and child's clothing.

There were also potters, woodcarvers and jewelers.  Luci also got to play with some clay.  Here she is making a ball, Chinese noodles, a cookie, and finally the clay turned into a bowl after spinning on the potter's wheel.

Heard Today

from Luci, who else?

Let's see if we can wake up Mama without hurting her or making her mad.

Happy Birthday to John!

John had a birthday yesterday.  Lots of well-wishes, cards, and toys (I mean, tools) for presents.  John's making a stop at Lowe's Home Improvement Store on the way home tonight to spend birthday money and use the gift card I got him (bought because I could not figure out which vise he wanted).



Ah, the cake.  John requested a cake "like Baskin Robbins' ice-cream cake."  So I made an all-natural version with Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream and Duncan Hines' Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix.  Chocolate buttercream icing (Wilton's recipe with my homemade vanilla extract) went on top, and the yellow decorations are made with white buttercream icing that has India Tree food coloring added to it.

Here's how the magic started:  Luci and I made one 9" layer of cake (the rest of the cake mix went into making cupcakes).  We made one layer of ice cream by spooning softened ice cream  into a cake pan lined with plastic wrap.  Both layers were frozen until solid, then stacked and frosted.

Luci wrote "DAD"

and then tasted the leftover chocolate buttercream until she proclaimed, "I am done with dessert!"  She had enough sweet for the day.



It turned out great.  The ice-cream cake was a big hit!

Luci, after having her cake with milk, with her "moustache like Daddy!"