Inbetween Vacations

*I've had a little technical difficulties.  I loaded pictures from Rexburg and our FHE on the computer, deleted them from the camera, and lost them.  I have nothing but boring print for the next several posts.

We got back from Rexburg at 6:00 and I immediately started the wash and went grocery shopping.  I had the RS lesson to teach in the morning, and we had planned an extended FHE and potluck dinner on Sunday.  We had brought Hadley a stuffed bear from Yellowstone, and the two boys got long stuffed snakes.  We also had found Yellowstone animal cookies for each of them.  They were all pretty excited about it their gifts, but the next day Stacey said that Huds had had a dream about snakes.  Snake dreams are never good. 

Monday we went over to do more painting at Bry and Amee's.  It was fun seeing their new fridge, using their new washer and dryer, and setting up Isaac's crib.  We still haven't finished the jungle.  There's a tree, but no leaves.

I had to get home and pack for my next trip.  I leave at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning.

Education Week

They call it a week, but it's really only three days.  Terry and I have gone three times, and I went once with my sister.  It's the best-kept secret.  Unlike Education Week at BYU, it's not crowded and hectic, where you have to skip some classes so that you can get a seat in others.  The presenters are just as good, the campus is beautiful, and it takes place during the summer so I don't have to take personal days to get off work.

We went to classes on Abraham Lincoln, health and diet, physical balance, spiritual balance, mental health, repentance and forgiveness.  Our favorite was a 3 session class on the sacrament by David
Christensen.  He describes himself as bombastic, which is accurate.  He's also very funny.  He's probably the only 75 year old that teaches the youth.  They don't always know what he's talking about, but they love him and pack his classes.  David is my mom's cousin.  He's coming to Boise in September and I'll be taking my parents to a special EFY so they can be entertained, and visit.  As crazy as he is, his lessons on the sacrament changed how I'll approach sacrament meeting every week.  It was powerful. 

We spent all week trying to figure out how we could get our kids to Education Week next year.  On the last day we heard rumors that this is the last year it will be held in Rexburg.  The people who organize it have jobs in new departments and their old jobs aren't being filled.  We're putting in an appeal to President Clark.  This would be sad for us, and bad for the hotel business in Rexburg.  I hope they reconsider.  

Modern Hotel

We checked into the best hotel in Rexburg for a few days while we attended Education Days at BYU-I.  There aren't many hotels in town, and speaking from experience, many of them are not very nice.  We stayed at the Marriot Springhill Suites which was very modern and sort of European.  The person at the desk asked if we wanted a room with a view and Terry almost started laughing.  He didn't think Rexburg offered any sort of view, but come to find out, our window looked out over fields and up the hill to the temple.  At night the temple is lit and the view is beautiful.

I loved the carpet down the halls - my favorite green.  I want the sectional in my living room.  They had a desk with sliding window panels that you could close and not disturb any who might be sleeping.  It had USB outlets in the base of the lamp, and Terry had to figure out the i-home so set the alarm.  The bathroom was divided in two with sliding doors - toilet and sink, shower and sink.  My favorite part was the bathroom mirror.  The circle in the middle was magnified.  I need that at home too.

It was a great room to come back to after a long day of classes.  We would sprawl out on the sectional and fire-up our laptops or Kindles or i-pods.  There's not a lot going on in Rexburg at night, so the Olympics Opening Ceremony was our highlight.  We could pretend like we were staying in a modern hotel in London.

Stop & Break In (for old times sake)

In 1958 my dad and grandpa bought a beautiful piece of land in Island Park and started building a little one room cabin.  It turned out amazing.  I grew up spending many vacations, long weekends, and spring breaks at "the cabin".  I have hundreds, maybe thousands of memories, and all of them are good.  In the late 80s, Dad sold the cabin to my cousins.  I've only been back once.  As we passed through Island Park this time, we stopped to look around.  The key is still in the hanging pot on the front porch, so we didn't really have to break in.

The pump house always had a good stack of wood ready for the fireplace.  The red pump brought up the best tasting, ice cold water.  We had a great playground with a teepee, wooden horses, a sand pile (full of pine needles), a crazy rope swing, and the surviving teeter-totter.  I went out to look at the old clothesline, and noticed something new - a satellite dish!  We use to have a TV with a channel or two.  I only remember watching Lawrence Welk, Jack Lalaine, Mission Impossible, and Mannixs.

With all the upgrades, some things never change.  The fireplace, the ladder that is attached to a rafter beam, but swings down when you're ready to sleep in the loft, the tractor seat bar stools, the cookie jar, the enormous claw foot bathtub, the coffee table and the fridge.  It's the same fridge!  It must be 60 years old.  The shelves swing around so you can reach everything in the back.  There's duct tape on the door, and the outside of it has been painted, but other than that, it's the same fridge.

When we went to leave, we couldn't figure out how to lock the front door.  It took us about 5 minutes, but the place was secured when we left.  I'm so glad Terry got to see everything.  The cabin has been such a huge part of my life.  I guess we should have signed the guest book.

Short Jaunt

When Terry travels he likes to go straight to his destination - no detours, no side trips.  Heading from Big Sky to Rexburg, I talked him into just a little scenic sightseeing.  We veered off the main highway to Mesa Falls.  It's a beautiful place. 

Terry was impressed.  He couldn't believe that he was in Idaho.  (He needs to get out in the mountains more.)  I've visited these falls many, many times.  It's now a state park with walkways, fences, and guard rails.  When we visited in the 60s and 70s, it was a different story.  I remember running down paths and standing on lava rocks right at the top of the falls.  The mist makes things wet and slippery.  It must have given my mom a heart attack.  (Probably not Dad.  He's always about kids having adventures, without thought of danger.)

The visitor center was built in 1906.  It was used as part of the power company, a place for locals to have social events, and a boy scout lodge.  When we use to visit, it was abandoned and rickety.  We took an eight year old nephew into it and he fell through the floor in a closet.  Someone skinny had to climb down and rescue him.  Now it's a solid and beautiful interpretive center. 

My dad has done a lot of fishing just below the falls.  It's a nice float trip down to the Ashton Bridge.  Terry and I just drove down, following the river.  There were amazing vistas of the Tetons.  Even Terry thought it was well worth the detour. 

Good Bye to Big Sky

We had to leave Big Sky country today, but before we left we had one more meal at the Blue Moon Bakery.  Next year we're planning to go to the top of Lone Peak, and take in a movie at their new theater.  I love the moose out front.  We'll also spend time finding just the right place to live when we make our move north.

Late Lunch

After our hike we went to a little place that we found last year for lunch, the Blue Moon Bakery.  The bakery treats are amazing, but we decided to save those for another day.  Last year we had great pizza.  This year we both had sandwiches on their 7 grain bread.  Terry had a BLT and I had the Healthy Nut.  I wish I would have taken a picture.  They were too big to attack just biting into them.  I didn't know how to begin.  I saved half of my sandwich for tomorrow.  Another big meal in Big Sky.  It's also the second time in a row that I've ordered something healthier than Terry.  That never happens!

 Of course afterwards we went next door to a video store that also sells soft serve ice cream.  The ice cream was Wilcoxsons, which is a 100 year old ice cream company in Livingston, Montana.  Terry thought it was good, but not as good as the BYU Creamery.  We both had something like a blizzard.  Terry used peanuts and strawberry sauce.  Mine was swirled with caramel and Heath bars.  I think if he had tasted mine, it might have been better than a BYU one.  I just gobbled mine up without offering to share.

Hike

Just down in the Meadow we found a trail head leading to Ousel Falls.  It was only .8 miles, but we knew that hiking down would mean hiking back up.  It ended up being more than .8 miles - just more fun and beauty to enjoy.  There were grizzly warnings posted and moose territory signs.  When I move here I'll have to carry around bear spray.  My hundreds of visits to Yellowstone instilled in me a love of bears, but they are SCARY - especially grizzlies.

This area is a community treasure.  Everything is very well maintained.  The switchbacks lead down to the west fork of the south fork of the Gallatin River.  When we arrived at the mini-falls above, we thought we had been hiking for at least .8 miles.  It was pretty, but I'm glad we kept going to the real falls.

 These are the real Ousel Falls.  There were paths to the top and the bottom.  The funny kid about to dive in is standing at the same place Terry was at the top.  It was so cool in the mist.  Every thing you looked out was beautiful.  We wished we had brought our lunch.  There was a little picnic table in an alcove at the base of the falls.  Great hike!  And it was easy hiking back up too. 

Big Sky Branch

We planned our trip specifically so that we would be able to attend the Big Sky Branch on Sunday.  They have a nice little building, but construction at the resort went bust with the economy and most of the members have left.  They keep things going because there are a lot of visitors year round.  The branch presidency drives about an hour from Bozeman every Sunday.  They announced that two more members were moving out which brought their numbers down to 17 members.  I think a lot of them are less active.  Besides the branch presidency and the high counselor who spoke, I only saw four people who were probably from Big Sky.

This week was an exciting week for them.  There were two family reunions in the area that came and Terry and I.  They probably had close to 60 in attendance.  They meet for two hours, sacrament and gospel doctrine.  They had made arrangements for a primary class, and someone in the branch presidency took the YM/YW and came up with a lesson.

We've only been twice, but both times the sacrament speakers and gospel doctrine teachers have been excellent.  Today, Brother Anderson, who is a convert from England, and has lived all over the world, and has his PHD in something, spoke on recognizing anti-Christs or faith shakers, and how to keep the faith.  It was really good.   I think that Brother Anderson is a professor at Montana State.  He also taught the Sunday School lesson. 

This little branch needs people to move in.  Terry and I want to be among them.  It might take a decade before we can move there full time, but I know we can make it happen.
 

We're Off!

Took this picture for Hadley,  her motel in West Yellowstone.

Our long awaited return trip to Big Sky, Montana is finally here.  It's an 8 hour drive from Boise, and it's only exciting from Ashton on (about 2 1/2 hours), but with just the two of us, it's relaxing and can be interesting.  For some reason on this trip we didn't have a lot to say, so it was quiet and relaxing.  I worked on crocheting a baby blanket.

The last leg of the trip, as we follow the Gallatin River, is beautiful and everything around Big Sky is breathtaking - mountain peaks, rivers, meadows, and forests.  It did not disappoint.

We hadn't stopped for lunch, so right after we checked in we went to eat at the closest place, a pub in the mall right at the base of the ski lifts.  Terry was not very excited about the place.  He was expecting a noisy, crowded bar with basic burgers and nachos.  It was not at all crowded, or loud, and the food was fabulous!  Terry never orders burgers, but he did this time because it had an avocado on it.  It was gigantic with a big pile of fries.  I don't usually eat fries, but I ate a lot of his.  They were skinny crisp ones without any grease.  I had a fajita salad which was also gigantic.  I saved half of my meal and we're going to share it tomorrow for lunch.  We saw someone order nachos and they really would feed a family of four.  I think we're in for big meals in Big Sky.  Terry was wondering if this place (a bar) served breakfast.  I would never have thought that a pub like Whiskey Jacks would end up being one of his favorites.

This is right outside of Whiskey Jacks.  We might bring our Kindles and use that hammock tomorrow.  I could sit on one of the chairs and crochet.  Yeah, we really know how to vacation.  Everyone around us will be zip lining, mountain biking, horseback riding, fly fishing, golfing and rafting.  We'll be hanging out (literally) in a hammock.

Projects at N. Lolo Pass Way

Finally....we got our hands on a key to Bry and Amee's house.  We loaded the car with tools, vacuums, ladders, paint, and cleaning supplies.  Amee met us each day, along with Isaac and sometimes Tanner.  (That kid's a good worker!)  Bry kept in touch by text, and lined-up all kinds of help that we needed to let in and hand checks to.  He also showed up after work with something for us eat. 

Tuesday - We cleared out what use to be a front flower bed and raked haystacks from the grass left on the ground after the realtor mowed.  This was the hardest work of the week.  It was hot and my hands ended up with blisters.  Inside we vacuumed carpets and baseboards, wiped down window ledges, and started cleaning kitchen cupboards.  Port of Subs for dinner

Wednesday - Terry did more yard work and made repairs to switches, shelves, and knobs.  I did a lot of painting and touch-up.  Brent came over to help with a minor disaster that occurred when we painted speaker covers to match the wall and all the holes were covered up.  We couldn't get the paint in a spray can to match, so finally we used diluted paint in a spray bottle, a dry brush to stipple with, and a lot of patience.  I think Brent went to four or five stores looking for supplies.  Papa Murphys for dinner.

Thursday -  More painting.  More cleaning.  The kitchen is finished!  Nothing else is done.  Fred Meyer chicken for dinner.

Friday - We had to take our car in and get ready for our vacation so this was a short day.  We left at 11:30.  The painting downstairs is done.  I tried a new technique so that paint wouldn't bleed under the tape.  I don't know how it turned out.  We left before it dried.  Terry got the garage swept.

We met two of their neighbors, two Molly Maids, the locksmith, two guys who cleaned the dryer vent, and a garage door repair man.  Next week while we're gone we'll miss the washer, dryer, and fridge deliverymen, the carpet cleaners, the sprinkler repair guy, and the Cross Town movers.  This house was not left move-in ready.

I don't know why I was so excited to do all of this, but I was.  If was fun every day.  Some nights I couldn't sleep very well because I was thinking of paint colors and decor ideas.  It worked out well that this all happened during summer vacation.  I'm so excited for this family to move into a clean and cute house. 


*Post to be continued when I get back from vacation and finish painting.

Til Next Year

We had to say goodbye to Big Sky today.  We had one last meal at the Blue Moon Bakery.  Next year we're going to the top of Lone Peak, and to the movies at the new Theater.  I love the moose out front.  We'll also continue looking for our future home. 

It's Always Something

I cleared this week so we can help Bry and Amee, but they didn't get the key to their house until after work today (Monday).  Did we get to kick back?  Of course not.  The toilet in the downstairs bathroom sprung a leak yesterday.  It became Terry's project.  He checked the internet, made two trips to Home Depot, and fixed it!  I'm so proud of him.

The hole.  The moved toilet. Terry muscling it back in place.

I've decided that it's a great blessing for Terry to live down the hill from Home Depot (and for me to live down the hill from JoAnns).

Quick Family Time

Bad grandparents.  I had in my mind that Hadley's birthday was the 16th.  Terry didn't have anything in his mind.  We didn't check until this morning, and it was Thursday!  I won't forget again.  Hadley's is the 12th; Hudson's is the 16th.  I'll forget someone else's, but not Hadley's.

We wanted to run her gift over to her, but the McClures were at Mike's work party all afternoon.  They thought they would be back at 6:30.  We decided to get together with Bry and Amee and the boys for something to eat, and check out the house that is almost theirs.  We wanted to talk with them about how we could help.  We met at Souper Salad which worked out well for the kids, the health conscience, and me, the dieter.

We then went to deliver the gift, but even though we were an hour and 1/2 late, the McClures were still partying.  We got caught in a big downpour, huddled under their porch.

We decided to go over and check-out Bry and Amee's list of house projects.  It's going to be nice having these two families in bordering subdivisions.  The kids will go to the same school, but they live in two different stakes.  They're all close, but not too close.

We finally got our belated gift over to Hadley, our pinkalicious girl.  She got an outfit with a pink shirt, and a Dora doll with pink pajamas on.  (We'll have to make her some clothes to wear during the day.)

It's great having so much family close.  We can squeeze in good times without any plans.

Females at the Flicks

Family females, Mom, Nan, Kim, Andrea, Kierra, Santanna, and me, met at the Flicks to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  (Synopsis: British retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than its advertisements, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.)

The Flicks is always my favorite, and apparently it's a lot of other people's favorite too, because I was 20 minutes early and the last one in our party to arrive.  We almost didn't get seats together.  We were three rows from the front.

Missing from the pictures are 3 actors from Downton Abbey.

We all loved the movie and all the actors, but none of us want to live in India.  Most of us don't even want to visit.  I do think I could get into the light flowing tunics.  Add a head scarf and you'd never have to do your hair.  I might take up tunics and scarves upon retirement.

Looking good, Judi Dench.

After the movie we all went to Chicago Connection for a quiet, less crowded, bite to eat.  There wasn't a lot of news - just a lot of good conversation and female bonding.  

Animal Counterparts

I've always played the game where you think of an animal that a person looks like.  Some people are hard to figure out.  I think I'm hard, but I had a pretty girl in YW that looked like a peacock, and a niece that use to look like a monkey.  Terry looks like a stork, and I always thought Ty (especially when he was little) looked like an otter.  Cute, like this one.  I saw this book on Amazon. 

Check out the author!