Trip down memory landland and Max's birthday surprise

I am mad at myself as I don't have a picture to post. The last couple of days have been eventful and fun for me. It was Max's birthday Wednesday and thinking I was going to visit on the weekend, I didn't get him a card in the mail plus I love giving him balloons as he loves to use them as punching bags when the helium begins to get old. I decided to order him balloons from a florist shop and after spending about an hour on the phone, when they gave me the total - with shipping included, I said "I could deliver them personally for that price," and cancelled the order. On Wednesday, I jumped in my little trusty subaru and headed to Boise to hand deliver my ballon bouquet. I had to go to Twin Falls anyway to return a cooler I had bought and didn't like, so I figured a few added miles would be worth it if Max got balloons on his birthday. Again, my angels were watching out for me as just outside Idaho Falls, Spence calls to see what I was doing. When I informed him I was headed to Boise, he tells me his family had not gotten home yet from their trip to California and they are in transit. We decided to try and hook up on the road in Twin Falls. I couldn't believe my luck. I was planning on returning home the same day as I have things to do at home so this would save me $50 in gas and about five hours time. I loaded my car with balloons in Pocatello and checked in with Summer. She was just leaving Utah and we would meet in Twin Falls. I'm thinking an hours wait time would be worth it, but I had only been there 10 minutes and here they are. Wow. Unbelievable!! What great angels I have. I gave Max his balloons, we shoved them in their van, and off we went. Me back to the mountains and them on to Boise. Of course, I had my camera sitting in the front seat of the car but in our haste, I forgot to take pictures of Max on his birthday with his balloon bouquet. Rats!!
I returned to Pocatello and spent the night there and the next day took a little trip down memory lane. I walked the track at my kid's old school and drove past all our old houses. I visited with friends I don't see often then spent a couple of hours with a dear friend who has MS and is not getting better. I vacuumed her floor and cleaned around the wood stove then helped her into the car to get her to the hospital where she could await the arrival of her 27th grandchild. I then headed home and stopped at the cemetary in Idaho Falls to clean the headstone of my sister Diane (I am sure she was prompting me). I didn't do a very good job though so will have to return with some stronger cleaning solution.
Off to my beloved mountains and anxious to get out of the heat. What a beautiful sight as the Tetons came into view and I new I was getting close to my little humble home. What a trip!!! Thanks angels for watching over me.

Fun at the waterpark in Boise - July 2009

Look at me!! Two posts in a month. Thanks to my patient, understanding tutor-daughter Jess who has pretty much taught me everything I know about this blogging stuff, it is getting easier for me. For anyone that reads this, I hope to to better and practice more so it is not such a chore for me.

The above picture is one of all my grandchildren except Tommy's daughter which we hope to get in the picture in August. Everyone (except our Texans) met in Boise about three weekends ago for a great day at their fabulous water park. It was fun watching the grandchildren have fun and even funner watching my own children trying to keep up with their children (never ends). Speaking of keeping up with children, Spencer challenged me to a ride down what I now call the black hole at the end of the day. Not wanting to look like a coward, I finally agreed not knowing he was going to try and drown me at the bottom - that was after he scared the heeby jeebies out of me on the way down. Of course, we had to sit on a double tube with me on the front and him (a two-ton tillie) on the back. I should have been suspicious then. We drop into this pitch black tube and whirled around as fast as possible while we dropped about 10o feet. I think he even tried to tip the tube as we went down. It only lasted about 20 seconds but it was the scariest 20 seconds of my life and what a relief to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, as we drop into the pool at the bottom, our tube tips over - probably with a little help from two ton tillie - and I go under with the tube and Spencer on top of me. All I could feel was his huge leg holding me down. But, my biggest concern was my cute little sparkly hat (that he hates) and my contacts. So, when I finally surface and stand up, I have one hand on my hat and reaching out for help getting out of the pool before someone lands on us but I couldn't open my eyes for fear I would lose my contacts. So, I pretty much looked life a helpless old lady and my children got a big kick out of that. That is a little adventure I will never forget and probably will never attempt again. By the way, Spencer, I am writing you out of my will and getting you off my insurance policies so you won't be tempted to end my life again at this young age.

My closing quote for the day: "Don't let the things you don't have get in the way of the things you do have." I thank God everyday for my good health and a wonderful family and now I thank him for surviving the "Day at the Waterpark."

Week with Nana in the Valley

I know why I don't do this often. It has taken me an hour just to load the image I wanted. I had better either quit or do it more often.

As you can see by the picture, I had a great week with three of my grandsons. My daughter Nichole spent the week at girls camp so I got to have the two little boys and Max (Spencer's - far left) wanted to come back to Tetonia with us. We packed my little car and off we went leaving Boise after a fun weekend at the water park with the Crossley's and Kelly Nead's (that will be my next picture and entry). It was a longer ride than they thought it would be and we made various stops along the way. Thank goodness for the little portable DVD player I had. Made the last two hours of the trip a little shorter (thanks to Red Box and $1 video rentals).

At any rate, these three boys had a blast doing just "boy" things. As you can see, they are armed with their weapons. We had bow & arrows, shot guns, handcuffs, and of course light saver swords.

The first day was a killer for me. I'm not used to having three little boys relying on me for food, entertainment, etc. The second day was better and by the third day we had established a routine and were doing great. They went nowhere without their bow & arrows. Max had his first hunting experience. They came running in the house at one point and asked if they could shoot birds with their bows. I said of course, so off to the park they went. Wasn't much later Max comes running back to inform me he had shot his first bird. I was a little surprised, and asked him what the bird did when he shot it, and he said "Well, he just flew away." He loves telling the story about his hitting a bird with his bow and arrow. We spent time at the football field where they played and I walked then a lot of time in my new classroom which they enjoyed drawing on the board, kicking the soccer ball around, playing in our beautiful new gym and of course target practicing with images they had drawn on the board. We had a great time and it made lots of memories for me and the boys. (Good thing you have children when you are young and full of energy - much harder later in life. Hats off to grandparents who are raising young children).

I need to keep this short or it is hard to read - just in case anyone reads this. I do it mainly because it is as close as I get to writing a journal. Just a word of advice for your mothers - keep a short journal of things your children do. My grandchildren love to hear stories of when their moms or dads were children and I wish I had written down events that went on in our lives when my children were young. It doesn't need to be long - just a short entry that will jog your memory as you look back on this time of your life.

I have to close with a powerful statement I heard from a book on tape. It was short and to the point, but has made me take a different outlook on life. An African lady is giving advice to her boyfriend as he is criticizing some co-workers. She said "You will find what you are looking for." I pondered this statement for quite a while and realized how true this is in life. If you are looking for the good in someone, you will find it. If you are looking for the bad, you will find that also. This goes for any situation. Just remember: "You will find what you are looking for".