Lava Hot Springs

Yes I know what day today is and that summer has said goodbye and that autumn is in her glory but I'm not done remembering.

So, way back at the end of July we took a little trip to Lava Hot Springs, ID.  It was really lovely and the kids had a fabulous time.

We spent some time by the pools, all of them, the hot spring pools, the olympic pool and the toddler friendly one in Pocatello with the "splash zone".

 This slide had nothing on the next one, which Papa bravely went down.

EM wanted to go on the big slide, but refused to get on the little one.

And since Papa went down the big one, HT decided he would go down the "curly" one.

Especially after he discovered that it didn't dump him into the pool.

We even took a short trip down the river on a raft. (This is not a picture of us on our raft, just a picture I took of some random strangers enjoying the ride, because my camera is not water proof.)

We stayed at a lovely little place called the Alpaca Inn.  It had a wonderful little grassy area where the  kids could play.  The room was small for four people, but it was clean.

The Inn is a side business to the owners main occupation, which is raising, breeding, shearing and selling the wool of these strangely lovely creatures.  They very graciously let us visit their farm to see the alpacas.

Not to be confused with a Llama.

We played mini golf on a course that had seen better days and was infested with wasps.  EM got stung twice.  Glad to know he is not allergic.

Intent on finding a driving range we spent several hours driving all over the country side and finally found this place.  My first thought upon seeing it was "if you build it, they will come".  It really is out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by farmland, abandoned barns and scrub brush.

 The gardens surrounding the hot springs were really lovely and in full bloom.

A Small Story

I've been in a bit of a canning mode lately and have made peach jam, apricot jam and some tomato and pasta sauce.  In addition I've got vanilla curing in the pantry.  All this leads me to a small story.

EM loves the canning pot.  He loves sitting in it and dragging it around the house.  

The other day he was chasing HT with the lid and as HT was running away he was yelling that he didn't want to be canned.

Just a little something to tide you over until the Charming Boys Mama posts again.

Love,

Auntie. 

Winnie the Pooh.

Let's Review Shall We.

July was here,
July was fun,
but now another month has come.

And I still don't feel much like blogging,
I don't feel much like doing anything really.
It was 103℉ here yesterday.

Lawd have mercy!

There's a pile of dirty dishes in the sink,
a pile of laundry on the floor (more than one actually)
and piles of toys EVERY WHERE!

It's enough to drive me to distraction.
So I've been distracted.

Anyway . . .

July was fun, we had more visits from family and we also took a little vacation ourselves.  HT said that golf lessons were fun, but he hasn't mentioned anything about doing it again.

We celebrated the 4th with family and friends, my brother roasted a whole pig in his backyard.  And I didn't get a single picture.  He also told me that "children are to be seen and not heard".  He obviously doesn't remember when his kids were little.  Yeah, not so much.  My oldest brother stood up for me though and told him he didn't agree with that.  Yay, Oldest Brother!  Then we had a really interesting conversation about unintended consequences.  I keep thinking about that and evaluating how I am doing things or not doing things and second guessing certain decisions and while I ponder time slips away and there's another unintended consequence.

Me and my sweetie got to go on a date.  It was absolutely fabulous.  We did celebrate our anniversary on the 31st after all.  Eight years y'all!

This is not the best picture, but that guy down there in the white pants is Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers blue grass band at Red Butte Gardens.  My sister scored some tickets and she graciously gave them to us to enjoy.

It was a lovely evening and a lovely date spent with my honey listening to good music as the sun set and the fireflies danced.  I had never been to an outdoor concert a the gardens and it truly was very lovely.  Steve Martin wasn't too bad either, he is really quite good actually and if given the chance I would go again. You can't really see it in this picture but there also was a rainbow.

Our vacation was short but sweet, just right for two old geezers with two small children.  We went a few hours north of here to Lava Hot Springs, we drove, we walked, we swam, soaked our tired bones in the hot mineral pools, took a raft down the river and even found time for a little fabric shopping for Mama and a little golfing for Papa and the boys.  I started to upload a boatload of pictures and then decided it really needs its own post, which may or may not happen, what with my attention span lately.

I'm thinking we may do it again sometime.  Next time we'll do it with friends . . . younger friends . . . with more energy. 

Are you in?

Blog much?

Yeah . . . me neither, apparently.

Anyhoo . . .  have you all seen where June went?  I turned to say good-bye to May and the next thing I know July comes waltzing in with her triple digit days and I'm just trying to keep my cool.  In more ways than one.  I don't deal well with the heat.

We have been keeping ourselves busy with swim lessons, visits from family, VBS and more family visits and a few play dates and just so as not to get too bored there will be golf lessons next week and vacationing ourselves the following week.

All the running around has meant that we have been eating out more, so yeah, funny story.  Just to mix things up a bit we went to Wendy's one fine afternoon for lunch (Mama was getting sick of McDonald's) and HT wants a cheeseburger (ketchup only) so we get our lunch, bring it home and sit down at the table to eat.  HT takes one look at his and shouts in disgust "MEAT?!  I didn't order dat! Why did they put meat on my sandwich?!"  And there you have it folks, truth in advertising!

EM refuses to be potty trained and likes to pretend he's a kitty.  He also thinks that he no longer needs a nap, but at only 2 1/2, Mama thinks he still does.  So funny story . . . last Saturday while I was at work and Auntie had the boys, he climbs up on her lap with his blankie and starts to meow and tells her that kitty needs a nap.  The amazing thing is that he actually took one.

And now for your viewing pleasure I will post a "few" photos from the last two months.  Enjoy!

HT said good-bye to preschool.

He will start Kindergarten August 27, not sure how I feel about that.

EM got the chicken pox.  Doc said it was the worst case he had ever seen in someone who had been vaccinated.  Had to keep him inside for two weeks.  He was not a happy camper.  This boy does love the outdoors.

EM wanted to go for a bike ride but apparently we weren't moving fast enough for him, so he decided to get in the seat all by his self.  Here he is waiting patiently for his ride . . .

"Can we peez go for a ride Papa?"

Go ask your mom...

Yesterday one of my co-workers & his wife had their first child, a girl.  I took HT and EM with me to pick up a baby gift from the group and as we were heading home HT & I had the following conversation.

HT:  "How do they put her bottom back on?"

Me:  "Whose bottom?"

HT:  "The mom's."

Me:  "The mom's?"

HT:  "Yeah, after they get the baby out, how do they put her bottom back on?"

Me: "Go ask your mom."

It's on days like this I'm happy to be just the Auntie.