The Cabin 2015

We headed up to the cabin on Monday after the 4th of July and had a very nice time, as usual. As we got up there, my cousin and his wife were finishing loading up all their things and leaving. They have four beautiful little girls. The youngest, Hattie, got along with June.

Our first full day up was warm and perfect for boating and playing in the lake and we took full advantage. It was a perfect cabin type of day when you're in your swimsuit until you finally shower about 5:00 pm. The girls were jumping off the dock (on the shallow side) and playing in the rocks and sand.

Unfortunately/fortunately, the weather after that day was spotty. It was overcast and there were lots of thunderstorms. Though I would have liked more boating time, it also gave us a chance to do a lot of stuff we used to do when I was young, but that we haven't taken the time to do on recent trips. We went up to West Yellowstone and saw some grizzly bears up close at an animal preserve. We went into the park and walked around the hot pots. I thought Willa would be totally amazed by the hot pots, and she liked them, but she also remarked that one geyser looked like the splash pad by Beckham and Brody's house in St. George. It's her favorite splash pad, so it wasn't a put-down, but it wasn't exactly the jaw-dropping reaction I was hoping for. My least favorite moment was when we were driving past a huge herd of buffalo and I kept trying to get Willa to look up from the Ipad in the car. One buffalo was really close to the car, but Willa wouldn't look because she was so into her Ponies game. I finally took the Ipad away so that she could look, and she responded maturely by putting her blanket over her head and hiding so she couldn't look. Oh well, I never said my children or my parenting skills were perfect.

June looking at the bears.

Being the general sissies that they are (which they get from me), the girls did not want to ride the waverunners. I took June for a short ride in which she cried the entire time; after that I decided just to leave Willa alone and not force her. They endured the boat with trepidation and, in June's case, her pacifier for safety.

One of the very nice things we did since the weather was cooler, was take a beautiful hike. I'd done the hike when I was younger but it had probably been ten years. It was such a pleasant way to spend the afternoon! It was very green and quiet and we were the only people out for most of it. I loved that June would squat down with her hands on her knees and very carefully watch the ants walk across the path in places.

Annual sink bath for the non-showering child. I'm a big fan of the farm sink with babies. You don't kill your back bending over the bathtub.

The Fourth of July

We decided to drive up to Utah for the 4th of July. We got there the afternoon of the 3rd, just in time to play and relax for a bit before the children's parade. My mom found a bike at the DI for $5. It's the size above what Willa normally rides, so we had to practice on it a bit first. She ended up riding it just fine, but her feet couldn't quite touch the ground when she was sitting on the seat, so it made it tricky to start and stop. This proved pretty stressful for her riding in a crowded parade where other kids were coming close or sometimes cutting her off. Still, it was fun to decorate her bike, do the parade, and get a Pace's Dairy Ann Popsicle after. She was maybe only a little scarred from it all. 

The Thalmans were visiting family in Utah too, so they decided to join us on the 4th. They drove up for the Fun Run that morning. They were running a little late so they dropped the kids off in a flurry at my mom's and then we rushed to get to the start of the race. We made it with about three minutes to spare! It was one of the most fun Fun Runs in recent memory. Ryan ran alone and got 5th overall, Robert and Kim's sister ran together, and then Kim and I brought up the caboose together. We were please with ourselves for running the whole thing and getting under 35 minutes, we are pretty pathetic but it was fun to be together.

After the race we rushed home to speedily shower and the make it back to the parade. It was so fun to be together at the parade. Willa and June had the best time with Bridgett and Abby. Willa was much braver this year and June, of course, showed very little fear and often ran into the street for candy. She loves to tell people about the parade and how they "give me treats".

Believe me, they were having a great time. 

My dad marched with the pipe band again and it was fun to cheer for him, even though they didn't play while they were in front of us! It was one of the better parades in recent memory and a great small town 4th of July. After, we all went back to the pho use and played for a few hours until the Thalmans had to leave. A great day!

California Cousins

I haven't had a chance to blog because we've been in Utah and the cabin the past bit. But, before we went up to Utah, we took a quick visit to visit our O'Kelley cousins in California. We'd just had two weeks of 110 degree days and another week was in the forecast, so I emailed Shannon and asked if we could get out of dodge and escape to their paradise. They live in the most beautiful, relaxing place that rhymes with Blewport Peach.

The girls have gotten old enough to be good little travelers, so we left Ryan at work melting his brains out and the three of us headed for a middle of the week visit. It was so much fun. We had the best best time. We introduced the girls to the beach and I went to the temple, but really overall it was just so great to see how much fun all the cousins had together. Willa and Claire and June and Scarlett were just in heaven. Actually, poor Scarlett had just had her tonsils out and was a little sad until the last day or two, but she seemed to be having as much fun as her little throat allowed.

The best was all the unplanned matching clothes. Obviously, Shannon and I both shop at Costco a lot and 6pm a little.

They matched dresses every day and nightgowns nearly every night.

June and Scarlett had the same swim suit!

The girls also loved, loved Penny. I don't blame them. I've never met a sweeter, calmer, prettier dog. If they ever decide they are done with her, I'd take her in a heartbeat - and I usually hate all animals as a general rule!

June got to sleep in Scarlett's toddler bed. She was in heaven and told me frequently how much she loved it and how it was her favorite bed. She loved to show me how she could get in and out by herself. It made me think about converting her crib over, but I know it would take just one time when she didn't want to go down for a nap and then we'd be in trouble.

One night I was clearing some dishes in the kitchen and I heard Shannon say to Willa, "Do you like foot massages? Would you like me to rub your feet?" Anyone who knows Shannon would not be surprised if I told them that my jaw nearly dropped open! Shannon has an issue with feet, I'll leave it at that. I called over to her, "What?!! What did I just hear?" Then I went over to get a photo of it. If there was no other proof that Shannon loves her nieces with an unconditional love, this would convince me. Shannon is a great sister-in-law and an amazing aunt. I know that she loves my girls so much and they can feel it too.

It was just such a happy trip. Neither of our children have a lot of cousins their own age. In fact, besides Slate and baby Aero, they are the only cousins they have that are the same age. Cousins are so important and it was such a joy to see the playing so happily together. I'm hoping to make another quick trip in August and have Ryan come too. One last funny anecdote (as told to me by Shannon since I was upstairs bathing June at the time) is that Willa always wanted to shower alone. There were so many fun toys at the house and that included bath toys. She wanted her alone time to play in the shower. One night she and Claire were painting and being so cute together and Claire said, "Willa, please, please can I shower with you tonight?" Willa wouldn't answer and just kept her face down. Poor Claire! The extrovert gets shuts out by the introvert.