Hebgen Lake, Uncle Travis

I love that mug. If I cut my hair short and grew a beard we could be twins.

I also love Travis' craziness. He is a very entertaining kid.

 

 

 

Driggs, Day 1

We are back up in Driggs and loving life. Today we went fishing which was mostly an exercise in patience for me. I don't like to fish but my boys think fishing is cool (mostly because Zane is a fishing maniac and they adore Zane) so we gave it a try today. On our way to the fishing hole I told the boys that fishing is hard work and that today we were only going to practice and that once they got good at casting and reeling they could get a hook and worm on their line. Let me just tell you we are probably years away from buying hooks and worms.

Charlie mostly just likes to look at his special Cars fishing pole. FYI, he has had his beps in his mouth so much lately that the other day he came running up to me without it and I didn't recognize him for a minute. We are going to have to start weening him off of that thing once we revert back to a scheduled life in the fall.

The bff's. I love these two. George's fishing pole only lasted four casts before it was tangled beyond repair so he took his pants off and waded in with Scarlet.

Daphne and Charlie boy relaxing on the shore.

Zane is a great little fisherman. He takes the sport very seriously and is also a good little teacher.

George has a really hard time understanding the "quiet" part of fishing.

Charlie took his pants off but was too scared to wade in so he spent the rest of his time stressing out on the shore.

My brother,Travis, hitchhiked to Jackson Hole and back today (he is 23 and does things just for the pure adventure of it) and this is what his feet look like now.

Thanksgiving, part I

I took the boys and headed to Idaho a week ago. Paul joined us on Wednesday and we returned late last night. I am so grateful for the week we were able to spend with all of my siblings and especially with Trevor as he will be leaving in December for his third tour in Iraq. We started off the week with a Thanksgiving dinner (one of three...apparently there are perks to having divorced parents) at my mom's house as well as some rough housing with the uncles.

My mom treated us to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday night. She is an amazing cook and an awesome host.

After dinner the boys took part in a good old fashioned wrestling match. This is a picture of George trying to tackle Trevor.

Charlie is more of a lover than a fighter.

George on the other hand couldn't get enough. He was like the energizer bunny but paid for it later that night when he threw up. Actually I take that back--I paid for it.

Travis and George. George couldn't get enough of this. I think he hit his head on the ceiling once.

charlie-isms

My boys have started to tell me that their nannies let them do stuff that they aren't supposed to do in order to get me to let them do it. First of all, I know that they are lying or as George calls it, "tricking" me and second of all, it has me concerned that they have picked up on this tactic so early in life. This is a conversation I had with Charlie a couple of weeks ago.

Charlie: Mommy, throw book? (This is Charlie's way asking me if he can throw a book down the stairs...Something he asks me an average of six times a day.)
Me: No Charlie. That is big trouble. We don't throw books.
Charlie: No! Darc say throw book. (He then chucked the book down the stairs...Not sure why he always asks me or why I bother to respond because the outcome is always the same.)

I told Darci about my conversation with Charlie and she swears she doesn't advocate throwing books down the stairs.

This morning at breakfast I was talking to the boys about how they are going to see uncle Trevor tomorrow and how Trevor is really big and strong and fights the bad guys to help keep us and America safe (seriously, I need a better way to explain what Trevor does for a living...ideas?). George got kind of nervous and said, "I don't want Trevor to bring the bad guys to us." I assured him that the bad guys live really far away and that Trevor is coming for a visit.

Charlie then declared: Only Fight RAVIS.

"Ravis" is my brother Travis and this is something that Charlie says all the time. For example, when I tell my boys to stop wrestling or that we never, never hit or that pushing is naughty, Charlie always follows up my instructions with his reminder that Travis is the exception to the rule. Charlie loves Travis and loves be wild with him.

1, 2, 3, Jump

While we were in Hebgen Lake this summer George decided that he wanted Travis to hold him and jump off the dock. I was really surprised that he thought this would be fun since George hates getting his head wet, however, it soon became apparent that George didn't realize that jumping off the dock would include getting his head wet. Travis was a good sport (as he always is) and here is the video proof of their little adventure.



Needless to say, this was the only time that George jumped off of the dock while we were there.

Travis is back!

Finally, the long awaited event has occurred...Travie is home! Here are some pics for those who couldn't be there. Travis is a little weird but that is normal for him.

Mom, Travis and Dad

Travis with all of his nieces and nephews. George was just five weeks old at Travis' farewell and Charlie and Scarlet were not yet born.

Hip Hip Hooray!

I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. I have so much to do (laundry, pack, pay bills, meet our new nanny and do an orientation, print pictures to scrapbook at Hebgen...) between now and 3pm (when we leave for Idaho) that I have no business blogging, but the butterflies swirling in my stomach have forced me to share my excitement.

First and for most, Travis gets home today! He has been serving an LDS mission in the Dominican Republic for the past two years and we will catch our first glimpse of him tonight at 10pm. George was three weeks old when Travis left and Charlie wasn't yet a twinkle in my eye so there will be a big reunion tonight at the Idaho Falls airport.

Today also marks the beginning of our long awaited August vacation. I actually have to work one more day this week but I'll do that from my parents' house in Idaho Falls. On Sunday we leave Idaho Falls for Hebgen Lake and there is more good news...though the water isn't at the level it should be my cousins' who just wrapped up their week vacation at Hebgen said it was awesome and that they were still able to do some "creative boating." Paul will be joining us for much of the time we are at Hebgen and I am really looking forward to some good old fashioned family time.

Here are some pictures of me and Tyra at Hebgen Lake in 1982.

I am loving my old scrapbook pages. I don't know if all the embellishments that currently cover scrapbook pages weren't available then or if they were just too expensive but I decorated all of my pages with words, phrases, and pictures that I spent hours cutting from magazines. I remember actually working on it one summer at Hebgen Lake. I think I was about 14 and did it as part of a Young Women's project for church. I am on the left and Tyra is on the right in both pictures.

I love that Tyra is fully dressed and still wearing her life jacket. My parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles all drilled into us the importance of wearing our life jackets and we would get in big trouble if we were in the water or on the dock without one.

These last two pictures are zoomed in versions of the pictures featured on my scrapbook page.