4-Wheelin'

After eating breakfast and loading up the van, we were onto our final adventure, before heading home.

Our family, along with Ira and Cheyenne, were the first wave of 4-wheelers.

When we arrived at "home base" we set up the bug/shade screen, put out camping chairs and table and unloaded the 4-wheelers. We passed around helmets, goggles and gloves, until everyone was outfitted. Ira gave us brief instructions on how to operate the 4-wheelers and then we were off.

There were 4 vehicles;
Ira/Cheyenne/Abree
Jason/Treyson
Me/Rylee
and Taylee on the little one.

There is a learning curve when driving a 4-wheeler. Taylee had a few "off-road" moments trying to get the hang of it, at first.

I too had an "off-road" moment when I over-corrected the steering and veered off into the meadow, instead of going up the hill. My learning was, keep the steering handles straight, even when the vehicle tips and bumps around. If you try to turn, it's way too much and you end up in tall grass and bushes, instead of going up the hill. Lesson learned.

Part way through, Taylee switched with Rylee to drive the little 4-wheeler. Rylee had been a big backseat driver on my 4-wheeler, commenting on Taylee's off-road experiences and telling me what to do. I was glad when she could experience it herself and show us how it was done.

The last stretch before getting back to "home base" was on a fairly hilly gravel road. Our speed increased and we started getting some distance between vehicles. Ira was in front, then speedy Rylee, then Jason and then Taylee and I. When I came to the top of a hill, I saw Jason stopped and Rylee off of her 4-wheeler. When asked what happened Jason said as he came up the hill, he saw Rylee's bike on it's side, with the wheels spinning in the air. Rylee couldn't quite explain the events leading up to the wheel spinning, but she was ok and was still having a blast.
I think she was probably going a little too fast for the slippery gravel road, but what do I know I'm just the slow-poke mom.

Taylee and Rylee switched once again and I got to hear "Go faster Mom!" all the way back to camp.... backseat drivers!
When we got back from our 2+ hour ride, everyone else had just arrived at camp. We gathered firewood and made a fire to roast hotdogs and s'mores for lunch.

After lunch, we said good-bye to the second wave of 4-wheelers, as they took off for their own adventure.

Jason/Becky's oldest daughter Whitney, wiped out, hitting a tree and scraping herself up good, to the tune of $800 worth of damage to the 4-wheeler. Yikes!

Jason-Jay-Ira

Awww, they love each other.

We stuck around for a little longer and played "Curses" (a VERY silly game) with those who were still at camp. Then we hit the road... homeward bound.

Thank you to the Crawfords for delicious meals, comfy bedding, good company, lots of laughs and many adventures. Love you guys!

A Hiking We Will Go!

On Monday, we decided it would be fun to take a hike to the "Wind Caves".

We each made our own sandwich wraps, slathered on sunscreen and put on our best hiking shoes then headed out. Becky (7+ months pregnant) and 3 younger ones stayed back, not knowing if a hike would be that enjoyable for them.
Nicky-Taylee-Jay-Treyson-Jason-Cheyenne-Madelyn-Marissa-Savannah-Abree-Rylee-Emilie-Me-Brayden
Our hiking group (minus Spencer).

Spencer finally decided that he WOULD hike with us, when given the choice of staying in the car and not having anything to eat or coming. He said he would rather hike, than "starve to death". :)

Here we go!

About 1/3 of the way up the mountain, we came upon some people stopped on the trail. When I listened, I knew why they had stopped... I heard loud rattling! There was a rattle snake close by and he was warning us to STAY ON THE TRAIL! It made some of our group (including me) a little nervous about continuing, but we did.

Taylee begged me to let her go see it. I begged her to leave it alone and just keep going. She was so disappointed.

Our group was divided into 3 parts most of the way; the teenagers and older kids, me with some younger kids and Jason, Jay, Nicky and the youngest kids. The first group made it to the wind cave a head of all of us. They explored without restraint.

I heard a person (not from our hiking group) say, "Did you see that boy fall? He made me nervous." I was almost certain it was Treyson they were talking about. I found Treyson and the big kid group, scaling the rocky mountain side. There was a narrow ledge that if you hugged the mountain and shuffled your feet, you could end up in another big cave. (So I was told. I was not brave enough to find out for myself.) As I was getting down to the first cave, I saw Treyson disappear around the corner on the narrow ledge. I told him to tell our group to come back and that I didn't want anyone else to go back over there. I couldn't handle the worry of someone falling. The cave had a lot of loose dirt and gravel and it was easy to slip and slide around.

And yes, he was "that boy that fell".

Looking down from the top of the wind cave.

Even when hiking she looks good. :)

Beautiful views.

Rylee-Me-Abree-Jay-Taylee-Treyson

Marissa-Jason-Cheyenne-Savannah-Madelyn-Spencer

Brayden-Jeron-Emilie-Nicky

On the way down the mountain, Treyson started running and wiped out. I yelled to him, "Treyson, are you ok?" He didn't answer right away.

"Treyson are you ok?"

When I got to him, he had scraped up his knee and elbow, but he was ok. He stuck by me after that, but that wasn't the end of him falling. By the end of the day, he had many bumps, scrapes and bruises and his legs and hands were filthy!

Later, he was talking to me about his fall. He said, "When I fell, I started going down the mountain, so I just grabbed the strongest plants I could see. When I didn't answer, did you think you lost me?"

After we all made it down the mountain, we went to a park to have lunch and then headed home.

Nicky had an awesome dinner planned... dutch oven chicken, dutch oven potatoes, cheesy veggies and homemade rootbeer. The kids were fascinated by the dry ice and just had to play in it.

Catchin' clouds.

After dinner, I pulled out some old photos of Jason, Jay and Ira in highschool. We sat around and reminisced.. listening to stories of "the good ol' days".

Ira turns 40!

After our Father's Day fun, we headed to Smithfield, UT for some more partying...and surprises.

I made this lollipop bouquet for Ira's b-day.

Ira, Jason's very good friend from highschool, is turning 40 in August. His wife wanted to celebrate and surprise him, but didn't want to throw big party. She asked if our family could come visit for a few days, without telling Ira.

Ira's brother Jason Crawford (and family) were coming to visit that week too (from Alaska). Jason and Jason were also very good friends in highschool. Our family visit was kept a secret from Jason Crawford too... so lots of fun surprises.

For the remainder of this blog post, my Jason will be referred to as Jay and Ira's brother will be referred to as Jason. It can get sooo confusing. :)

When trying to figure out when we would make our surprise entrance, Nicky (Ira's wife)mentioned that they would be spending some time at her parent's house, for a Father's Day dinner on Sunday. My brain went into party, surprise mode and started thinking... what if we came while they were gone, decorated and brought a cake too? Wouldn't that be so fun? Nicky liked the idea. She offered to get the cake and decorations, if we would sneak in and decorate while they were gone.

Nicky and I kept in touch by texting.

When we arrived, we parked our van down the street, so Ira wouldn't notice an out-of-place Idaho vehicle, in front of his house. We snuck in the house, gathered all of the fun luau decorations and went to town decorating. My kids had so much fun being sneaking and decorating.

When the house was decorated, I texted Nicky. She said they would be on their way shortly. I started getting nervous, anticipating the surprise.

When we heard the garage door start opening, we got into "position". I knelt behind the couch, with my camera aimed at the garage door.

When Ira walked through the door we yelled, "SURPRISE!" and I snapped a picture. He jumped back and let out a yelp. We definitely got him good.

Later Ira told us that as he walked through the door, he thought, "Who is in my house? And why are they pointing a gun at me?" When he saw the flash of the camera, he was just sure he was dead. No wonder he yelled and jumped. Poor guy. We could have given him a heart attack with our little surprise. :)

We all hugged and reacquainted the kids, as they took off to go play.

It was so nice to see everyone again.

As we visited, we had yummy sandwiches and snacks and waited for Jason and his family to arrive.

Jason, Becky and family arrived later that evening. We were introduced to all of their kids (8 total with one on the way)... not promising to remember and keep all of their names straight for the next 2 days. :)

We ate cake and ice cream and hung out on the back patio for a lovely evening.

Happy (almost) 40th Birthday Ira!

Father's Day

We spent Father's Day in Utah (again) this year.

After church and a spaghetti lunch, we opened gifts and hung out.
I gave Dad Smullin the card I made for him, along with a package of his favorite candy bars,
3 Musketeers.

Jason received some books, candy and an X-Box 360 game he had been wanting.
Such a bummer that his 360 stopped working just recently. :(

5 Reasons Dad Smullin is a great father:

-He taught his children to work hard (by example).

-He tells his children he is proud of them and hugs them.

-He finds humor in life and laughs with his children.

-He has a tender heart toward each of his children and their families.

-He has a love of the gospel and shares that with his children.

5 Reasons Jason is a great father:

-He likes to spend time with each of his children, one-on-one and together.

-He doesn't take himself too seriously and likes to joke around with his children.

-He LOVES babies.

-He works hard to support his family.

-He continues to listen/learn from the spirit and guides his children in the gospel.

5 Reasons my dad is a great father:

-He has unquestionable faith and follows the commandments with strict obedience.

-He is honest and has taught his children to be.

-He likes being with his children and their families, even if it's just to "hang out".

-He's strong.

-He loves each of his children deeply and wants the best for them.

I appreciate the father's I have in my life. I appreciate their examples and love.

I love you!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Birthday Jordyn!!!

Just because the Cousin Party ended, didn't mean we were done partying!

Saturday evening, we went over to Teresa's parent's house (they were out-of-town) and had a birthday party for Jordyn.

We ate pizza and played in their awesome back yard. The back yard had many different levels with huge rocks and landscaping. On the bottom level, there was a swingset/play structure, play airplane and slide... it was like a mini park! The kids had a blast climbing and playing on everything.

Sarah LOVED the slide!

She figured out how to walk up the grassy hill..

position herself at the top and slide into Catie's waiting arms.

Over and over and over and over!

We sang Happy Birthday, ate cake and Jordyn opened presents.

As it stared to get dark, we bundled up and took our blankets over to the side yard and watched fireworks for the town's "Founder's Day".... we just pretended the fireworks were for Jordyn's birthday. Lucky girl.

Happy 10th Birthday sweet Jordyn!