Choo Choo Train

My friends' little boy, Kian, had a birthday a couple of days ago, and she invited us to go on a train ride with them. I guess there was this guy that lived just outside of Rigby who built a train track and a little train to go on it and let people come ride it. He has since past away, but his son now runs the train. It was sooooo cool! It even had a bridge to go over and a tunnel to go through. I guess you're supposed to scream all the way through the tunnel (a tradition or something).



Jacob loved it the most. Everytime it would stop to let other kids on, he would say, "I wanna go 'gain!" He never got off of the train! Luckily there weren't too many kids so it didn't matter. He had a little fit when it was time to go. I guess I know what to get him for his birthday now!

Even Mia loved riding the train:

It was so much fun. Thanks Kian for inviting us!

Fun in Boise

Mike had a conference last Thursday in Boise, so we decided to load everyone up and go with him. We stayed in a hotel for 2 nights and then with our friends Jason and Mandy for 2 more. We went swimming in the hotel pool everyday. The temperature was in the high 90's, but the kids still liked to soak in the hot tub:

I guess the pool was a bit chilly still! We also went to the zoo for a day with our friend Mandy and her cute little girl Avery and new baby Cierra. They have a new giraffe and lion exhibit. It was pretty cool. The favorite thing at this zoo was the giraffe slide. We always have to go on this thing:

Riding the camel:

The next day we all got to go to Roaring Springs waterpark in Meridian. It was so much fun and a perfect day for it. I think the temperature got up to 105 that day! Yikes. Ethan LOVED all of the waterslides and went on all of them. Asia was a little timid at first, but went on most of them by the end of the day. They both loved playing in the wave pool and floating in the lazy river.

I didn't get any pictures of Ethan because he was so busy the whole day! I don't think he stopped once!

Jacob loved the little kiddie section with its own waterslides. There was one that was just for kids 3 and under that he went on over and over. It was so slow that he would always get stuck and he'd have to almost walk down it. Just his speed!

He and his little friend Avery loved this dragon slide:

Every time I tried to take Jacob's picture, he would turn his head away. I think this is what he thinks he's supposed to do when it's picture taking time:

It was a very fun time for everyone! We'll have to go again next year!

Oh, one other thing. Jason and Mandy have this doggy door at their house for their dog Remy. Jacob thought it was an easy, convenient way for him to get outside! He thought it was pretty funny and so did we:

What a silly boy! He makes us laugh so much everyday!

Mia's First Tooth!

Mia finally has her first tooth! It is the bottom right tooth. She has been drooling and chewing on everything for a couple of months now. She's had a few fevers too. Man this teething thing is hard! Mia is 8 1/2 months old. I think Asia was about 9 months old when she got her first tooth and Jacob and Ethan were both 10 months.

Here's the pretty little pearly white:

Oh man, my baby is growing up!! She's sitting up all by herself and even starting to want to crawl! She loves to blow raspberries on bare skin and play patty cake. She's a very happy baby and a little sweatheart!

YOUCH!!!

Warning! This post has some pretty gruesome pics, so if you have a weak stomach... BEWARE!

Last week, while I was playing volleyball, I heard this blood curdling scream coming from my little Ethan. He is very dramatic so I didn't think anything of it. Then my friend showed some compassion and went over to check on him. I decided I'd better go be a good mom and see what was up. He was still freaking out when I got to him and then I saw the blood on the carpet. I guess he wasn't crying wolf this time! Poor kid! He and his friend were pushing the partition that separates the gym from the chapel with their butts, back and forth, back and forth. Well, his little heal got stuck under it and I guess it can be pretty sharp. It sliced his heal right open. Luckily we found some band-aids, but they were soaked through by the time we got home.

Here's what it looked like before we went to the doctor:

The doctor said that he could either do nothing, put some steri strips on it, super glue it, or put 12 stitches in it. We opted for the super glue since he was starting swimming lessons the next week and the glue would help it heal faster. I guess I could've done this at home, but I needed to know that it didn't need stitches. We learned from the last time that Ethan does not like getting stitches or having any kind of needle in his skin for that matter!

Here's the after:

He's a trooper! I think he will stay away from those partition thingys for a while!

Happy Birthday!

Yes, another birthday has come and gone. I don't really look forward to my birthdays anymore. Sad, I know. It's not that I don't like them or that I don't get spoiled. It's just that I don't like the idea of getting older! Not that I'm old, by any means. This is not meant to be a pity post either... I just wanted to tell how I really feel about my birthdays! Maybe I just wish that it was my birthday everyday and when it's suddenly over it's like a little depressing shock to the system!

My husband does a super job with special occasions such as this one. He always tries to surprise me with something nice and this year was no exception. I went to the movies that morning with the kids and they're usually not over with until at least 11:30. Well, Mike decided to surprise me with something but I had to be done at themovies by 11:45. The movie wasn't over until about 11:45 and we couldn't leave early. The kids hate missing the end! So, Mike met me at the theatre, took the kids and told me I had an appointment for a massage at 11:45. Oooops! I had to rush to the Apple where my masseuse was waiting.

Now, this was to be my first massage ever, so I didn't know what to expect. I had been kind of wary to get a massage, just because I don't like it to be very hard and I'm also VERY ticklish. The lady did a very nice job and I only got a little ticklish one time right in the middle of my back. Weird. It was so relaxing and I caught myself dozing off twice. I think this may become a regular occurance; the massage part, not the dozing off part!

Then I got to open my presents when I got home:

Then we went out to dinner later that night with some friends who were celebrating their anniversary also. How nice for them to get married on such a blessed day! Anyway, we went to Red Robin for my free birthday burger and free birthday sundae. It was pretty good stuff.

Then we went to see the highly acclaimed movie "The Proposal." It's a pretty good little chick flick. I think I laughed through most of the movie! Very cute.

Then it was on to Sundae's for a little bit more ice cream and a perfect end to a pretty perfect day. Maybe I will look forward to my birthday next year if it will be as good as this year, or if I don't get any older!

Fun With Bend-A-Roos!

These Bend-A-Roo thingys have been quite a hit at our house. The summer (not to mention my house) has been filled with new and improved Bend-A-Roo contraptions. They decided to take them outside and put the trees to good use. Ethan likes to make trapping mechanisms where he can tie up his action figures and contain them:

Asia is more artistic and likes to make little animals and bugs with them. She made a dragonfly and a ladybug, along with other geometric contraptions:

The poor tree in all of it's Bend-A-Roo glory:

I'm sure this will not be the last of their Bend-A-Roo antics. It's an activity that the kids actually like to do together, with minimal to no fighting! I think these little bendy things were a great investment!

It Was THIS BIG! but not really!

We had our first fishing trip of the season a couple of weeks ago at Lone Pine Nursery. They have a free kids fishing day there every year and we like to go because you're almost guaranteed to catch a fish. We haven't had much luck in the past with catching fish, so we like to jump on the "sure things." They also have free hot dogs and drinks so that's a plus as well!

We tried every bait and lure we had, but the fish just weren't biting. People all around us were catching fish, but not us. We caught a couple last year, so the kids were excited to catch some again. I think the organizers were feeling sorry for us so they gave us a gift certificate for $10 off a $50 purchase at Sportsmans' Warehouse! Maybe they thought we could buy some better equipment and bait and then we'd be able to catch the fish! At least it wasn't a hot day and it was fun just to spend the day together as a family. And hey, there's always next year!

This was the best part: getting a snow cone.

O Canada!

A couple of weeks ago we went up to Canada to visit my family. We usually go up for Canada Day, but this year we had to come up earlier because Mike had to work over Canada Day. Oh well. We made it up for Father's Day and for my Mom's 59th birthday. We were able to stay at Cynthia and James' house again. They are such gracious hosts. Thanks again! It was nice to just relax, eat great food, and visit with everyone. My sister had a BBQ and invited all of my mom's side of the family. I got to meet my cousin Lisa's new baby girl Ellyson, and visit with my aunts and uncles that I haven't seen in a while.

Here's Ethan and Asia climbing some trees at the school/park near Cynthia's house:

Fun times in Cynthia's backyard. Ethan loves to play with and tease Grandpa George:

Asia and I chillaxin' in the hamock in Cynthia's backyard:

We were able to go see my Grandma and Grandpa Simington while we were there. It was their first time meeting little Mia. Mia loved meeting her Great Grandma and Grandpa for the first time. She was so cute with them!

We got to spend the last two nights at the Ramada hotel in Lethbridge. The kids loved spending the day at the waterpark there, especially since it rained the whole day outside. I didn't get any pics, but my mom did. I'll have to post some pics when my mom sends me them. We played at the waterpark and went out to Cheesecake Factory for my Mom's birthday. Happy 59th birthday Mom! You're the best!