Goodbye Summer 2024

 After a long update last week, this week will be short and sweet.  Following our trip to Idaho, I started back to work.  I am so lucky to have had 8 weeks mostly off this summer, but going back to work before the kids went back to school has been tough.  The kids are trying to soak up  the last few days off summer and I have had to balance running them back and forth to things, attending their back to school events, attending work back to school events, and getting things settled at work before school starts.  I'm not sure how family's where both parents work all summer do it.

My first day back to work, I had an event I needed to attend first thing in the morning and an event I needed to attend that evening.  I ended up working 12 hours that day.  At least I felt like that balanced things out when I had to leave work to run kids here and there for the next several days.  I don't know that I've ever shared a picture of myself from a recruiting event, so I guess I will today.

My kids have been on their own quite a bit while Jeremy and I worked over the last few days.  They have been good at keeping themselves busy.  Merrick has been in charge of watching the girls and they have done lots of playing outside, walking to the park, playing barbies and Legos, roller skating around the house, and crafting.  Carrigan has a giant hand-knitting project that she has been working on this summer and she was able finally wrap that up.

Speaking of wrapping things up, we are now just about wrapped up with the summer.  Tomorrow is the official last day of summer and it's back to school on Tuesday.  It's going to a a big year with Merrick starting high school and C.C. starting middle school.  I have a feeling that it's going to be a great year!

Idaho/Yellowstone

 Last Sunday I didn't get a chance to check in on the blog.  We got home Sunday evening after a marathon drive home from Idaho and we were all wiped out.  So now, a week later, I'm here to recap our time in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

Last we left off, Jeremy was quarantined in the basement with Covid.   He stayed down in the basement right up until we left on Wednesday morning.  We went from quarantined to trapped in a small car for 11 hours.  It was quite the swing of the pendulum.   The strategy did pay off though as nobody else got sick from our family.  Well, Ben did and he missed the trip, but he got it prior to the quarantine.  

Because Ben was unable to go on the trip and Becca was already in Utah and meeting us in Idaho, we had two extra passengers (Quincy and Colvin) for the long drive.  We caravanned with my parents who were also bringing along my sister, Emily.  We played some musical chairs with passengers, but anyway you sliced it we had 10 bodies and 10 seats and very little room for the 11 hour drive.  Somehow we all survived and arrived at our Airbnb Wednesday evening.

Thursday we were up bright and early and driving again.  This time to Yellowstone.  My Weller cousins had stayed right next to the park and got an early start.  We spent the day trying to catch up to them, but with no cell reception, never had any luck.  The day was nothing short of magical though.  I definitely won't do it justice here.  The hot springs were like nothing I've seen before.  The colors of Grand Prismatic were beautiful, except there was a duck that was also apparently drawn to the beauty and paid the ultimate price.  Old faithful was everything you would expect.  We got to see it erupt twice.  The Dragon's Mouth Spring was also one of my favorites.

The hot springs were just one piece of the day's magic.  We saw an unbelievable amount of bison and more up-close and personal than I ever imagined.  We got excited when we first saw them at a distance, we had no idea what was ahead.  We ended up being right in the middle of a herd as they crossed back and forth over the road ahead and to the side of us.  We literally could have rolled down our windows and pet them.  We also saw a confrontation between a few of them just few feet away from us and had to pull my nephew to safety when he was directly in the path of one.  It was both inspiring and a little terrifying.

We also visited the upper and lower falls and saw some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.  I think we have some gorgeous waterfalls in Oregon, but this was definitely right up there with them.

It was a long and spectacular day.  We were all on the fence about going back again the next day.  I think we would have done it in a heartbeat if we weren't staying so far from the park.  We were just all too exhausted to run it back for a second day.

Instead, we stayed much closer to home and went to Bear World in Rexburg.  There we were able to drive through and see bears (and other wildlife) just as up-close and personal as we had the bison the day before.  We also got to see baby cubs playing and feeding.  Bear World also has some little amusement park rides and a dinosaur world.  It was a fun time with, thankfully, less driving.

We capped off the day with Jeremy's dream come true, a dinner at Chuck-o-Rama.  Jeremy, Merrick, Colvin and Quincy were in heaven.  Merrick and Colvin each ate 8 plates of food plus drinks and dessert.  I didn't do nearly as much damage and I still might never recover.

Saturday, was our last day in Idaho and it was all about celebrating my grandma.  We had a lovely graveside service.  My Uncle Keith dedicated her grave and each of her children spoke briefly.  We also had a time for any others who wanted to share a memory or experience.

After the graveside service, we took a tour of the town (which was a bit comical with a huge line of cars making U-turn after U-turn trying to find the right way) and saw all the important family sights.  We then had a luncheon put on by the old ward members and friends.

That evening we had an family dinner and then went to the park so that all the adults could talk and catch up and all the kids could play.  We finally peeled ourselves away and said goodbye after it was dark.  It was the perfect day and way to honor and celebrate my grandma and her legacy.

All that was left then was the long drive home the next day.  It was uneventful and we all made it safely to our destinations.  It was a trip that won't soon be forgotten for many reasons.