Father's Day 2024

This year for Father's Day, the girls made some cool cards at activity days. It was an idea I found online. They both happened to pick the same colors because they know that Curtis's favorite color is green. Jack also found a cool recipe book inspired by J.R. Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit series. He also picked out three recipes for us to cook for Curtis on Father's Day from that book. They all turned out good!

Alice made him this bow tie.

The table is ready for Curtis to come see.

Traveler's All-in-One Breakfast in a Pan - Red potatoes, grape tomatoes, mushrooms, herbs, and eggs.

Reading his cards and eating his breakfast. He enjoyed having something different to eat for breakfast.

I also picked out the little docking station he's holding. It's for placing his phone, keys, wallet, and watch on. 

Making the Pork Pies for dinner.

Curtis wanted to help make dinner. It was a good thing he did too because it took a long time to make.

Jack made the Lembas Bread which is basically a spiced up corn bread. It has jalapenos and herbs in it.

Ready to go in the oven.

Fresh out of the oven.

We got to eat outside on our new patio table. It was a bit chilly out so we didn't stay long.

Ground pork, bacon, boiled egg, etc. It was delicious!

We bought this the day before Father's Day and set it up, just in time to use it the next day. We had tried to find used but decided it was time to buy something new and got this at Home Depot.

The three of us ended Father's Day by playing a Lord of the Rings board game that Jack got for his birthday.

I think it was a pretty good Father's Day and it was fun making those new recipes. The breakfast dish was quick to make but the pies took a long time. They were worth it though! It will be fun to try some more new recipes from that book.

End of School Year

We reached the end of another school year and here are some of the fun things we ended with. Jack had one final jazz concert and BBQ. He did great in his solos and is really getting better. The girls came along this time. This concert was supposed to be outdoors where we could eat while they play, but it was too windy so they moved it indoors. We just can't eat in the auditorium, so you had to choose when to walk out and get some food. They had hotdogs, sides, desserts, and drinks.

Waiting in line for some food at the concert (the food was in the cafeteria).

Jack during one of his solos.

The girls had an end of year carnival at their school and they invited their friends to come (who don't go to their school). Charlotte ran around with her friend so I didn't see her much. I stuck with Alice and her friend. They played lots of carnival games and ate goodies. They were hoping to win a prize in the raffle drawing but it didn't happen this year.

Just got their balloons. Alice had a snake hat. I don't remember what her friend had. I think it was a dog.

Making sand art necklaces.

Alice got her hair spray colored.

Enjoying a shaved ice on a hot day.

Charlotte and her friend.

The friends are the McShane girls. They all had a great time.

The school boundaries are changing next year and so that means this will be the last year the girls ride the bus. They enjoyed it the last couple of years and they had a good bus driver. I decided to get a picture of them with him and we also gave him some cookies and a card. Our girls are technically zoned to go to a new school next year, but they gave the 5th graders the option to stay their last year at the same school, so that's what Charlotte chose to do. And siblings could stay too. After next year, we'll switch Alice to her new school, Lincoln. It is closer to us anyway, and she already has a couple of friends from church that go there. We are only half a mile away from that school so I'm pretty sure we won't be in the bus riding range but we're close enough to walk, so that will be fun.

The girls said his name is Mr. Miller but I never asked to confirm. We'll assume it's right. He was a good bus driver and so nice.

Last day of school. Last day riding the bus. It was nice having the stop right in front of our house. I took this picture through our front window.

Two days after school ended, we were invited by the Wingert family to join in with them and some other friends for a day at the river over in Richland. It was on a Friday, so Curtis was at work and Garrett didn't want to go, but the rest of us went and had fun. We even took Milo with us. Charlotte finally coaxed him into the water and he got so excited afterwards and ran around everywhere. It was a little stressful taking him and making sure he didn't bother people or take off running with other dogs or people but I'm glad we took him. I did have his really long leash, so sometimes I would have him hooked to that, but not when he got wet and sandy.

Alice made a new friend. It is hard to tell who is who. She's the one on the right.

Having some fun in the sand.

Charlotte coaxed him in with his new fetching stick toy that he loves.

This is what Charlotte and some other kids built. They would dump water at the top and watch it flow down into the river.

It was a good school year and a great way to kick off summer vacation. Their last day was actually on Wednesday, June 12th. Garrett is now officially a senior, Jack a sophomore, Charlotte a 5th grader and Alice a 2nd grader. Time for some summer fun now!

Ward Campout

Garrett and I had to make a quick trip to Nampa last Thursday night for an orthodontist appointment Friday morning. I decided since our ward campout was also Friday night that we would leave right after his appointment so that I could go on the campout. Garrett wasn't interested in camping so he was our dog sitter. Anyway, we got into town Thursday night around 9pm. We visited with grandma for a little while before going to bed. The next morning Laverne came over to visit while Dad went to an appointment at 9:30. Garrett's appointment was at 11:00am, so we had some time. His appointment was very quick and the doctor is pleased with how things are looking. They should be coming off in the next few months. I scheduled his next appointment in July. We headed back to grandma's and packed up our stuff and waited for Dad to come back before we all headed to Carl's Jr. for lunch because that's where Garrett wanted to go. It was close to the freeway entrance also, so that was a plus. 

A quick picture with GG before hitting the road back home.

We made it home a couple minutes before the girls got off the bus. We packed up our stuff and headed to Teancum Timbers church campground about 1 1/2 hrs. away from us in Dayton, WA. This campground was so nice and had so many things for the kids to do. We will definitely be going back there to camp again. We had a great time visiting with people from the ward and getting to know them better. The kids ran around with their friends. The only issue I really had was at nighttime. It was hard for me to fall asleep because my feet were cold. It wasn't until the last couple hours of sleeping that they finally got warm. Another thing is that we forgot to pack some things to go with our dinner, like buns for the hot dogs and more silverware. This is our first time camping as a family in probably 3 years I think. Two years ago we were getting ready to sell our house and a year ago we were fixing up our new (old) house. We really didn't have time until now. I am very glad that I made it back in time to join in.

Our ward's two tent spots were right in between this big campfire area, so we all used it since no one else was. It's also right next to the creek/river.

They had playground swings, a zipline, disc golf, lots of outdoor sports balls and other toys to play with. There was even a new basketball court. 

Alice riding the zipline the first night.

Saturday morning getting the view from the end of the zipline.

Charlotte taking a turn.

And Jack.

I rode the zipline twice and it was very fun. I would have ridden it more, but it was getting used by lots of kids. Lets be honest, that's one of the biggest reasons I wanted to go on this camping trip, because I heard there was a zipline. There was one couple who brought their camper and they cooked the breakfast for everyone. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, cut up strawberries and whipped cream, and orange juice. The funny thing is, our girls and their friends accidentally ate breakfast with another ward before finding our group. We had to walk a little way to get to the camper.

After breakfast, everyone ventured off to do different things. There was a little trail that took you on a bridge across the creek and then up a hill to do a "Tree of Life" experience. Unfortunately, the tree that they used had to be cut down for some reason but they still had the iron rod to hold on to.

These three girls are great friends now. They did everything together.

Crossing the bridge over to the trail.

Jack is up on that rock and I guess that's where the tree was for the Tree of Life. It's right above an ampitheater.

Jack hiked up there with a group of friends.

Hold to the rod!

Up on the hill after I climbed the iron rod to catch up with him.

A few people went on hikes. Curtis and I went with our girls and the Taylors. Jack went with another group in a different direction. Curtis and I are definitely out of shape, as we huffed and puffed climbing up those hills. I love hiking though, and want to do more. There are reading boards with quotes from Joseph Smith and other scriptures about the first vision posted throughout the hike.

It was so beautiful!

One part of the trail had a rope we had to hold onto to get down.

We discovered another bridge heading back to camp!

A picture from Jack's hike.

Most of this group is from the Wingert family. The blonde girl is from the Taylor's.

When we got back from the hike, the girls wanted to go wading in the creek. They forgot to bring their own sandals though and had to walk around barefoot. I finally got my two pairs of sandals out for them to use. My girls were the only ones that actually got swimsuits on. I don't think they got wet past their legs. This area was right behind where our tent was pitched.

Our ward was scheduled to use the archery and axe throwing areas at 11:00am, so after the girls got changed that's where we headed. It was a little further away from our camp but we hitched a ride on the back of the Taylor's tailgate (because Curtis stayed to pack up our truck). Unfortunately, they left before us and we had to walk back. The kids weren't happy about that but they survived.

After we walked back from archery and axe throwing, the kids and I took some more rides on the zipline. That was my second time going on it. By then, most people had already left and the campground was looking fairly empty. We were some of the last people to leave. When we got home Curtis discovered a tick on his side when he was changing clothes. It was on top of his garments so it hadn't bit him. We made sure to check everyone else for ticks as well. Charlotte had one in her hair. This is only the 2nd time in my life I have seen ticks. The first time was 10 years ago when Jack had 3 on his head after camping in Lowman. Luckily, these two ticks came off easily and Curtis killed them. Sure glad Milo wasn't there to get ticks on him! It was still a very fun campout.