A near perfect day.

Yesterday was a great day.  Chris had the day off, which doesn't happen too often these days, between all the training and overtime lately.  We started the morning off with both Chris and I being able to get in a good run, and since the sun was finally shining, it felt especially good.  Then, after I got back from grocery shopping (without the kids), we packed up a few things for a picnic dinner up in the mountains.  We drove just 12 miles from our house to a campground with a free day use area that has a big sandbox, horseshoes and a creek for the kids to play in, and  a trail head that takes a path that goes up high in the mountains.  We set up "camp", the portable grill to do some hamburgers for dinner, then started out as a family up the trail that goes a couple of miles uphill.  The kids did pretty well, only minimal complaining about the hike.  They really would have preferred to just play in the sand and creek the whole time, which is what they did after we returned from our hike.  Then we had a campfire, and the plan was to make s'mores, but somehow I inadvertently forgot to bring the graham crackers, so we just roasted some marshmallows.   After the kids got in some good play time, we packed up and headed back home, where the kids all had showers, then we had root beer floats while we watched "Rigoletto" as a family.  After the kids went to bed, Chris and I spent some alone time, watching "Evita".  The only bad part of the entire day was when I was gone at the grocery store and Nicolas fell down the stairs and hit his mouth, cutting his lip, tongue and knocking a tooth loose.  Chris said it took him a while to get the bleeding to stop.  The rest of the day his diet consisted of yogurt, pudding and ice cream, since he said it hurt too much to chew.

For just a moment...

There was a short-lived break in the clouds this afternoon, so I took the kids over to the park to ride their bikes.  I got some great photos of the beautiful flowering trees, oh, and some cute little guy named Nick on his bike!  (All the pics of the other kids turned out a little blurry...guess they ride a bit faster than Nick.)

Camping at Willard Bay State Park (Utah)

We were planning on going camping last week, and even had reserved a site (back in February!) at one of our favorite campgrounds up in Island Park.  Unfortunately, Chris was required to go to some Recon training for a couple of days and didn't find out about it until a couple of weeks before.  He is also training another trooper right now, and he has picked up some additional overtime shifts to cover summertime construction zones, so we were thinking we might not be able to get away for some camping fun until our next planned trip, which is at the end of June.  At the last minute we decided to go camp somewhere nearby on his two days off this week, but on Tuesday morning as I was preparing things so we could leave as soon as he got off work for the day, the temps were cold and the rain was coming down so I decided to get online and look up the weather for some other areas, maybe within an hour or two driving distance, and see if we could "drive into" better weather!  I found info on a state park on the northern end of the Great Salt Lake called Willard Bay.  The weather forecast looked much more promising than what was predicted for southeastern Idaho, so we decided to go for it.  I'm glad we did, because even though there was a short downpour on Tuesday evening, Wednesday was gorgeous all day - 80 degrees and sunny!  There were beach areas for the kids to play and swim, lots of nature trails, and the roads within the campground were paved so the kids were able to ride their bikes.  I was even able to get in my 3 mile run on Wednesday morning, and a 6 mile run this morning along the waters edge; it was so fun!  And now we're back home, where it's raining and 60 degrees.  :(

I've posted all the pics from our trip on my Facebook, so feel free to check them out there: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1215145985

He sleeps.

I love finding little treasures like this when I check on the kids at night:

(By the way, isn't my baby getting so big?!  Geesh.)

A walk in Cherry Springs Nature Area.

Today the weather has been decent enough to actually go outdoors and do something.  Chris and I decided to take advantage of one of the 3 remaining days before the kids are out of school for the summer to go for a walk and picnic with just Nicolas at some nearby nature trails.  It did rain a few drops on us, but it only lasted a minute before passing and the sun came out again.  We have seen moose and deer in this area before, but today all we spotted were many, many chipmunks and this cute little baby bunny.  :)

Sun Valley!

Last week Chris had the opportunity to go to Field Training Officer School.  The region he works for here in Pocatello is going to be getting a few new state troopers soon, and they need additional training officers for them.  He left last Sunday and had a full week of training.  The state put the 4 men up in a hotel in Hailey, ID, which is in the world famous Sun Valley region of Idaho.  Since Chris and I both had birthdays recently, we had received a little birthday money from friends and family, so I decided to book a room in the same hotel where Chris was staying for the last day he was scheduled to be there, and then we could stay there as a family for the following day as well.  I picked the kids up from school on Thursday, and they had no idea what our plans were.  We drove for 3 1/2 hours to the town where Chris was just finishing his day's training, picked him up and then went to McDonalds for dinner.  The kids were elated to see their dad and to get to stay in a hotel with a pool.  The next morning Chris had more training until about 2 in the afternoon, then he was free to be with us the remainder of our time there.  I took the kids to the pool where we spent most of the morning.  Using a map of Hailey that Chris gave me to find my way to the Sheriff's Office where I had to pick him up later, I found a park that looked pretty big, so we decided to check it out.  It was awesome!  The kids had so much fun on the huge, wooden play structure, swings and slides, and lots of grassy area to run around.  After we picked up Chris, we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant, then went to the downtown area for a little walk and to explore the local shops.  On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Baskin Robbins - the best ice cream - for cones, then headed back to the hotel to swim and relax.  The next morning I was able to go out for a 2.5 mile run on some trails in the area, and it was a glorious and sunny morning.  After we packed up and checked out from the hotel, we made the drive home, this time going through Arco, and passing through Craters of the Moon Nat'l. monument.

I don't know why, but lately I've felt a strong urge to pull my family close, to focus on spending time together, to make the most of every moment.  It seems there are times in life that we pass through without paying attention, really, time slips by and all of a sudden we realize a year, or two has gone by without much fanfare.  Other times it seems there are constant reminders around us that keep us aware of how fragile and precious each of our lives are.  Tragedies, illnesses, deaths, divorces, sadness and unhappiness, all remind us that we should not waste the time we have been given.  I have been so keenly aware lately of the richness and fullness of our life here.  I cannot express, honestly, in words how grateful I am for my relationship with Chris.  We have somehow managed to create a partnership of mutual respect and reliance, where we challenge each other, love and accept each other all while appreciating the differences and uniqueness we each bring to the table.  As we have all seen that things can change, literally, in an instant, dreams and hearts broken, lives shattered, I have resolved to make the best memories for my family, my eternal companion and those I love most, while it is something I have even an inkling of control over.

Party time!!

The month of May is a busy one, lots of things going on for us anyway.  Chris and I both have birthdays (mine is tomorrow and his is the 12th), and since he will be leaving Sunday for Field Training Officer school for a week, and tomorrow our whole family will be going to an all day Jamboral for the Cub Scouts, we decided to celebrate today with the kids.  We started out with some bowling, which the kids loved, of course.  Then we had a late lunch at Pizza Hut, followed by Icees from the gas station and stop at the park to swing and play on the playground.  When we came home I made a chocolate cake, and we decided to just add up both of our ages and put that many candles on the cake ~ 68 ~ which the kids thought was hilarious!  I made the comment that we would be putting half the candles on for Chris and half on for me, and Chris was quick to point out that, well, actually MORE than half were for me!  It's so fun; I'm frequently reminded that I'm the oldest one in our family. ;)  The kids also gave me the gifts they had made for me at school (actually for Mother's Day, but doubling as birthday presents.)  I love my kids, they're the sweetest.  We will miss Chris while he is gone, and we even had to cancel a camping trip we had planned for the end of the month because of an additional two days of training he just found out he needs to attend.  We are proud of him, though, for all his hard work.  He loves his job and he is good at it and that makes us all happy!