It's all fun and games...

Until the ambulance shows up!

And yes, that is the lesson my boys learned on the 4th this year!!

I should probably mention that the ambulance didn't come for us...

But before I explain... here are some fun pictures from the pyrotechnics.... First, the boys had a few to light at the house.

Ryan LOVES the "pooping dogs"... it's all he talks about.  He insisted his uncles purchase them...

 Here, Evan is using his new track skills as he lights a firework and prepares for a very quick getaway!

They also found this chicken that lays an "egg'.... which was actually just a balloon, but was probably the funniest firework I have ever seen!!

And THEN, went to the main event... the Parking Lot.

Yes, the main event in Great Falls is in a parking lot.  Most of the city gathers in this one area to watch the city show AND light off all the personal fireworks.

There is so much going on, it's hard to keep track... and the sulfur smoke is thicker than pea soup.... but it's a blast!

And it lasts for hours!!   A few hours in though, some people a few rows away used a launch tube that was too hot, and the firework exploded VERY close to the ground... some of the shrapnel must have hit someone, because not long after the ambulance pulled up.  Ryan, at that point, finally understood all the warnings the adults had been providing, and got a little freaked out.

The two of us went home, but Evan got to stay with the Uncles for a few more hours of fun.

Weekend Adventure

So, originally, we were going to give the boys a trip to San Diego for Christmas. 

 

And then we remembered that People are in San Diego, and neither Mark or I like People. 

 

And since SoCal gets a LOT of traffic this time of year, we decided to go out in the middle of nowhere instead.

 

Well, actually, we went to St George, took a left and ended up in the middle of no where.

 

Beep Beep I'm a Jeep Time!

 

The first day, we drove out along a trail that sort of meandered through this:

 

And somewhere out there, we found some dunes.   

 

 

 

Mark of course, had a BLAST, the whole while I was repeating "Find your happy place, find your happy place!!"

 

And luckily, there were some other crazy souls out there that pulled us off the top of the dune that Mark high centered us on.  I did NOT take any pictures of that.

 

The next day, Mark somehow talked me into going out again.

 

And while we couldn't find the trail he was searching for, we had a great ride through the middle of no where... and found a few places where Mark could play with the jeep.

 

 

He was so excited... more so than Evan and Ryan on Christmas morning at the chance to REALLY use all the jeep's special features.

 

When I got back in after spotting him over this THREE FOOT DROP, he was grinning from ear to ear and proudly announced, "Everything is ON!" (referring to the sway bar disconnect, the front and rear locks, and whatever else allows the jeep to go up and down THREE FOOT LEDGES!).

 

The boys also had a blast, and spending two and half days with each other, no interruptions, was the perfect Christmas gift... even if it meant three foot ledges and high centering on sand dunes.

 

Umples

My brothers (Shane, James and Wade) live in Montana.

 

No offence to my parents and sister, Mary, who also live in Montana, but my boys loving going to Montana to see their Umples. 

 

And it's no wonder they adore them...

 

That would be James throwing Evan through the air at the hotel pool.

 

And this is James and Wade passing the boys back and forth in a water wrestling version of keep-a-way... I think. 

 

And it's not just that they go swimming with them...  There's the fact that they let Evan order a hamburger called "The OMG Burger" which is 12 oz of beef topped with 4 slices of bacon and 4 slices of cheese. 

 

They take them to movies, to watch games, out to eat... they play video games, wrestle, harass and play and talk to them on THEIR level.

 

 

 

Oh, and they encourage all the irreverent behavior that parents frown upon... like shooting things out of straws...

 

 

 

And as the Mom, I feel it my duty to sit back and let my brothers spoil my sons... because it's through these activities that they will grow to be amazing men... just like my brothers.  



What Else Would You Expect?

 

 

We took a trip to Yellowstone this weekend... and just a few miles into the park, traffic was brought to a halt due to a bison on the road.

 

The boys named him Billy.

 

We also saw Dingy the Coyote and Randy the Raven.

 

 

And lots of "Spitting Water" as Ryan liked to call the hot pots and geysers.

 

 

Pictures of the trip tomorrow!  Right now, I'm TIRED!  We covered a LOT of miles in just a few days!

Telluride Two: Tommy Boy Trail

We met a man on the first trail we took who told us about a second trail.  And since he described it as "Knarly", Mark needed to try it out. 

 

 

We stopped near the entrance to the old mine, and Evan was INCREDIBLY excited about all the cool rocks he found! (He's totally a rock hound!)

He was OVER THE MOON when we found a geode.   I could barely get him to put it down so he could eat lunch!



Telluride

Our Jeep Adventure for the long weekend took us through Telluride Colorado.

 

And of course, we couldn't just drive through!!

 

 

If you follow the main drag through town... you end up here:

 

 

Well, at least that's where the snow stopped us.

 

But, considering that the town is down there somewhere too small to see... I think we made it far enough!  

Please Excuse the Lack of Posts...

We've been busy making memories...

 

More to come soon...

So, there is this Hole...

Yep.  

We drove for hours to see a hole.   

And, being in the jeep with THREE boys (yes, that includes Mark) discussing the HOLE we were going to see did lead to many many BOY jokes.  

I'm sure you can imagine.

I know, I know... I could have just let Ryan have free reign in the yard with a shovel... but I just don't think it would have been the same as THIS:

Or, as breathtaking as: 

This may be my new favorite picture...

Oh, and if you've never heard the story of the Hole in the Rock... In October of 1879, 200+ Mormon Pioneers were sent to settle the Four Corners area, and since I-70 didn't exist yet, they had to forge their own trail through the desert.  Along the way, they ran into the gorge formed by the Colorado as it cut through the sandstone.  The found themselves 1000 feet above the riverbank... 1000 feet of sheer red rock cliffs had to be conquered before they could cross the river.   So, with limited blasting supplies, pick axes and shovels, they cut a hole in the rock that was just barely wider than their covered wagons, and held on for dear life. 

 *Hmmm... Shadows in Slick Rock make for nice fake orange tans!

This last picture, I took while standing on the very edge of the slick rock on the right side of the the Hole, holding my camera up over my head and out over the ledge... see my shadow??  And those loose rocks down in the center?  That's where we are sitting in the pictures above.  It is STEEP!

Click the link below for a Pioneer story of the decent...

Stanford and Bella Smith's decent down the Hole.

Weekend Jeep Adventure #1, Complete.

Beep Beep, I'm a Jeep!

Dino Puzzles

The best part about getting the Dino museum right as they open is that you can race to the different activities and play without having to SHARE!!

My boys probably spent about 30 mins playing with these giant puzzles.   It was for sure Evan's favorite!

Petting "Zoo"

One more aquarium post... While the eel display might be the funniest... this exhibit is the COOLEST.  They have a petting pond.  

And it's full of sting rays, itty bitty sharks, starfish, urchins and other sea life. 

This little shark LOVED to be petted.  He would swim right up to the little hands and rub against them.

Shocking!!

One of the "hands on" exhibits at the Aquarium is a demonstration on the electric eel.

Seems innocent enough... you see this weird snake like thing that looks all velvety and soft... you read an explanation about how it hunts small animals... how it can power a light bulb... and then there is this plaque that explains how it generates the voltage... and there are these two innocent looking metal circles... and the plaque says, 

"Put your fingers here!"

So you do.

And then you spend the rest of the weekend with tingling fingers!!  

LOL!

Evan made me hold my fingers on the ports while he counted to ten in exchange for a week of "no grumbling while doing chores".

 

And he thinks I'm probably the toughest mom on the planet.

 

Well worth the tingling fingers!!!

Land Locked Sharks and other fun!

Seeing as how we live a thousand miles away from the closest coastline, marine life is hard to come by... unless you go to the Living Planet Aquarium! 

Ryan could NOT get over the Jelly Fish... and you have to admit... they are pretty cool!

Evan's favorite are the otters.  There is this little dome you can stick your head up, and actually be inside the exhibit with them, all up close and personal like.

Plus, they love to press up against the glass and observe the humans in their habitat too. Ryan thought they were hilarious when they had a little squable (Otter 1 decided to get out of the water, Otter 2 grabbed him by the tail and pulled him back in... Otter 1 then grabbed Otter 2 and they did a few barrel rolls together and I lost track of who was Otter 1 and Otter 2... but then Otter 3 came and broke up the fight!)

I swear, this last weekend I took more pictures than I have all year... so be ready... more tomorrow!

When life hands you lemons...

Ugh. 

Evan had a day off from school... and it worked out perfectly for Mark and I to play hooky from work to have long, fun vacation weekend. 

We wanted to head south to the warm weather... and then, the forecast called for RAIN.

ALL WEEKEND LONG.

*grumble*grumble*grumble*

And who wants to hang out in a hotel with two young children when it's raining??

Sooooooo... Plan B... Hang out around town (where the weather was foretasted to be mild) and jam pack it with as many "adventures" as we could come up with.

Friday... the Aquarium, the library and movie night.

Saturday... oh my... a ride on the train, visit to the Museum of Ancient Life (dinosaur museum) and then, the piece de resistance... THREE and a HALF hours at the swimming pool. 

Sunday, a little lower key with a trip to Park City to see the Lego exhibit at the Kimball Art Museum and a stroll up and down Main... plus a scenic drive up through the lodges.

Pictures to come over the next few days... I need to fold laundry and whip my house into a functioning version of it self for the week (since my pledge was to forget everything but basic kitchen duties and loads of laundry so we didn't end up going naked in the week to come).

I knew I had succeed in providing the best adventure possible when, on the drive home, Evan announced that the only time he had had more fun adventures in a short period of time was when his Aunt took him to Disneyland.

Score: Mom-1, Stupid Weather 0

Just the two of us...

For my birthday this year, Mark and I decided to get out of Dodge... without the boys!

We headed out after work on Friday, and drove down to Moab, Utah, the home of Arches National Park.  It's a place like no other on the planet... unless the planet is Mars. 

And what better place to spend your birthday but lost in another world with just the love of your life??

Easter Adventure

We went off on a wild hare of an adventure this weekend. 

Seriously... Last weekend Mark mentioned he thought it would be fun to go south for a weekend.  We talked about maybe the Grand Canyon (about 10 hrs away) or maybe just Zions (about 5).  Nothing concrete.

We packed up Friday night and drove down to Cedar City (about 4 hours south)... woke up the next morning and did a lot of ...

And...

AND

Followed closely by...

Plus, a little of ...

And VERY LITTLE of...

We've been home about 30 mins... Ryan is passed out, Evan is quietly playing...

And my sister went grocery shopping for me.

Despite a rough start, it turned out to be a great weekend!