Fun with Grandma and Grandpa Noakes

What would a summer in Idaho be without a snow cone or two or three?

While it town, Kristal was kind enough to take us swimming at her parents house.  The pool was a lot of fun and the girls had a blast!  Thanks again Kristal and family!

Splish Splash

We took a few cool pics of Jarom showing off his skills.  This one was the best.  Nice air...now try to land it!  :)

For being safe in the boat, Jeana and Abby both got a free ice cream cone from the Sherriff.

She must take after her dad, cause mom would never do this!  :)

The girls made bracelets at the camp and some fun magic camp wands that blew bubbles.

Silly girls.

More fishing...this time with Uncle Jarom.

Jeana quickly grew attached to my cousin Amy and they played pinecone baseball for quite some time together.  Later that day Jeana also got my dad to play baseball with her and it was amazing how many home runs she hit when she was the her own judge!

Grandma Noakes pulled out some of her old, antique dolls for the girls to play with.  So, they built their own house with blankets and pillows and I think they played with those dolls almost the whole time we were there.  They thought those dolls were a very special treat.

The girls really wanted Grandma, instead of me, to cut their hair.  They definitely got a really good cut.  I think both got at least 6 inches cut off.

Abby practicing guitar hero at Corinne's Apartment.

Girls driving grandpa's boat.

It was close to July, so again more fireworks.  We had to leave Grandpa Simpsons house before they finished the fireworks, so he was gracious enough to send some with the girls.

Abby's thought process..."Hey, I have an idea...while my mom is trying to take pictures of everyone up here for my grandparents, I will play in the mud...I'm sure she won't mind THAT much and even if she does, by the time she find out, it will be too late! hee hee."

My uncles couldn't bear the thought of carving a watermelon in the traditional way...but it did turn out much cuter because of their efforts.

Uncle Jarom and again, cute Rylee...no one can seem to get enough of her!

Aunt Corinne and Rylee

More Games...

Nothin' like some fun games on a rainy, muddy day.

Could she look anymore like she has Idaho Blood in her?  What a cutie.

Arts and crafts and I guess according to Abby...silly time too.

Though we didn't get to see Darin and Stacia and their family for long, it was still fun to visit with them.

Abby...just your feet.  Abby...don't go above your knees...Abby your skirt is soaked...Abby you are soaked!

At the camp, there is an obstacle course, the girls had fun on it...until someone got hurt.

After lots of fun with the Simpson family, David headed back for work and the girls and I headed for Boise.  The first weekend we were there, we met up for a Huckstep Family reunion.  My mom's sister wanted to throw my grandparents a surprise family reunion for their 60th anniversary up at the campground where they volunteer for a service mission.  All my mom's siblings were able to come for a short time and it was really fun to see lots of cousins I haven't seen for a while.  Again, it rained on us the whole time, but we still had a good time.  We got to stay at my parents cabin b/c it is only a few minutes from my grandparents cabin and my kids were loving imitating grandpa fishing.  They caught all kinds of pretend fish.  It was really cute.

President and Sister Simpson

Here is the group standing in the hall by the offices of the first Presidency.  Very fun.  While waiting we were also able to shake hands with Sister Beck and Sister Christiansen.

Here is a picture of the group.  Margy and Craig were able to have at least one representative from each family.  The only two who were MIA were David (who tried really hard to make it, but with unexpected weather conditions and plane issues, got in several hours late...in fact by the time we made it to Elder Oaks office, he was sitting at the airport...very sad, but cute he tried.  Becca, his sister was the only other one not there because she had a baby only days before.

We were able to be there when Elder Oaks and President Snow set them apart.

The main reason we went home earlier this year, was to spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma Simpson.  Last fall, they were asked to serve as mission presidents, it was a very long process for them to get everything ready, but I think in the end, they were honored excited and nervous all at the same time.  We were actually hoping they might move closer to us, but instead they moved about the same distance away, just in the opposite direction.  We are excited for them and though it sounds like life in the mission is keeping them busier than they would have ever dreamed, I am sure they are doing great.

A Walk down Memory Lane

Jeana made herself a crown and was pleased with her work.

Every time we go home, we always end up in the emergency room.  I just go in with that expectation so I am not shocked by the idea.  Luckily, it is usually fairly minor things...stitches on fingers, pink eye, the flu and the latest was a UTI.  Poor Abby gets them quite a bit and I can't help but feel sorry for her.  No matter what we try to prevent them, she just seems to be more prone to them. 

We even stopped for a brief time on what is now BYU-I campus, though it was still Ricks College when we were there (though it changed shortly after.)

While in Idaho, we met up with our friends, the Flamms, it was a very short visit, but still fun and my girls had a great time seeing Kaylie, though she isn't quite as little as they remembered. Her hair is as gorgeous as ever, which of course she gets from her mom.

More Fun...

The grandkids played hard outside, celebrated a few birthdays including Conrads...
Went to an indoor play area called Blast Off (for some reason my kids really thought that was a cool name and keep talking about it).
More playing outside.  We had a lot of rain while we were in Idaho, which is so unusual for summer, but the kids managed to fit in some sprinkler fun on the few times the sun came out.

Playing at Grandma and Grandpa Simpsons

Girls waiting patiently to go for a ride.

The few gandboys all hanging out

Poor Kelsey and Garth got suckered into playing Bingo with all the kids.  Though us parents didn't mind too much!

The group

What would a summer trip be like without the fireworks?

Jeremy with his newest daughter, Karlyn--only a few days old.  So fun to meet her.

Abby riding an ATV.  She sometimes surprises me at what she is willing to do.  I can't believe she was so into driving.  She would have probably stayed on all day if we would let her.

Jeana also going for a ride.