Thursday, January 28, 2016

I Left My Heart in . . . Idaho

Photo overload today.

So many memories from my trip to Idaho. Sad thing? Not one picture of me holding my new grandson. I didn't think that could be right, and I searched for a while--but not one. I'm kind of sad about that.

So . . . what did we do while Gran was in town?

We watched movies on my iPad.
Frozen, Despicable Me, Tangled . . .

Read stories with their daddy every afternoon after work
Took selfies with Gran to send to Grandpa back in Arizona. I was so cold up there--I guess I'm really an Arizonan now.
Ellie had preschool one morning, and while she was gone, I took the boys to open gym. It was a blast. I know it looks like Nathan is beating Jonah, but he was actually handing him the noodle to sword fight.
Jonah chased this rope around for fifteen minutes.
Around and 
around and
around. When he caught it, he would laugh really loud and throw it again.
Nathan was a blur all morning long, running from thing to thing and begging me to watch him do many feats like jump in the ball pit or scale the ladder to the tree house.
Jonah thought he was just as big as Nathan, but I had to climb up there and get him down. I'm getting too old for that kind of thing, I discovered!
Then we stopped at the grocery store for a few things, and Jonah was thrilled Ellie wasn't there so he could drive the cart with Nathan. Not one crash, so I think they're ready for their licenses.
When I wasn't busy doing laundry, dinner, sweeping, bathing, dressing, bedding, reading, cleaning, or whatever, I tried to snuggle this little guy. Sounds like I was pretty busy, but I had plenty of baby time.
This photo cracks me up. Ellie is quite a little negotiator when it comes to eating her dinner. I don't remember how long she sat here refusing to eat and cajoling her dad, but I snuck this picture. She eventually ate it, but it was a long battle.

We still have this issue at our house with a few of our kiddos . . .
When I asked the kids on the way to the airport (if you missed that adventure, click here) what was the best part of the trip, they both said building Frosty the Snowman. I agree. It was the best ever.
 I'm glad Sam was home to help me get the kids all geared up and ready to stay outside for a while--so many snow pants and jackets and hats and gloves and boots. Whew!


 Nathan rarely leaves his dad's side when there's a project to do.
 Jonah, on the other hand, refused to keep his gloves on and his hands got too cold to stay outside.
He watched from the house until he couldn't stand missing out on the excitement one minute longer--then out he came again.
 There is something magical about a little girl's view of her daddy. Ellie thinks her daddy is the strongest, funnest, best superhero in the world. I love watching it.

The temperature was perfect, and the snow packed perfectly, but that made the snowballs really heavy. Between the two of us, Sam and I could barely lift the middle piece.

 Guess who named the cat? His name is "Prince Hans of the Southern Isles." One guess.
 Yep. You're right. Neither of these guys.


 Ironically, the hardest part of snowman construction was finding rocks for his mouth and buttons.

Even without snow pants or boots, AZ Gran was plenty warm enough during this adventure. It's one I'll never forget.

 Ellie wanted to build a little brother for Frosty . . .
 . . . and his name? Olaf, of course.
The next morning, for the first time during the entire week I was in Idaho, the sun shone. I felt a little like Claude Monet in his water lily garden, desperate to catch every change in the light as the sun rose. It was beautiful.


 I told the kids to keep me posted on how long Frosty hangs on out there in the back yard. It's like I left a piece of me in Idaho to remind them how much I love them.


Yesterday, Heidi sent me this text and image:
"Frosty looks a little less friendly these days . . .  But the kids still love him just as much!"

Just like Frosty declared, "I'll be back again someday!" And hopefully soon.

2 comments:

  1. Such a cute family and a GREAT snowman. I love the picture of the temple, too. It's gorgeous.
    They are lucky to have you as a grandma…and needless to say, you are very luck to have THEM!

    =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is one of the best looking snowmen ever!!! (This is Sam....)

    ReplyDelete