We Have Hyrum & Zyra - Days 1&2 (Father's Day)

Yes!  After months of trying, we have finally managed to find a nice set of flight conditions to allow a child exchange.  I am flying to Denver and meeting Matt, Hyrum, and Zyra.  I am excited enough that even though this is an early morning flight, I am wide awake.

I arrive before they do and so am able to be at their gate as they come down the jet bridge.  Ah, the smiles and hugs truly make my day.  After a bit of initial confusion and attempt at a couple of flights without success, we put Matt back on his flight home and walk to our next gate.  We are given seats and are soon on our way to Dallas and Grandpa.  Hyrum has waited patiently in the airport to play his DS once he is on the plane only to discover that the battery is dead.  Obviously there is not anything else to do but listen to music and fall asleep.

Zyra, on the other hand, is raring to go and plays the whole flight.  We are off to a great start.

Aunt Cassie and Grandpa meet us at the airport and after collecting some car seats from Aunt Cassie, we are on our way.  Once Zyra is put in the car, she instantly falls asleep and we decide to pop in on Mister's mom for a quick howdy.

We put Zyra on a small couch in the den, give Hyrum a snack, and settle in for a short visit.  It doesn't take Hyrum long and he is playing peek-a-boo with us behind Great-Grandma's chair.

As our visit comes to a close, we gather Zyra up, still sleeping and continue home.  She wakes when we put her in the car and we joke about what must be going through her head.  How long is this drive anyway?

Once we arrive at the house, it is only a matter of minutes before Hyrum has asked for the racetrack and cars to be set up.  Grandpa gets is all out and operating while I make a run to the store.  It is Father's Day, after all, and I want to make Mister a nice dinner.  He has requested a Salmon and Spinach in Phyllo.  Scott and Cassie have arrived to share in the festivities and I have a lot of work to do.  Best get busy.  OH - best line ever heard by Zyra when Aunt Cassie arrived:  "I have an Aunt Cassie that works at the airport too!"  Priceless.

Cassie pitches in and helps and we soon have all the packets made and baking.

These take a little extra time to make, but are oh so worth it.  We put a bit of rice in the cooker as a side and then sit back and  wait.

Uncle Scott keeps the little ones busy with Legos he has brought over and they are building away as we finish up dinner.

Does this not look divine?  I can hardly wait to enjoy.  Surprise!  The kids enjoy it as well.  Double bonus.  It is great to sit down and give Mister a little extra special TLC for the day and after traveling all day -- I kinda need it as well.

After our meal, it is dessert time --- the absolute best part.  We are simply having some wonderful sorbets with mint from the yard.  Yum.

Oh -- presents, too.  Of course.  Mister laughs and smiles at the thoughtfulness and fun that went into his gifts.

I jokingly call him "Sheldon" quite often and Cass and Scott have picked up on that and give him a "Bazinga" apron and and evolution T-shirt identical to one worn on the show.  Awesome.  It has been a fun day, but all good things come to an end.  Before they do though, we must find Waldo and have a story.

After a night full of sleep for all of us (especially me) everyone is up, dressed, and ready for whatever this day is going to bring our way.

While Miss Zyra stacks, sorts, and patterns with the pegboard, Grandpa and I plan an itinerary.  We want to stop at the bookstore and the grocery store.  I guess it will be an errand day, not too busy and yet productive.

Our first stop is at Half Price Books, which I have to say fascinates me beyond belief.  It is this incredibly huge bookstore offering both new and used books at incredibly discounted prices.  This place is constantly PACKED with people and is open until 11 each evening.  I have yet to drive by without the parking lot being full with the exception of Christmas Day, when it was closed.  We go to the Children's Section to find some preschool books to send home with the kids and soon Zyra has found a great little place to sit and a stack of books to go through.  She is joined by her brother and after a short time, I take them to the stacks to locate a couple of story books that they wish to purchase.  It is a tough decision but success is had and with treasures in hand, off we go.

Next up:  Groceries for the empty house.  Whole Foods is just around the corner and we decide to let the grands tell us what they like and let them do the shopping.  I cannot tell you how fun they find this and yet, I am so impressed with their choices.  They pick out fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, cheeses (oh they loved the samples here), breads, dairy, and some snacks.  Overall, their choices are healthy (well, it WAS Whole Foods) and well-balanced.  We leave knowing that there will be less drama at the table this week.  As we are leaving, Hyrum discovers the cart return and has a great time sending the cart back up into the store from the underground parking lot.

Once home, they are starving!  Of course, so we ask what they want and are given a menu of ham and cheese sandwiches, grapes, and spicy plantain chips.  Oh and could we please have some pieces of our new cheese as well?  Coming right up.  Add a glass of milk and they are definitely happy campers.

It is quiet time now and Miss Zyra, along with Sally, gets out her new coloring/activity book and gets right to work on a matching project.  Oh I absolutely love to see their little minds at work.

Grandpa finds some flashlights and we darken the hallway so that Hyrum can play.  He cajoles Zyra into coming and joining him.

I look outside and Mister is starting to get the birds fed, so I let the kids know and it doesn't take long for shoes to be on and they want to help.

I am always fascinated by their willingness to pitch in and do the simple little jobs with glee.  It seems as though everything becomes fun instead of work.  Perhaps Mary Poppins had it figured out all along.

After dinner, I get out the Dr. Seuss puzzle and we set to see if we can assemble it on the living room floor.  Zyra is fascinated with it -- ah, a girl after my own heart.  I LOVE puzzles.

As the day comes to a close, we draw a nice warm bath and let them play for awhile.  Again, I am impressed that the water stays in the tub and that they get along so well.  At no point do we have to stop a battle -- Woohoo!  They play for a very long time - no kidding here, check out the shriveled hands below - and we decide to call it a day.  So incredibly wonderful to have these little personalities in our house this week.  I know I am not going to want to give them back to Mom and Dad.

Our Beautiful Blackberries!

Mister was working in the backyard and discovered that the blackberry plants we put in several years ago decided to produce this year for the first time.  They are loaded and the berries are good sized.  Oh yay!  I think jam is on the horizon this year.

Bekah Is 14 -- Say It Isn't So

I am in shock!  How can it be that my granddaughter is 14?  I am not old enough for that -- am I?  I know that while I was raising my own children time seemed to fly by at the speed of light.  I kind of expected it to slow down a bit with my grands but that doesn't appear to be happening.  It is so sad in many ways and yet oh so exciting in others.

We arrived in Temple to find our grandsons enjoying the hot Texas weather in the only way that makes sense other than hiding inside with air conditioning.  They were in the pool of course.

Cassie has come along with us and we both need to make a quick run for cards so Jen comes along and we head to the dollar store for some fun.  Seriously -- you didn't think we would make this easy on her did you?  Once we return, it is time to get this party started.

The question is:  Where is the birthday girl?  Ah yes -- exactly where any normal teenager would be.  In her room.  After coaxing her down to be subjected to a hug and kiss -- I manage to get her to try on her pioneer outfit for the trek that is starting tomorrow.  Now I ask you:  How cute is this?  Oh and doesn't she look oh so happy?

Once her modeling is over, we all gather in the living room for her to open presents.  Bekah has one friend over, but other than that -- it is all family and yes, we fill up a room.  Notice than Jon us unable to leave the Legos for even this short period of time.  Ugh.

The absolute best part of this day are the smiles that we capture with cameras.  Bekah absolutely hates to have her picture taken and so these are treasures indeed.

Yep, Aunt Cassie has given her a magic want along with other special treats.  Mom and Dad give her a new gun which is apparently what she has asked for.  I shouldn't be surprised since both Amanda and Cassie asked for one at about this age as well.

Bekah has grown and grown and grown lately.  A quick back to back with Aunt Cassie shows that she is in the running to pass the girls.  I think only Amanda is taller than Cassie so she is almost there.
Not too much fire on that cake --- she has a long way to go to catch me.

After the cake, Bekah sat down with Grandpa to order our gift.  Since Mister is a drummer himself, he helped her pick out her new drumsticks for the Drum Corps that start in about 10 days.  We cannot wait to go down and watch her perform this year.  Doesn't she look happy about this time with Grandpa?  Ha ha, I absolutely love it.
Aunt Cassie take a free moment to spend some quality time with her nephews.  I stayed off the tramp this trip -- will try the pool next trip down.

It is time for our activity of the day:  bowling.  Temple has the coolest new bowling alley and I am looking forward to this.  Once upon a time, I could bowl.  What I didn't know until today is that so did my husband.  What??  How can I not have known this?

Jen's shoes are amazing!  You can tell that she bowls league as she has the shoes AND her own ball.  I am wishing that I could get back into this as I do really enjoy it.

I cannot tell if Jared is happy to be here.  What do you think?

It was a great day and we ended the activity with a game of laser tag.  I had a great time, but goodness I was sweaty when it was over.  Time for the long drive home.  Congrats Bekah!  Thanks for letting us spend the day with you.

Last Day of School - Wyoming - Time to Say Good-bye

It is our last day in Wyoming and also the boys last day of school.  Since Ryan and Raef are off enjoying the fun of the day, we have Caleb all to ourselves.  Amanda is in housecleaning mode so in order to give her more freedom, we whisk the little man away for awhile.  It is a nice day and their location on the base is pretty close to a coffee shop providing us with the opportunity for a walk.  Caleb leads the way with an occasional "this way" sent his direction and a great follow-through from him.  It doesn't take too long to arrive at the shop and watch him delightfully pick out his "juice".  He also finds a fan to stand in front of and giggle.  What a clown.


Once we finish our drinks, he is ready to go.  In truth, he was ready way before us, but such is life waiting on adults.  He has not finished his juice and is adamant about bringing it along.  NOW he is thirsty and drinks constantly through the parking lot, leaving me to carry an empty container the rest of the way.  In the lot, we come upon some big machinery and Caleb takes the time to check it out in detail.  How fun for him although not much chance he can get his little body up into the seat to cause what the owner would deem trouble.


On the way back to the house we come within 10 feet of antelope laying in the grass.  That is too much for Caleb and he has to veer their direction.  Soon they are ambling away -- slowly.  There is not a great deal of fear in the base wildlife - they have a pretty good deal.  Once the boys arrive home from school, we have promised them an ice cream treat and Mister wants Culver's.  Let's go.  Now these are some cheesy grins.  Oh my.

Back at the house, I look out the window and the boys have created an African Savannah complete with water ponds and everything.  All animals have been strategically placed and they are having a grand time.  I wonder what has brought this on and discover that both classrooms had watched Madagascar today.  Now it all makes sense.  Such great creativity.  

Alas, it is time to pack and we will be leaving in the wee hours.  Flights look decent and we have hope of a quick return home.  It was so much fun to be here and be a part of Ryan's special day.  Great, great memories.  Favorite thing we will say after this trip:  Kachow (that is Lightning McQueen's name in Calebspeak).

Hiking in Wyoming (Well More Like Walking)

It is a beautiful Sunday morning in Cheyenne and we are the only people left so we have the family all to ourselves today.  There are still a few Legos to put together and we always need another jump or two before the day is really started.  Amanda has gone outside to clip some fresh lilacs from the trees and yes, they are very pretty and aromatic.  This base is absolute gorgeous right now, but we have decided to leave and go for a simple hike to some beaver ponds.

We settle into the car preparing to leave.  Raef claims the front seat, but we all know that won't last.  He settles in with his game and holds tight to his area while Mom and Dad finish up in the house.  Meanwhile, Grandpa and Ryan take up residency in the back seat until boredom sets in and Ryan asks to take some pictures.

Mister lets him have the camera and he snaps pictures of just about everything.  I have selected the picture he took of his brother, not only because I think it turned out cool, but because I want to honor his effort.  He catches Caleb just peeking over his car seat quite nice don't you think?  Perhaps a budding future photographer?

We are going to Turtle Rock Trail at Vedauwoo and the boys are excited to see some beaver ponds.  Once we arrive, Amanda, the boys, and I walk in from the entrance while Trent and Mister drive the car up to the parking lot.  When we arrive at a spot just below them, Caleb takes off towards them at pretty much a full run for those little legs.

Moments later -- we are in nursing mode.  He took quite the tumble and put a few cuts and scrapes on his poor little hands.


Mom and Dad has him fixed up in no time and we are on our way through the gate towards our destination.

It is a great walk.  Easy and filled with so many things to look at.  If we look up, the rock formations are amazing and we can see rapellers hanging from the sides of the rock walls.  Several times, we stop and just watch them as they work their way to the top, disappearing into cracks now and then to increase their footholds.  Gotta say, I wish I had tried that when I was younger - don't have the arm strength anymore.

After a brief stop at the ponds - alas, no beaver - we are on the hunt for a spot to have our little picnic lunch.  Trent locates one off the path and soon we are all seated and enjoying a bit of energy renewal.

Once the boys have finished eating, they start to explore the area around them.  Yep, those little bodies don't stay still for long.  Snapping a few pictures is indeed a challenge as they truly are moving targets.  Especially Caleb -- goodness, one has to be very quick.

Way too soon, it is time to head back so Mister and I get out ahead in order to take a few pictures and not slow everyone down.  Here comes Amanda and Caleb.  He is such a good little hiker.

At one point on the way in, Raef had hid behind some rocks, jumped out as I came along, and truly scared me til I wiggled.  I almost wet my pants.  So, on the return, I decide to repay him.  I his behind a tree around a bend in the road and jumped out at him.  Yay -- he jumped and wiggled as well before telling us that we didn't scare him at all.  Hmmm -- I think the body language in this picture says differently.

What a beautiful place.  We would love to go back and explore it more fully.

Back in the car, Ryan has gotten hold of Grandpa's hat.  Looks good on him, don't ya think?

It was a great day -- loved it.  These three boys make any endeavor fun with their never-ending joie de vivre.