Summer Fun 2011 - Idaho

Let the RoAd TrIp begin!! 24 hour drive from Chicago to Idaho!!

The boys were the best travelers ever!! I had absouletly no, "I'm going to pull over right now!" moments at all. The funnest thing about the drive was that I was so sure the boys were going to be watching alot of movies and I had it all ready for them to take turns picking out the movie, and sharing, but they watched only 1 and 1/2 movies the whole first day! Which was a 13 and 1/2 hour day of driving!!! Why did they only watch 1 movie and asked to shut the other off half way thru do you ask? They wanted to listen to HARRY POTTER that's why!!! It was hilarious. Sophie and I were really into the CD's and Clay would stop and ask questions every now and then. The guy who does all the voices is AMAZING! Time fly by for us. Even Justin seemed to listen and was completly content in his seat the whole way. I would be so tired strapped down all day with my feet dangeling from a car seat but he was so good for me!

Another sweet ride my boys absoletly loved was my dad's 1954 Chevy!! Such a good looking truck he rebuilt. Perfect vehicle to take for a Sunday drive after church.

I love coming to my sister Emily's house in the summer. She can let the irrigating water out on her lawn and the kids go wild! Each time Hayden has been there for this he says he "so wants to surf the lawn".

Cutest pose ever Emily!!

For my Nephew Ryder, (Jessa and Trent's son) 2nd birthday, mom and dad took everyone to Tauphaus Park Zoo. This is a great zoo located right in Idaho Falls. Its a smaller zoo, but they had great animals like lions, tigers, and bears.....Oh My! The kids loved it and Jessa brought fun masks for everyone to have. Justin realized his mask matched the real zebra's when he saw them, priceless moment right there.

Thompson Grandkids:

Brooklyn, Landon, Eli, Clayton, Hayden, Calvin, Bailee, Justin, Quincy, Ryder, and Boston.

Clay thought he was the coolest kid ever driving the go cart. It would get all muddy zooming in and out of the mud, but especially on the right side because there was no mudflap on that side. More fun for the passenger then huh ;)

I will admit that thing is the bomb to drive!! Can't beat the classic fun of a Go Cart!

Justin, Bailee, Sophie, and Hayden taking out the 4 wheeler.

Back home there are a lot of animals my boys chase after and are mesmerized with. Horses, cows, dogs, cats, Brooklyn's bunny, Landon's snake, Emily's chickens ect. ect.

Justin fell in love with all the dogs. Emily's three dogs. Grandpa Ron's two and Jessa's two little doggies. Cutest thing ever!!

Summer Fun 2011-Chicago

We have had so SOOO much summer fun this past July. It all started off with my sister Sophie coming to Chicago. The main reason for Sophie flying out was to be my right hand lady during our RoAd TrIp to IDAHO!! But before we started on that grand adventure, we had to make sure she had some fun while she was out here in Chicago

Every Friday evening and all day Saturday Nate is attending classes at The University of Chicago to complete his MBA, which he will graduate with this December. YEA!!! Because Nate does have classes to be at he was not able to come to Idaho with us. So before we left town and him we all went downtown on Saturday with him to spend the day in the city and to enjoy lunch together.

My sister Sophie's nickname is string bean or bean. She was given this name mainly because she was the littlest and youngest of our family and calling her little bean was just cute. So Bean, is standing next to the famous Chicago "Bean" at Millennium park :)

The boys love, love Crown Fountain!! Who wouldn't. A face that squirts at you, too fun.

Navy Pier.

Chicago Skyline

This was just a little squirt up water park but everyone sure had fun at it. Especially Justin, who usually likes watching Clay and Hayden get all wet, but this time he was soaked too!

Took Sophie to church with us the next day and had a early family movie night and then if was off the bed for everyone since we departed at 4am to start the big RoAd TrIp!!!

Happy Independence Day

We hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend, because we for sure did!! Two nights of fireworks back to back! I seriously LOVE fireworks! This is probably because when I was little I considered the fireworks part of a celebration toward my birthday, which is at the end of the month on the 27th, and was glad everyone was there having a good time enjoying the show too. Nate teased me while we watched them because he said I had a big smile on my face! We had fun enjoying some picnic time on our blanket and games that boys love: wrestling, freeze tag, and a bit of soccer while we waited for the show to start.

Every year we have a parade that is right by our house. We can walk out of our house 5 minutes before the start time and get great seats. Justin was funny to watch because once he picked up that first treat thrown to him, all his focus turned to that piece of candy and nothing else, not even more candy that was throw at his feet could change his focus! We came back home with an entire bowl full of candy!

We also were able to spend a whole afternoon with a lot of great friends, swimming, enjoying a delicious barbecue, and soaking up the sunny sunshine!!! Thanks again everyone for such a wonderful, fun filled day!!

Bye Bye 1st Grade!

Bye Bye 1st Grade!!

Clayton had a great time at school this past year. His teacher was Mrs. Himmelspach, although she let all her students call her Mrs. H. At the end of the year he gave her a bucket filled with candy and a note that read,

"This is nothing to SNICKER (snickers pkg) at but, we think you ROCK (pop rocks). Thanks for going the EXTRA (extra gum pkg) mile in teaching me this year"

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Clay had a little student crush on his teacher and wishes she could teach him again sometime. ;) He did very well in all his subjects and was among a group of top readers that got to participate in Mrs Cashmore's advanced class on Mondays. I think Clayton secretly liked being with this group and always tried hard on all his homework and reading. His end of the year program was "Dive Into Reading" All the students in first grade had a sea creature assigned to them to study and create a display on what they learned. Clay was given the Octopus. I never knew Octopus's had three hearts and their blood was blue! They also are extremely smart, can change colors to match their surroundings and get out of most fish tanks quite easily.

Here are half of the first graders at Big Hollow. The other half performed on another day. They sang fun songs and the students were awarded certificates for reading so many books. I am really glad I told Clay to wear his red and dark blue striped shirt because it was easy to pick him out. Right smack dab in the middle! It reminded me of an, Where's Waldo Game only this time Where's Clay??

Each student made a sun visor that they wore and had painted all sorts of different sea creatures on them. I took a picture of their "Shark" pose that they did during a hilarious song which was sung with lots of excitement and shouts!!As I watched I couldn't help thinking how Clay will be in second grade this fall, and my ball of energy Hayden will be a kindergarten student!! As most say it seemed just like yesterday that Clay was the first addition to our family and he is now on his way being educated and growing up.

A Quick, but much Needed Trip!

At the end of April and the beginning part of May I was able to take a short, but much needed trip back to Idaho. It was for a quick five day stay but it was the first time I have gone anywhere without my boys with me, especially an overnight stay anywhere. Going through an airport without any kids was such a breeze. I almost didn't know what to do with myself! I kept feeling like I needed to get some fruit snacks out or something and my hands seemed really restless. I had a trusty Kindle with me and by the time I reached Idaho for my travel day, I had finished a 400+ page novel!! WOW!! Only having to worry about just me, made red flag kid scenarios like: drinks with no lids, confined areas, breakable objects, head counts, and potty breaks such a breeze!! Who would have thought!! :) My boys were well taken care of though by my wonderful Mother-in-law or Mom #2 and they where indeed showered with love, treats and favorite eat out places. Thank you again Diana for you love and support, the boys loved your visit!! Top reason why for this quick no kid trip? These gals right here, especially the one in the middle.

My Sister's Jessa, Emily, and Sophie.

My Sister Emily was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She had a bump on the top of her head that over three or so years slowly grew and became tender. During those years she had spoken her concern about the bump to various doctors and was given different "It's no big deal" conversations. It wasn't until she was seeing her daughter Quincy's doctor (who was helping with Quincy's cleft lip and palette) was she recommended to receive the needed MRI scans to get a her diagnosis. The waiting game of more doctor's appointments, tests, and results was unnerving for everyone in the family. I know without a doubt Emily's positive attitude and will power to get what needed to be done, well done; strengthened others around her and helped put life into perspective. While my family had gathered to together to give her a special priesthood blessing on a Sunday afternoon sometime before her surgery in Idaho, I was in Chicago giving a lesson to my Young Women about the blessings of the priesthood. Such a blessing that each one of my siblings (that is married) has a worthy priesthood holder within their home. And for Sophie who isn't in the married life yet, she has our Dad to go to at any time for that same blessing.

Emily had her surgery April 12, 2011. It went as well as anyone could have expected. There were alot of unanswered questions going in on the surgery which made things tense, but everything came back positive. The tumor was benign!! Yea!! Also the tumor was sitting on top of a main vein on Emily's brain and they couldn't tell exactly how fused it was to the tumor or if at all before the surgery. The main vein had actually rerouted itself and the surgeons were able to seal it off successfully and remove the tumor.

This is my very funny and always entertaining Brother-in-law Joe, Emily's Husband. He was so great and strong for her, although as you can see in this photo was in much need of a nap! Such a trooper. He kept family and friends updated through facebook. Here are some of his posts:

APRIL 9th ... An update on Emily. She has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. She will be admitted to the hospital in Salt Lake on Monday and the actual removal of the tumor will be on Tuesday. At this point we really don't know much. I will update her status regularly over the next week or so. -Joe

APRIL 12th ... Emily is out of surgery! Doing well. Tumor is benign. Skull has been reconstructed. She may need radiation, as a precaution. She lost 4 pints of blood. That's half of total blood in her body. Thank you for your prayers and faith! -Joe

APRIL 13th ... Update on Emily. She is still in the ICU. She remains very positive, very funny and extremely grateful. Due to the swelling of her brain she has lost the ability to move her right leg below her knee. Of all teh possible side effects, that is one that we can live with. I cannot accurately express my gratitude to each one of you, for your concern and prayers. Thank you-Joe

APRIL 16th...Update on Emily. She is home from the hospital!! Still no movement in her right leg. She is very optimistic and counting her blessings. Good news is she can't kick me for awhile.-Joe

Emily is a strong willed person always making others around her happy. She is a great mother to her five children and a great sister to me and others in our family. We are so happy how things are progressing with her and it seems like now we are having to nag her a bit about taking it easy and not to over do it. But again she is a capable strong willed person with a great work ethic, something we can thank our parents for, a attentive mother and teacher.

I really liked Emma Jean's (a nickname I believe I gave her) short hair cut. She cut it a couple of weeks before her surgery with the attitude, "Might as well have some fun with it" comment. I think she resembles an classic Aubrey Hepburn!! She rocks it! Emily continues to do well. She has more doctors visit to do down the road and possible radiation treatments. She is gaining more and more movement to her right leg and was given shock therapy to trigger signals back to her brain like "Hello, someone just shocked our foot!" seemed crazy to me but it is helping her. I know our Heavenly Father has truly watched over her and blessed her and her family for their faithfulness to turn to Him and become strengthened.

Also while I was back home, I was really flexible being without kids. I visited each of my siblings houses and spent time with them all which was very nice. My dad needed to move cattle while I was there. Riding horses is such a thrill each time I do it, but I always liked working with the horses in directing cattle about and getting a job done. Had a nice ride along side my Dad taking the horses across the river and enjoying the scenery.

I found a great after Easter sale on some filled eggs and was able to put on a post Easter Hunt with all the kids. I think I even succeeded in a great hunt for my dad too! He was chasing the kids around making it fun for everyone. Love that guy!

My funny Mr. Calvin-ator!!! Such a great kid. Loved it when I would ask him if he wanted something he would reply in a too cute voice "Yes, I do". I caught myself coping him at different times during the visit "Do you want to play cards Fay?" "Yes, I do!"

My spent my first night in Idaho at Jessa and Trent's house after a great family dinner with everyone in Idaho Falls. Jessa is currently going to school for interior design and is able to give her designs to a business man who brings her sketches to life. This is a picture of a game table she designed and the kitchen she is over and giving her pick of the granite top she wants placed on it. These items are being built in a new showroom that she is involved with. Fun things are happening there! I would totally buy her stuff!

Had so much fun with my nephew Ryder. I made sure we went to Artic Circle to get some fry sauce yummmmmmy and shakes. Ryder was hilarious when we let him watch himself eat ice cream on Jessa's iPhone!! He became mesmerized with it!

Max and Lacie's little boy Boston is just a cute big smiley boy!!! His giggles were cracking us all up! I was able to have a late night movie showing at Max and Lacie's house one night. We watched the latest Harry Potter film and I got some extra play time with miss Bailey!

I needed this trip. I needed time spent with the family. I was really glad I had the chance to spend time with my mom as well. She can always make any gathering a special one just by the effort she puts into them. It was funny to make Sophie laugh really hard and joke around with her. My dad even participated with his own little jokes at times. Genuine good stuff right there. My mom also drove me back to the airport in Salt Lake and we had a bit of time to browse a HUGE home decoration store together. Now all that needs to be down is to plan the next trip!! Thank you all for such a great time!

Dyeing Eggs

Coloring Easter Egss is always fun around here, even if it is just simple with the basic dyes and supplies to get creative with. A must when using anything that has the ability to spill is, using trays. No worries when a overflow happens or two eggs get put into one cup, its all OK. My boys were all into the fun experiments using rubber bands, stickers, crayons, double dunking, and lots of other techniques to get that PERFECT EGG they were looking for. The only problem I had for the day was keeping my kids from opening the still wet, not done yet dyed eggs. Who knew I would have to tell my boys to be patient before they could eat the hard boiled eggs all up.

EASTER EGG HUNT

The egg hunts in our area were held April 16th for some reason and the day was raining and cold. Most of them were resecheduled for the next day, Sunday and we wouldn't be going then. But I found out last minute that Graylake was having their's at the the Lake County Fairgrounds where we could be sheltered some what with the various side open barns and the kids were all game for it so off we went. The hunts were started one after the other starting with the 3 and under group. I left Clayton and Hayden together in their line huddled under the blankets we brought, while I went to help Justin at his own hunt.

It was really cold and windy with rain every now and then, but my only real complaint is that the Easter egg hunt was advertised to start at 11:00 but the actual hunts started at 11:30, activities began at 11. My boys were patiently waiting in the cold while others came right at 11:30 and where told to go around to the other side of the area which actually gave them a better spot to get eggs, which didn't seem fair since they just arrived and didn't wait in line.

11 was when the sponsors and radio show started up. They did have a fun meet and greet with charaters like Scooby Doo, Mickey & Minnie, Elmo, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, The Easter Bunny and others. It was so fun to watch Justin see Mickey. He really loves Mickey!!!

Mr Easter Bunny!!

After Justin was done with his hunt I took him over to watch Clayton and Hayden go at it with theirs. There was a man with a speaker phone giving instructions to all the kids. I didn't hear all of it but I did make out something like "Lets be fair and think of everyone who is here so we all can have fun" Then the count down from 10 began. 10..............3..2...1...GO!!! I cheered for Clay and Hayden but something seemed odd after a few seconds. "Get them Clay!! There right there by your feet, grab them!! Hayden over there, there some more, go go go" That is what I was yelling to Clay and Hayden, me being confused that my boys are standing there just watching all the other kids get the eggs around them. When it was all done they came over by me looking slightly disappointed and sad like. "What happened, there were eggs all over the place and you didn't get them why?"

Clay looked at me and said "Mom, the guy said 10 egg, just get 10 eggs to be fair for everyone. We both got our 10 eggs, but alot of others didn't listen and got way more then 10. Its not fair, we listened, but they got way more than us and will probably get all the prizes too."

Insert melted heart!!! Such good boys I have!! Even when around such a huge temptation like scattered Easter Eggs for a kid they still listened and followed their instructions!! I told them that the Easter Bunny knows that they were good and listened and will remember that for their own Easter baskets.

There were alot of photographers everywhere and at random one came up and started snap shoting Justin all over the place. He didn't say a word, just pointed his camera at Justin and click, click, click. After what seemed like forever the man asked quick short questions like "What's his name? How old? What town? These his brothers? I anwered politely but could help asking my own questions: What paper are you from? Is this going to be posted anywhere? Do you have a website? All in all there was a short article in the Sun Times about the hunt and the picture above was displayed with the article and on their website. What can I say that Justin is a cutie huh!!