Summer Trip to Pocatello

We took a quick summer weekend jaunt to Pocatello.  On the way we stopped at Shoshone Falls.  We haven't ever been there before.  It was fun to see it and the kids especially loved buying little trinkets at the gift shop.  We went to a parade and got tons of candy which Ridge ate double-fisted until he threw up.  Rusty fell right through one of my parents camp chairs, which was pretty funny.  We played with the cousins.  They had a water fight with balloons, buckets, and hoses.  The Dads got in on that one.  Tyler let us all ride his new motorcycle he bought for the boys.  Everybody loved it.  We ate WAY to much delicious food and wished we could have stayed longer.

Cow Appreciation Day

I might be the last person in the world to know about cow appreciation day (CAD).  In case I am not, here is the jist...Once a year at Chick Filet you get free food if you dress like a cow.  This summer Rusty had an employee named Spencer who is well versed in all things free.  He let us know when Jacksons was having 10 cent soda days, when to get free smoothies at jamba juice and, most importantly, he taught us about cow appreciation day.  So, to dress up like cows I pulled a black shirt and shorts out for each of us.  Then I cut shapes out of typing paper and stuck it on the clothes with painters tape.  I found some random winter hats for all of us that looked remotely animal like.  Mine really just looks like I am trying to be a thief but that is OK. I also made signs for the kids, that said, of course, "Eat Mor Chikin."   We went to chick filet and got our free meals and nobody questioned the validity of our awesome costumes.  When I say free food I mean each of us got a whole meal, sandwich, fries, and drink.  We texted this picture to some of our family.  Rusty's sister was so excited.  She said this is the first year she has missed CAD since her kids were little (probably 10 years).  Scandalous.  Friends don't let friends miss CAD!  This was so fun that I am going to look up next years date in January and put it on the calendar.  You should too.  Happy Cow Appreciation Day.

Really Random Summer Fun

Sometimes things get a little slow in the summer.  This is what the kids came up with one day for a boredom buster.  They pulled a flat dolly out of the garage and padded it up with blankets and pillows.  It wasn't big enough for all three of them so them came up with a trailer for Ridge.  Whatever it takes, right?  This entertained them for at least an hour and I am all for that.

Couples Ropes Course

 A few different times I have seen a random deal come across my groupon emails for a couples ropes course and dinner.  I thought about it several times and finally bought the groupon.  I am so glad I did.  We went to a big warehouse gym type place across town called bodies in motion.  It had a little cafe inside, the ropes course, a jumpy type area that was having a bday party with spiderman while we were there and a laser tag area.  We checked in with several other couples.  They harnessed us up and gave us our options.  Because the course was around 16 feet above the ground you had to get up in one of three ways.  You could climb a ladder, go up a rope with what looked like rock climbing holds, or climb a rope that had the unstable equivalent of knots to place your feet on.  The last was the hardest and if you got up they would let you write your name on the ceiling.  So that is what we did.  One girl struggled up the rope, and her husband, who tried it after her, couldn't make it up.  That stunk for him.  Someone that went up before us asked what is the fastest time anyone had made it up in.  They said they didn't really know because they don't time it. I went up before Russ.  Then he came up the rope so fast all of the workers got excited and said that was definitely the fastest anyone had ever gone up. They gave him a donut later for being so fast.

Once you were up they let you have free rein of the course.  There was a vertical rope ladder to climb across, steel beams that swung, platforms to swing to (pictured), and swinging bars that you had to swing together on to get from one to the next (among other things).  I loved it, but it would not be for anyone afraid of heights.  One girl in front of me was terrified and crying and had to go down halfway through.

When the time was up they had dinner for us at the little cafe.  I would highly recommend this for anyone (not afraid of heights) if you ever get the chance.

Sleeping on the Deck

This is the reason we built our upstairs deck.  We got the kids some cots and now they can have slumber parties on the deck any night of the week all summer.

Happy Fathers Day

I slacked off last year and didn't get the D-A-D photos taken so I made sure to take them this year.  We went to the botanical gardens with a free pass leftover from a field trip.  We had a good time and the pictures turned out cute.  We had cinnamon pancakes for breakfast and steak for dinner.  Me and the kids made Rusty a massage shirt for Fathers Day.  I saw this idea somewhere on the internet and loved it.  Perfect for Rusty.  To make it even better someone had created a printable template for the design.  We printed it out and traced it with fabric markers.  Now Rusty can get a massage and play with the kids at the same time.  Since then Ridge has asked Rusty to wear this shirt about once a week.  Rusty never refuses.

Ridge's primary teacher helped the kids write letters to their dads for Fathers Day.  Ridge's letter is a pretty good summary of how we feel about Rusty.  We love him and wish he could play with us all day!

One More Reason...

He is a really great Dad!  (painting nails on the lawn)