What They Missed- August 7

Saturday, August 7-

I accomplished nothing that day except being sick. Not fun. I did feed my baby and managed to make lunch but it was mostly fend for yourself for the other boys. 

Jr. Jr. made me a get well card with snowmen on it.

I didn't feel up to looking at the calendar, though I knew that it was National Lighthouse Day.

 

Jeremy and Jr. were more productive and finished the balloon sculpture. It was for the fair's centennial (which was actually last year but they had to cancel last year so...) so they made a scene of a farmer and tractor and vegetables of 100 years ago meeting with the same of the present. Pretty cool.

Jr. made the seat of the tractor. Jeremy said he did it just like he would have done. Good job, Jr.

 

Nichole wasn't feeling well that morning so she didn't go work with Jeremy and Jr. She was fine later which is a good thing since they had to drive all the way home the next day.

Jr. and Jeremy got her a Get Well card.

What They Missed- August 6

Friday, August 6-

This was not really a "I need a do over day" but I did take it kind of easy. I was feeling a little under the weather. That and the heavy smoke in the air outside made it unpleasant. 

 

See our beautiful mountains?

Me neither. 

We didn't get much done that day.

It was National Water Balloon Day so the boys watched a show with a water balloon fight in it. It was Wiggle Your Toes Day. We did do that. It was Fresh Breath Day so we ate some mints. It was Lucille Ball's Birthday so the boys ate some "yum yum balls" (Whoppers). Jr. Jr. thought he would be funny when he put "yum yum balls" on my shopping list before the trip. He was surprised and thrilled when I actually brought a box of Whoppers home for them to eat on Lucy's birthday. I did manage to make root beer floats for Jr. Jr. and Lucky to celebrate Root Beer Float Day.

Jeremy and the older two continued to work hard.

 

They had fun, too.

Cheeeeeese

 

More cheeeeeese

What They Missed- August 5

Thursday, August 5-

Work Like a Dog Day. We danced to The Beatles music including "A Hard Day's Night" because of the line, "I've been working like a dog."

Dip

I worked hard that day. The boys rebuilt the fort and played with Jet a lot so I could get a lot done.

It was also Oyster Day so we snacked on Oyster Crackers.

Jeremy and the two oldest worked like dogs, too. And in the words of The Beatles, they "should be sleeping like a log."

Jr. denies he was sleeping in this picture but Jeremy assured me he was in that position a good half an hour before he woke.

What They Missed- August 4

Wednesday, August 4-

Good morning.

Jeremy said the kids were a huge help with the balloons. 

He also let me know those two were working on a juggling routine when they had some down time. Oh, it's been so long since I've put together a juggling routine. Jeremy, my brother Paco, and I used to do routines together when we were part of the juggling club in college. Good times. Good memories.

At home, or not at home, the boys and I went for a picnic at a park and walked around for just a little bit. 

We made chocolate chip cookies (at home) and ate some for National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. We used the same recipe from The Food Nanny that Lucky used last year to make cookies on that holiday.

It was National Coast Guard Day so we made squid pups to eat with dinner. It's amazing how picky eating goes. Lucky won't eat hot dogs but he will devour squid pups.

The boys also talked me into letting them watch Kiki's Delivery Service since the city she's in is by the sea.

And they made a fort(?) on the couch.

Road Trips!

Hey, family! Let's go on a road trip!
Car wash first! Then lots of driving!

Let's go on a road trip to Wyoming!
Lunch at Independence Rock? Let's do it.

Uh oh. We didn't make it before Independence Day which is what the landmark was named for. Groups from both the Oregon Trail and pioneers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tried to make it there before Independence Day so that they wouldn't be caught in the snows later in the season.
Of course we had a van and we were going the opposite direction and I couldn't stop thinking about the video game we grew up with- Oregon Trail. I wasn't worried about anybody in our party getting sick or dying along the way. And our lunch was in the cooler. We didn't have to shoot a buffalo and only be able to carry some of its meat back. Ham from the grocery store is much easier. Man, life is good.

Let's go on a road trip to Montana!
It really is nice to have air-conditioning in our van. Even if we got to the hotel after midnight, it only took us a day to get to our destination from Utah. And our kids are good travelers, although a long day in the van plus too much junk food isn't the best on someone's tummy. Yay for cool air in the room.

Let's go on a road trip to North Dakota!
Never been to North Dakota before? That's okay. Neither have we. Oh, now we have. It's nice that there's a reservoir so close to the border so we had time to take a morning to find some new birds- never seen a brown thrasher before, now I've seen many- and throw rocks in the water. We also saw male and female orchard orioles.

Let's go on a road trip back to Montana...
so Jeremy can finish up his amazing balloon scene. A cowboy snoozing in the desert with landscape and animals around. Love it.

Let's go on a road trip back to Wyoming!
Good thing we went to church in a little branch 2 1/2 hours into the drive. It gave us a chance to dry off after loading the van in a downpour.

After church, we enjoyed the scenery on the drive.

Time to visit cousins! We love you guys. Thanks for letting us crash at your place overnight and play and talk all day.

Let's go on a road trip back to Utah!
Just in time to celebrate National Root Beer Float Day on August 6. Yumm!

Let's go on a road trip to Monticello!
Yeah, we'll stay in Utah this time. Such a short 5-hour drive.

Too bad someone got a bug bite that made his hand puffy and scared Mommy. Thankfully my dad was able to give me some advice over the phone that made me worry less. Also thankfully I was able to get hold of a local bishop who was able to find someone who was working across the street from our motel to come right over to help Jeremy give Jr. Jr. a blessing- also helped me to worry less. He's fine.
The fellow that helped us out even checked with us after church on Sunday to see how our little boy was doing.
The church building we went to was right next to the temple in Monticello.

Let's go on a road trip back to home!
Just in time for the neighborhood ice cream social the night we got back...

and the annual juggler's BBQ the next day.
The boys again enjoyed bouncing on the bounce house, several of us enjoyed some juggling practice (reminds me of my college days), and we all enjoyed food.

Road trips are fun! And exhausting! But we survived. Go, us!