Chairman's Challenge 2008

I just learned this week that Ben and I get to go to Niagra Falls, Toronto, Canada this October with Ben's work. It is something they do every year for the plant managers (and their spouses) that meet all of their budget/financial goals. This year Ben normally wouldn't get to go because, 1. he is just the assistant manager and 2. the Phoenix plant isn't meeting their goals. But, his boss pulled some strings and got us invited because of all the sacrifices he has made to be in Salt Lake this summer. I am so excited! They pay for everything, the flight, the hotel (a really nice one), and they give us spending cash. Last year we had dinner with everyone else each night (one night was a dinner cruise in San Diego Bay) and one day we had a meeting that we all went to for an hour or so and another day just the employees had a short meeting and then we had the rest of the day to ourselves to do what ever we wanted. This year they are going to take us on a boat into the middle of all of the falls (like this).

So, I have to get a passport and soon. This is the first time I will ever have one and that, in itself, is a little exciting.

Craters of the Moon

On Saturday, the 26th we packed up the kids and drove to Craters of the Moon, an hour from Idaho Falls in Arco, Idaho. The AC in my car had stopped working a couple of days before that so it was a long hot drive. Even though it was pretty hot that day, there was a nice cool wind so it was quite perfect. We were all glad to get out of the car.



This was our first stop in the park. It was just a flat loop but we learned about the two different types of lava, aa (pronounced 'ah-ah') and Pahoyhoy (pronounced 'paHO-ehHO-eh').





We had to get Alysha in the picture too, but Josi was ready to go, so she was already headed down the trail.







It has it's own sort of beauty. It is wierd to think it has taken 2000 years for just this sparse growth.







Here you can see Josi heading up the group. She and Kleyn practically ran down the trail. Even Hyrum wanted to do his own walking. It was pretty easy here, with the paved trail. I think they used asphalt to try and make it blend in some. The trail to the caves wasn't so easy. A lady in front of me tripped an twisted her ankle and skinned her knee. Fortunately, I was prepared and had a little first aid kit, with antibiotic cream, Hello Kitty bandaids and alcohol wipes. That didn't help her ankle much.

Here is Josi way in the front again, followed by Kleyn and then Kaelynn with Kaleb in the pack, and then Alysha. I was lagging behind to get the photo.

Here we are taking a break inside one of Indian Tunnel. Hyrum didn't want to sit still, even for a picture. He was a little scared of the sharp rocks. It was a little treacherous, but Josi and Kleyn were little monkeys and didn't want help. We made it out with only a couple of scrapes. Even Kaelynn and Kaleb got out unscathed with that baby pack.

We left after only two stops and we only explored the first two caves, Dewdrop Cave and Indian Tunnel. The kids were quite ready to be done so we left the last two caves, Boy Scout Cave and Beauty Cave, and the Devils Orchard Nature trail for another trip. Hyrum fell right to sleep and Josi finished her water.

Cruisin'

While we were visiting my brother in Idaho Falls he got out my dad's "Trike". It is technically my brother, Andy's now, but it will always be my dad's. He built it from the back half of a VW beetle and Harley forks. He started it when we lived in California and finished it in Utah. So, I was in Kindergarden when he started it. We took a few rides down the street and back.

The kids had a blast. It made me feel like a kid again. Shortly after he finished it, we were in the Burley, Idaho 4th of July parade. The four oldest (me, Danny, Andy and Sarah) all had matching outfits my mom made for us. It was so much fun and probably the most exciting thing we had ever experienced.

In the photos are Danny (driver) his wife Kaelynn and their boys, Kleyn and Kaleb, my sisters Janae, Alysha and Tonya, and me and my kids, and Janae's dog Diogi.

Tautphus Park Zoo

While we were in Idaho Falls we went to the zoo with my sister Alysha and my sister-in-law Kaelynn and her boys.


Josi was looking good in her shades and her backpack borrowed from her cousin, Kleyn.






Kaleb and Hyrum were riding in style in their stroller.





Josi and Kleyn climbing up to get a better view of these blue macaws.






The first thing Josi wanted to see was the monkeys and elephants. They don't have any elephants, but she was so happy to see all of the monkeys. We even got to hear a howler monkey sing to us.











Josi and Kleyn checking out the Emus.

Here are Josi and I.

Josi wanted the bird in this exhibit to come to her.

Time for lunch. We just packed some PB&Js, goldfish, fruit snacks and water. Here are the kiddos and Kaelynn.
For a quarter you can get a handful of food pellets to feed the goats in the petting zoo and the ducks on the pond. This was the kids favorite part I think. Here are some pictures of Josi with a goat and Alysha helping them feed the ducks.

A Day Behind

So, I took our car in yesterday to get the AC fixed. I took it in at 10am and got a ride to my brothers apartment, where we spent the whole day. At 5pm I hadn't heard from the dealership service department yet so I called to see what was going on. The lady that answered couldn't find the guy that knew, so I called again at 6pm. By then they were just closing up but he told me what needed to be done and that I should be really glad that it was all still under warranty ($2200 repair, yikes!) Thank heaven for warranties. The only trouble was they didn't have all of the parts there and they couldn't call to see if anyone else had the parts because they all closed at 6 too. He said if no body had the parts and they had to order them, they wouldn't have them until next Thursday. So the day ended with me pretty upset, because I can't really stay that long, but there is no way I could drive down to Arizona without AC. I was even crying on the phone with the repair guy, pretty embarassing, but I couldn't hold it back.
Well, this morning I got a call and they told me that they had found a place in Salt Lake that did have the parts they needed and I could bring it in today and they would get it done. What a huge relief! So, now the plan is to leave tomorrow morning and hopefully get to Phoenix that night. Everyone please pray for us that we don't have any car troubles and that Hyrum doesn't get car sick! I know we will need it. We can't wait to see Karin's family again.

Coming Home

We will be headed home the end of this week. Our AC stopped working and no body can get the part that isn't working until the 31st. I didn't want to go back to Arizona without AC. I believe we will be headed out on the 1st. And, Ben is actually going to be able to come home a little earlier than we had planned, so he will be back the middle of August, instead of the end of it. I guess they have a guy to take the position there in Salt Lake. What a crazy summer!

Orange Cremecicles

Janae' this is in response to your heat advice. Yesterday we went to the Tautphus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls. It was me and Josi and Hyrum, my sister-in-law, Kaelynn and her two kids, Kleyn and Kaleb, and my sister, Alysha. It was overcast when we left the house so we were all wearing jeans and socks and shoes instead of shorts and sandals. It was really fun, and I will blog that later. By the end of the trip, the sun had come out and it was in the mid to upper ninties (guessing, didn't have a thermometer). We were all hot and sweaty and ready for a dip in the kiddie pool. We stopped at the grocery store for a few things and decided orange creamcicles sounded really yummy. We opened them when we got to the car, just for the adults, too messy for the kids. Well, as I started the car, I remembered that my A/C and powersteering were not working because the belt broke because of a larger problem(underwarranty, but dealership can't get the part for a week, yippee!). So, I need both hands to steer, I also had to shift, the other adults are in a different car, because we wouldn't all fit in one, so I hand my cremecicle to Josi in the back seat. Within minutes, her hands were all orange and sticky and she didn't want it anymore. I didn't have the wipes because we put everything in one backpack, which was in the other car. I had three napkins in the jockeybox, I used one to take the cremesicle and ate it all in two bites(except the napkin), used another to sort of wipe my hands and contain the meltyness as much as I could and handed the last napkin to Josi. It didn't do the trick, it just stuck to Josi's hands. I couldn't do anything, because I didn't have any wipes, so she sat with her hands stuck in a napkin 'til we got to the house, which, by the way, is in rural Idaho Falls (Osgood), about 10-15 minutes from town. By the time we got home she had fallen asleep and was all sweaty. I ran in, grabbed the wipes, cleaned her up and then put her in bed, still asleep.

New Family

This is my brother, Andy, and his beautiful wife Amy. This weekend was their wedding.

Saturday morning they had a semi-traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony. It was only semi because our family was involved and, well, we aren't Chinese. But, they wanted us to be included. The tea ceremony consists of them serving tea to all of their elders. Aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, and older siblings and their spouses.
They also mixed it up with the traditional American wedding. They had a flower-girl, ring bearer, etc.







Josi was asked to be the flower girl and the ring bearer was Amy's cousin Kenny. Kenny and Josi were so cute together.

Here is a picture of Josi holding the maid of honor's bouquet during the tea ceremony. She is taking a little break from her duties. She just ate it all up. She loved it and once the ceremony started, she never left Amy's side.


Hyrum had to inspect the ice and spent quite a bit of time with it. Everybody said that he was in the family business.


This is all of our family with them. Amy's sister was the maid of honor, so she is in the picture too. Ben wasn't able to be there in the morning.

That night they had a dinner/reception at a Chinese restaurant with a 10 course meal. The food was delicious and consisted of everything from chicken, pork, crab and shrimp to calamari (squid), jellyfish and sea cucumber. The dessert was coconut milk with cantelope and honeydew melon pieces in it.

The entertainment for the evening was provided by the guests. No surprise, there was kareoke at an Asian wedding. It was so much fun. My sisters and I (and a couple of cranky little boys) dedicated "The Lady in Red" for our new sister-in-law because she wore a gorgeous red dress at the dinner (seen below). We also sang "Rainbow Connection" with Josi. Later several of us sang "Dancing Queen" for Andy. Ben even joined us for that.

Josi loves her cousin, Kleyn, and they ran around the restaurant most of the night, trying to get the balloons down from the ceiling.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY AMY!!

Independence Day

We were in Salt Lake for the 4th and, like usual, Ben had to work. So we hung out with my brother, Andy, at his fiance/wife Amy's house (The wedding is the 19th). They bought some sparklers and simple little fireworks that we could light in the street. The kids loved the sparklers, but Hyrum was afraid of the ones that made lots of noise. So he held on to me pretty tight for most of it.


The next morning we went to Brighton Ski Resort in
Big Cottonwood Canyon to go hiking up to Mary's Lake.



First, Josi had to take a potty-break.
This is Hyrum being goofy while he waiting.


Kodak moment on the hike up there. We strayed from
the trail a little and found this little creek.
Andy found a $10 bill on the ground too!


At the top just before the lake was really pretty. You could see one of the other lakes in the area and the base of the resort.

Hyrum liked throwing little pebbles into the lake.

It was a 2 mile hike in all. The kids did pretty well. Hyrum
wanted to walk most of it, but it was too difficult for him so we
had to wrestle with him a lot. Josi did a lot of walking except in the
really tough spots. There was still snow up there so there were
some really muddy and slippery spots on the trail. Hyrum ended up
falling asleep on the way down and Josi was pretty close. They slept
the whole drive back.

"Vacationing"

So it looks like Ben will have to spend the whole summer in Utah. The guy that replaced him got sacked and a couple other people quit so he has to fill in. It started out that him and his boss were going to take turns spending 10 days at a time in Salt Lake, but it ended up being in worse shape that they thought it was so now he is here til the end of August.
So, the kids and I are now "vacationing" in Utah for July. We might go up to Idaho Falls for a week or so and visit some other family and friends. Just a little FYI for you all.