Family Vacation! Part one- Idaho

Seems like it took forever for the week or our family vacation to come. We had started months and months earlier to plan and make arrangements. And it was finally here!

We planned to go to Idaho and visit Mike and Becky and family- something we had talked about doing for years. And to visit Danny and Kelly, the only ones in the family we had yet to visit. Plus, I had some friends I hadn't seen or visited in a long time in Utah as well. Anna and I were eager to give the kids some memorable experiences in a family road trip vacation setting.

We were offered the use of Anna's mom's van. A Toyota Sienna. It was newer than our van, and would probably fair better. (It did.) It was roomier too. We packed up everything and headed out very early Saturday morning.

Here's my glasses girl! Last time we made a drive like this, Anna was still needing contacts and glasses. Now she's all laser-eye fixed, so this is my new sun-glasses girl. It's about 5am.
Anna's a morning person, so she took the first shift in driving so I could try and sleep a bit more during the first half of the drive. The drive was so easy on us, that Anna ended up driving the whole way up to Idaho.


The evening we arrived in Idaho. We went to go get some ice cream at a local dairy/creamery named Reed's Creamery. Their nationally ranked ice cream was quite good! The kids really liked it, too.

After ice cream, Mike took us over to the falls of Idaho Falls, and to view the temple across the river. It was all very cool.

Each morning, the kids would run out the door and jump on the trampoline in the back yard, before and usually after breakfast. In looking through our pictures, it turns out there are no pictures of all the kids on it at the same time, and none with the girls jumping. Oops.

After church on Sunday, we all went to see the Teton mountains in Wyoming. Here the kids are playing in a a stream that runs through the resort there at the base of the mountains. One of my favorite tourist shirts read, "I like big Tetons", and it had a picture of the Tetons. Funny stuff. It was a cool visit.

After seeing the Tetons, we went a little further and went to Jackson Hole, WY. Here we are in front of one of the famous elk antler arches in the middle of town. We had a fun time window shopping and walking around.

On monday we headed out to Yellowstone. We hadn't specifically planned on going there, but we are so glad we did! We took a LOT of pictures while at Yellowstone. There are a lot of them here, but we have a ton more. Here's some of us in front of a very hot hot spring.

Talking about how and why the water is hot and steamy... and stinky.

Here we are with some very cool mud pots, or mud volcanoes.

Yep, it's a bit stinky.

A mountain fumeral.

The Mammoth Springs Terraces. One of the most colorful, non plant life areas, in Yellowstone.

There's no way for me to describe how happy and excited Anna was to be there, as in Yellowstone, and to be seeing all that we saw. It was sprinkling on us when we were there.

One of my most favorite shots from our time there.

Still at the terraces, but a cool shot of all the steam and the kids walking with Mike.

I can't remember the name of this waterfall, but it's huge.

When we got to some flatter land inside the park, we began to see animals. We saw some female elk, and a lot of bison. Here's the first one we saw. It was very cool.

Not far from that bull was this big bull. I really like this picture too.

We started seeing more and more bison. Some were farther off in the meadows, and some were right by the road, like these.

After a long day of seeing so many cool geological, animal, and forrest sights, we finally made it over to Old Faithful! It was dusk, so it was getting dark fast. As we were waiting, and looking through the gift shop, Mike and Becky offered to watch the kids so Anna and I could walk around the trails in the area. We accepted.

That's what Old Faithful looks like when it's not erupting. It kind of spits out these steam plumes.

Turns out Old Faithful isn't as timely as we thought. It goes off anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour and a half. It chose to take longer while we were waiting. The resort is pretty good at determining when it's going to go, so we were able to plan accordingly. Here's a picture of us waiting for it to blow. It was rainy that day, and it got really cold. But the kids were troopers.

This is how we saw it. Mostly a silhouette. But still very cool. This is as it's just starting. It got quite a bit bigger. The kids were impressed.

The next day was our last day in Idaho. That morning Sammy took each of the kids for a ride on one of the quads. We walked to the canal behind their property and watch their dog Squishy, fetch sticks out of the canal. The kids had a fun time throwing rocks in the water, too.

On our way out, Mike and Sammy took us by a place called, "Pickett's Bambino". It's a fast food place that sells basically a hot-pocket. It's across between a calzone and an empinada. The crust is flaky, and there's pizza topping inside. They also sell dessert ones too. The chocolate-caramel one was really good.

Then one last stop in at Reed's Creamery for some ice cream. This time we went by the calves to pet them and have them suck on the kids' fingers. I don't think any of the kids were brave enough for that, but one calf did try to suck on Duncan's pant leg.

We also stopped back by the temple in Idaho Falls. They have an exhibit with pictures of space from the Hubble telescope, coupled with scriptures. Anna was very touched by the pairings, and wanted to make sure the kids got a chance to see them as well. Anna also wanted a picture of the kids with the Christus there.

Also a picture of the kids in front of the temple as well.

After that, we got on the road and headed down to Utah, for the second half of our family road trip vacation.

We had SUCH a good time in Idaho. The Tetons and Yellowstone were great to go visit. Going to each of those added to the states we drove through. Both places were in Wyoming, and we drove through a small part of Montana to get to Yellowstone. The kids had a fun time keeping track of which states were "visited".

The kids repeatedly declared how much they liked Idaho, and said they want to come back. Anna said she would really like to plan another trip out to Yellowstone to see more of what we had to skip over to make it to Old Faithful.

Mike, Becky, Sammy, and Jacob were all great and helpful with the kids. A huge thank you for letting us crash out at your house for a bunch of days, and for taking us out to some awesome sights.

Oh yeah, I bought a bottle of chocolate milk at Reed's, and snuck it into the van from the kids, so Anna and I could share it. Reed's thickens their chocolate milk with potato flakes... Yep, you read that right, potato flakes... Only in Idaho... but it's sooooo good!

Family Vacation part 2- Utah

The second leg of our family vacation was spent in Utah. We spent time in Springville (not Provo), Lehi, West Jordan, and SLC. A H U G E thank you to Danny and Kelly for letting invade their home for four days and five nights! We had a great time!

We got to Springville Tuesday evening. We wanted to eat somewhere unique to the area, and after some time, we ended up at the BYU creamery. The burgers I shared with Anna were pretty good, and the ice cream was quite good too (Anna and I picked at the kids' ice cream). The most notable thing was how busy they were the whole time we were there. The line for ice cream was continuously long.


Once we were done at the creamery, we headed over to a little hole in the wall named Sammy's for Pie Shakes. Sara and Josh swear by these, so how could we resist try some our selves? Anna got the banana cream pie shake. I had the mint oreo pie shake. Kelly and Danny got the pumpkin and coconut ones. They were nice enough to share some bites. They were all very good. And if you're wondering what I "pie shake" is... They put a slice of pie into the shake and blend it all up with the ice cream and milk. It sounds crazy, but it works.

Wednesday, we met my good friend Ginell at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. There's a VERY cool dinosaur museum there. The kids had a blast with all the hands on stuff there is to do there.

Here we are at a build your own dinosaur area.

They got to play Paleontologists.

Also at Thanksgiving Point, there are shops and eateries, garden and farm areas, and this very cool interactive water sculpture. The kids played there for about an hour, and loved every minute of it. It was great fun to watch them try and wet each other.

Tegan preferred to play with the tiny dinosaur toys we bought at the museum.

The ice cream counter had amazing deals! Small kid cones for 25 cents! That's what Jennan and Tegan are enjoying in this picture. The 50 cent cone was quite large, and the dollar cone was even bigger! (Anna and I got the dollar sized ones.)

That night we went to Tucano's for some delicious Brazilian style BBQ. SOOOO good! We stuffed ourselves. The grilled fresh pineapple was awesome.

Thursday we hung out a bit more with Ginell, and also went to dinner with some of the other friends we have out in Utah that are from the old group I ran around with before my mission. Jared came with his two little boys. Kara came with her 4 kids. Even Ginell and Kara's parents were in town, so they came too. It was great to see them all and have a chance to hang out. It just wasn't enough time. Next time we need to spend more of the day all together. A big thank you to Ginell for making the arrangements.

Friday we went to Cabela's to see the "dead animal zoo" as Anna put it. There are tons of taxidermied game animals there. Plus lots and lots of cool outdoor and camping stuff, all under one roof. We met up with my old friend Danny there with his family.

Cabela's is across the 15 fwy from Thanksgiving Point. We went back there to go play in a children's garden we heard about, that had an area where the kids could play in the water. Again, the kids had a great time. After here, we went back to the water sculpture for more water play... and ice cream!

We decided to stay an extra day and go to Temple Square on Saturday. Kelly went with us. (She was with us all day Friday, too.) She was a good guide. Here we are with the Christus in the north visitor's center. There were a lot of things to see at the visitor's center.

We also went to the top of the church office building to look out it's observation deck on the 24th? or 26th? floor (one of those). The elevator gets you up there in 22 seconds! We also saw the Joseph Smith movie in the Joseph Smith building. The movie is very well done.


Here are the kids in front of the Salt Lake Temple.

After some lunch, we made it into the conference center. Here is one of the water fountains in one of the lobbies. We got to inside and see how truly HUGE it is, even from the inside! Duncan recognised it as the place we watch church on tv. It was a good teaching opportunity.

We also made our way out to Bridal Veil Falls. Tegan was tuckered out.

Anna and the rest of the kids made it to the base of the falls to check it out. There were a lot of people there. We didn't stay very long. But we were glad to see it.

That next morning we started our (long) drive home. Traffic was HORRIBLE. But we made it home without any problems.

We had such a good time. We already have a list of things to do next time.

Piano Men

Well, long time no see.

Let's get right back into it...

Duncan and Liam had a piano recital Sunday evening. They did a great job. There were 4 other kids that also participated. They did a great job too.

Here's Liam playing one of his selections. Liam has been going strong on piano since he started in April. He really likes it.


Here's Duncan while he played by himself. He played a total of three pieces. The other two were duets with his teacher. He did a great job.

It was a small recital and gathering. Mostly parents and families. It was good for them to play in front of other people. A big thank you to grandparents on both sides, for coming all the way out here for Duncan and Liam. They (and the girls) were very happy to see you.

Family Reunion Fun

We went to the Foutz family reunion last weekend in Mesa, Arizona. We haven't gone in many years because it's mostly people that I don't know, and it's usually at a place that caters to a bunch of old people sitting around and talking all day with little effort in providing something for families with small children. This year was VASTLY DIFFERENT, the main part of the reunion was to spend the day at a place called "Amazing Jake's". It's an indoor fun-park. Lazer tag, go carts, bumper cars, kid rides, mini-golf, bowling, video games, redemption (ticket) games, air hockey, pool tables, and all you can eat buffet!! All under one roof and all for FREE for those attending the reunion this year!! That was worth a drive out to Arizona with the family.

PLUS, we could visit Kevin and Dawn and Family again, eat Culver's frozen custard, eat a Fontina burger and drink a date shake at Joe's Farm Grill, and eat at the Black Bear Diner!

Here are some (actually a lot) of pictures at Amazing Jake's...


The reunion members were allowed in an hour earlier than the public, but that also meant that some of the early "bugs" weren't yet worked out. We went to do some lazer tag, but the computer that runs all the guns and vests wasn't cooperating. We eventually ditched it and went elsewhere. But this is what we looked like while we waited for them to figure out why it wasn't working.


Duncan, Liam and Jennan got on this fast spinning ride.

There's Jennan.

Jennan and Tegan with mom on the tea cup ride. Anna was spinning that cup like crazy! Tegan could barely keep her head up.

There were a lot of rides Tegan couldn't go on because she was too small. But that meant she got to go on rides the other kids didn't get to go on, like this train ride.

The three older kids and I went on the bumper cars. They were unique vehicles, not really "cars" at all, but they were sure fun!

This ride is very similar to the jelly fish ride at California Adventure. It goes up and bounces it's way down, then back up, and bounces down. It does that about 4 times before it's over. Tegan really liked this ride, which is good, because she went on it a lot while waiting for the others to go on the other rides.

We chose to do some miniature golf. There were enough different colored golf balls that we could each have our own color.

Duncan had TWO hole in ones this session!

Jennan preferred to hit the ball as a righty, even though she's a lefty.

Tegan with the assist from daddy.

Liam also got a hole in one this day!! (fyi- So did I.)

After golf we hit up the buffet! Pizza, fruit, pizza, pizza, pasta, pizza, cookies, pizza, and ice cream. The pizza was surprisingly good. They had about 8 different types out, and replenished them quickly. There are many places to eat your pizza. We chose the movie room. They had three different movies playing at the same time. We were closest to "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". They were also playing "G-Force" and one of the Shrek movies. The volumes were REALLY low, so it was literally "watching" movies while you ate. The kids didn't care though.

Tegan with her chocolate ice cream mustache. Jennan watching the movie.

After lunch we went bowling. I know, I know, the kids already go bowling once a week, so why bowl?... Because Daddy wanted to, that's why. The kids like bowling, so they didn't care. Plus it gave us a chance to "compete" with the kids.

Tegan hasn't been signed up for bowling yet, so she was really excited to be able to bowl with everyone.

There she goes... (yep, we bowled with bumpers)

After we finished bowling, it was time to go. Amazing Jake's was closing early to accommodate a private party for the second half of the day. There were still a lot of things we didn't get to do that we wanted to do, but really, how could we complain? We got to do everything else for FREE! We still had a great time.

After Jake's, we went to the ward building where the reunion was, and had an auction. (The auction helps pay for the reunion.) After the auction they served dinner- chili verde burritos! They were SO good! Once dinner and dessert were done, we headed back to Kevin and Dawn's house.

Fun day! VERY fun trip!!