Tonight Grandma and Grandpa Miller are having a sleep over for the girls.  Morgin, Jordin, Savannah and even little Avynlee have gone to spend the evening roasting marshmallows, playing, watching movies and having a grand time.  Jaron and I went on a date with some of his friends from work.  We went to see Taken 2 after a yummy meal at Costa Vida and followed by blizzards from Dairy Queen.  That buy one get one free card we purchased in support of a high school band member has sure gotten it's use.  I had a pumpkin cheesequake blizzard, different from my usual Reeses, but I had to seize the the moment of the season.  That left Hudson to squeeze his way into someone's night.  Mom had to work an event at the college, which is often her lot on weekend nights, but Dad was happy to let Hudson come hang out with him.  Dad thought he and Hudson could go see a male vocal group on campus.  Before we started delivering all the kids to their determined destinations, Hudson came down with a headache.  I fed him some food and gave him a good dose of Ibuprofen in hopes he would feel better.  He tends to be like me, if we don't catch the headache in the beginning, it progressively gets worse.  We told him what grandpa had in mind to do that evening and he immediately responded with a protest of the potential boringness of it.  We offered him to get a babysitter at the house, or even we stay home with him for the evening, but in the end, it was decided that if he were given a green dollar bill, he would be a good sport and go with Grandpa to this concert.  I asked him in the car on the way over how he was feeling.   "Better and better by the minute," he replied with very apparent disappointment...in which he followed by asking if it was okay to trick Grandpa and say he was still not feeling good and maybe Grandpa wouldn't want to go to the boring concert.

At the end of the night, we pulled into my parents drive at almost the same time as my dad and Hudson.  I asked Dad if Hudson was good, since our deal was he only got the dollar if he was a good sport.  Dad's reply: Hudson was VERY well behaved.  He let it be known that he was very bored, but as the vocal group began to harmonize, Hudson began to blend his own voice in.  I eventually had to give him a signal to quiet down although I really didn't want to because he was in perfect harmony with the performers!

I was quiet happy with that report on more than one level.  Hudson climbed in the car with his ice cream treat Grandpa has gotten him and eavesdropped on mine and Jaron's conversation the whole way home with an occasional question of "why?" or "what did you say?"  He really is a cute, little impish fellow.

Spud Harvest is here.  The kids are out of school for two weeks.  They take it easy and Jaron picks up double load.  I am amazed at what lengths he is is capable of in the world of a working man.  He works his full schedule at the college, then goes straight to helping in spud harvest.  Yesterday he squeezed in mowing the lawn and filling in a grave (another "little" side job he picks up from time to time) in between everything.  I admire, as well as feel grateful for the efforts he makes in supporting our family.

My good friend Heidi Pehl loaned me a jogging stroller.  Yay for me!  I have always wanted one, but haven't wanted to spend the money.  So the older kids rode their bikes and I pushed Avynlee in the stroller and we went for a little jaunt through Parker.  The weather has been incomparably beautiful-mid 70's, sunny, calm....don't want to relinquish a grip on these good days. We stopped for a break at the school and what do you know? Savannah lost a tooth!

A few Sundays ago (dare I admit this was a Sunday? eek), Jaron had two rental four wheelers from a ride he did with some work-friends the day before.  We loaded up after church and took a leisurely roll through the desert.  I remembered how when I moved to Idaho, I fell in love with the skies.  They are so expansive, so many different hues of blue and brush strokes of grey, with white cotton stretched across and rolled together.  A true artistic masterpiece from Heaven.  I have no doubt that here is the only place I would want to raise a family and be settled.  There is not a more perfect little town than Parker, with a school and a church less than a mile away and everyone waving to each other as we pass by.  As much as I love my home and would never want to homestead anywhere else, I do yearn for the lush, tight surroundings of the forest (Jaron might throw in the word suffocating).  I sometimes see movies in the setting of Oregon/Washington and ache to be where the hills roll and twist, rivers and waterfalls weave, and the sky is like a grey flannel blanket.  Perhaps we will be back to visit, but I now look for beauty in a grain field, beginning the change from bright green to gold, and the silhouette of the rugged Tetons, and an area where the vast majority of the people are saints of God.

Last Friday we loaded up the kids at 5:30 pm and headed down to Rigby Lake for the evening-just the 5 of us.  Jaron and I relaxed (well, I mostly read..."The Goose Girl.." very good book).  The kids just played and played in the sand and water until the sun started going down and the breeze turned cool.

Saturday was mine and Jaron's 11th anniversary!  Eleven years of great fun, friendship, love, support and companionship.  On the way to dinner I talked Jaron into taking me the scenic way to Idaho Falls.  I was expecting to go through Ririe, but he turned right off of the highway (North?? I never know).  We passed through the cute, little town of Menan (or is Roberts??  I'm pretty sure Menan, but I always get those two confused).  Beautiful farms and old restored houses. I always get so excited driving through new places.  Its kind of bad because we almost can't hold a conversation because I'm constantly stopping mid-sentence to point things out or ask question about what I see out the window.  We ate at Yummy House Chinese in downtown Idaho Falls.  I love the city and that's as close as it gets for now.  We then picked up a few school clothes items for the kids.  Not a huge, momentous anniversary celebration, but quite enjoyable. 

Tuesday was the official Pioneer Day.  Jaron had the day off from work.  With the idea of doing something fun together as a family, we took the kids on their first motor ride that wasn't in our yard (Hudson on his little dirtbike, Savannah on her own little 4 wheeler, Jaron on his dirtbike and me and Avynlee on a 4 wheeler).  We parked the pick up and enclosed trailer on the intersection by Coy and Emilee's house and unloaded.  Savannah apparently had forgotten how to steer (what???).  She almost went into a canal, but stopped and corrected and did better the second half of the ride.  Hudson did great.  We went up past George and Linda's house and headed toward the sand dunes.  It wasn't our intention to actually get to the sand dunes, but the Crapo's have good farm roads to ride along (and beautiful green and golden hills of grain).  Once it started getting too sandy, we turned around because Hudson's training wheels were not conducive to the sand.  Back at the trailer, Jaron rode his dirtbike up and in and Hudson just followed right up (he had never done that before, and was never given permission to try).  His front tire went off the ramp and he was luckily caught by the cables that pull the ramp up.  I was a ways back and yelled for Jaron who had his back to the situation.  He quickly put his bike down and rescued his son.  Hudson slowly walked down the trailer ramp with big tears in his eyes and came to my comforting arms.  He was pretty shaken up.  I thought well, I hope he learned a little something about being more careful...I'm obviously so glad he wasn't hurt.

Fast forward to the next day (so far in the future, I know).  I am driving Hudson over to play at Creed's house and pass the intersection where we had parked yesterday.

SAVANNAH: There's where we parked yesterday.
ME: Yep.  That was a fun ride, huh?
HUDSON: Savannah was scared to ride her 4 wheeler.
ME: and you were scared when you almost went off that ramp.
HUDSON: No I wasn't
ME: yes you were
HUDSON: No I wasn't
ME: I should hope you were.  If you tell me you weren't scared, that tells me you didn't learn about being careful and I won't be able to let you ride anymore. 
HUDSON: fine.  I did a tiny gasp.