Idaho Love

I think I'm starting to fall in love with the Idaho Mountains.  I have always been one that enjoys nature and the outdoors.  I love different varieties of birds and flowers and here I have been overwhelmed with all of the above.  the lakes are clear and the rivers and rugged and gushing with whitewater rapids, the mountains are impressive, the air clear, crisp and dry and the people are laid back and fun.  The amount of birds that I have seen here is impressive the most brilliant was the blue bird that we saw at the top of Brundage mountain. 

Today was another wonderful day here in McCall.  It started with a swim lesson at the fish and swim club, we moved on to the game room where Grandma & Pa met up with us there to go fishing.  We fished at the pond and as we were getting our hooks baited we saw an osprey eagle dive and catch a fish.  Incredible!  We weren't so lucky with the fish so the boys moved onto the playground.  Adam and Zach played four square with Grandma & Pa and Andrew and I played bocce ball.  It was fun just soaking eachother's company up and playing with one another. 

There is a continuous theme for this summer and it is Star Wars.  Adam has fallen in love with it and haswatched all 6 epsodes several times this summer (on the plane and in the car), declared the light saber gift that he received for his birthday the best gift tat he has ever received and had to have it with him on this trip.  He also packed his brother's sabers and it has been a constant entertainment for all during this whole time.  I turned on "Star Wars the Clone Wars" for Andrew and all the boys have been mesmerized by this science fiction.  It was while they were thus engaged that Grandma and I were up in her art studio going through stuff and organizing up there.  Eventually we came down to meet up with a friend to show us where a good huckleberry patch was.  We went picking and this has become another one of the mountain life enchantments.  Even though we didn't find but just a handful it was still really fun finding a sweet delicious berry that can only be found in the wild. 

Our day ended with a Idahoan wood stacking service project.  At first Adam and Zachary didn't want to participate so I said that is fine you can just watch and before I knew it they were in the line passing wood.  They worked hard and with out a complaint they were by far the youngest helpers there.  I was proud of them for working so hard.  Poor Andrew wanted to help too but really couldn't and hung out in the back of Grandpa's truck.  It was an ok place for him until he need to go to the bathroom and couldn't get out and couldn't see me to call for help.  Kawaiso!  He got cleaned up and stayed warm inside Grandma's car.  It turned really cold and is suppose to be in the 30's tonight.  To warm up Grandpa fired up their wood pellet stove and everyone enjoyed warming up by the fire and eating popcorn. 

Independance Day

We determined that we would go to the battleship New Jersey to start off our Independence Day.  We went with the Nycz family which added a spice of fun to have Christopher with our boys.  We learned a lot about the battleship.  Most fascinating was the gun power that it has and that only one American life was ever lost during the many battles, and several wars that it was in.  I think the boys really liked laying down in the bunks that they enlisted men were assigned to and walking through the maze of passageways.  I really liked seeing the views of Philadelphia skyline from the upper decks of the ship.  I was impressed by the massive size of the guns and through its fire power has saved lives and brought peace to many more. 

Later on we went over to a friend's house where they had a huge gathering and lots of food.  Even though it is against NJ law to shoot off fireworks they do it anyway.  They must have spent $1,000 or more on fireworks and got to shoot them all off with out the cops coming.  it was about an 30min straight mortars and firecrackers. It was intense and beautiful.  I loved feeling the impact of the mortars going off against my body and seeing the explosions directly overhead.  It is great having friends that in a sense give the "finger" to the government which is just what our forefathers did in 1776.  It was a wonderful way to spend Independence Day.

Zach's 8th Birthday!!!

I feel like we have been celebration this blessed even for over a week.  It all started with his birthday party on June 24th.  It was an epic water fight with four of his friends; Stephen, Rishan, William, & Daniel.  Everyone got a gun, and a shield. The yard was equipped with refill stations and in each refill bucket was loads of water balloons.  I turned the boys lose in the yard and the rest was history.   They were having so much fun it was hard to get them to stop for food and cake.  As the boy's moms were picking up they discovered the slip'n'slide in the front yard which was a catalyst for more fun.

The next day we embarked on our journey to Cousin Camp in Charleston, SC (a 13 hour drive).  Six (fun and exhausting) days later we drove back to NJ and he very next day was Zach's actual birthday.  Zach had asked for gifts instead of a big party (Yes!) and so he got some lute!  Most of the day was spent playing with his new set of toys.  Then for dinner we went to a Hibachi Grill.  Our chief put on a good show for us.  The highlights for me was when the chief squirted in Josh's mouth what we thought was water but really sake.  I was puzzeled when I saw Josh's face go from playful to absolute disgust.  Only after he spit out the liquid did I realize what was in that bottle.  Andrew's laughs and squeals with the chiefs performance were unmatched.  His joyful sounds even got the tough, muscle shirt wearing, Jersey boys to crack a smile.  To celebrate Zachary's birthday they brought out a candle in his ice cream, lit a big sparkler under the big hood and sang happy birthday while banging on a gong and drum.  We celebrated one last time with homemade cake at home. I can't believe my little Zach is 8 years old and getting baptized.