hello Idaho

*Warning: this post is ridiculously long, but I'm planning on printing our blog for a family scrapbook, so I didn't want to leave anything out.*


A fall trip to Idaho consists of a few musts including family, hunting, and chores. This trip we also included a baby shower for Morgan, 4 wheeling, home made apple pie and a trip to Twin Falls to visit Ben's brother .

Family
Of course we made time to see everyone while we were home. Here are just a few pictures.

Rhone and his Great Granny

There's nothing like sharing the last piece of apple pie right out of the pan.

Morgan, Rhone, and Brock after a delicious dinner at Buddy's in Pocatello

Aunt Kris and Rhone. She was nice enough to drive Granny up for one last visit before we left.

We consider Ace family. So here are some pictures of him too.

We did a little sports theme for Morgan's shower. I even made a Syracuse University Diaper cake (the photo's on my mom's camera though). Congrats Brock and Morgan. We can't wait to meet your little man! Here are a few photos from the shower.

Hunting
We spent most of our time hunting Sharptail Grouse. They are a challenging bird to hunt, but the scenery is gorgeous. We also did a little forest grouse hunting. It was one crazy hike up the mountain and we decided that Rhone isn't quite ready for that crazy terrain. My dad had a guided hunt scheduled for one of the days we were home. So Ben loaded up Ace and off they went to guide the hunt. Ace did really well and I think Ben had a great time handling Ace for the hunter. He already made plans for another hunt, Ben must have done a great job.

Rhone admiring 2 Sharptails. I love how candid this photo is.

We hiked up from the bottom of this canyon straight through the aspen thicket. I can't believe my dad and Rhone made it. All that hiking and not one Rough Grouse.

Ben and I each shot a Rough Grouse later that day on a much, much shorter hike.

Isn't the Malad Valley beautiful.

Ben sighting in his new 22-250 rifle (see the little white target).

He's one of the cutest little hunters I've ever seen.

Chores
It's funny how when I was little my mom had to nag me to do my chores, but now when I go home I love the chance to help out, especially if it's outside. The chukars we out of grain, so we had to move the wheat from the grain bin to the huge feeder inside the bird pen. Here are some photos of Rhone helping out.

We fill up the little tub right under the grain bin. Then we pull it out and bucket it into the big tub on the trailer.

Then we drive the grain into the bird pen.

Standing knee deep in wheat.

4 Wheeler Ride

Since I can remember we have had an OLD blue 4-wheeler. It doesn't have breaks or reverse, but we only really use it around the farm, so it's not a big deal. When we got home I was shocked to walk into the garage and see not 1 but 2 new 4-wheelers (well new to us). My dad laughed and said one was my mom's and one was Rhone's. Here are some pictures from one ride through Kent Canyon just a few miles from my parent's house.

My mom and dad.

Our little family.

Me and my parents. I am so blessed to have them.

Rhone riding solo. Don't you love his extra sock insulation. He feel asleep in the backpack, so here he is looking a little grogy.

Twin
We made a quick day trip to Twin Falls to see Erich's family. Ben's mom and sister Gabi were up helping them get all settled into the their new beautiful home. We took a little hike along the rim by Shoshone Falls and Rhone and Jake played together- well sort of.

Shoshone Falls

Ben and Erich. Rhone couldn't take his eyes off the water.

A picture at the top of our hike.

Rhone and Jake

hello utah

After just a few weeks in the house, we headed west for a visit with family. The timing was a little crazy, but it was the only time Ben was able to get off until after the new year. After over 4 years of marriage this is the first flying trip Ben and I have ever made round trip together. The company and the help with Rhone on the plane was great! After picking up the rental car in SLC we headed to Richfield, UT to see Ben's side of the family. His sister Livi was also in from OK and we got to meet Isaac, the newest addition to the family. That night I was able to go to the Taste of Home cooking school with Ben's mom and 2 of his sisters. It was so much fun and I'm so glad they invited me to tag along.

Rhone loved rocking Isaac in his car seat.

We spent one day at Fish Lake. The girls and Jake fished while the rest of us enjoyed the beautiful fall scenery and campfire cooking.

Jake and Ben with the girls at the lake

It was so much fun to watch Rhone and Leisel play together.

Livi and Isaac, Grandmommy and Rhone and Gabi are staying warm by the fire.

Just playing by the lake

The Aspens were just changing, they are one of my favorite trees.

Lucky for us it happened to be the primary program that Sunday so we got to see Ben's nieces work their singing and memorizing magic at church. We ate plenty of good food and had a great time catching up with everybody! Thanks for making our visit great!

Enjoying some of a new recipe we tried from the cooking school are Liz, Isaac, Hannah, and Grandmommy (well I guess Isaac isn't quite on solids yet).

It took some convincing, but I got Ben's family (minus Terri and Erich) to pose for a picture.

What a cute crop o' cousins!

More about the rest of our trip to come.

a little outside time

There is a wildlife refuge not far from Dover. We headed out to do a little hiking. I turned out to be very little hiking because the mosquitoes were thick! But we were still able to see plenty of wild life anyway. Hopefully with our bikes and the cool weather coming we will get to spend more time exploring outdoor Delaware.

another one already

Rhone just keeps growing up. I love it and dread it at the same time. This last month was an eventful one for Rhone. He has mastered crawling, opening cabinets and drawers, and standing up with objects. He loves having room to crawl around and play in. He has one of the most expressive personalities for a little guy. His sense of humor cracks me up. He can give himself and drink and is starting to use a spoon. He even got his first haircut and was a champ with the noisy clippers. I included a picture of one of my favorite things about Rhone his feet. His toes are all almost the exact same length and I love how his rolls are white where they didn't get tanned by the sun. I still get plenty of cuddles when he gets tired and am enjoying them while I can.

We are in!

Everything at closing went great. Rhone was even well behaved. Most of the boxes are out and most of our belongings are in (well you know besides the ones that disappeared in the move). We are finally feeling settled in. It look longer than we thought it would especially with putting in all the blinds, curtains ceiling fans, and painting. My family has been asking for some pictures of the inside of the house so here are some of them. The bedrooms still aren't finished yet, so no pictures of them (our bed is actually on the floor still since part of the frame got "lost"). There are collages because I could do them without internet at home so hopefully posting will be shorter while I have internet. Don't forget to click and enlarge them.


I loved my free hand-me-down table from college, but not quite as much as I love our new tent sale find that seats 8.
The paint color is called "High Tea". It's different but I love it. Ben calls it "hippie paint" because it's the no VOC stuff and it really was odorless and we painted this color in 1 coat!


For using what we already owned (well minus the TV and the ladder shelf) I think it turned out pretty good- we still have a few finishing touches we need to do.