Grandma White's Visit

David's Mom came and visited us for a few days. We took her to see the City of Rocks and a couple of caves near here. She was a really good sport to go everywhere with us, and we had a great time.

We saw a sheepherder's wagon being pulled up to the hills. I'm amazed they still use these.


The City of Rocks

Teapot Cave

Another shot inside Teapot cave. It's called teapot cave because you enter in through the "spout" to get to the inside, which is round and has a hole at the top like a teapot. It was so interesting, and I was really surprised to find ferns growing on the bottom. I didn't expect that since it was out in the middle of the desert.

Asparagus Hunting

Asparagus grows wild along the ditch banks here, and this year I've decided to go asparagus hunting. I took the kids this morning, and we had a great time. It's been so long since I've just been traipsing. I used to do it quite a bit in the pastures next to my Grandparents' houses when I was a kid, and I walked all over the mountains when I was single, but life got very busy once I got married and had children.

It was so nice to slow down and pay attention to the growing things around me and to bring my kids with me so they could start to gain a love of being out in nature. I think I need to make more time for traipsing.

Anyway, I got a bundle that was probably 3 or 4 inches in diameter, and we stir fried some of it for dinner. I have to tell you that fresh picked asparagus wins hands down, and I'm going back again in a few days to pick some more. I'm hoping to freeze enough so we can enjoy some in the winter.

Grandma Strong's good advice

A couple of years ago we were down in Utah for Martell and Katie's wedding, and we were visiting with Grandma and Grandpa. David asked them what advice they had on raising children since they'd done such a good job with their family. Grandma said that if you don't have a good reason to tell your children no, tell them yes.

That advice has really stuck with me, and I try to do that with my kids. There's a lot of times as a parent when my kids' requests are inconvenient, or I'm tired, or I know it's going to make a huge mess. Those are the times I remember Grandma's advice, and so I do it anyway.

Grandma has a lot of wisdom, and after practicing her advice I can see why she said that. I find that my kids are happier, they're spending less time watching TV, and I'm spending more time with them. They also respond better when I say no, because I try to say yes as often as I can.

Yesterday Jacob asked me first thing in the morning if we could make cookies with the cookie cutters that day. My first thought was that it was going to be a huge mess, but then I remembered Grandma and so I told him we could. Yes, it was a huge mess, but the kids had a wonderful time and I had a fun time watching their happy faces and having time to interact with them.


Thank you Grandma for such wise advice.

Apple Tasting

For fun, we decided to get one kind of each apple at the store and have a taste test. (Red Delicious weren't included. They're banned from our house because they have the texture of wet chalk.) Our favorite ones were the Pinata, Cripps Pink, and Jonagold. The others didn't have much of a strong apple flavor, we thought. It was a fun activity that the kids liked, and a good way to decide which apple trees to plant in the future.

Really Good Dancing

Jacob has loved music ever since he was a baby. He has also loved dancing ever since he could wiggle that little body. His dance moves keep evolving, and this is the latest. He was dancing to the closing credits of some kids' show that I don't remember, in case you were wondering. (I still don't have a camera that records sound with the video. Sorry.)

This Past Week

The week started off with everyone catching a virus. Here's my tired and sick boys.

The Easter Egg hunt

We went to Sun Valley for one of David's medical conferences. We were at the gas station in Gooding when I saw this in the parking lot. I love rural America.

Sun Valley isn't the most family friendly place to visit, but the kids had a great time at the pool, and begged to go every day. Bridget calls the rhinocerous a 'funny kitty'. She loves kitties.

One of my favorite adventures was our trip to the local grocery store. Sun Valley caters to the wealthy, so the store was interesting. It was small, but it had fruits I had never seen or heard of in there, and an aisle dedicated entirely to cheeses. I always like to try new things, so I bought this big citrus fruit called a Uniq fruit. It tasted like a grapefruit and tangerine rolled into one, I thought.

The store was also an adventure because I was one of only 2 people in there with children. Jacob loves to sing, and of course felt compelled to sing his way through the store. I kept getting nasty looks that said, "Eww! You came in here and you brought THAT with you?" Needless to say, we're glad to be back among the friendly natives of Gooding.

Taking Care of Us

We've all had a virus in our family, and this morning I woke up feeling yucky. Jacob, seeing that I was sick, said he was going to go brush his teeth and was his hands all by himself because Bridget and I were sick. The next thing I knew, he brought me, Bridget, and himself our toothbrushes all loaded up with toothpaste and ready to go. He told me he did it because I wasn't feeling good. When we were done he offered to read a book to Bridget. How sweet is that?