Homeschool Retreat (lots of pictures for a short weekend!)

We are one family less in our group this year. We will really miss the Kishpaughs, and felt their absence on our little getaway a couple of weeks ago. We made our way up to Island Park, Idaho to stay at Ian's family's cabin so that we could bond together as a group. We said we would chat and make school plans etc... but none of that really happened. :) We just had fun with each other.


We started heading up on Thursday night. By the time we got to Pocatello, both Richie and I were aching for Idaho. When we hit Rexburg we nearly cried. The rest in our party weren't as far along as we were, so luckily our friends Mike and Megan were available to hang out. We stopped at Broulims for some food and then met them at Porter Park. Now of course we caught the Burg at the perfect time (the 7 week break-hardly any students around), so maybe our nostalgia was tainted a little, but it just seemed Heavenly. We showed the kids our last apartment, across from Porter Park. (The same girls that lived in the basement are still there!) We played, ate, and talked, then as luck would have it-they were showing a movie in the park. So we caught a bit of that, then hit the road again for the last stretch of road to Island Park.


The James's cabin is a little slice of heaven, right on Henry's Fork. We spent all morning in canoes and row boats that we docked in and out of the backyard.(The water was freezing!) In the afternoon we took a little hike to Big Springs, which is the natural spring where the Henry's Fork begins, and then feeds into the snake river. The water is literally bubbling up from the ground and it the clearest water I think I've ever seen. We stopped at a historic cabin, ate our picnic lunch, and fed some fish. That night we celebrated Ethan's 6th birthday with an awesome Wild Kratt's party that Makenna put on, then BreAnn and Mitch, and Richie and I slipped out to West Yellowstone to see "Singin in the Rain" at the local playhouse.



Babies are notoriously bad sleepers on trips. Benson behaved no differently, and I felt like I was in that newborn haze again. He woke up early Saturday morning and I didn't want to wake the whole cabin up, so we slipped outside and enjoyed snuggling and watching the sun come up as the river floated along. While I was so exhausted, it was a perfect moment with my boy. He was warm in my arms and so still. Besides one fisherman and his son walking by, no one was around and we just listened to the world waking up! We spent all Saturday in Yellowstone. I don't count the time I went as a little girl, because I don't remember it. So it was kind of a first for all of us! I couldn't believe how many people were there and how many different languages we heard! While there was a lot of driving and getting in and out of cars, it was so cool! We had to see old faithful, but the kids decided that it probably wasn't worth the hype. I think they enjoyed other areas more, like this crystal blue pool that was steaming hot. They thought that was fascinating.


Sunday Morning, we packed up, went to Sacrament in Island Park, and then hit the road. We took a bit of a scenic route to check out our old Sugar City apartment, then to the temple in Rexburg, and then wandered through Archer etc to get to Rigby where we could visit with Mikel and Megan again. (I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of us with them!) Besides remembering how windy it gets there, our hearts were aching for the smallness and beauty of it all. We talked for hours with our friends, and the kids played really well on their own. They fed us dinner, and then we made it back home that night.


It was a super great trip, but after 2 big-ish trips, close-ish together, we were DONE with travel and happy to stay put for the next while.

Crosby Family Get-Together

With my parents being busy on a mission the next few years, the Crosby family vacations will remain small. We decided to gather in St. George this year, the first week in August-specifically so we could attend Cove Fort days and include my parents in some of the festivities! Here's the Reader's Digest version of our goings on.


Monday Night- Minute to Win it games, put together by Jenn. Such a fun, relaxed night. Favorite moments were watching Lindy pulling the tissues out of the tissue box, Richie dominating the rubber-band shooting game, and watching people do the game where you put a tennis ball in pantyhose, on your head and try to knock down water bottles. Classic.


Tuesday- Downtown SG day- We met at the splash pad and let the kids run around, rode the carousel, treated them at Judd's, and then met Russ, Nat and co. at this yummy smoothie and sandwich place for lunch. Later that day, some of the adults did a session in the temple (I barely made it in by the skin of my teeth. Didn't bring temple clothes or recommend!) while some of the young adults in our bunch did some baptisms that morning. That night it was so fun to see Erma perform in a play out in Washington.



Wednesday, we hit up the classic Veyo Roller Rink. However, it wasn't as "magical" as I remember it. Everyone made it work, despite the no AC, and lacking skate selection, and had a good time.


That night we swam at a pool provided by the Lamb's and had a talent show. I love these family talent shows! It's so neat for me to see that side of my nieces and nephews. Miles showcased his artwork on an "art cart", and was over the moon that people started buying his drawings. He made $2. Art and Money are his two major passions, so I'm sure he was in heaven. Gwen did one of her recital dances for us, and Lindy eventually danced. We tried to group all of the littles together at the end to do a group dance. When Lindy realized it wasn't a solo, her world was shattered, and she did the best pout/walk off the stage. She was eventually persuaded back by her adoring fans.


Thursday- I had heard incredible things about this new park near my parents house. So we decided to spend the morning there. However, by this point in the trip, I'm pretty sure I'd already sweat off half of my body weight, and this awesome park didn't have the water feature working. And week 1 of August in SG is bound to be a scorcher. So although it was a really cool park, my favorite part was the air conditioned ride home.


That night we went swimming at Sand Hollow Pool, and then continued the swimming at Russ and Nat's house after dinner.


Friday was dedicated to the Sand Hollow Reservoir. We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was nice and overcast. We rented a boat which kept most everyone busy. Those of us who stayed on shore tried out a paddle board, spike ball, and watched kids. I love my kids getting a nice healthy dose of that red dirt! The only downside to this day was that Miles got a wicked sunburn. He lost his swimming suit somewhere along the way. So he didn't have his normal rash guard on. Although I slathered him with sunscreen, he got one of the worst sunburns I've seen. It took him a full week to recover!



On Saturday, some of the men-folk played basketball in the morning. By the afternoon we were headed to Cove Fort. Everyone just kind of wandered through. There was so much to do! My Mom, although she would never take full credit, went all out. You could see evidences of her efforts everywhere. The "hay bale slide" was specifically a nod to the giant slides her Dad, my Grandpa Hinckley, would make at his farm. We were able to see Mom and Dad briefly here and there, but they were pretty busy running things. We would have loved to stay longer, but Miles's massive sunburn was making him sick, besides just being massively uncomfortable.



Highlights of the trip for me:
*Finally getting the DVD player to work in the van on the way down, so I wouldn't completely lose my sanity.
*Being introduced to Spike Ball
*Watching Lindy jump off the ladder into Russ and Nat's pool over, and over again, with her little bum hanging out of her shorts.
*Watching the lightning show off the back deck with Belen.
*Hearing the Richie held his own in basketball with all of the very tall men in the family. :)
*Catching a glimpse of one of my all-time favorite landscapes on our way out of SG. It's always my favorite part of the drive. :)
*My kids getting to sleep over at the Lambs on Friday night. It's become kind of a tradition that is hands-down, the highlight of any trip for my kids.
*Getting to hang out with the Ben Crosby's a little longer when they stayed over at our house Saturday night, before they made the trek back to Iowa.

It's always a good time when we get together. So grateful for this family of mine. :)