Hit & Run, Ouch!

So the Honda has now experienced it's first accident... As Charley was on his way to get his allergy shot, in the lovely 35th South traffice, somebody pulled out in front of him and he rear ended them. It was a Ford explorer, and when the lady got out of the car, noticed she didn't have any body damage, and drove off. She didn't speak english and left VERY quickly... Hmmm. It may (or may not) be a blessing in disguise that she left the scene. Since Charley is the one that hit from behind, he is automatically at fault, and we may have been responsible for her car also. But, since she left the scene, it was considered a hit and run.

Charley, and Nate were the only ones in the car, and they are both fine. Poor Nate, this is his 4th accident in his short 9 years of life. The car is driveable, but there's a large dent in the front bumper, hood and fender on the passenger side. Guess we're going to get to work on the insurance & estimates...

Weekend Getaway...

We haven't been to Idaho for quite a while, so we decided to go last weekend. We didnt' have the kids, but there was a pageant going on in Glenns Ferry that Charley's parents wanted to go to since it was the last year the pageant was going to be held.

We left late Friday night after a BBQ at the park, so we didn't get to Filer until around midnight. We spend the night at Charley's parents then drove to Glenns Ferry saturday morning. Once we got to Glenns Ferry, there was so much traffic that we missed the pageant. It was ok though, we still had a good time. These cute benches were along side the road once we go to town, so we made Charley and his dad jump on one for a picture! (They are such good sports!).

Later in the afternoon we met up with Carlos & Denise in Twin Falls. Carlos had to work late Friday, so they left early Saturday morning. As soon as they got into town we went to see the scenic Shoshone Falls.

We also met up with the family for a birthday dinner Saturday night. (Happy Birthday Danne!). Then it was off for an evening camping at Miracle hot Springs. Miracle has these awesome camping domes that we stayed in. Very affordable, and nice! They have heat and electricity, a bbq grill, patio, chairs and tables, with lots of trees and privacy. We definately want to stay there again!! They also have the natural hot springs heated pool, and the private hot tubs that you can reserve by the hour.

See this awesome hand shaped chair next to the camp dome? They were so funny! We all had to get our picture taken in them. (They are actually pretty comfortable to sit in too!!).

After visiting with the rest of the family on Sunday, it was time to drive back home. It's always fun when we go to Idaho. It's close enough to go for the weekend, but far enough that you feel like you are getting away.

New Wheels... For Nate...

I am so proud of Nate. He has been earning money this summer to buy a new bike. His old bike is getting too small for him, but I explained to him that we didn't have the money to just go buy a bike right away. His birthday is in December so that wasn't a very good alternative either.

So, he's been doing odd jobs around the house, and volunteering to help out while he was off track to earn a dollar here and there. I told him I would pay half. He has been riding his bike to school and we have been going on nightly bike rides as a family, so the motivation was to get a new bike quick!

While we were at Walmart the other day, they had this bike on the scratch n dent rack. The only think wrong it is the vinyl was coming up from under the seat. Well, we just happened to have a new bike seat at home not being used... Perfect! It was 35% off for that reason only.

I now have a large ziplock bag full of quarters, dimes, nickels & pennies...

The Boys Turn Three...

Erin's boys celebrated their third birthday today! Wow, these boys have sure grown up fast! They are so tall it makes it hard to believe they are only 3! I don't get to see them very often, so it was so much fun to go up to Heber to celebrate with them today.

We started on the Heber Creeper. It was a three hour round trip train ride down the Provo Canyon. This was Charley's first time on the Heber Railroad, and I haven't ridden it since I was little. Nate has ridden before with my parents but he didn't really remember it.

I think Nate got bored on the way back...

Until the robbers came on the train at the very end & made everyone put their hands up

Then we went back to the park in Midway where we had sandwiches, cupcakes & the boys opened their gifts. This is Bailee trying to show them how many fingers to hold up... (At first they had up all 10. LOL). And then a group shot of everyone that attended. (Minus Jamie who is taking the picture).

Adapting to Changes...

I have kind of a unique (although extremely busy) job. There are three floor trainers for the two claims teams. The three of us work closely together to act as a resource for 40 processors, the training & development team, 5 phone teams, and several other departments within company.

Recent changes have downsized our trio to just two of us. Not only am I sad that we're losing our "third leg" but I'm also overwhelmed at the workload that will soon follow. Jen (in the middle) takes on so many meetings & behind the scenes projects that are often unrecognized. She has organized the claims teams, and implemented so many resources. She is definately going to be missed!! Although she's just moving across the hall to training & development, it will be a huge adjustment not to have her as a mentor every day.

Jen, T&D is so lucky to have you!! Change always affects people, but this time it definatley affects Carrie, you, and I more than others. I will miss you dearly, but of course, will still always reach out to you for direction. Thanks for being the great lead & mentor that you have been, I just hope I can be there for you the same way you have been there for me....

First Day of 4th Grade...

Can you believe it? I barely can! Yesterday was Nate's first day of fourth grade. He was NOT at all excited to go back to school. I don't blame him. He's only been out of school since July 2nd. That's that hard part about year round. But, I just keep telling him, he goes off track again in three weeks! That's the bonus!! Believe me, he'll like it when he goes off in three short weeks!

His teacher this hear is Ms. Hansen. She's going to be excellent. She has been a neighbor and friend for the last 12 years in the ward, and she is a wonderful teacher. I'm so excited he gets to be in her class. He also has several friends in his class from last year as well as a few others in the neighborhood who have moved to C track. I think I officially embarassed him in class! I've always been a mom with a camera, I mean really, I'm a scrapbooker. For the first time, he actually burried his head on his desk and said "Geez Mom". It took forever to get this ONE picture of him at his desk. (UGH. I knew the time would come!)

Anyway, he must have survived... He came home yesterday excited about earning their first "class reward party". Nathan is an excellent student and I know he's going to do well this year! Good Luck Nate!!

Freezer Jam & Family Night

I have lots of weaknesses, and this is definately one of them. I've noticed a lot of them fall into the "freezer" category. Ice cream, popsicles, freezer jam, frozen waffles & pancakes. Yep, call me weird.

Anyway, we made 8 batches of freezer jam last night. Strawberry, and just a few raspberry. The raspberries just don't come down cheap enough to make a bunch, so we only ended up with 4 jars. (1 batch).

Needless to say, our freezer is now full of these bright little jars! (This picture is one batch!!)

Nate has really been encouraging us to have scripture study and family night activities. He will even plan out the song, the scripture, the lesson, the treat and the activity. For a while, our activities have been a bike ride, playing catch with a softball, jump roping, etc. Last night we made jam and it was so much fun. I really miss taking time out of a busy "work" schedule and doing something that encourages Nate. I'm glad he "nudges" us to have family night, or it would be something that is always overlooked. I realize how important it is for us to do something together. They create memories for him and he always looks back and talk about them. We hope that one day the girls will be able to join us for some activities.

Bear Badge Down, Next Up, Webelos...

Nate has been working so hard in scouts! He groans about going sometimes, but in reality he loves it. Last night he earned his bear badge. He has a challenging time in scouts because for 5 months, he's the only one in his den his age. He moves up with the level ahead for one month, then to the level below for 5 months until they can form a den his age. He has great leaders that help him, but a lot of the stuff he does at home. He's now earned his bear badge and they are now splitting off the "bear den". So for now, he's going to work on arrow points, belt loops, and looking forward to December when he can start webelos.His dad was able to come see him get his award, and after that was the water rocket derby. Nate loved this, even though his egg cracked the first round. Nate actually designed his own rocket, decided on the bottle and everything. That's possibly why his is the "small" one. He went more for rocket height, rather than rocket structure. And Charley is always great about helping him (aka building it for him) and encouraging him to use his own ideas. Oh well, can't win them all, right! I'm just proud of all the work he puts into it, and I know it's rewarding to him in the long run.