Blue Angels Air Show

I'm still trying to catch up on all my blogs. So here is one from July 24th.

The Extreme Blue Thunder Air Show came to Idaho Falls that weekend. It was the only air show that featured the Navy Blue Angels performance team in the whole Mountain time zone this year. We felt very lucky to have it! We bought the tickets in honor of Jimmy's birthday which was the 27th. He turned 12, which is indeed a birthday worth celebrating. We started out the day at the Science Center parking lot, where a shuttle bus took us the .4 miles to the air show (but free parking is great wherever it is). Still, it was a 15 minute trip with all the traffic. Little did we know that getting home that way wouldn't be possible.... anyway, more on that later.

Looking cool in our caps.
We walked into the air show and bought a souvenir program for Jimmy and then looked at the smaller planes and helicopters on show. Almost immediately a B-2 stealth bomber did a fly-by. Those are truly silent planes! They just sneak up on you.

The stealth bomber

Sammy manning a helicopter machine gun

An old "warbird"
Then we had a chance to set down all our chairs and blankets, and Jimmy, Sammy and I went to see a large airplane that was offering walk-through tours. It was an Air Force refueling plane, an "airborne gas station" as the airman in it explained.

The boys got to lay down and look at the controls where the person maneuvers the refueling hose into the other airplane.

Jim and Sam in the belly of the plane where they actually lay face down (not up as the boys are doing) and maneuver the controls. It's a tight fit.

Then we sat for a while and watched the show. There were P-51 Mustangs at the beginning, which Jimmy really likes because he studied them for his 6th grade passion project. There were also biplanes, war birds, and some very fast (and loud) MIG fighter jets.

This plane is doing a loop.

Abby... smiling through the heat

Thank goodness Grammy brought frozen wash cloths to cool us down. Augie stuck it under his hat.
The biplane
After about three hours of these other planes, the Blue Angels took off. Now, we had seen them practicing their tricks over the previous week so nothing was too novel, except when they are right over head and crossing within inches of each other. It really takes your breath away! I tried doing some videos but I was almost out of memory. Some of the best videos I will put on below. (Jessica, these are for you, so you can see AND hear them!)



Four of the blue angels in formation

All six in formation

A low overhead pass
At the end of the day, all 38,000 people were trying to load the shuttle buses at the same time, making it about a 3 hour wait. Well, we figured since we live only a mile away it would be better to walk. Only Grandma was not really feeling well, but she said she'd rather walk, too. It was HOT (95 degrees) and the pavement was scorching. We hobbled along for about an hour till we made it home. We ended up very sunburned, tired, and hungry. (The food at the air show was a joke... $4.50 for a hot dog, $3.50 for a drink, $8.00 for a hamburger. And since 38,000 people were all trying to eat at the same time, it was an hour or more in each line. So we all had one Bambino [fried, stuffed scone] and that was it. They finally opened a fire hose and filled people's water bottles.) We were happy to find food and water and comfy chairs at home. I sent Daddy to the parking lot to fetch the car when he got home from work. Overall, except for the traffic and food, we were pleased with the show and were glad we took the chance to experience a once-in-a-lifetime air show.

Jimmy's Birthday -- 12 Years Old!

Nothing brings  you to the startling realization that you are getting old like your first child turning 12. This is a huge milestone in our church -- boys get the priesthood and enter the Young Men and Scouting program. It's really a turning point, and one that has made me feel unprepared. However, Jimmy has been excited about it. He's the only one his age, so the Sunday after his birthday he was ordained and immediately set apart as the Deacon's quorum president. He is really growing and maturing, and I'm so proud of him! I love this picture of him. He is such a good boy and it shows in his smile.

For his birthday he wanted to go to the Idaho Falls Extreme Blue Thunder Air Show. I will do a separate blog entry for that... it was a huge event! So that was his birthday celebration, and on his birthday itself (the next Tuesday) he got to pick his favorite meals and eat cake and open presents.

Our family, thanks to Daddy and his enthusiasm for Dr. Who, have all been watching Dr. Who episodes and even reading Dr. Who books. So Jimmy's theme was Dr. Who. He wanted the TARDIS on his cake. If you don't know, that's the Dr.'s spaceship and it looks like a police call box. It was really fun to make. I took a poptart box and turned it inside out and painted it blue. Then I added a couple layers of cardboard to the top (cut from an old pizza box) to make the roofline molding. I glued a toothpaste lid on the top for the light. Then I painted the words and drew lines with a permanent marker to make the look complete. I think it's a pretty realistic representation. The cake is frosted with an outer space look with a birthday message from the doctor:

The TARDIS swoops through the sky to wish Jimmy a happy birthday. 

Jimmy's presents reflected his interests and talents: reading (lots of comic books), Legos, Lego Star Wars, comic-themed shirts, toys, and cards. What else could a boy want?

Augie has the same toy, but Jimmy is a huge Green Lantern fan.

He really likes this Batman shirt!

Adding to his Lego collection is always fun for him!

A book about Lego Star Wars... the perfect combination!

Happy Birthday Jim! You're a wonderful son and we love you so much!

Abby's Birthday

Abby turned 7 June 29th. I don't know why, but I stress over her birthday each year. Maybe it's because she's so particular about what she wants -- every detail down to where, when, who's invited, what the presents should be, even the color of the tablecloths... she had it all picked out months in advance. So I try my best to give the perfect birthday, knowing that really in a year she'll have forgotten the details anyway.

So her birthday party this year was held at Tautphaus park. They have an awesome all-access playground with a pavilion next to it, so we set up in the pavilion and had all her friends play on the playground. We had a pinata, cake and ice cream, and painted suncatchers. Oh, of course she opened presents, too. The theme of her party was Bella Sara, a trading card game that features fantasy horses. Her cake had a pegasus Bella Sara toy on it and I frosted a castle and clouds and stars around it. Her horse had a lavender mane so the plates, cups and tablecloths were lavender, too.

Here are some pictures:


The girls on the playground

Enjoying the cake and ice cream

We're so glad for good neighbors who came to the party! Especially Emily and the whole Dean family who moved just a week later.

Thank you Chad for helping with the pinata! And Jessica for providing Hailey's baby blanket for the blindfold... I don't know what I would have done without you there to help!

Later that evening we had our family party. She had her special request dinner, which was macaroni and cheese and fruit salad, and then we ate the rest of the cake and she opened presents from her family and grandmas. The highlight of the evening was her cowgirl outfit, complete with hat and six-shooter.

Grandma McCartney made several cute outfits.

She had waited since Christmas to get the matching robe to go with her footie pajamas...although now she's outgrown the pajamas and worn a hole in the toe from wearing them EVERY night!

It's Calamity Abby! yee haw! Grammy did a great job sewing this costume.

To complete her Bella Sara birthday we got her a Bella Sara DVD. She is wearing the new outfit that Grandma Johnson got her. Grandma Droegemueller gave her a Walmart gift card too.

Happy birthday sweetie! Hope you had a great, very special day!

Anniversary trip to Yellowstone

The best thing we have done so far this summer is for James and I to take a trip, all by ourselves, to Yellowstone for our anniversary. It was so wonderful! It was totally worth the expense for hotels and travel to rejuvenate and reconnect and just bask in the wonder of our nation's first national park.

I have so many pictures and videos from that weekend, over 230, so this blog cannot even begin to cover the highlights. I'll just summarize the main attractions:

1. Buffalo and wildlife
Since Grandma McCartney is a buffalo fan, and she was watching our children for the weekend, we took lots of pictures so she could see the buffalo. We also saw elk, deer, moose, birds, a fox, and we saw people who were seeing wolves through their binoculars but we couldn't see them, but we saw no bear or eagles. The elk in Mammoth Springs area would just lay on the lawn of the hotels and residences and their calves were right next to them.

Elk

Buffalo

Moose (in Grand Teton National Park)

2. Geologic features
I am fascinated by geology, and brought along my book, Roadside Geology of Yellowstone. It explained a lot about how the hot pots and springs formed, and the history of the volcanic episodes of the park. I loved the falls, geysers, springs, mountains, and especially the petrified tree.

This was an ancient redwood tree that got covered in one of the volcanic flows and was petrified.

Old Faithful

Beautiful hot spring terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs. The colors are made by thermophile microscopic creatures that live near the vents of heated water.

Me in the morning mists coming of the spring terraces.

At the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Artists' point.

The Grand Tetons are indeed grand, with Jackson Lake in the foreground.

3. Nice hotels and time with my husband.
Our cabin in Yellowstone was quaint and just perfect for a couple. The night we checked in there was a rainbow above us... a good omen!



Each cabin had a porch, two beds, a sink, closet, dresser, lights, and alarm clock.... no phone or tv, no bathroom. (The cabin down the road held the bathroom and showers.)

Our second night was spent in Jackson Hole at The Point Inn and Suites. We had a king size bed and jacuzzi tub! Ahh, wonderful and relaxing.

I truly love my husband and I am so glad we had this weekend to reconnect and enjoy ourselves. In Jackson we went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, shopped around the town square, and ate lunch. Then it was back home, but the memories from this weekend should keep us going for a good, long time!

Summer trip to Lagoon

Our family's vacation this year was short, just a one-day trip to Lagoon. We went June 7th. We had all the children excited to ride the scary rides and had looked them all up on the internet and they were ready to go... until they got on the very first ride (the old white wooden roller coaster) and then everything but the kiddie rides were too scary. I have a great picture of Abby's face totally scared, but it ended up being Sam who was crying and begging to be let off a ride. Here are some pictures:

Grandma and Abby riding the "terror ride" which Abby wouldn't even open her eyes to see.


Jim and Sam look tough but they closed their eyes, too.


We all enjoyed the train ride that showed the zoo animals.

The only roller coaster that they thought was fun was this one, the "jumping dragon."

Abby and Augie riding the jet planes.


The kiddie car ride.

This is the paratrooper ride that had Sam bawling and screaming and just freaking out. Nothing big or scary, but he said it was "high" and it spins.

Look at Abby's face! Classic. But Sam's was worse about 30 seconds later.

The view from the top of the Ferris wheel.

I convinced Jim to ride the 120-foot Ferris wheel with me, but as you can see, he did not enjoy it. I had to beg him to just open his eyes a little to take a picture.

By the end of the day, we decided that we'll come back to Lagoon when Augie is at the youngest 10 and everyone will not be crying over "scary" rides!