Summer 2024 - Week 8 - Still boring

This was another blissfully boring week. Maybe a little too boring because I started contemplating ways to add more things to my life. But I quickly realized what I was doing and SHUT THAT DOWN. We will be busing enough when school starts. I don't need to overcomplicate things. 

Anyway, here's the quick recap. 

This picture is from last Sunday. Charlotte made this cool Lego Art and wanted a picture. 

It was really cool looking. 

Such a cool shape. 

Monday I went to work early to get a lot done before the office heated up because the AC is still out. We were hoping for a fix that week, but as of Friday it was still not working. Though the current estimate is that it will be fixed on Tuesday. 

Here's a picture I took of Derrick sitting in the chicken coop with the chickens. (And also my neglected lawn. There is a plan for back here, I promise. 

I took all the kids to the dentist for their 6 month exams and check up. We were the only ones in the office at the time so we got a lot of attention. They had three hygienists working on the kids simultaneously.  Nobody had cavities. We were out of there within like 40 minutes. I love how streamlined this office is. 

That night we went to the pool when Brandon went to rehearsal. The day had been something like 100 degrees so I got into the water with zero hesitation. It felt so good. 

After a while I got out and was reading. I also was playing on my phone. I saw on Facebook that the Show details were up for Little Women. I'd heard that the Orpheum was planning to do this play in the fall. I had no plans to be in the play . . . . . until I read the names of the creative team. Mine and Brandon's friend Cassie would be co-directing with a really awesome lady named Molly. Brandon's friend Christina would be doing the Music Directing. Lauren, who choreographed Music Man, would be choreographing. And my friend Britt would be doing the costumes. This was a powerhouse of women and I wanted to be in the play just to have the chance to work with them all. 

So for like two days I was seriously considering being in the play. Ultimately I decided not to do it. There were a few reasons but it boiled down to two main reasons. 1. Rehearsals would start the week of the final Spamalot performances. And I really don't think my family can survive a THIRD play in a row. And 2. I'm really looking forward to redoing the firepit area this fall. I'd rather work on that for three hours a night four days a week than work on a play. 

On Tuesday I wished I could stay home and do stuff around the house in the morning, but alas I had to go to work and get things done before the place got too hot. 

It still took a lot out of me. I came home and took a really long nap. We went to the pool when I woke up. It was kind of a random trip. I started out with only Derrick wanting to go, then he convinced Veronica to come. And then Charlotte and finally Lydia. 

Here's a picture of the girls with the chicks in the evening. The birds like to hop up on their shoulders like parrots. 

Here's a pretty picture of my front yard flowers. 

On Wednesday I went into Ivan's office and took care of a bunch of things. Then I came home and started moving brick off of our old fire pit area. I was kind of thinking things like, "this firepit is fine. do I really want to go to all the work of changing it?"

Then I watched the latest videos from the Dude Dad family on Youtube. They put in a REALLY nice patio/firepit in their front yard like 2 years ago. But now they are tearing it all out to put an addition onto the front of their house. 

I was like, "If Taylor Calmus can pull out his beautiful patio then I can feel just fine pulling mine apart."

At 10:00 I came inside because it was getting hot and it was time for my scripture study. We were on Mosiah 19. There are only 29 chapters in Mosiah so the end is sort of in sight. 

That afternoon we were hoping to kidnap Brandon and take him to the pool for the first time. But he had some sort of meeting with CSI. And even when that was cancelled we were a little hesitant to go to the pool. There were dark clouds in the sky and it actually looked like we might get a rain storm. 

We were right! It did rain. This was the first rain in something like a month. It was so needed. 

It cooled everything off so that evening I went outside and spent a long time getting ready to move the fire pit. We've been burning old wood from the junky shed and so there are so many nails in the ashes of the fire pit. Brandon has a huge magnet that I used to get all the nails out of the ashes. It was a very satisfying job. Look how many I pulled out!

Thursday was another day that I went to work in the morning even though I would have rather stayed home and taken advantage of the cool morning. 

But that meant I was free in the afternoon and we were able to go to the pool WITH Brandon. This was my 18th trip to the pool this summer and it was Brandon's first. I made sure to take a picture to commemorate it. 

The day was over 100 and I thought I was managing my water intake okay, but as we drove home I got really lightheaded. When we got home I had a headache and my stomach hurt. So I guess I didn't stay hydrated enough. I laid on my bed with the fan blowing on me and the air conditioner running. I felt better after about 45 minutes. 

That evening I went outside to water and found that I had ripe cherry tomatoes. I love these!

While Brandon was at rehearsal the kids and I packed the car for our camping trip on Friday. We were going on just an overnight trip so we didn't need to bring much. Basically just food, tents, sleeping bags, and air mattresses. We left the canopy, the camp chairs, and even our big water jug. 

Compared to a 10 day road trip to Texas or prepping food for 16 people for 4 days at Bear Lake this camping trip was super simple to prep for. 

Friday I went to work and then spent some time getting things ready for the trip. Brandon was home from work at 1:30 and we were on the road at 2:00. 

We were going to Baumgartner Hot Springs in the Sawtooth National Forest. I'd been hoping to go to Red Fish Lake, but once again I was too slow at reserving campsites. When I finally did look at the website everything was gone. But I widened my search and found a site at Baumgartner Hot Springs for one night. Baumgartner Hot Springs had been on my list for a few years so I reserved that spot. 

And it actually worked out really well anyway. Because there is a huge wildfire happening right by Red Fish right now. They've closed everything around Red Fish. So we wouldn't have been able to go there anyway. 

We left Twin Falls and drove up north to Fairfield. Then we kept going west for a while. Then we turned north again. This was a new road for all of us. It took us by Anderson Ranch Reservoir and the Pine Resort. I've heard of these places before, but this was the first time I saw them. Then we went to Featherville. The pavement ended and we were on a dirt road for a long time after that. But it was well maintained. 

I kept waiting for the temperature on our car thermometer to drop. We were in the mountains, it was supposed to be cooler right? Nope. It was 98 degrees when we pulled into our campsite.

I always like when our campsite reservation card has our name on it.  

We set up the tents on the tent pad. The crushed rock was so compacted that we couldn't drive any of our stakes into it. Brandon ended up tying the corners of the tent to rocks. Charlotte and Lydia put rocks in the corners inside their tent. I'm usually super worried about sleeping with the rainfly off our tent - I feel like that's just asking for a 2:00 AM rain storm. But this time I either wasn't worried about rain or was hoping to tempt fate because we left the rainfly off. 

We really liked our campsite. Look how tall those trees are!

There was a burn ban in effect so we didn't plan to have a fire - and honestly it was too hot for one anyway. So we had our traditional Dierkies Lake meal of sandwiches on bakery rolls. I joked, "It's like we are at Dierkies lake, but with a table."

We were right by the Boise River so the kids were attracted to that. 

Here they are looking for minnows. 

Lydia did catch some.

But we didn't stay at the river for long because we wanted to check out what the fuss was all about. We went to find the Hot Spring. A few years ago I'd seen pictures of the hot spring and I'd wanted to come see it ever since. 

The hot spring water is natural, but it runs into a small cement lined pool.

The water was so hot! It took some courage to get in at first. 

But soon we were in it. (I don't know why I only have pictures of Charlotte and Lydia. Derrick and Veronica and Brandon were there too.)

Here I am. 

I got into the water and LOVED it. I hardly ever put my head under the water at the city pool and I certainly don't swim under the water. But I dunking myself in that hot water and swam across the little pool. The kids were like, "Mom! What are you doing?"  I said, "Oh that's the problem, I don't like COLD water.

I could have stayed in that hot spring for a long time, but considering I got heat exhaustion at the cold city pool I didn't think that was a good idea. So we left the pool and went to play in the river.  

The kids were all over that river. They had fun learning to swim across the current and then floating with the current. Derrick had his goggled and kept going under the water and then coming back up to announce things like, "MOM I SAW A HUGE TROUT!!!!"  It was like a combination of two of his favorite things, swimming and fishing. 

Here's a video of the kids playing in the water. 

After the sun sunk lower in the sky we went back to the Hot Spring. There were more people in it this time. At one point I saw a family with two little girls walk up. I was like, "wait, I know them."  I recognized them from my Facebook friends. I'd known them a little in our ward in Pocatello. And then I realized I recognized the people that were with them. They'd also been in our ward. I went over and said hi. It was so random. 

We hung out in the hot pool for about 30 minutes, but it was still so hot that we really couldn't stay much longer than that. 

So we went back to camp and had a second dinner of hot dogs that we cooked on the propane stove. 

Brandon and I had been talking about going back to the hot spring after putting the kids to bed, but after I put on my pajamas I realized I didn't want to take them off again. So I helped Veronica go to bed and then got on my airmattress too. 

I still had wet hair, which on any other camping trip would concern me, but it was still like 75 degrees so I didn't worry. I started out basically sleeping on my sleeping bag and gradually worked my way inside. By morning I was all covered, but I wasn't really cold. 

The sign at the hot spring said it opened at dawn. So we wanted to be there right when it opened. I woke up around 5:15 and at 5:45 I got everyone else up and we put on our swimming suits. We drove over to the hot spring and found it EMPTY. Not just empty of people, but empty of water too. 

That was disappointing. We were thinking of going back to the campground and having breakfast and then coming back. But then the campground host showed up and got everything ready for the pool to fill up again. We could tell it was going to take a while, but that didn't stop us from getting in it anyway. This picture is a little sad, but we actually had a really nice time sitting in the warm shallow water. 

Derrick had stayed behind. (because once again he has more sense than any of us) So around 7:00 we went back to check on him and make breakfast. I'd asked for breakfast suggestions and Derrick had asked for Egg sandwiches like we'd had at Bear Lake. So I'd brough everything for those. I'd even precooked the bacon so it was easy to heat up. 

I made breakfast and Brandon was like, "WHO ARE YOU?"  I've probably cooked on our camping trips like 3 times in our whole marriage. That's usually his job. But hey I learned a few things on that Bear Lake trip. 

Here's my egg sandwich. 

And here's some general pictures of the area. 

Here's our campsite from another area. 

Charlotte and I hadn't changed out of our swimming suits so after breakfast we walked back to the hot pool and soaked in there. It was about half way full.

While we were in the water another family showed up. I recognized them as the family next to us. At one point the mom of the family asked if we were the family next to them. I said yes. She said, "You're from Twin right?"  (That's not as random of a statement as it sounds. Idaho license plates all have a code that tells you what county they are from. Twin Falls is 2T.) She said she was from Twin as well. So then we talked about where we lived. We had kids that went to the same Middle School, but not in the same grades. 

We joked about how Twin Falls isn't a small town, but it kind of is. If you talk to someone long enough you figure out the connections. 

Then we talked about what we did for work. And when I said I did billing for a marriage and family therapy clinic she said, "Oh which one?" And when I said "Aspen Grove" she said, "Oh my good friends husband owns that."

Told ya, Twin Falls is funny that way. 

And then to make things really crazy, later that afternoon I received a text with the list of names of the kids who will be in Charlotte and Lydia's Youth Conference group. That lady's daughter was on that list. 

It's like it was meant to be. 

Charlotte and I soaked for a long time and then went back to camp. Brandon and the kids had taken care of rolling up the sleeping bag and were nearly done taking down the tents. 

I helped clean things up and before we knew it everything was packed. Honestly, if the area had been cooler I would have wanted to say. But the forecast was for 101 that day. The hot pool was going to be too hot, and the girls were all saying they were done with the river. So really there was nothing to do but leave. 

We decided to keep going on the dirt road. It would circle around the mountain and end up in Fairfield. This was an adventure we were all fine with because we could do it sitting in our airconditioned van. 

I was driving so Brandon was in charge of pictures. (I'd driven the day before because I knew he'd been sleepy after a whole day of work. And I basically just didn't give him the option on this drive because he always forgets he's in a low clearance minivan.)

We followed the river for a long time. It was really pretty. 

I really liked this drive. 

I'd keep worrying that maybe the road wouldn't be passable, and then we'd see a big RV parked in a camping spot and I'd be like, "Oh I guess our van is fine."

We stopped to walk over this bridge. Veronica kept finding big dandelions and blowing them at me. Then I blew them back at her. We called it a Wish War.  

And then we kept going. 

We went through Big Smoky and Brandon was like, "Hey I know where we are."  We'd met up with the Fairfield side of the road. He asked if we wanted to stop at Warswick hot springs. So we made a small detour over there. 

I wasn't interested in swimming in that pond so I didn't get in my swimming suit. And when everyone tested it out, they said it was burning hot anyway. Brandon took some of the kids to play in the cool stream for a little bit and then we kept driving. 

We went back through Shoshone and stopped at the Snack Shack. I've heard rave reviews of this place for a long time. Brandon had stopped here with the twins on the way back from their hike last week. He was perfectly happy to come again. It was crowded, but the food was worth the wait. 

Here's our attempt at a group picture.

We got home and I had everyone bring the clothes and what was left of the food in the house. We unpacked the rest in the evening. 

Derrick had been eagerly awaiting a package from Amazon. It came after we left on Friday and our neighbor picked it up. She brough it over. Derrick was SO EXCITED. This was an Earth Ball. It was a big inflatable ball with the oceans, continents, and clouds on it. Derrick wanted it because it didn't have "the lines" on it. He wanted to look at earth like he was looking at it from space. 

He made sure I took pictures of both sides of the ball. We've already spent HOURS looking at the ball and finding different places and things on it. It also has glow in the dark paint on it to show cities at night. Derrick loves to shine his UV flashlight on the ball and look at it in the dark. 

I spent a lot of time in the evening watering. Here are the kids checking on the chicks. 

I liked this view of the backyard. (This is the grass I'm actually taking care of.)

Here's the patio -  and Derrick and his Earth Ball. 

In the front yard the zinnias were starting to bloom. 

I realized the grasses were all looking great. So I took a picture of these Carl Forester grasses. 

And look at how this grass frames the path. 

I'm really happy with how this is all looking. 

Here's the strawberries. 

And this is the other garden bed. 

We were able to blissfully sleep in until about 9:00. Church was okay. But I was a little bored during Derrick's Sunday School class. So I was on my phone a little bit. That's where I was when I got a breaking news email from the New York Times. President Joe Biden, had decided to drop out of the Presidential race. 

This wasn't exactly unexpected, but I found myself tearing up in class. I'm sure if anyone noticed they thought that the lesson was getting to me. But really I was thinking about how much I respect Joe Biden. I hadn't been excited about him as a candidate 4 years ago until I read his memoir. He's such a decent person who has worked in public office for decades. I'll miss him. 

Also what Screen Writers have gotten their hands into this Presidential Election? Last week we had a Assassination attempt on Former President Trump and this week we have the current President dropping out of the reelection race. If this stuff had happened on the West Wing we would have all said the show writers had lost their grip on reality. 

Our afternoon was nice and relaxing. The kids and I watched the movie IF. It was cute, but I kept sayin that if they changed the sound track it would be a horror movie. 

Also I watched A LOT of reels of people doing big projects in their yard like putting in patios. I'm really wishing for some cool weather so I can work on my own big project. 

Well that's it for this nice and boring week. Next week things get a little more exciting again. Charlotte and Lydia are going to Youth Conference for like 4 days. 

Anyway, thanks for reading.