Labor Day Weekend

By now, it is no big surprise that we spent Labor Day Weekend in Idaho. Grandma and Grandpa’s house has not sold yet, so we continue to take advantage of all of the opportunities that come our way. It doesn’t really matter that there aren’t beds in every room anymore or that the fridge is no longer there. We brought an air mattress with the full expectation of using it, but we were given the master bedroom again with a king-sized mattress! Charlie even had his own room next door and used Anderson’s portable crib. It was great! Don’t ask me where the other family members slept or how that all worked out, because I can’t remember (shock). We also brought coolers to keep our food cold. Somehow it all worked out and we had a fabulous weekend.

Of course Labor Day Weekend is a good enough reason to make the trip, but on top of that, it was the weekend of Jaidyn’s baptism. It was a special and beautiful event. Congratulations, Jaidyn! You are such a sweet angel and we are so proud of your decision to be baptized.

The whole gang

Kendra, me, Brooke, and Bri

Joslyn, Ashley, Camry, Lynze, Kendra, me Brooke, Jaidyn, Bri, and Amenae

It was fabulous weather! It was ideal for the boys to put in some good fishing hours. They woke up at the crack of dawn a couple of the mornings, and even did an evening fish the first evening that we arrived. Jason, Charlie, and I drove up separately and beat the rest of the family. So while Jason and Brad fished, Bri, Jaidyn, and I took Charlie on a nice walk. We even helped him ride the little Razor scooter and he just loved it!

Before going to Idaho, we were promised that there would be no big projects or cleaning...but somehow it always seems to creep in somehow. All of a sudden the parents decided they wanted to clean out the barn, so that meant the kids were expected to join in too. I can’t claim to have helped really at all because I was on Charlie duty, keeping an eye on him while he wandered around the yard and around the house. He sure loves to be on the move. And we didn't bring any working clothes for a dirty barn. Even though I didn’t really help, I still got to participate in the surprise treat at the end. They took us all to get ice cream! Well, most of us. Charlie was napping, so Jason offered to stay behind. So after getting ice cream, I got a ride back with Uncle Scott while the others went to the park to enjoy their treat. On the way back to Grandma and Grandpa’s, Uncle Scott asked if Jason had an interest in taking a ride on his plane. Of course!! So once we got back, we quickly headed to his plane storage area and runway.

Charlie was treated like a king by my cousins

Loving all of the running space

On our way for ice cream, everyone squeeze in!

I had no idea what to expect. When he opened his garage, I was shocked to see two planes, a few four wheelers, and snowmobiles. I was also surprised to find out that my uncle had been studying aerobatics in the last year, which is basically airplane stunts. Brooke, Joslyn, Ryker, Izac, Charlie, and I looked on in awe as Uncle Scott and Jason sped away doing spins and rolls. They had to go to a different location due to air regulations, but he gave us a small glimpse of what they were about to experience. They did a waving flyby, which was really fun to see. I couldn’t believe how fast they were going! The planned thirty minute ride was cut down to twenty minutes because Jason was starting to get the first signs of motion sickness and nausea. They were doing serious spirals, hammerheads, loops, and other things, and Uncle Scott wasn’t holding back. He was driving to impress, so I can’t even imagine how that would have felt. They were pulling up to 7Gs!! A typical roller coaster will pull only 3Gs. Jason could feel his cheeks pulling back and shaking...and it wasn’t from the wind because there was no wind in his compartment. That was all from the tremendous force. Izac coached him before the flight to be sure to flex all of this muscles while the plane did tricks so he wouldn’t black out. Jason said he was squeezing all of his muscles as hard as he could. By the time he came out of the plane, his shirt was drenched in sweat. Before bringing the plane in, Uncle Scott let Jason drive the plane for a minute to help with his motion sickness. That seemed to help a bit. What an amazing, once in a lifetime experience! That was so thoughtful of Uncle Scott to want to share that with him. Thanks a million!

His garage

Even though we all didn’t get to go on a plane ride, we still had fun doing other things as cousins. Kaden brought out his Halo outfit that he had been working on/welding. I think he said he put like 80 hours into his project. It was awesome! And it looked legit, too! As tradition, we played lots of games in the evenings. Bri and Brad introduced two new games to us: Liar and Crap On Your Neighbor. We, of course, played the traditional Mafia, but Camry introduced a new twist. It is called Werewolf. Basically you play Mafia, but you have different roles. There are werewolves (essentially the mafia), a detective (like an angel, but can’t save anyone), a witch (can save someone like an angel and has one kill they choose to use any of the nights), a cupid (chooses two lovers who have to defend each other no matter what and dies when the other dies), and a hunter (gets to kill someone when they are killed). It was a really fun version because more people had roles and it kept it real interesting. I think the games went quicker too because more people were dying at once.

Kaden's Halo suit:

Sunday was a fun and relaxing day. For dinner the aunts and uncles made an amazing rib dinner! There was delicious barbequed meat everywhere! We played volleyball with everyone, basically until it got dark, and then finished the night with more games in the basement. Thanks to the long weekend, we didn’t have to leave until Monday afternoon, and Charlie was an angel in the car ride home. I am always shocked when that happens! At home, he doesn’t last 15 minutes playing by himself without making me be down at his level with him. So how he can last three and a half hours in the back of the car looking at nothing but the window and the back of the seat, is beyond me. Love you, Charlie! 

And love you, Idaho!