Snow, snow, snow! (Soda Springs in February)

 

Some time in February we decided to go visit Adam’s parents in Soda Springs Idaho. It’s a four hour drive for us from here in Boise. It sounded really nice to relax for a long weekend, and we knew they had snow there, so we would be able to play! Pa started piling up snow in front of the house so the kids would have a big pile to play in.

First they had a great time being pulled behind the ATV.

 

Spencer could not keep his hat on straight. It was cracking me up! And there’s my sweet Ben.

    

 

My snow angel Emma. And you can see how high the snow was piled in front of the house.

 

The idea was, that Pa and Adam were going to build a sledding hill for the kids. So there’s Pa starting to work on it.

   

 

Here’s Pa giving the sledding hill a try. It wasn’t quite steep enough at first, so Adam had to give him a push start. It didn’t work so well. :)

Then Adam walked up the hill to say hi to Emma, and fell in! Good Pa had to help him out, and down they both went! I was laughing pretty hard! If you look at this set of pictures and the ones right before, you will notice Pa and Adam both end up laying in the snow. This is how most of their projects together go – both of them, figuratively, in the snow, and me on the side lines cracking up! They are too fun to watch together.

 

Here is Pa testing out the sledding hill again after some modifications. He will demonstrate proper sledding technique. First, you sit on the sled. Second you…uh, this isn’t looking right. I don’t know that on your back is the best sledding position…

Oh no, he’s off the course and onto the driveway! Sweet Pa, he’s so much fun. And that sled was really awfully slick!

 

Pa worked really hard to get the sledding hill just right. So a couple more test runs and it was ready.

   

The next day was sunny and beautiful, the sledding hill was complete, and we all had so much fun! The sledding hill didn’t melt away for a couple months, so apparently all the neighbor kids would come over and use it after we left. How fun is that!

  

Birthdays Revisited!

I wanted to make sure and add Spencer’s and Ben’s birthdays this year.

First, Spencer turned 3 in January! He is such a fun kid. He knows just what to say to make me smile and laugh. I think coloring his tummy was his birthday present to himself.

 

 

I usually let the kids pick what flavor and color and kind of cake they want. I enjoy trying to figure out how to create what they ask for. So I was quite pleased when Spencer simply asked for a green cake. I can do a green cake.

 

 

Then Ben turned 6 a couple weeks later in February! 

 

 

 

So Ben asked for a snake cake for his birthday. He’s had a snake cake before, I think when he turned 3 or 4. But then he thought he wanted a rainbow snake cake. And then he decided he wanted a triple decker. I didn’t think I could put together a triple later, rainbow snake cake, but I had to give it a try. So this is what we ended up with – I couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out. :)

 

 

Emma’s Birthday Last October

 

I think I’m about done with old posts, but I do have a few more to put up. One of them being Emma’s birthday. She turned 8 years old last October. Here are some pics from her birthday party!

Then on Halloween, Emma was baptized! I wasn’t sure if it was going to work very well having the baptism at 4pm and then go trick-or-treating after that, but it ended up being a really great day. I just had crock-pot chili waiting for us when we got home (thanks Jody for the delicious recipe)!  Unfortunately we didn’t take many pictures, but I’ll show you what we do have.

 

And we took a bunch of family pictures too that day. All of Adam’s family were able to be there, so we got pictures of everyone!

 

Here’s John and Megan and their kids, Daniel and Rachel. And baby number 3 (a girl) is due Monday!

 

 

And here’s Uncle Chey!

 

I put both pictures of Pa and Grandma because I thought the first one was a great picture. It’s rare to get a picture of Pa smiling. But I had to put in the second one also because it includes their baby Mo. :)

 

 

And there’s all of us on Adam’s side of the family!

Spring Break Part 3

While Wendy and Jeff were here we took them to see the Idaho State Capitol Building. It just re-opened in January after a two and a half year building restoration and expansion project. And since Adam works there, and has keys to most doors, we were able to show them around behind the scenes a little more than we might have otherwise.

Here is the outside of the building (as taken through the front window of Jeff’s truck). Thanks Wendy for taking so many great pictures of your trip and sharing them with us!

 

I love how beautiful this back stair case is – marble stairs and Brazilian Mahogany railings. But it also makes me very tippy to look down four floors. And I am also a paranoid mommy and get so nervous when the kids want to lean over the rail to see down to the bottom! 

This is the gallery in the House of Representatives Chamber. This is where the public can sit and watch the proceedings. 

This is the dome in the same room. Please take notice of how low the wall is where the kids are standing. I think it is just higher than my knees. I might have been a tiny bit nervous when the kids were running around, leaning over the edge to see below, and sitting on the railing!

This is the Chamber Floor where the representatives sit  and debate laws. And of course cute Mitchell posing in the gallery.

 

 

Oh this is a fun picture. Part of the reason the Capitol Building was renovated was to add more space to the building. More space for the workers, and more space for the public to be able to come and participate in their state’s politics. So they did this by adding two underground wings extending from each side of the building – one east wing and one west wing. Consequently, there were a number of trees that needed to be removed from the land that was going to be developed. These trees happened to have been planted by former United States Presidents. So the trees were cut, and given to local Idaho resident artists to create wood sculptures of their choosing. Here is one of the pieces which was created.

Here we are going into the Senate side. This is on the west side of the Capitol building (the House side being on the east). Take notice of the beautiful red drapes hanging on the wall. These were put up as part of the remodel to restore it back to it’s original look. Originally the curtain was the only thing separating the public from the Senators. It made it so that notes could be passed into the chamber without being seen. Today there is actually a wall between the curtains, but the look is original. 

 

This is the President of the Senate’s seat (also known as the Lieutenant Governor). I think we all make good looking Senators.

   

 

This is the Senate quiet room directly behind the chamber. The Senators can come here to relax and talk. I think all the details of the wood paneling and moldings are just beautiful. Unfortunately for the Senators, that stripy couch is maybe the most uncomfortable couch ever.

 

This is the first floor hallway outside of Adam's office space area.

 

And here are the kids laying on the floor in the middle of the rotunda.

 

Apparently laying on this floor is a long standing tradition. When the kids are in fourth grade they take a field trip to the Capitol Building, and this is one of the things they do (at least that’s what I hear from our Governor). 

Even Jeff had to try. I’m not sure if Wendy ever did, but I gave it a shot also. I don’t think Adam laid down, but since he works here I’m sure he tries it out regularly. In his suit. During session. When senators and representatives and the governor are walking around. Ha ha ha, just kidding.

 

So here is what we were all looking at! Of course a picture can never do it justice. But where we were laying was the ground floor. So we were looking up through four floors (which are all open to the rotunda) and then far beyond to the ceiling. If you look closely you can see stars painted in the very center circle. It really is a beautiful sight.

Thanks to Adam for giving me correct wording, phrasing and terminology while I made this post. Otherwise you would have read a lot of wrong information, silly ideas, and  embarrassing (for me) thoughts on what these pictures were about. :)