Kirk and I decided we were long overdue for a little vacation.  We called up his parents and they came to take care of our kiddos for 5 days!  We were gone August 15 through 19.  We spent the first night up in Coeur d'Alene at a bed and breakfast.  We went out to dinner right by the lake and took a little walk through the park.  It was very relaxing.  We had a great breakfast and then headed out to Kelly Creek.  It is in the middle of nowhere in north Idaho.  We drove 4.5 hours from Coeur d'Alene to get there, 1.5 of those on a dirt road! 

The trail wasn't very steep and followed the river.  We saw a ton of garter snakes along the trail and it was pretty.  We have both missed being out in the mountains.  I haven't been backpacking for 4 years!  We used to go about 4 times a year.  We hiked up 4 miles that afternoon and found a great campsite.  It was right where Cayuse Creek meets Kelly Creek and was a beautiful spot.  We set up out tent and stuff and headed back downstream a little bit to catch some fish.  Kirk is much more experience than me and caught about a dozen that evening.  I only caught a couple, but they were pretty!  We made dinner and went to bed. 





The next morning we decided to hike further up Kelly creek to fish.  We hiked for about 45 minutes and then spotted a good hole and jumped in--literally.  We were wading the river most of the day.  The fishing started off slow, but picked up and we each caught several fish.  Kirk got stuck on the opposite bank from me for a while because the water got too deep to cross back.  I was still able to fish, but got kind of hungry!  Finally, we took a lunch break and fished a bit more before heading back down to our camp.  We went back to the spot we were at the previous evening again.  The fish were bigger and more plentiful down there.  I ended up catching a lot more fish this day. 



The third morning we hung out around camp a bit.  It was a foggy morning and we wanted to wait for the sun to hit the water before fishing.  That day we hiked up along Cayuse Creek.  It was also a pretty big creek.  It was very pretty and the water was super clear.  We caught a few fish on the way up, but not enough to get us to hike up very far.  We ended up going back down to Kelly Creek and fishing up toward our campsite again.  This ended up being my favorite part of the trip, and Kirk's too.  I was getting more comfortable with the fishing and was casting a lot better.  We saw a hole with a lot of fish rising  and I went up and caught a bunch.  Several of them got away, but I caught a lot too and it was really fun.  We went back and ate dinner and then fished on last evening.  I had caught 17 by the end of the afternoon and was able to get 3 more for a total of 20 that evening.  I bet Kirk caught over 60 while we were there, but he doesn't really keep track anymore. 





Our last day we just packed up and hiked out.  I was missing our kids by that point and was finally ready to go home.  I think Kirk was missing them a couple of days before me this time :).  We saw 2 otters swimming in the river on our way out and that was pretty fun.  We drove about 6 hours to get home with about 1.5 on a dirt road again.  We took a different route to get home and it was another really pretty and scenic drive.  We had a great time together.  It was nice to just relax and not have to worry about making meals, doing dishes, keeping 2 little kids happy, work, money etc.  We will definitely be planning another trip. . . hopefully next year!

Cade and Cami did great while we were gone.  I got really big hugs from both of them when I got home though.  Cade asked me if I wanted to leave again so Grandma could come play. 

A couple of weeks ago I told my dad that Cami is just getting cuter every day.  He asked if that was possible :)  She is a really fun girl with a lot of personality. 

• Cami likes clothes. 
• If she finds her jacket she wants to put it on. 
• If she sees small shoes at a store she tries to get them off the shelf and on her foot. 
• We were shopping for her at Carters outlet and twice she grabbed a big pile of pink leggings and tried to carry them around.  I found a shirt once we got home that neither Lisa or I put in the bag. 
• One day playing at the river with Lindsey I tried to put one of Daniel's t-shirts on Cami and she just cried.  Luckily I realized I did pack her swimsuit and she happily wore the pink shirt. 
• Lisa bought Cami a princess dress at Costco and Cami insisted on the yellow one, even though Lisa liked the blue one better and tried to change her mind.  Whenever she sees her dress she says "pretty, on, on."
• We may be in trouble in the near future :)
• Cami is interested in everything around.  She likes to pick up objects and carry them all over.  She is really good at cleaning up toys but even better and dumping them out, right after you clean them up. 
• Cami will still eat anything and everything.  I think her favorites are tomatoes, blueberries and avocados, but she really likes all fruit.  She finally has 8 teeth mostly in.  Only 5 months slower than Cade. 
• Cami and Kirk play a game.  Cami says "nana" and Kirk says "don't say banana" and tickles her.  Over and over again. 
• She is getting braver and braver at the splash park.  Last time we went she went down the slide by herself and pulled me into the fountains.  Before, she didn't really want to touch the water at all. 

• She still loves to push her stroller around. 
• She is a great sleeper and transitioning from 2 naps to 1.  She usually sleeps 11-12 hours at night and 3 during the day.  Love it!
• Cami loves to climb.  I found out yesterday that she can climb into her high chair and up onto our bench. 
• She loves to hide things under a blanket or whatever and say "hiding!" then pull the toy out.  Sometimes she hides her spoon under her plate or her legs under her dress too. 
• She loves our little stuffed fish and bunny.  The bunny is now named Hop because that is what Cami says whenever she picks it up. 
• Cami has a little toy Minnie Mouse driving a car.  She loves Minnie and spots her all the time at stores.  One day we were in Winco and she was saying Minnie and pointing up.  Sure enough, there was a helium balloon with Minnie on it on the ceiling. 
• Whenever Cami gets a hold of a phone or a play phone she holds it to her ear and says "hi mommy" over and over. 
• Cade really wanted to clean our big living room window and French doors.  I remembered why I never do this.  I washed inside and while I was washing the outside, Cami had her mouth pressed up against the inside saying "Hi Mommy!"  At least it was clean.

A few days late. . .but here it goes! 

Our biggest thing in July was our trip to Utah, but we had a lot of fun here at home too. 

• We went to the 4th of July parade with some friends.  Cade loved the tractors and the big garbage truck. 
• We have spent many mornings playing outside.  Cade likes to mow, trim and blow the lawn, pretty much every day.  He likes to tell me that the grass is getting long or that the mower guys "missed some couple spots" and he needs to mow the grass.  He also enjoys hitting golf balls and riding his balance bike around. 
• Cade loves to eat breakfast on our picnic table outside.  His favorite breakfast is german pancakes
• Cade likes to know what is going on.  He listens to everything we say and asks me to repeat things often so he can understand.
• When he talks he adds -ed to any past tense word (what you saided)
• One day he was playing on our bed and hit his head on the wall.  He turned around and said "Why did I do that?"
• Cade knows all of the days of the week, in order.  He knows that Sunday is Church, Monday is garbages, Thursday is mowers, Friday is Library and Saturday is a no work day.
• He is really into tractors right now.  He loves to make construction sites and have his tractors drive around.

  Pretending to be Santa

• He has a great imagination.  He will pretend our bench is his mower truck and load it up with all his gear.  He drives around, through Oregon and Idaho to Utah and picks up Grandma and Grandpa and mows their lawn.  He will do this for almost an hour!  He talks the entire time, narrating what he is doing.  He likes it when Cami plays along, but she doesn't get as excited about it as Cade does. 
• He also likes to make "soup."  He uses little plastic shapes and a pan and serves it up in our stacking bowls.  Yesterday he made "California soup" (whatever that is) and put sugar, potatoes, and onions in it. 
• He is very concerned about bears coming into our house.  I'm not sure what started it, but every night we have to reassure him that no bears will come upstairs and that all the doors are locked. 
• My parents and Lindsey were driving from Fort Collins to Utah and part of the freeway was closed because of a semi crash.  They called us for help and it ended up being closed all day and we had to re-route them.  Cade was very into the whole story and I showed him pictures and he wanted to keep checking to see if the freeway was open or not.  He was concerned that our freeway would be closed too and we would not be able to drive to Utah.  
• Cade really loves Cami.  Sometimes he gets a little rough with her and tackles her, but he really likes to try to make her happy.  It is really cute.

Cade's train on day while I was sweeping.  We drove it to pick up Daniel and Josh and bring them to our house

• If I bump my head or say "ouch" he always says "Are you ok Mommy?"  Whenever he gets hurt at all, he always wants a big hug to make it better. 
• Cade loves to play on the tablet.  He mainly watches YouTube videos about lawn mowers, leaf blowers and tractors.  He has a few favorites that we usually have to find. 
• Overall, Cade is a pretty nice, considerate guy.  We think he is really smart too.  He knows all his capital letters and about 2/3 of the lower case.  He can count to 11 and can count objects up to about 5 consistently.  He understands cause and effect and can memorize a song super fast.  He loves to sing.  One of his favorites we call "Buckaroo" (Rodney Atkins, Been Watchin you)
• We love Cade and I really can't believe he is almost 3!  I have a lot of fun with him, but he totally wears me (and himself) out too. 

He does have a bed.

We were able to go visit our families in Utah.  We stayed for 10 days and Kirk was able to be there the whole time!  That hasn't happened since Cade was born and we had a lot of fun.  We left here on Saturday morning (the 19th.)  The kids did pretty well in the car and we made it there in about 10 hr 20 min.  Cami had a hard time sleeping in the car and only took 1 half hour nap, Poor girl!  Cade was so excited to go to Grandma's house because he knew that Daniel and Josh would be there.  He kept telling us all the things he wanted to do with them.  The last few days we were here at home, Kirk was working a lot.  I told Cade that Daddy would not have to work when we went to Utah and so they could play.  Cade said "No!  I want to play with Daniel and Josh and Grandma and Grandpa!"  and that's what he did.  As soon as we got there, Cade started showing Daniel and Josh his toys and they were gone.  He showed my dad his toy lawn mower that he brought and they put it in the garage next to Grandpa's mower.  My dad told him they could mow the lawn on Wednesday and Cade held him to that.  My family goes to bed pretty early and with the time difference, Kirk and I were not too tired.  We went out for a walk for a while when everyone was in bed.  It was fun to get outside in the quiet evening.  We used to do it a lot, but can't anymore. 

Sunday morning we all went to church and then took family pictures that evening, in the middle of a lightning storm.  Bad timing!  Cade and Daniel had a lot of fun jumping from the couch to the love sack and my mom made us some ice cream for dessert.  It was a fun day. 


Monday morning Kirk headed out early to go fishing on the Strawberry River with his dad.  They had a great time and Kirk ended up fishing the Provo River that evening.  He said all together it was one of the best days of fishing he has ever had.  There was a big catus hatch on the Provo about 8:30 and he caught a ton of fish.  Even though he left before 6 am, he didn't make it back home until about 10.  Yes, he is a little obsessed.  We ate breakfast outside and played a bit.  We also went to the Highland Splash park for a bit and the boys picked raspberries with my mom.  Lindsey, Melissa and I left my parents with the 5 kids and went out to lunch and did some shopping.  It was fun to get out with my sisters.  I got a couple of new shirts and so did Lindsey.  Monday evening we went to Orem and had a dinner with my mom's family.  I got to see my grandparents and we played around a bit.  I sent Cade in Lindsey's car and she said the boys argued if the beltway or the freeway was better as they drove.  They all have opinions!

Tuesday was our 7 peaks day.  We bought the pass of all passes again this summer.  We dropped Cami off with Kirk's mom and Luke (Lindsey's baby) off at Kristi's house and went to play in the water!  I though we would be done around 12:30, but it ended up being more like 3:00.  Cade LOVED the tube Cave in slide, the lazy river and the Avalanche mat slide.  Kirk and I both had fun taking him on slides and doing some of the bigger ones with Melissa.  Cade fell asleep on the way back to Grandma Morris' house and we brought him in and he slept on the floor and then again in the car back to my parent's house.  My mom made some parmesan tilapia for dinner and it was really good.  We got the kids to bed and watched Once Upon A Time, on of Lindsey's favorite shows.  It was pretty good. 


Wednesday Kirk went golfing with his dad and Connor.  We had Mower Day (Cade did not let Grandpa forget) and the boys played in the sand box for a long time. 


We packed up a little picnic and went to Bridal Veil falls in Provo Canyon.  We played in the water and hiked up the falls a little bit and ate our lunch.  That waterfall is really pretty.  The water was cold, but we all had fun splashing around.  I had Cami in a dress and realized pretty soon that she was going to get soaked.  I asked Lindsey if I could borrow one of Daniel's extra shirts for Cami, but as I was putting it on her, she started crying and trying to take it off.  Then I saw the swimsuit  I forgot I'd packed for her.  As soon as I pulled that out she calmed right down and happily put it on.  Crazy girl!  Wednesday evening we had dinner with my dad's family.  Several of us that live away from Utah were all there in the same week and I got to see a lot of people.  I think we had close to 80 there out of a total 105.  Cade had fun playing ladder golf and throwing balls around and Cami was really shy unless I was holding her.  I love seeing my family and I'm glad we had this chance. 

Thursday Lindsey drove home.  We went to Thanksgiving point farm with my parents.  The kids loved seeing the animals and going on the hay ride.  Cade's favorite part though was a little house in their "western village."  It had a stage and he kept taking us in there to hear him sing songs.  I'm glad we went.  From there we went down to Provo to stay with Kirk's family for the rest of the trip.  Kirk headed out fishing after lunch and Lisa and I went to Riverwoods to see a new used furniture store and Gymboree outlet.  We came home and let Cade and Cami run through the sprinklers.  We had pizza for dinner and then played some card games after the kids went to bed.



Friday Kirk and I left the kids with Lisa and went fishing.  We went back to the Strawberry river and caught a few fish.  I think I ended up with 5, but 4 of them were really big.  Kirk caught several as well.  We were gone from about 6-4, the longest I've ever left Cami.  It is good practice though; we're leaving the kids with Grandma and Grandpa again in a couple of weeks while we go backpacking for 4 days.  We had dinner and played some more then put the kids to bed.  Kirk and I went up one more time and he fished in the Provo until it got dark. 



Saturday we were having a hard time deciding what to do.  We ended up going to Cabela's and the outlet stores.  Kirk, Cade and I each got new jackets at Columbia and I found some long shorts as well.  The guys went to Cabelas and Lisa and I spent some time and money at Carters and Gymboree.  Now our children are ready for the fall!


Sunday was another relaxing morning.  Cade made a fort with Grandma all over the living room.  We went to church, came home, took naps, and had some dinner.  We played some games that night.


Monday Kirk went golfing again and I took Cade back to 7 peaks.  He loved it so much the first time, I really wanted him to go back.  My parents and Melissa came too and we had fun.  We were there about 3 hours and could have stayed longer, but it was cloudy and Cade was getting cold and I needed to get back for Cami.  I'm really glad we went back though.  My family stayed for lunch and hung out a bit.  We were also able to see Alan and Kristi one more time--they came for dinner.  Kirk went fishing for one last evening on the Provo and had another lucky hatch. 

Tuesday morning we packed up and headed home.  It was a great trip.  This one felt more like a vacation for me than the last few have.  We planned a few more things to do and it is nice that Cade and Cami are getting a bit older and we can do more things.  I love having things to look forward to like this.  We're planning on going back at Christmas!