1 First Rexburg Trip of the month

There really is a reason why I've not been posting lately. We've been so busy enjoying our summer, I haven't had a chance to record all the fun we are having.

The girls and I spent about half of August in Rexburg. Our first trip was motivated by the release of the last book in the Twilight Saga; Breaking Dawn, but we stayed several days on either side of the midnight release just to play with the Grandparents and our Stafford cousins. We were only home for a week before we returned to the land of cold and wind. Nate came on our second trip; this one was for Aunt Ellen & Stoddard's wedding.

Highlights of our visit:

#1) Hot dog roast in Grandma & Grandpa's backyard
Allie got board with cooking her dog after about 5 seconds. Kylie was a MESS! She isn't quite the dumpy-do that Allie was at that age, but she managed to cause enough mayhem to stress her cousins.

#2) Grandma Martha's Raspberries w/ vanilla ice cream
The berries were "on", so red and ripe they almost dripping off the vines. Kylie was a huge fan, gorging herself whenever outside. She would get lost in the thick patch and I'd have to rescue her.


#3) Grandpa Paul playing with us @ Porter Park's SplashPark & Merry-go-round
Kylie was fearless in the water. She even tried to step on the fountains like all the big kids. It was so fun to have my Dad there with us, just being a kids with the rest of us.
When I was a kid there was an outdoor city pool and water slide here, but last year they tore out the decepid old thing and replaced it with a free splash park. The carousal was restored, by donations, when I was in school. My sister Abby even worked a summer as the ride attendant.


(Emma, Bailey, Kylie, Kate, Allie)


#4) Just hang'n with the cousins on the porch
My parents' house has a great wrop-around porch. It is nice and shady - just the right spot to enjoy an afternoon Popsicle or Juice box while coloring.


#5) the Johnson reunion at the old homestead in Idaho Falls
(my Dad's mother's family)
I hadn't attended this annual reunion in many years, but it is still going strong with up to 5 generations in attendance. My girls loved playing with the other kids on the see-saw and whirly-gig playground that my sisters and I looked forward to every year when we were kids. Talk about memories. At one point I heard Allie calling my name. She had climbed up this tree all by herself and wanted me to take a picture. How cute!



#6) the beach at Rigby Lake
The sun was hot and the water cool. It was a relaxing afternoon, even for us mommies. The water is quite shallow for a ways in, although the girls seems more interested in making sandcastles and washing the rocks that in swimming.



#7) yummy Square Ice Cream Cones with Grandpa Paul
When I was a kid my Dad would take us on Vet farm calls all over the place. Sometimes on these calls or on other family drives we would pass through a place called Swan Valley. It was a highlight for us because it served special ice cream cones with a SQUARE scoop. Well, my Father was dying to take his granddaughters to the new little gas station in Sugar City since he just discovered it had the same scoops! The girls got a kick out of the unconventional cones, but the cutest thing had to be the way Kylie has completely bonded with my dad. As they were sitting on the sidewalk, she kept reaching over and patting his knee with the biggest grin. Yep, much to my Mom's disappointment, K is a Gpa gal.