Hollywood Connection

The biggest 4 riding the dragon roller coaster.

I'm stepping back in time a little.  I just got the pictures off our little camera and noticed there were pictures on their from our trip to Hollywood Connection back in May.  I thought I'd do a quick blog about it, even if it is a little out of order.  So, May brought the end of school and it also brought the end of school party.  The school that my kids home school with was doing a field trip to Hollywood Connections for their end of school bash.  It was free with free pizza so I figured, why not.  The kids had a lot of fun going on all the rides, playing in the arcade and eating pizza in the diner.  Some of the highlights were the balloon ride that goes up high and spins (if you want it too,) the dragon roller coaster was the biggest hit for the oldest 4 who were the only ones big enough to ride it, the bumper cars, and the Merry-Go-Round.  The kids really want to go back, but I think we'll have to see if the school does it next year. All in all, it was a great way to bring on summer.

Gracie and Dan on the balloons.

Adam loving going round and round on the balloon ride.

Hannah and Gracie ready to try the balloons without mom.

Adam and Dan riding the bus in the arcade.

Sarah and Ben on the Merry-Go-Round

The little boys loved the Merry-Go-Round.

Gracie loved the pig the most. Silly girl.

Hannah all proper on her horse.  She's getting so big.

The Burn Clinic

We had to wait the entire weekend before we could get Adam into the burn clinic.  It was not at all fun for us or for poor little Adam, but I'm glad his burn wasn't bad enough that he had to be seen right away.  We did end up taking him to UofU hospital to get his bandages changed on Sunday.  The little stinker wouldn't keep his bandage on and we had run out of the wrapping stuff that the hospital gave us the night he got burned.  The bandage the hospital put on him lasted until we could get to the burn clinic first thing Monday morning.

After taking the skin off of some of Adam's burns.

Kenny took the morning off of work to be with us at the burn clinic.  It was a quick trip and we learned that, even though it looked really bad to us, his burn could have been a lot worse.  The doctors took the dead skin off from around the burns, bandaged him up with a much less bulky bandage and sent us on our way.  We didn't even have to return for a follow up.  Needless to say, we were feeling very blessed.  The doctors told us they'd never seen a kids step in a fire pit of hot coals and have such little damage.  It's been a few months and his foot is as good as new.  If you look close you can see the scars, but those should go away with time.  The scar on his arm is still there, but it too shouldn't last forever.  We were very blessed and are so grateful that someone was looking out for Adam that night.

Finally Lost That Tooth

Hannah has been waiting and waiting and finally on the morning of June 25th she lost her first tooth.  So far she's the oldest of the kids to lose a tooth and she was getting so impatient as she waited.  I was making breakfast when she came running in to tell me the great news.  We had to stop and take a picture to always remember her special day.  Congratulations Hannah.  One down, many more to go.

Smiling without a tooth.

Hannah's toothless smile and her missing tooth.  She's one happy girl.

Cake for Dan

Because of Adam's foot and the long Saturday that we had, we weren't able to have Dan's birthday cake until the following day.  He didn't seem to mind and it worked out nice for me (considering I had to make the cake.)  I went with a Buzz Lightyear cake because Dan is really into Buzz and Woody right now.  He has some little Buzz and Woody guys that go pretty much everywhere he goes.  It turned out pretty good and he was really excited about it.  Happy Birthday little man!!!

Dan putting 3 candles on his cake.

Blowing out his candles.

You know when your part of the family because of how you eat your cake.

He has the greatest smile.  You don't see it all that often, but when you do it's totally worth it.

Adam say cheese.

Ben's gotten big enough he mostly eats with a fork now.  What's happening to my kids?

Gracie, Sarah and Dan.  Crazy kids.

Hannah eats her cake both ways.  Here she's eating it with a fork.

The kids enjoying their cake.

Dan Turns 3

Dan with all of his presents.

After our trip to the zoo we came home with enough time to open presents and have pizza.  Dan was very excited to open his presents.  It's always fun when the kids start to remember what birthdays are and look forward to them.  I can't believe he's 3.  Time sure has gone by quick. 

Opening his animals at the zoo.

Dan got some animals at the zoo, 2 dinosaurs, some knight guys, a water toy that sadly didn't work very well, and a Mater remote controlled car from Grandma and Grandpa Newbry. He was very happy and all of his toys have gotten a lot of use (all but the lame water toy.)  Those are the best kind of birthdays.

Dinosaurs for the little man.

Dan and Adam playing with Dan's toys.

A yummy pizza dinner for the birthday boy.

The Zoo for the Birthday Boy

All 6 kids on the polar bears.

Dan turned 3 the day after Adam stepped in the fire pit.  We had planned on being at my in-laws in Grace to help them with their pond, but instead we were home waiting for Adam to be seen at the burn clinic.  He couldn't be seen that Saturday, Dan's birthday, so we decided to find something else to do to occupy the kids time.  We didn't want to do anything that would require Adam to walk so we figured the zoo would be a great place.  Daniel LOVES the zoo.  He's always asking to go see the animals at the zoo and it seemed like a fitting thing to do for the birthday boy.  We arrived just before the gates closed for the day, the zoo stays open an hour after the gates close, and we decided it was a perfect time.  The sun was going down and so was the heat, there were hardly any people there and all the animals were still active.  Dan loved seeing all the animals, but his favorite were over in the new exhibit, "Rocky Shores."  We all like watching the polar bear, seals and sea lions, and grizzly bear play.  It was a great way to spend an unexpected day.

Dan and Gracie with his favorite animal of the day, the polar bear.

Adam enjoyed the seal's and sea lions.  He also liked his ride.

Hannah and the sea lion.

Adam taking a break from his ride on daddy's shoulder to pose with the grizzly bear.

Stepping in a Firepit

A picture we took on Kenny's phone at the hospital.  What a brave boy.

The weekend of June 23rd we were headed to Grace to do some more work on my in-laws pond.  We decided to make a stop on Friday night in Smithfield at Kenny's friend Andy's house.  His brother, another childhood friend of Kenny's, was in town from St. Louis and we haven't seen them in years.  They were getting together at Andy's that night and called to see if we wanted to join them.  It was a very fun evening.  We had pizza, swam in the neighbors pool, and then started a fire in the fire pit.  The kids played and the dad's decided to go on a bike ride up the canyon.  It was getting late, it was getting dark and I kept thinking to myself that I really should take the kids to my mom's house to sleep. It's what we agreed on earlier in the day, but the kids were having so much fun and it's not everyday they get to stay up and play with new friends.  Instead, we stuck around waiting for daddy to get back.  I was holding Dan near the fire pit, talking to Amy, Andy's wife, when Adam came walking over. I watched him walk near the fire pit and then it happened, in slow motion almost.  He stepped a little too close and his left foot slipped off the rim of the fire pit and down into the hot coals. He then fell forward landing with his arm on the rim of the fire pit.  I put Dan down as quick as I could and Amy and I both ran to Adam.  I scooped him up and we immediately ran into the house.  After less than a minute of running his foot under cold water I knew we needed to take Adam to the hospital.  We gave him some medicine and started getting some ice for the trip when Kenny pulled up.  He jumped into action and within a few minutes we were in the car and headed to the hospital.  We took Dan with us because he was scared to death, but left the other kids at Andy's house.

Adam's burned toes, the night after his accident.

We chose to go to the Specialty Hospital instead of the Logan Regional Hospital and we were very glad we did.  We were the only ones there, they took us back as soon as we arrived, and they were all very nice.  They gave Adam some more medicine for the pain and put special burn ointment on his foot.  They called the burn unit in Salt Lake at UofU hospital and told us that we would need to get him into the burn clinic.  I called my mom and had her come get Daniel and told her I'd call when we left the hospital.  We stuck around for awhile waiting for the medicine to work.  After about an hour they wrapped up Adam's foot and sent us home with what we would need to change his bandage over the weekend.  

The morning after.  His arm and foot are still bandaged up from the hospital.

My poor little baby was so brave.  He is definitely a strong little guy.  He cried and cried and my heart ached for him, but he was so good and cooperative at the same time.  We took turns holding him, waiting for the medicine to work and he ate suckers and was content to just be held.  When we were finally able to go, he was still sad and in pain, but a little of the normal Adam showed through when he waved at everyone and said bye and thank you.  I'm so amazed at what strength my little kids have.

Still able to smile even though he hurts.

After the hospital we went back to Andy's to pick up the other kids.  We decided to go to Grace and help with the pond because we were told Adam needed to go to the burn clinic the next day.  We originally decided to stay at my parents house that night and head back to Salt Lake early in the morning.  When we arrived to pick up Dan we had changed our minds and decided to just head home that night.  We got home around 2:00, put the kids in bed, only to find out early in the morning that the burn clinic couldn't see him until Monday.

Another shot of his burned foot the night after he stepped in the fire pit.

Father's Day in Grace

Kenny and the kids on Father's Day.

We were still in Grace on Father's Day so we got to spend it with my in-laws.  The morning was a typical Sunday morning.  Mom's busy running around getting kids ready for church.  Kids trying to do what their told (sometimes) to avoid being yelled at.  Dad's getting ready and trying to avoid getting yelled at.  You know, the typical Sunday morning.  Okay, Sunday's aren't always that bad, but some days they sure seem that bad.  Everyone made it to church on time and we enjoyed a great sacrament service.  We took our kids to class only to learn that April and JJ were going to leave early so, halfway through primary we took everyone home to grandma and grandpa's to say bye to their cousins.

The Dad's

We had a quick lunch, some huckleberry ice cream (of course) and took some pictures before they left.  Kenny and I stayed around for awhile helping a little in the yard, taking down our tents, and just visiting.  On the way home we stopped in Logan to say hi to my dad for a few minutes.  It was a great weekend, a great Father's Day, and a great time was had by all.

Some of the kids eating Huckleberry Ice Cream.

Ben had to get in on the picture.

Our family on Father's Day.  Really tired, but still cute.

Newbry/Rasmussen/Barthlome Reunion

Kenny and his good friend Andy Rasmussen.

Apparently, back in the day, my mother-in-law devised this plan with 2 other mothers as a way to keep their sanity in the middle of rural Grace, Idaho with a bunch of little kids.  Once a week 2 of the mothers would take their kids the other mother's house, drop them off to play and not have to pick them up until 4 or 5 that afternoon.  The kids would play, the mom's would get stuff done and everyone (except the mom who had the kids that week, I'm sure) enjoyed the arrangement.  What a brilliant idea.  This rotating weekly event between houses went on for a few years and the families all got to know each other well.  This Father's Day weekend they all wanted to get together and have a reunion of sorts.  It was planned for Saturday evening at the down below property of the Rasmussen's.  I know all of the Rasmussen's and very few, but some, of the Barthlome's so I was fairly comfortable at this reunion that had nothing to do with me.  Besides, they're all very nice people and made everyone feel right at home.

The 3 dad's  Rasmussen, Barthlome, and Newbry.

We ate dinner and visited for awhile.  The kids played and got to know each other a little.  After awhile a fire was built to keep us warm in the cooling night air and we all sat around it introducing our families and listening to stories of what life had been like.  It was fun to listen to everyone remebering a little about the things they did together growing up.  I like hearing those stories of my husbands childhood.  A great evening was had by all and I'm glad we made the trip up for it.

Dan and Adam loved playing in the sand.

Our family sitting around the fire during introductions.

Redoing the Pond

Helping the in-laws redo their pond.

 There was a reunion of sorts in Grace with some old friends of my husbands family over Father's Day so we thought it would be a great time for a trip to see my in-laws.  We were joined by Kenny's sister April and her family.  We arrived Friday night and stayed until Sunday evening.  Not only was it a great time to visit with family and friends, but it was a great time to get some work done on the yard.  My in-laws house and yard has always been a work in progress.  It's one of the things I love so much about going to Grace.  I can see the things I've done to shape and mold the house and yard and see my work and inclusion in their lives.  I love it.

Eating breakfast to get ready for a busy day.

Gracie, Hannah and Cadence playing on a beautiful Saturday in Grace.

This summer they've decided to try change the yard around to make it less maintenance.  They were working on improving the pond area the weekend we were there.  I love that pond.  I can still remember waking up at about 4:00 in the morning, the weekend before my wedding to see my soon to be husband and father-in-law with a huge crane lowering 'sacred rock' (the gigantic rock hanging over the pond) into place. My reception at there house was a week away and I didn't know how the yard would be ready for it.  That was the first glimpse into the Newbry family.  The yard looked amazing for the reception, by the way.

Dan, sitting on a rock.

Adam's turn to sit on the rock.

Cute Gracie taking a break.

Hannah preparing drinks for everyone.

Anyway, Kenny, Gary and I spent most of Saturday outside working on the pond.  I cleared out the inside of the pond and filled the hole under 'sacred rock' that a rock chuck had dug out a few years ago.  Kenny and Gary moved rocks, large rocks, and tried to get it looking just right.  It was nice to get our hands dirty and help them out at the same time.  We didn't get as much done as we wanted, but we planned on coming up the next weekend to help again.

I told Helen she had to get a picture of me working so it was documented that I actually did something.  Here's proof.

Gracie helping Grandpa at the truck.

 While we were working the kids were playing.  It was fun to see the cousins play together and it was nice that they were able entertain themselves so we could work. We stopped working in the early afternoon so we could shower and get ready for the reunion at a friends house.

I love this picture because it accurately shows how Dan plays in the water.  He has no fear just like his brother Ben.

After a long day in the hot sun we had to make sure and take a swim in the hot tub.