Utah and back home

We left for Utah Thursday morning.  We went to Sara and Adam's house in Lehi and picked up Noah.  Sara and the other kids had gone to a water park for the day with some friends but Noah had not been feeling well so he stayed home.  He was feeling better.  We then met Sara at BYU in front of the BYU broadcasting building.  Adam works there and was able to get us in to watch Studio C dress rehearsal.  Studio C is a sketch comedy show that they kids really like.  They were so excited!  Sara took Reed home with her but the rest of her kids stayed.  It was a lot of fun and very interesting to see how they film the show.

I found out that my beehives advisor's neice is one of the charecters (Natalie) so I took this picture of a cardboard cutout to send to her.  Isaac photobombed the picture nicely.

I had to take a conference call about Youth Conference which was a couple days after we would get back so I went out into the hall by Adam's office to take that while the kids watched with Adam.  We left after a couple hours and went back to the house.  Sara had gotten pizza for dinner.

Sara and Adam both worked on Friday.  I met up for lunch with Val.  She had just gotten married, just moved to Utah and was just starting teaching at a new job.  It was nice to talk to her.  She looked and sounded very happy.  That afternoon/evening Sara and I went grocery shopping to pick up some things for dinner and for Saturday as we were going to have a get together at the house.  The kids had a great day just lazying around and playing with cousins.  Adam, Isaac and Noah played catch in the backyard and Hannah and Grace went around the neighborhood catching Pokemon (a game on Hannah's phone).  It wouldn't be a visit with Sara and Adam if Adam didn't make his taco shells!  Tacos for dinner.  Then, we watched a movie and had popcorn

Saturday morning, Gary and Camille came over and we drove to American Fork Canyon for a hike.  Gary had planned where to go.  Hannah and Grace decided they didn't really care to go so they stayed home to watch Reed and Sara got to come.  The hike was really pretty.  It was a hot day.  There was shade here and there which was nice.  I think they hike was about 4 miles roundtrip.  We hiked into Silver Lake.

 It was a challenging hike but everyone made it!

It was fun to be able to talk with Camille.  She is such an amazing girl. 

After we got home, we got cleaned up and Kelly and her family came over.  Parker had returned from his mission in the Philippians.   Everyone looked great.  So grown up!  Sydney didn't stay for dinner as she had a date but I was so glad she came over.  Apparently, this was her second date of the day.  The rest of Gary's girls came over as well as Camille's husband John.  We had hot dogs, chips, salads and brownies.

 Uncle Adam showed the kids a clip from a very weird/funny chinese ninja movie.  It was pretty funny. 

 Aubrey will be starting school at Utah State this year.  She is a very smart girl and a hard worker.  After everyone left but Gary, we went outside and watched the fireworks going on.  It was the 23rd of July so the next day would be Pioneer Day.  

Sunday morning, I made chocolate chip pancakes for Hannah's birthday breakfast.  She turned 15!  We then headed back to Jerome.  Hannah had requested homemade pizza for dinner and brownies and ice cream for her "birthday cake".  I got the pizza almost done by the time mom and dad got home from church.  Dad cooked up a couple pieces of the trout he and the boys caught so Isaac could try it and mom had made cookie salad, one of Hannah's favorites.  I had gotten a couple little gifts for her so she had something to open, a skirt and shirt and running shorts.

Grandpa had some cool firestarters that looked like rifles.

 Nathan got to light the candle.

 Later that evening, Bryan Gourley and his wife came over to visit.  I saw Kayla, Val and Bryan (my best friends growing up) and did not think to take a picture with any of them.  We had a great visit with them.

Monday morning we packed back up for the last time and said goodbye to dad and mom and headed back to Boise.  We met Shayla and her kids at her town house.  She was working but was able to take a long lunch.  We went to a hamburger place.  I guess I should say a fry place that also served hamburgers.  I've never seen so many options for types of french fries.

Our plane left Boise on time and the first part of our return went without incident.  We had a layover in Midway, Chicago again and there were storms from there to Atlanta so everything was backed up and some flights canceled.  We were suppose to arrive back in Atlanta at 12:50 am but we didn't even leave Midway until midnight.  Justin was going to pick us up from the airport so he set his alarm and slept for a couple hours after finding out that our plane did take off and when it would get to Atlanta.  It was a long night and we were exhausted.  I think we all slept a bit on the plane.

 When we got back to Atlanta, the train had already stopped running as it was 2:30 am so we had to take shuttle buses from the tarmac to baggage claim.

Justin got there just as we got our bags and headed outside.  I felt bad that he had to come as he also had to work the next morning.  It was good to be back together as a family.  I think we finally got to bed just before 5 am.  This trip really was pretty perfect.  It was so great to be able to visit so many friends and family.  The only negatives were that Justin wasn't able to stay the whole time and that a rock kicked up and cracked our rental car's windshield.  We learned that our credit card covers that!  We will just have to mail in receipts and a damage report.  Phew.

Kooskia and first stop in Jerome

Once we left Cascade from the reunion, we headed North to Kooskia to see RaNae and George.  We met them at a cafe in town for lunch and then headed to the house.  It was good to see them and relax there.  Saturday night, George got out his guns.  Nathan was impressed at how many weapons he had in different places around his room.  I shot the pistol and did much better than the last time.  We made homemade pizzas for dinner and RaNae had made a cheese cake that was really good.

 Sunday we went to church and RaNae made chicken and dumplings per Justin's request.  He asked her to teach us how.  I have the list of ingredients but I'm sure they will not turn out like hers.  After dinner we went over to visit Dale Ferguson and his wife.  Justin recognized Dale at church.  He was in Justin's ward growing up in Kuna and he had helped Justin on his sculpting merit badge.  He is an artist.  He has some very unique pieces.  I kind of felt like you would see some of them in movies....lots of gears and different metals.  He also does a lot with bronze and native american.  It was fun to look through his house at some of his pieces.  They were both so nice.  He suprised Justing by giving him a piece to take home.  I think it meant a lot to Dale that Justin remembered him and remembered him helping him with his merit badge.  We had a nice time and it was a beautiful night.  It had just rained and the sun was coming back out, as well as a rainbow.  They gave us ice cream popcicles as we were leaving.

Monday morning we got up and got packed and headed back to Boise.  George and RaNae drove down with us as they needed to head to a funeral for one of Justin's cousins.  We all stopped for dinner at Mark and Dalana's house.  I forgot to take any pictures.  We had a nice visit with them and ordered in dinner from Pizza Hut.  George and RaNae were staying in Kuna and we headed to our hotel in Boise.  Justin needed to fly back to Atlanta and then to Ohio for work early the next morning so we wanted to be close to the airport.  Nathan and I headed to Fred Meyer to get Hannah some medicine.  She was still feeling very congested.  We drove by our old neighborhood.  It was dark so we couldn't see everything well.  We had a great time looking around Fred Meyer.  I had forgotten how much I love that store.  We got me and Justin new Boise State shirts and realized we had wondered around way longer than we thought.  We got back to the hotel about 11:15 and everyone was in bed trying to sleep.

Tuesday morning I took Justin to the airport at 5 am and then went back to the hotel and went back to sleep.  We all woke up around 9:30.  We ate breakfast at the hotel and then went to the Bronco Shop to get the kids shirts and another one for Justin.

Then, we drove through our old neighborhood again.  The trees have sure grown up and it still looks very nice.  Our house had been painted a blueish grey and had been kept up very well.

I told Justin that it was in good hands because there was a Boise State sign painted onto the siding right by the front door.  I sure loved this house and have so many good memories of our short time there.  I remember when Justin and I thought we were building our home we would raise our children in.  How life changed.  We then went back to Fred Meyer to get Nathan some headphones.

Hannah's new sweat shirt.  It was 90 degrees but she still wanted to wear it.

We couldn't leave Boise without stopping to eat at Big Bun.  However, it was not as good as it use to be.  I guess they have changed management a couple times.  The milk shakes were great but the burger buns were a little dry and hard, not grilled in butter as before....mmmm.  We ate as we started towards Jerome.

 I had Nathan take a picture as we were on the road because I had to laugh because the view was pretty much the exact opposite of Georgia....flat, brown, no trees. 

 Ginger, Jaikka, Ryanne and Gideon were at mom and dads house.  They would be staying the night so the cousins would get to hang out some more.  As mom and dad made dinner, Ginger and I took the kids out to see Grandma Reid.  Connie also lives there and she came home while we were there so we got to visit with her as well.  Grandma looked great.  I think she gets more beautiful every time I see her.  I know she does not think so.

 That night Chandler, Ashton and Eisley came to stay the night too.  We watched a movie.  The front room was pretty full of bodies on couches and the floor.  We saw Miracles from Heaven and it was really good.  Definitely needed Kleenex.  After finally getting who was going out to the bunk house figured out, we all got to bed.  The boys took the bunk house and the girls slept in the piano room.  Ginger and I had our own rooms.  I think the boys stayed up most of the night.  

Wedensday morning dad and his friend George and George's grandson took Isaac, Chandler, Ashton and Gideon fishing.  They were very successful!  Apparently, Ashton is not big on the fishing part but he likes to play in the water.  Grandpa showed them how to filet them when they got home.

 While the boys were fishing, Ginger and I took the girls and Nathan (who did not care to get up early or fish) and went to lunch with aunt Judy.  Mom decided to stay home with Eisley.  Judy looked great.  She is always so fun to visit.  We met at Fiesta Grill.

Ginger and the kids headed back to Boise as soon as we got back to mom and dads house. Mom and dad were serving in the temple that night afternoon.  The kids and I took Chandler, Ashton and Eisley home so we could see their house and then later that evening I went and met Kayla for a Blizzard.  She was down for Youth Conference for her ward and was staying at her parents' house that night.  I wish we could have talked longer.  We never seem to get enough time to catch up.  Her family is getting ready to move to Liberia so I am so glad I got to see her!  We tried to get to bed earlier since there were no cousins around and we would be heading to Utah in the morning.

Thompson Family Reunion July 12-16

With my parents serving two missions, it has been several years since we have had an official reunion with all of us together.  My parents planned this reunion and did so much work to make sure everything was just perfect.  They had worked for months getting all the food prepared.  Ginger sent me a text on Sunday (we were leaving on Tuesday) saying mom was really sick and she may not be able to make the reunion.  We started praying immediately.  Mom had to be there!  Thankfully, she was able to come even though she was not fully recovered.  Every day she seemed a little better.  Dad and Sarah were able to do the last of the grocery shopping Monday while mom rested.  So grateful for all of their work!  We flew out Teusday morning.  We had a short layover in Midway, Chicago.  We were delayed a little on our first flight so we really just walked off our flight, through the airport to our next one and got in line to board the plane.  We arrived in Boise about 4:30 pm.  After getting our rental car, we went to Idaho Pizza Company for dinner.  It tasted just as I remembered.  Hannah had not been feeling well and her ear was bothering her so we went next door to urgent care to have her seen and she had an ear infection and was very congested.  Great start to the trip!

We went to Walgreens to get an antibiotic and then drove about an hour and a half to Cascade, ID.  We got there about 9 pm.  It was a little chillier than I expected.  The cabin was great!  Upstairs, Shayla and Justin had a room, Ginger and Debbie had a room and Tracy and Sarah and me and Justin shared a room.  Mom and dad had a room on the main level and all the kids had a room in the basement.  Right across the room was a game room.  They had a great time having their own space.

We carried down extra mattresses from the bedrooms upstairs so every kid had their own bed.

They had a fire going when we got there and Nathan and I went out and made a smores.

It was so nice to finally be together and just sit and talk as the kids were off playing in the basement.  Shayla's Justin would be coming in the next day.  Unfortunately, only one of his kids was able to come. It was fun having her (Riley) there and getting to know her better.

 Mom came up with a brilliant idea.  Each night, she would have chores for the kids on little pieces of paper in an envelope.  The kids would draw out their assignment for the next day.  She had breakfast prep, breakfast clean up, lunch prep, lunch clean up and dinner prep and dinner clean up.  On the last day, she had cleaning assignments as well.  Most of the kids wanted anything but the morning prep because then they had to get up earlier.  They all did a great job helping with no complaining!

Wedensday morning, we got up and had breakfast.  Dad had made bisquits and gravy ahead of time so we had that, bacon, eggs, cereal, bagels, pancakes and breakfast burritos to choose from.  Then, we made sack lunches and we all headed down to Cascade Lake.  We rented two kayaks and a paddle board.

 You can't see them well but Ryanne and Riley brought the paddle board down from where we rented them and Gideon and Ashton and Justin and I brought the kayaks over.

It was definitely not hot when we got there but the sun got warmer as the day went on. 

 Dad, Tracy, Ginger and Shayla left to go play a round of golf and Debbie went back to the cabin to rest.  The kids had a great time taking turns with the kayak and paddle boards.  I took a turn too.

 That afternoon, we just hung out at the cabin and played cards.  I would say that is one of the favorite things the kids did.  They loved sitting around playing different games.  We had a pretty mean game of spoons, Phase 10 that lasted three days and the kids played several different games with face cards.  It was fun to see how they each new basically the same games but all played them a little bit different.  Dad and Tracy also took Chandler, Ashton and Gideon golfing.

We had hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner.  Justin (Shayla's) got to the cabin just in time to help grill everything. 

Thursday morning we had breakfast and then split up into a couple things.  Dad and Tracy took the four wheelers out for a ride, mom stayed in and rested and watched a movie (Mr. Holland's Opus) and Justin E stayed at the cabin as well finishing up some work.  The rest of us headed out for a hike to Blue Lake.  It was a great hike and the views spectaular.  We drove up a windy dirt road to the trail head and then it was just over a mile down into the lake.  

 Chandler, Ashton and Gideon decided to jump in.  It was cold!

 Debbie was feeling a little headachy from the elevation so she decided to hike back out (back UP out) and Ginger, Jaikka went with her.  The rest of us walked around the lake and then back up.  It was a good climb.

We even found some snow still on the ground.  It was pretty much ice. 

We were hungry, tired and dusty when we got back.  We ate lunch and then were ready to do something else.  Dad, Tracy, Shayla, Justin E and Ginger went into McCall to play golf.  Mom and I took the kids and went to Kelly's White Water Park.  We didn't really know what we were getting into.  They had made a man-made island on the Payette River.  It splits it into two channels that you can rent tubes and go down.  In theory, you would ride the tube to the end of the rapid and then get out.  However, you can't really contol the tube depending on what current you get.  At first, we went down the side that the lady explained as easy.  Our kids kept getting the wrong current that took them down a fork where they had to get out and fight across the current to get to the side to climb out.  The first several kids all got scrapes and cuts on their feet and legs.  Ryanne is pretty brave and asked to try the side that looked like the rapids were bigger.  It ended up being great.  The kids could paddle themselves to get out of the current and off to the side before going too far down.  Nathan decided he didn't want to do any of it, Hannah got scratched up trying the first side so she was done. After watching everyone go down just fine on this side, Isaac finally went down.  I went down as well and it was fun.  Wish we knew what we did going into it and everyone would have had a much better time!

Mom and I let the kids go down one "last time" too many as Gideon got taken down the current too far and ended up on the wrong side of the river.  He eventually figured his way out by getting out and walking back across the rocks on that side and getting back in the water and working his way to the right side to get out.  He was exhausted!  We got back and everyone took turns showering and then we had tacos for dinner.

 The table at the cabin was awesome!  We could fit everyone around it at one time!

The kids also perfected their pyramid.  You can't see her but Sarah is helping Eisley up.  The picture was taken before she got up all the way and they collapsed.  I guess perfected was too strong of a word.  Ha. 

Every morning we got up just a little later.  Friday we had breakfast and then took family pictures after everyone was dressed and looking beautiful.

 Then, we went into McCall to go ice skating and have a picnic lunch.  Sarah, Debbie and I were the only adults that wanted to give it a try.  Debbie, Jaikka and Sarah knew how to skate and Riley, Ryanne and Gideon picked it up very fast!  The rest of the kids and I improved a lot!  I was impressed with how long the kids wanted to stay.  Hannah and Jaikka decided to have a competition of ice dancing with Ryanne and Riley.  They both practiced their routines to be judged.

They both did well but Riley and Ryanne won.  They were so funny.

Me, Isaac, Nathan and Hannah just starting out.

 Gideon was making up his own routines and even got warm enough to take off his jacket.

We split up people based on who wanted to walk around and shop in McCall, who wanted to stop at some antique stores on the way back to Cascade and who wanted to look for a fishing spot on the way back to Cascade.  I was with the fishing spot that turned out to not be anything.  When we got back to the cabin, dad and I went to the flee market and found a belt buckle that holds a silver dollar.  He wanted it to put a gold coin from Venezuela in it.  That was the only thing he wanted to look for and I was shocked we actually found it.  Everyone made their way back to the cabin and got ready for dinner and our birthday party.

 Ryanne and Hannah were on dinner prep duty.  I can't remember who made the birthday cake.

 Grandma brought a quilt top she had a friend help her make that everyone put the outline of their hands on.  The girls added some more art to it.

 Mom decided we should celebrate everyone's birthday since we don't get to see each other on our birthdays throughout the year.  She had a fun little game of passing a gift from left to right based on a story she read.  Everyone started out with a gift (dollar store finds) and then passed around until the story was over and then you opened what you had in front of you.  It was a lot of fun.

Saturday morning came quickly and it was time to pack up and head out.  Boy did the week go fast! We had such a great time.  I sure love my family.  We really are blessed to all get along and love each other as we do.  It was fun to watch the kids talk and play and be friends even though they don't see each other often.  I can't wait for the next reunion in two years!