Candlelit Dinner

Power was out because of the fire. The few restaurants with power were over-run with hungry mobs. Luckily, I had some food packed in a cooler that just needed to be baked. Thank you gas oven!! The owner was kind enough to bring us candles, so we had a candlelit dinner. What a way to start of our trip!

for memories sake, here's Jake & Lander enjoying their candlelit dinner

 And here's a picture using the flash.

California

California, here we come!!

We arrived to Mission Bay for the first leg of our Californian adventure to find the one and only street leading to our rental closed. A house had just burned down. We played at the beach & stalled until we finally decided to walk to the house we were renting. Little did we know that our house was just a 5 minute walk from the parking lot where we left our car. When we arrived to our rental, we learned that the burned house was 4 doors down. For anyone who's been there, they understand how densely packed in the houses are. Their are no roads in front of the houses, just sidewalks, and the back yards are bordered by narrow alleys. The parking spots are so tiny that we had to park our car sideways for it to fit under the car port. We are lucky that the fire didn't spread.

the boys in the front yard

 Josh & Lander in the living room

 Jake & Lander's room

 This was our room. I'm not sure what Josh was doing with the baby wipes. Hmm...

The little cottage just a block and a half from the beach. It was great.

Crazy Hair Day

Ty S. & Jake with their crazy hair for spirit week

Firepit

Lander's creativity was at his max today when he decided that he needed to create a bonfire in the driveway. This is his creation.

 Hayden W, Lander & Jake enjoying their bonfire

Scripture Cookies

The primary had a challenge this year. Each kid to read the entire Book of Mormon earned a huge chocolate chip cookie. Jake & Lander worked really hard to earn theirs. Good job boys!!

Weird Al Concert

I think that our favorite song was "If That Isn't Love", which is funny because it's the song that we usually skip on the radio, but during the concert Weird Al came down into the audience & serenaded the women, including Dixie!! He got right up into our faces, and stuck his eye on Mark's camera lens while he sang. He was practically in Mark's lap!!!! We have the entire thing video taped. We laughed so hard that it hurt.

We were on the 5th row of a tiny theater for the concert. No zoom for these pictures!!! Here are some shots of the concert in action. It was hilarious....

I'm not sure, but I think that this may have been for his song "Yoda". 

Whatever it was, Jake & Lander LOOOOOOVED it! Now they want to be storm troopers for Haloween, and they want costumes as nice as these. Dream on, boys!!

   "Eat It", parody of "Beat It" by Michael Jackson

"Perform This Way", parody of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga

 "White & Nerdy", parody of "Ridin" by Chamillionaire

I have to admit that this is one of my favorite Weird Al songs....It's either that or Amish Paradise...:)

He actually came out onto the stage riding a Segway!!!

 "Fat", parody of "Bad" by Michael Jackson

That's Weird Al in a fat costume. H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S!!!!!

Waiting for Weird Al

We had a great weekend with Mark that culminated with a Weird Al concert. 

The concert was great. I laughed so hard that I had a headache later.  

Here we are waiting for the concert to begin:

 Mark & Josh

  "Is it time yet?"

R Mountain "Sexy Pose"

Got your attention with the word sexy, didn't I? Ha! Me doing a sexy pose? That's just gross. Seriously gross.

One of my best friends just moved back to Rexburg for the year. We are the best-worst of best friends, going months without talking, but then it's like we talked yesterday when we do finally connect. Not a lot of pressure. Obnoxiousness usually reigns. It's been great having her here.

This is a self portrait I took while on a hike to the Menan Buttes ("R" Mountain for those Rick's alumni) that we went on last month. This is our "sexy pose" in honor of her husband, Greg. Sorry Greg, we couldn't keep a straight face long enough to be seductive. But, we had a great time anyway. Thanks for loaning your family to us Idahoans!!

Dixie & Jaime W. standing on top of the Menan Buttes overlooking Snake River valley

Jake's Trumpet

 

Jake is super proud of his new trumpet. He's just learning how to play....loudly. Why is it that everything Jake does is loud? He wanted his Grandma Nala to see these pictures of him, so here you go Grandma!!

Chicken in a Bucket

We had a chicken wandering around our yard yesterday so the boys caught it and took it home after scouring my raspberry patch for eggs. No luck finding any eggs, but it was a really nice chicken! 

Dixie vs Grand Targhee

...and Dixie loses...but there is no picture proof, so why am I ratting myself out? This picture was taken at the top of the ski lift at Targhee Resort, overlooking the Tetons, just before my most painful bike crash of my life. Let's just say that I don't ever plan on riding the downhill trails at Targhee again. Once was enough for me!!