Lava Hot Springs

We took a little trip with Josh's side of the family up to Lava Hot Springs, ID. While there we floated the river, played at the pool, and celebrated Josh's 34th birthday.

Before heading home, we drove 20 miles up the road to Soda Springs. When Josh was little his Grandma Wilde would take them there and make soda pop. We had some Kool-Aid mix and the kids had fun drinking carbonated punch. The photos at the top should be at the bottom. P.S. I hate blogger, I can't move my pictures around anymore, anyone know how to do this?

Molly's "Genus Alice" Birthday Party

We just celebrated Molly's 3rd birthday, hard to believe she's growing up so fast! When I asked her what kind of party she wanted it was usually princess. A few weeks before her birthday it changed to "a Genus Alice" party. It took me awhile to figure out what she was talking about, but I finally got it. She had been watching the cartoon Alice in Wonderland movie quite a bit and I remembered the scenes with all the flowers, they want to know what kind of flower she is. Here is a quote from the movie:

The Rose: Just what species or, shall we say, genus are you, my dear?
Alice: Well, I guess you would call me... genus, humanus... Alice.
Daisy: Ever see an alice with a blossom like that?
Orchid: Come to think of it, did you ever see an alice?
Daisy: Yes, and did you notice her petals? What a peculiar color.
Orchid: [sniffing Alice's hair] And no fragrance.
Daisy: [chuckling, as she lifts up one side of Alice's dress] And just look at those stems.
The Rose: [as Alice slaps the Daisy's leaves away] Rather scrawny, I'd say.
Bud: I think she's pretty.
The Rose: Quiet, bud.

So there you have it, she wanted a Genus Alice party! What the heck?!? I decided to get some teapots and tea cups from the D.I., spray paint them, and put ice cream toppings in them. We hadkool-aid bursts with a "drink me" tag and "eat me" sugar cookies. I made a 3 of Hearts cake, Queen of Hearts and Cheshire Cat cupcakes.

The greatest part is that there is NOTHING Alice in Wonderland available at any party supply store. She asked for Tinkerbell dress-ups, which she got and has worn almost constantly since, and luckily the Disney Store had a set of plastic Alice figurines. If only she had asked for a Tinkerbell party as well, how easy it would have been! It was fun and she loved it, so that makes it worth it, right??

Handcart Trek

At the end of the school year, the entire 4th grade participates in a handcart trek. Owen had a great time helping pull the handcart, crossing a small stream, and learning how to throw an atlatl. He did not want to eat the lunch provided (beef stew, corn bread, and peach cobbler), so when I went up to Mitchell Hollow to serve lunch I brought him a lunch from home so he wouldn't starve. Poor kid would never have made it as a pioneer!