Camping

Last weekend we went camping in McCall. The weather was great (it was a little cold one night, but probably only for me). We had a campfire, made s'mores, cooked in the dutch oven, took scenic drives, hiked, and toured McCall. And then we did like 5 loads of laundry when we got home.

Thunder Mountain Railroad

One Saturday in September we rode the Thunder Mountain Line from Horseshoe Bend to Banks. The train is from the 1940s and we picked the perfect day to ride in the open-air car and enjoy the scenery of the Payette River. It was a great Saturday afternoon activity!

Back to School...6 weeks ago...

We are all happy that we are back in school again! Madison started first grade this year and she is enjoying it. She is part of the classical program where she started learning history. She has been working on Latin words, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the beginning of the Jewish nation. She just got a 100% on her spelling test (and they are seriously hard!). She likes to read and is a math genius!

Hayes is in his last year of preschool. He is addicted to puzzles and loves to help Madison with her spelling (she does not like it). He is excited for school this year because his BFF Annie is in his class this year. They like to do play dates after school. He also decided that he needed a faux hawk this semester to emulate his uncles.

I am enjoying this semester. I got all my thesis research done this summer and started writing. I have been trying to turn out a chapter (about 20 pages) every 2 weeks. I have 2 done chapters so far and it is going great. I am TA-ing again in Western Civ II (4th time through the class!). I am taking a class on World Explorers which is pretty interesting too. The books on the table picture is what our kitchen table looks like most nights.

Joe just finished a month of cardiology and is now doing dermatology. He has an application to 30 residency programs in so we are waiting to hear about interviews. He has just enough time to go golfing every week and play basketball.

IMA Conference in Coeur d'Alene, ID

In July we took a fun road trip to Seattle, Yakima, and Coeur d'Alene. Grandma and Grandpa Deaver took the kids in Yakima and let Joe and I continue to Seattle on our own. We had fun visiting all of our favorite places (which, strangely, were grocery stores and restaurants).

In Coeur d'Alene we were on the 12th floor in an awesome suite where we could see the lake and keep the kids from eating the $5 candy bars in the mini bar. We took a boat tour of the lake, had some fun dinners with a bunch of doctors, and made some friends.

One day, the kids and I ditched the conference and drove over to Wallace where we toured a silver mine and checked out the cute downtown composed of 100-year-old brick buildings.

While in Coeur d'Alene we also go to see my brother Alex while he was doing an internship. He volunteered to watch the kids one night while we were there (slumber party!) and took us all up to Harry Potter 7.2 the next day. We had fun taking the kids on a little hike around the lake.

McCall

Over the Fourth of July weekend I met my parents and siblings at my grandparent's cabin in McCall, ID. It was the perfect weekend of hiking, hanging out on the beach, roasting marshmallows, boating, and reading (I finished 2 fun books on a 3 day trip). Joe had to stay home and study for step 2 of the boards. Too bad!

Summer Sports Camps

This summer I signed Madison and Hayes up for a week of soccer camp and a week of t-ball camp through the YMCA ( I love that the age requirements were 4-6 year olds so that they could both go together). Joe ended up taking them to most of soccer while I was in Rexburg researching, but they loved it. The had a blast learning new things and making new friends. Just watching Hayes dribble the ball down the field, I totally realized he was a natural.

T-ball camp was fun. It is funny to see little kids in the huge batting helmets running around looking for the base they are supposed to be on. Madison excelled at t-ball, and Joe is seriously hoping that we have a glitter-band wearing softball player in the house (not Hayes).

Kindergarten Graduation + New Accessories

Madison graduate from kindergarten on Friday. Hayes and I went to an award's assembly for her that morning where she was honored with the "Kinesthetic Excellence" award (not totally clear on what this implies). Later we went to her graduation where her class sang some songs and her teacher read aloud the kid's favorite things about kindergarten and what they wanted to be when they grow up. Madison liked field trips and wants to be a swimming instructor. The end of school always makes me so sad (not because I can't handle having the kids home all day...well, that might be part of it) because Madison had such a great experience this year with one of the best teachers and good friends. She is reading now and is awesome at math. Her teacher said that she has far exceeded kindergarten expectations which is really exciting!

Yesterday Joe took the kids shoe shopping while I put some quality thesis research time in and brought Madison home with newly pierced ears. I had no idea they were sneaking off to do that! She got little pink earrings that are her birthstone. She looks cute!

IMA Conference in Victor, Idaho

A couple of weekends ago we went to Victor, Idaho which is near the Wyoming border. Joe is on the board of directors for the Idaho Medical Association (which makes him a big deal), so they paid for us to go stay at a REALLY nice resort while Joe went to board meetings. This area was so beautiful. We could see the Teton Mountains, and the resort was surrounded by deer and little lakes. One day we did a nature walk with a naturalist who talked about the geology and wild life in the area, which the kids enjoyed. We met doctors from all over Idaho who were all really nice to us. It was definitely a great little weekend trip!

Zoo + Preschool Graduation

Hayes recently had a field trip to the Zoo with his preschool class. The day we went was pretty chilly and windy. We had some fun though. He fed the giraffe some lettuce (actually he freaked out at the last minute when he saw its huge purple tongue, and I fed the giraffe some lettuce).

2 weeks ago he had his preschool graduation where his class sang some songs and had a little program for us. Some of his friends are moving on to kindergarten next year, which made him realize that he didn't actually graduate. This made him mad enough that he came home and cut up his diploma. I guess there is always next year...