Carson

Carson turned four years old last week. Unfortunately he was sick on his birthday and his party with our families had to be canceled. He was terribly disappointed and told me, "Mom, but today is my happy birthday and I don't want my party another day." Pretty sad. Here are a few pictures of the very low-key evening with just the four of us.

Getting ready to open his presents. He kept pulling funny faces when I would take the pictures.

Carson and Blake sitting by Carson's new train set.

Carson wanted one of these train sets (it's a GeoTrax set) ever since he saw one at a friend's house. I told him every time he was extra good that he could have penny to put in a certain penny jar. Then when he earned a certain number of pennies he could have his train. So, he happened to earn it a few days before his birthday. Then Mike and I bought him some extra tracks that he opened the morning of his birthday.

On Sunday some of my (Shara's) family came to visit and Carson was so excited to have people here. He opened his presents and got some pajamas and a new train to add to his train set.

As a side note, we really love this train set! I would recommend GeoTrax to anyone! We have another train set that we bought a year ago, and we like it, but I would definitely recommend this one.

Sugar Beet Harvest

My parents and younger brothers are currently super busy with harvest. The farm is done with grain and potatoes, and last week we went to check out the sugar beet harvest. We visited Grandma F. at the beet dump (the place where harvested beets are gathered before being sent on the train to be processed). We saw a truck filled with beets and Carson commented, "Look at all the coconuts!" Yep, not quite coconuts, but really cute.
We rode with Grandpa F. on the tractor. Carson wanted to steer, but it wasn't necessary because the tractors are GPS guided.

Derek was also on a tractor pulling a new harvester.

We took a break because of a truck shortage and Carson pulled this beet out of the ground. Lookin' good!

Things have changed since I was at home and working in harvest. There's more technology, bigger equipment, and my younger brothers were driving tractors! But, the dirt still smelled the same (yummy!) and I loved being able to be there.

Friends

A week ago my friends from high school/growing up came for a visit. It was great to see all of them and catch up on what they're doing. Most of their families came too. We were only missing one fiance, one husband, and a couple kids.

Janeal, Shara, Brooke, Marci, Kayla, Becki.

Unexpected Florida Adventure

When we returned from our camping trip, Mike was scheduled to go to Florida for 10 days. We were sad to see him go. But, he called us when he had been gone for a couple days and mentioned that he wouldn't have much to keep him busy over the weekend. Then he casually asked if we wanted to come see him. I think he was shocked (and thrilled!) when I called him back the next day to say we were coming. We bought plane tickets on a Tuesday and left two days later--last Thursday. Carson was so excited! He kept telling everyone that we were going to Florida to see his dad and play on the beach and build a sandcastle. We were in Wal-Mart buying a few last minute things and I saw someone I knew. I chatted with them for a while and when we walked away Carson said, "Why didn't you let me tell her that we're going to Florida? Mom, you better go back and tell her!"

After I bought the tickets I started getting really nervous about taking the boys by myself on the airplane. I kept praying that everything would work out and that someone would help us if we needed it. Everything went great and we were very blessed.

We got to the airport early enough and the kids played for a while in the play area.
Then we boarded the plane. We were some of the last people on and the flight attendants asked Carson if he wanted to come meet the pilots. We headed up to the cockpit (I thought they wouldn't let you do that anymore--post 9/11) and the pilots let Carson push two buttons for them. The flight attendant told me to take a picture.
The boys did great. We never even got out of our seats. We were all very excited to see Mike at the airport.

The next day we went to our hotel on Cocoa Beach. We played in the sand and ocean a lot.



Or we played in the pool. They had a kids pool that was pirate-ship themed. It had slides and was a lot of fun (even for the parents).
Blake really liked the slides too.
We really wore Blake out. Here he is after one of our beach adventures. He just rolled over and fell asleep.
Mike and I decided to take the kids sailing one of the days. They weren't so sure about wearing the life jackets, but eventually they warmed up to the idea. It was very peaceful and relaxing and we saw a few dolphins playing in the water. Carson got to steer the boat with Captain Greg.

On our last full day we went to Sea World. We liked all the animals, rides, exhibits and shows. Here's Carson feeding the sea lions.

Touching a sting ray.
They had a Shamu-themed roller coaster that Carson loved. He and Mike rode it several times. It was a great time to be on vacation because nothing was crowded and it wasn't terribly hot.




On the way home. Blake fell asleep almost immediately on the first flight. Blake, Carson and I all slept on the last flight.
We had so much fun on this last-minute, unplanned adventure! Sometimes it seems like a dream. Can't believe we did it! Now we're still waiting for Mike to get back. He got delayed because of some extra work.

Camping Trip

In the middle of September we went camping with a lot of people from our old ward. It was great. It was especially nice to have Mike home to camp with us this time. (Last time he was on a work trip).

We stayed in our tent. Notice I didn't say we slept in our tent. Not a lot of that was going on. It was cold and unfamiliar, especially for Blake. But we survived! We had a great breakfast and had a wonderful time swimming, playing and visiting with our friends and former ward members.

Carson learned he could climb trees.

Blake hanging out in his chair.

Eastern Idaho State Fair

On Labor Day we ventured up to the fair. I love going to the fair. To be more specific, I love the food at the fair. Mike and I went by ourselves for a few hours and walked around all the booths and ate some food and then my parents brought the boys in to walk around with us. It was lots of fun. Carson especially enjoyed the petting zoo.

Then we ventured over to the tractors.

I don't have lots of pictures from the day but we had a great time!