"Oh Bother"

Me and Pooh bear have a love/hate relationship. I love Winnie The Pooh and always have. I was Winnie The Pooh for Halloween when I was little, my nickname growing up was "Quinnie The Pooh", one of my favorite movies to watch growing up featured "that silly old bear", and I still to this day know every little jingle that Pooh sings.

So, where does the hate come into play? Everytime I see the honey loving bear I am reminded of the hole in my heart, my daughter who was taken too soon. And yet, I am happy to be reminded of the 9 joyous months spent with her in my womb. Finding Winnie The Pooh decor, stuffed animals, blankets, pictures, quotes, etc.

How can such a spunky lovable bear leave such a huge impact on someones life? Not only does seeing a Pooh bear remind me of my sweet angel, his words of wisdom leave tears to my eyes every time. Yesterday I was shopping and found a beautifully framed quote from Pooh...

“Promise me you'll never forget me
because if I thought you would
I'd never leave"

It is the first time I have seen that quote, and I felt like Preslie was saying it to me. I am grateful that Chris and I decided to associate my favorite bear with my favorite angel. Although Preslie is not here with us, the smiling bear never ceases to make me forget the impact such a small baby can have on one's life.

McDonald McCall Trip 2011

Last weekend our family had it's first family vacation. My parents planned a wonderful trip up to McCall for a few days. Our first stop was a flee market, and then we headed to Route 55 Diner for lunch. It wasn't bad.







The cabin was massive! 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and lots of room. My parents had their own separate apartment that was over the garage. The beach was only a 5 minute walk away. We decided to check that out first.







That night Kyle made a huge fire and we roasted smores while my Dad told a wonderful story about making your life a heaven. We bought those giant marshmallows and they were so big they wouldn't cook all the way through. We all decided that next time we will stick with regular ones.









The next day we rented a boat. Half of us woke up early and took the boat for a spin, while the rest of us slept in and got ready.





Arista was unsure of the boat ride, and let us know it. She was adorable! All she wanted was for me to snuggle her, since it was so windy.







A few brave souls decided they would tube. Unfortunatly Mikelle and Merrick didn't last long on the tube, and were hit hard by the water. They scared the rest of us!

Mikelle before


Mikelle after




My Dad, Kyle, and Kipley were the champions and did awesome without falling into the ice water. My Dad even went twice. We were so nervous to watch him, in fear that he would fall in the water and go into shock. Luckily that wasn't the case, and he rocked that tube!





Kelsey was in charge of raising the flag, while Craig drove the boat.





Arista eventually warmed up to the boat, and had a blast.



I decided to take a stab at driving the boat. It lasted about 1 minute, it scared me way too much to go fast. I am a slow boat driver.





After a few hours boating they dropped Arista and I off, while they continued on the lake. We spent the next few hours visiting and laughing. Later that night a few of us went to Zim's Hot Springs. There were 2 pools, one was 105 degrees and the other was 98 degrees. They were so hot, after 5 minutes we were ready to go. We stayed until they closed, and then headed back to the cabin. The water felt really nice, and we are glad that we went. Especially after freezing all day on the boat.








The next day Dad, Kyle, Mikelle, Craig, and Chris went shooting while Kipley napped, and Mom, Kelsey and I chatted. The shooters found a great spot to shoot up a hill, but soon was told they couldn't shoot there. They then found another spot. I can't believe my husband shot a gun!





After everyone got back home Dad, Chris, Kipley, Merrick and I went on a hike in Ponderosa State Park. I wanted the hardest hike in the park, and it wasn't too bad. Not 5 minutes into the hike did I see a snake in the bushes. I wanted everyone to see it, so I picked up a rock and threw it into the bush. Right by the rock was another snake! Chris' worst fear is snakes, so needless to say we hiked fast.















It was a beautiful hike, and just what I wanted. After the hike Chris, Merrick, Kiple and I went to play tennis at the local high school. After a few sets my Dad played. While he was running for a ball he tripped and fell. It was the scariest thing, and we are so glad that he wasn't seriously hurt. It knocked the wind out of him good, but luckily that was all. When we arrived home there was a roaring fire, and we roasted smores for the final time, while my Mom told us a story about honesty. Perfect ending to a perfect trip. Later that night my parenst went and watched "The Great Outdoors" while we partied it up karaoke style. Unfortunatly Mikelle and Kyle had to leave that day to drive back to Meridian, since Mikelle had class the next morning. We also played Mario Party and I WON!!!











The next morning we woke up, packed and left. We took a detour drive up to Tamarack, and then stopped at Route 55 Diner for lunch. It tasted so yummy this time around. After lunch we stopped in Horseshoe Bend to fish for a while. It was very windy and freezing, so we didn't stay long enough to catch a fish. Maybe next time.









We arrived home safely after a terrific trip. We all had such a great time, and can't wait to do another family vacation someday soon! Thanks Mom and Dad!!

"I'd Rather Be In Idaho Eating Baked Potatoes"

After 8 hours of bumpy flights, airport elevators, computer malfunctions, 2 anxiety attacks, biting toddler, delayed flight, and grouchy parents...we finally made it to Boise!









The following day was my sister Kipley's high school graduation. She graduated as her school's Salutatorian, and was asked to speak at the event. She gave an amazing speech which brought tears to a lot of eyes. It's hard to believe that my baby sister will be going to college this fall.





For the grand event I made Arista a silver and blue skirt to match the school colors. She hated it, and I ended up holding her the back of the auditorium the entire graduation because she was so upset. She fell asleep right before it ended.









After the graduation we went back to my parent's and partied. My Mom made a delicious cake, and we had some incredible steak with baked potatoes. We ended the night dancing to some MJ.



The next few days were spent playing with my siblings, and getting in as much Daddy time as possible.







Arista LOVES Jager my older sister Kelsey's dog, and loves getting Jager kisses.



Arista wakes up every morning and plays the piano, at one point we even heard the tune "this old man". She is gifted.



We found out that my sister Kelsey and brother-in-law Craig are having a baby boy. I was fortunate and lucky enough to be invited to the big ultrasound. He is adorable, and looks like a spitting image of his Daddy. He had his legs spread wide open, so there was no denying that it was Kenneth.







Here in Meridian they have Happy Meal Tuesday, so of course we couldn't miss that!



One day my sister Mikelle, her boyfriend Kyle, Arista, Chris and I went to the Boise Zoo. It was a perfect afternoon, because no one was there. Arista loved going down the giant giraffe slide with everyone, especially her daddy. While Chris was on his way down he ripped a hole in his new shorts. That didn't stop him from wearing them the rest of the trip though. :)















Unfortunatly I forgot to charge the battery on my camera, so I will have to upload them from my sister's phone. We were able to go through the new butterfly exhibit which was incredible. We had butterflies all over us! We fed the goats kibble, and even fed the prairie dogs. It was so fun. After the zoo we went to the famous Big Juds. We ordered the big 2 pound burger and Mikelle, Kyle and Chris all split it. They said it was delicious, and they wanted to try the challenge someday. I'll post pictures of that later on.