Blaming the Cheney's!

When it comes to the heatwave over Kansas, Ben blames the Cheney's. Why? Well allow him to explain...

Long ago, when Ben and Elizabeth were newlyweds, they lived in Logan, Utah and owned a Mazda B2000 pickup truck. It was in iffy-ish shape and emitted its fair share (actually, more) of exhaust. Nevertheless, Ben loved it because it was a stick-shift (but that's not the point of this story).

Anyway, while living in Cache Valley, with that very truck, there was a persistent inversion - meaning there was a lot of smog (seriously, Logan, Utah is even mentioned on the Wikipedia page for Inversion).

However, the same year Ben and Elizabeth sold the truck, to someone who lived outside of the valley, things suddenly cleared up in the atmosphere. Coincidence? Probably. err... I think not!

So, what does this have to do with Ben blaming poor Ken and Dedra Cheney? Well, they moved out of Kansas to live in Washington back in 2010. Since then, Kansas has experienced record heat in 2011 (with a ridiculous number of days over 100 degrees. Now, for 2012, since we returned from vacation on Saturday, we've had nothing but 100 degree days (yep, a whole week). And, we have a 10-day forecast full of even more 100+ degree days. And this is only June! Sheesh!

Of course, this ridiculous level of heat has only been since the Cheney's moved. Coincidence? Probably. err... I think not!

So, of course Ben blames the Cheney's. What else could it be? (Don't answer that, Ben really doesn't want to know!). However, Ben will probably have to cut them a little slack since he is trying to persuade Dedra to write a review of his book on her blog. If Ben is lucky, she might even be the first to post a review of it on Amazon.

This Year's Garden

Given last year's drought, and the failure of pretty much all of the plants in our garden to produce anything, we're trying something different this year. We're keeping the garden small and putting all the plants in buckets on our deck. Here's hoping it works out!

Sand Dunes

One of Ben's favorite pastimes about his vacations growing up was the inevitable visit to the sand dunes just outside of St. Anthony, Idaho. David and Analeigh were super-excited when Ben described it as a sandbox bigger than the whole city of Ellsworth, Kansas.

David had a blast diving into the sand:

After Ben buried himself in the sand, David insisted on being buried too:

Even Cailainn enjoyed herself, after she got used to the idea:

Yellowstone

Today was spent venturing to, around, and back from Yellowstone National Park. We traveled with Ben's brother Geoff (and his family), as well as Grandma and Grandpa in a 15-passenger van (side note: Geoff was able to read a good portion of Ben's book, The Complete Bubby Anthology, during the drive. You should probably buy a copy for yourself too!). Also, the younger children got a good nap during the drive.

We stopped to visit the mudpots and Old Faithful.

Next we visited the "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone.

On the drive back we stopped by the Ashton, ID version of Big Jud's and ordered a two-pound hamburger meal for our family to share. It was delicious, as always!

David, Analeigh, and Cailainn's Yearly Photos

This evening we went to The Thomas E. Ricks Gardens on the campus of BYU-Idaho in order to take David, Analeigh, and Cailainn's yearly photos. Here is a sample of the best:

David's Six-Year Photos:

Analeigh's Four-Year Photos:

Cailainn's One-Year Photos:

Hayrides, Horses, and Puppies

This afternoon we went to visit some of Grandpa Stan's family (Stan is Ben's step-father). We were able to take a hay ride on a horse drawn cart.

Analeigh was also able to take a spin around the area while riding on a horse of her own (with one of her cousins too).

We also got to spend some time playing with a number of puppies in a pen. David and Analeigh loved it.

Cress Creek Nature Trail

Today we went hiking with many of our cousins along the Cress Creek Nature Trail, somewhere outside of Rexburg. An interesting side note, David only agreed to be in the first picture if we promised to take a picture of him with the Smokey the Bear sign.

After our 1.25 mile hike, we took a drive back to Rexburg to enjoy the local cuisine at the Pizza Pie Cafe, an all-you-can-eat buffet of pizza, pasta, and salad. If you're ever in the area, you should try it.

Good Luck Elder Mann

Ben's eldest nephew is about to be known hereafter as Elder Mann (at least for the next two years while he serves as a missionary in Lansing, Michigan (near where Ben was raised).

Yep, our whole drive to Idaho was made worth it when we got to hear their ward's youth speaker, Spencer, Elder Mann preach the gospel from the pulpit!

Cailainn's First Birthday

Today is Cailainn's birthday. So we thought to ourselves, how can we temper the excitement of a birthday? By going to one of the most disappointing states in the nation - Idaho! (It turns out that isn't actually true - Ben did a Google search. Surprisingly, West Virginia is the most miserable place to live. Idaho didn't even make the top 10).

Anyway, we decided to visit Rexburg, Idaho, where Ben's mother lives (as well as his two sisters and their families). Ben's brother Geoff was also there with his family (all the way from Hawaii - coincidentally the happiest place to live). Conveniently, we showed up on Cailainn's first birthday (we'll be here through the week, so don't steal anything from our house back in Kansas while we're gone!).

We sang Cailainn her Happy Birthday song, then let her tear into a cupcake:

Grandma (Ben's mom) also got a sheet cake for all the cousins, aunts, and uncles to partake of as well.

Happy Birthday Cailainn!

Grandma and Grandpa Came

Liz's parents stopped by these past few days on their way to Michigan. The kids loved spending time with them.

Cailainn was wary at first...

But then the toys started appearing, and she became quite friendly.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for coming to play!