Embarrassing Moments Brought to us by Allie

We went to an Indian Buffet for dinner tonight. We wanted to visit it sometime before leaving, so we figured we'd go sooner as opposed to later so that it doesn't end up being part of a huge "to do" list before moving in a few years. We also wanted to go before Jared started classes, because we don't know how crazy his schedule will be, yet. (He starts classes Monday!)

So we were sitting and eating at our table, when another couple came in and dished up. They then sat a few tables away from us. The lady smiled at Allie as she walked by. Allie then looked at the lady a few times. And after we had forgotten about the couple, Allie pointed at the lady and says, "Cow."

Lady: Did she just point at me and say, "cow?" I think she did. (and began to laugh)

All of us were laughing.

Lady: I'll have you know I just lost 20 pounds.

Nikki: We're new in town. At this rate, we may not make friends very quickly.

Man: That is just the first of many embarrassing moments.

We all kept laughing at times as we thought back to Allie calling the lady a cow. It was her first time saying cow. She will make a sound like a moo when we are reading books, but she will never say, "cow," when Mommy or Daddy ask her, "what's that?" At least they were good humored about it. We definitely got a good laugh.

Our Most Recent Project

And also the reason for the delay in our other belated posts.

We are starting a little business in attempt to make some extra cash. We don't plan on living off of it, but we'll see how it does.

What are we doing? We're making hair accessories - cloth flower and ribbon bows. The name of our business is Dizzy Sissy's Accessories. To take a look, go to our business blog:

www.dizzysissysaccessories.blogspot.com

If you like what you see, feel free to pass it on to others.

Allie's 1st Pool Experience

After leaving Craters of the Moon, we headed to Michelle's house (Jared's sister) for dinner and to let the kids play in their little kiddie pool. We were pretty sure that Allie would enjoy it, because she liked splashing in the tub, but we weren't positive. Luckily, we were right - she loved it. She had so much fun splashing and even being splashed by her cousins, Ethan and Eddie. Here are some fun pictures and videos from her first pool experience.

Allie excited about the pool

Another fun picture of Allie

Here's a video of Allie before getting in the pool. Be warned that there are high-pitched shrieks of excitement.

A fun video of Allie and the boys having fun in the water.

Enjoying the Water with the Boys

Craters of the Moon

We had a list of places we wanted to go before moving, and Craters of the Moon was one of them. We went with Michelle's family and had a lot of fun. What is Craters of the Moon? It's a huge national park made from past volcanic activity. You can explore lava flows, caves, and visit splatter cones (none of which are active). If you want to learn more, google it and/or visit here. It was a lot bigger than we thought. We saw a lot of interesting things. In addition to the expected lava rock, we enjoyed viewing the ecology of the area. This was unexpected because Nikki did not love her ecology course and Jared did not love the ecology section within his biology course during undergraduate study. But both were impressed at Craters of the Moon.

We first walked a path through the Devil's Orchard. Here are some pictures from that little walk.

Allie Riding in Style and Enjoying the Scenery

Pretty and Neat Flowers

Witch's Broom Tree

Our next little adventure within the park was hiking up the Inferno Cone. The trail is rather steep in a few areas. Once on top, there are great panoramic views of the surrounding area. It really was beautiful. We were even able to see a storm off in the distance.

View from Atop the Inferno Cone



Nikki being led by Allie, Ethan and Eddie all atop the Inferno Cone

Looking up at the Inferno Cone from the Parking Lot (see small dots of people at top)

Next we visited some splatter cones. They have gradually gotten smaller/shorter over time due to visitors trampling them. Now there are paved paths and fencing to help protect them.

Snow Cone (Splatter Cone) - view into the mouth

Allie happy and running

Allie helping Daddy push the stroller. She really enjoys this. You know she is really into it when her head is down; she's focused.

Cool Lava Rock on side of Splatter Cone

Family Picture by mouth of Splatter Cone

Our last stop in the park was at some lava tubes. We went in one cave, and then into one long tube. It was really neat. Allie really loves rocks. We joke that she'll become a geologist someday. But given her love of rocks, she was in heaven at Craters of the Moon. Especially at this part, because she actually got to walk on, touch, examine, lick, and play with rocks. We discouraged the licking part, but toddlers are sneaky and fast sometimes. Allie is no exception.

Allie happy on the rocky ground

Wanting to play with and pick up the rocks

Playing with rocks inside a lava tube (cave)

Examining Rocks

Soon after exiting the far side of the long lava tube, the storm that we had seen in the distance arrived in our location. It was just raining at first, so we started to quickly head back to the van. But we were really far from the van, and the storm moved much more quickly than us. It soon began to rain much harder, and then it started to hail. It really hurt to be pelted by the hail. Nikki was running with Allie and Michelle was running with her baby Lily. Both were running so that their backs were toward the hail, trying to protect the babies from the cold, harsh weather. The storm had blown through before we even made it to the van. We were all soaked. But we all survived. We were very grateful for warm blankets and a change of clothes for the little ones. The hail left welts on some of us. Here's a picture of the welts on Nikki's calves.

Needless to say, we left after that. We didn't feel up to exploring in soaked clothing. It was probably better, too, because Allie really needed a nap. She had a nice nap on the car ride back to Michelle's house.

But before leaving Arco, the town closest to Craters of the Moon, we stopped by Pickle's Place. One of Nikki's friends and coworkers had mentioned how good the fried pickles are there. Jared is a big fan of pickles, so we had to stop. Who knew and who knows when we'll ever get the chance again. They were actually very good. We really enjoyed them. Thanks, Mimi, for the recommendation!

Outside of Pickle's Place

Some of the Fried Pickle Slices

What it looked like with a bite out of it. Yummy. =)

We really had a fun little trip. We were glad that we made the long drive. It was worth it. And we really enjoyed the time with Michelle's family, too.

4th of July

We had a very fun 4th of July weekend. Because we lived in a community that is predominantly LDS, all of the celebrations were held on Saturday July 3rd. It was neat to be where the community really strives to keep the Sabbath holy.

To begin our celebration of the 4th, we went to the Rexburg Parade. Allie mostly enjoyed the parade, though the fire trucks at the very beginning were a little too loud for her. After her initial tears, she learned to clap at and wave to those in the parade. When we say that she waved at the people, it was usually waving goodbye when the people were about 15 yards past us. She especially liked the floats that had music for her to dance to. We didn't get any pictures from the parade unfortunately.

That evening, we went to Michelle's house (Jared's sister). We enjoyed dinner and some fireworks with her family. Allie liked the lights that accompanied the fireworks, but she wasn't so sure about the really loud cracks and pops. She did really well and didn't cry until the very end. She thought that they were done (so did Mommy), and started walking across the yard. Then someone lit a flower (not a very scary firework at all, and one she had watched several times earlier that evening) and she got scared by the unexpected whirling sound that it made. Then she cried some. But overall, she did great.

Here are some pictures of her watching fireworks with Mommy and Daddy. Due to the lighting, our camera didn't take great pictures, so there were few to choose from.

We went to the Melaleuca firework show in Idaho Falls that night, too. We weren't sure how Allie would do. But we were at a great spot where the booms weren't too loud and the fireworks were still close, so she actually really enjoyed them. It was cute to hear her ooh and awe. She also enjoyed dancing to the music that accompanied the show. Overall, it was a great 4th of July.

Catching Up Again

Once again, we find ourselves a little over a month behind. July was a very crazy month. But as they say, "Time flies when you're having fun." We had a very fun month leading up to our big move. We will try to catch up quickly.

In this post, we want to include a few random pictures that don't necessarily go with any of the upcoming posts.

Nikki had wanted to get her hair cut for quite awhile. She finally did and she is loving it. Here are some pictures of her new do. She says she can't make it look like it did when she left the beauty college, but it is really a cute haircut.

One Sunday afternoon, we went for a walk to the duck pond, and this is how Allie was relaxing in the stroller by the time we got home. She loves to put her feet up on things.

The next picture is one of Allie all ready to go to church. She is just so cute, and this dress and bow look great on her.

By the way, Nikki made the hair bow. It was her first attempt. It turned out pretty cute.