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.

Feeding the Ducks and more

We recently went to the Nature Park to feed the ducks. Allie really enjoyed it, and once again was very upset when we left. Here are some pictures from the little adventure.

At one point, some geese came up from the pond. This one wanted to goose Nikki. And Allie wasn't so sure about it either. It just stood there and honked at us.

Next are some pictures showing Allie's enthusiasm for going outdoors. She found her hooded sweatshirt, put it on as best as she could, and pranced around the living room waiting for us to take her outside. (Note that the sweatshirt is on upside-down and only one arm is in.)

She then finished off with a headstand. Crazy girl. We love her!

It seems like Allie is beginning to play pretend with daddy's old pinewood derby car and her elephants. Here is a video of her with the derby car. She also ends with a headstand here, too.

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

Allie turned 1 year old last week. We didn't get to celebrate on her actual birthday since we got to help Jared's sister, Michelle, and her family move into their new home. But our friends, the Navarros, were really sweet and had left a gift for Allie at our neighbor's house. When we got home we went over to pick it up, and then we let Allie open it when we got home. Attached to the gift was a really big and cute bug balloon, which Allie has continually enjoyed since receiving it. She liked the tissue paper that was in the bag, and then this was her reaction to her first baby doll.



A few days later, we had a great little birthday celebration with some family. Between the three little families here in Idaho, there were 5 birthdays within a week of each other. So it was a combined birthday bash at the Carpenter's home.

Here are some pictures and videos of Allie opening her presents.

Some fun blocks!

The cousins all enjoying "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What do you see?"

Excited about her new PJs

As we have mentioned in previous posts, Allie loves elephants. She will even make elephant sounds as she plays with her 5 different toy elephants. So we decided to do an elephant theme for her birthday.

Daddy did a great job on the cake for Allie!

Elephant cupcakes for the guests- a combined effort

Anticipation

During the song

Ewww, what is this stuff?

First Reaction to the frosting

Eating some frosting

Happy with sugar and no more pressure to eat the cake

The last year went by so quickly. Our little girl is growing up so fast. She is such a joy and we are so grateful to have been blessed with her. We have learned a lot as we have tried our best at raising her. We'll surely learn much more in the future. We'll keep you updated as she continues to grow up.

Approaching 1 Year

Allie will turn one year old in six days. It seems that her learning is just taking off. Since the last post, she has caught on to so much more. We'll try to catch you up on some of what she is up to.

First off, we should update you on her teeth. She had actually sprouted two teeth the last time we posted, but somehow we forgot that. She got her first a little after 9 months, and then the second shortly after. She still has not gotten any more than that. It seems like she has been teething lately, but we can't feel any that are about to come through. So we may be waiting a little bit longer. It will be nice when she has more teeth and is done teething for a little while.

Allie's two front bottom pearly whites

Allie learned a new trick in the last week or two that makes us all laugh. She will do a "headstand" and laugh as she looks through her legs or arms and legs. When we start laughing at her, she will laugh even harder.

It took several attempts to get the picture above. We would try to imitate her "headstands" in attempt to get her to do them. Daddy snapped the next picture when Mommy was trying to get Allie to do a "headstand".

Allie's climbing is improving and expanding to new heights. She still hasn't climbed up onto the couch or onto a chair, but she is beginning to see the possibilities that boxes and other items offer.

We wanted to share a few videos with you, but once again, Blogger seems to have it out for us. Maybe in the future we will have better luck. We'll just write about what you would have seen in video.

Allie loves carrying heavy things. It doesn't matter how awkward it is, if it is heavy, she will try to carry it. She is really pretty strong. Some of the items that she has carried around include: a bag of carrots, Daddy's work boots, her duck (not super heavy, but definitely awkward), her diaper bag, a bottle of soap (the big bottles that you refill the little ones with)... The list goes on.

Something else that Allie loves is Nikki's cell phone. She will grab it whenever she can and push on the buttons really hard. She will push so hard that she will shake and turn red. She likes seeing the picture of Mommy and Daddy (especially Daddy), and she knows that pushing the buttons allows her to see it.

Another trick that Allie has learned is to blow kisses. She caught on really quick when we taught her. And something that we didn't anticipate was that she would associate it with saying "I love you." But whenever Nikki would leave for work, she and Daddy would say, "I love you," and then blow kisses. So now when Allie hears us say, "I love you," she will blow a kiss.

Allie wants to be just like us and go up stairs one at a time. She will hold our hands and take big steps so that she can go up just like we do.

Now for a few more random pictures.

Mommy and Allie

Laughing and being goofy on Mommy and Daddy's bed (notice Mommy's cell phone in her right hand)

Allie's Pigtails

One thing I forgot to mention above: Allie is learning animal sounds. We can ask what a doggie says, or an elephant, or a sheep, or an owl, and she will almost always get all of those right. Her favorite is definitely the doggie's "woof, woof" (very high-pitched). She will make the sound anytime she sees a dog in a book, in real life, on TV, or even when she sees some other 4-legged animals.

Memorial Day at Mesa Falls

We got up bright and early on Memorial Day to get up to Mesa Falls before the crowd came. Well, actually Allie woke us up nice and early, so we decided to beat the crowd. We've been having pretty yucky weather, so it was a very pleasant surprise to have a beautiful day for our little adventure.

If you remember, Nikki went to Mesa Falls with Allie and her brother, Monte, last summer. But Jared had never been before. It was something that we wanted to do as a family before leaving the area. It was a fun little trip.

Our little family at the Upper Falls

(Our pictures are in a weird order, but we can't fix it because blogger isn't cooperating. sorry)

Lower Falls from the lookout

Allie is such a nature girl. She loves the outdoors, and she was thrilled with just about everything on this trip: the trees, the birds, the sticks, the water. As we walked to the Upper Falls, she found some sticks to carry. The first was just a little piece of wood, but then she found herself a walking stick. It was so cute to see her walk around with it. She would walk a little, stop, and then point to things. Then she'd continue on her way.

Allie discovering a pine tree with Daddy

Mommy and Allie by the Upper Falls

Daddy and Allie by the Upper Falls

Now admiring the falls and rainbow

Allie's little grin on the way back to the car

Now for a few pictures of the Upper Falls by themselves. The waterfall is absolutely gorgeous, and the rainbow is spectacular, too.