Lost and Found

I started writing the normal vacation post (what we did, where we went, etc etc...) about our trip to North Carolina while we were there to get ahead of the game, but after returning home and reflecting on what happened during the last two weeks I realized that a "normal vacation" post would not do this trip justice.

So, here goes.....

I think that this vacation could be summed up in one word "LOST."

Lost Shad's cell phone charger in a hotel room in Albequerque.

Lost a gallon ziploc bag full of "plane treats" on the airplane.

Lost my wedding ring for an hour or so...and then found it on a window ledge where I didn't remember putting it at all.

Lost both our video camera and still camera in a public beach restroom on Wilmington beach with thousands of college students everywhere. This one is really a miracle to me because some honest soul turned it into the police department and we were able to get it back!

Lost (or I guess I should say "misplaced") $260 in cash the night before we left, only to find it today buried in a jacket pocket while doing laundry. I knew that once we paid our month's worth of tithing yesterday that it would somehow turn up.

Lost our video camera again on the return trip home on the plane....this is still missing :( You think I would have learned to put our name and phone number on it after the last incident!

Lost (or I guess more like "left") Shad's work laptop at my parent's house on the return trip. Good thing they were willing to bring it back to us yesterday since Shad needed it for the first day of school today!

Lost my mind!!!

We also SHOULD have lost:

The loose car key in Shad's swimming suit pocket as he went boogie boarding in the ocean. It's a miracle we made it home that day!

Our turtle Gus who missed many opportunities to escape with our latch breaking on our gate, leaving it swinging open for who knows how long!

So, even with all of those incidents, we are really only missing a video camera (which I am really sad about because it had all of the video we took from the last 2 years on it) and a cell phone charger. I am thinking we came out pretty good. One item lost is accident, two is stupid, so I don't know what 7 items would be!

It is funny that all of these things should happen on this trip, because the month before we left I really started to get a better perspective when it comes to money and earthly possessions. When we lost the cameras at the beach I was sad thinking about all of the pictures I had lost, but I also had a feeling of peace knowing that it really didn't matter. In the eternal scheme of things it wasn't that important. If we never find our video camera I will be sad, but at the same time I am happy knowing that I didn't loose the most important things in my life, my family. Money is really just fictional, our personal belongings can't go with us when we die and will eventually break, it is the people we love and the memories that will stay with us. I'm glad I got to experience a fun vacation with my little family, despite the bumps in the road.

On that note.... here is the post that I wrote before this became an EPIC vacation, Enjoy!

Almost 2 years ago we decided that we wanted to fly to North Carolina to see Shad's brother Scott and his family. We haven't seen them in just about 3 years and knew it was time for Haken to get to know his long lost cousins. We had planned to visit last summer, but after a unexpected sewer repair on our house we had to move it to this summer. We bought the plane tickets back in February, knowing that something else would inevitably come up if we didn't. 3 months after we booked our tickets we found out that Shad's other brother Marc from Rexburg got accepted at Campbell University for pharmacy school and would be moving out to North Carolina at the same time that we were flying there for vacation. Scott decided to fly out from North Carolina to help drive their car across the country. Of course Shad wanted to go. He couldn't miss a road trip across the country with his brothers (although, it ended up just being Scott because Marc miscalculated when school started at Campbell somehow.) So, in the end, everyone got their wish (except Marc I guess): I got to fly across the country with my boys and my sister in law and her 2 boys, and Shad got to have his dream of driving across the country. He told me after he got to North Carolina that he now knows that it would have been a hard trip driving that far with 2 children. I would have to agree! 4 hours in a plane was much better than 4 whole days!

Our vacation actually started on the 9th of August, almost a week before our plane left. I decided that since Shad would be leaving before us to drive on the 10th I would go and spend a few days with my parents in Bountiful until it was time for us to leave. We had a pretty jam-packed week. We went to the zoo, saw old friends, went to a few movies, played in the water, played in the water some more, and ate lots of yummy food. It was fun for the boys to see grandma, grandpa, and cousins for days on end.

Hanging out in Grandma's clubhouse

Best buddies, playing in the water

Running down the slip n' slide

Jack loves "Grandma G.G."

On the 15th we flew out for North Carolina. The boys did SO well! I really didn't expect any problems from either of them, but I was totally prepared with a ton of stuff to keep them occupied. Turns out all that I needed for Haken was a new box of crayons and a coloring book. Jack slept for half of the time. My kids really are at the best ages for flying. It was a total success. We had a stop in Denver, where we barely made our plane change (just enough time to change a diaper and go potty), and then flew another 3 hours to Raleigh. It was fun to have Haken's cousins Cooper and Elias to share the fun experience with. We didn't get in until 10:45 P.M. EST so it was a late night, but the boys easily adjusted to the time change.

So excited for the plane ride

We stayed for almost 2 whole weeks from the 15th to the 26th. Scott and Aubrey were so incredibly generous to host us in their home for the 2 weeks. They really made it possible for us to have such a long vacation. The kids all had a blast together and got along incredibly well. All of our family ended up getting a cold which stuck around for a few days. Jack went to the Dr. to get checked for ear infections. He didn't have any, but I didn't want to risk it when we would be flying home on an airplane.

Our flight was scheduled to leave the morning of the 27th, but because hurricane Irene was due to hit the North Carolina coast at that time, we decided to switch our flight to the afternoon of the 26th. We had a 2 hour layover in Phoenix where they had record breaking temperatures of 118. We sat on the tarmack for 20 minutes extra while the pilots calculated how to get off the ground with the heat. It was pretty much murder with the air conditioning not working on the plane while we sat there. Remind me never to layover in Phoenix again. We made it home, sleep deprived, but safe.

Here are some of the things that we did while we were there:

Went to the Marbles Children's Museum.

This place was awesome! I thought we had it good with the Treehouse Museum in Ogden, but this place is tons bigger! Haken (and Shad) loved it!

Crazy EMT! I think this was Haken's favorite part because he wants to be a doctor

Tripp driving the ambulance. This was his favorite thing at the museum.

Little Austyn driving the bus

THIS is why I married this man! He was so cute with Haken at the museum. I fell in love with him all over again.

We played with cousins

After 3 weeks of having someone to play with constantly, I think Haken has been going through withdrawls today. It is so fun to have cousins who love to play the same things he does. They all got along so well too. Only a few times did we have to break up fights.

The train table was a favorite

The next time these cousins see each other they will be MUCH bigger than this. I would love to get a picture of all the Anderson grandkids together. This is less than half of them. We are all spread throughout the country now.

We visited museums in Raleigh

The museum of natural history

The fine art museum

We went to Wilmington Beach

(4 days before the hurricane hit.)

I have no idea how much sand the boys ate that day.

Hayden and Haken being crabs

Took lots and lots of baths!

(especially after the beach)

Cabin Creek camping trip

Over the 24th of July weekend we went on our traditional camping trip to cabin creek/Alturus Lake with our friends the Tomlinson's and the Burnhams. We went last year and had so much fun that it has become an annual camping trip for our families. We all have kids the same ages so it has been a great vacation for the kids as well as the adults.

Cabin Creek is a fun little place back in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. They have small cabins that you can rent out for a few nights for super cheap. It is just 3 miles down the road from a VERY cold mountain lake called Alturus. We did a little swimming (those who dared- I guess everyone but me), lots of eating, exploring, and enjoying the mountain air. There really is something refreshing about being disconnected from a world for a few days.

We got there Friday afternoon. The kids explored while we set up camp. They all play incredibly well together. Haken liked playing with the boys his age and the older girls who had a blast "babysitting" him for me. That night we had smore's, played Bocce-ball, put the kids to bed, and then played games.

Playing Bocce-ball

Making s'mores

Bodee, Haken, and Micah. 4-yr old boys, all within 6 months in age.

Saturday we hung out at the cabin waiting for it to warm up a bit so we could go down to the lake. The kids were all obsessed with having Tom carve them small knives made of wood. After Haken got done coloring his knife with the sharpie he moved on to rocks and other things. A little artist, even in the wild.

Around lunch time we headed for the lake. Angela, Emilee, and I ran the 3 miles to the lake while the men drove the kids. It was a killer run but I'm glad I had some good friends to push me through. The lake was FREEZING! I thought I would be hot enough to jump right in, but after dipping my toe in the water (not the wise thing to do) I chickened out.

We made good use of the rafts out on the freezing cold water. I also found out that I am not a good rower. I'm glad Shad could get us back to shore.

Haken played in the sand

Played with Jack under the shady umbrella

Jack had his first experience with sand. We had to watch him real close so he didn't eat it. He did get a few handfuls in and seemed to like it. YUM!

Jack and Ian chillin' on the beach. You wouldn't guess that they are only a month apart. Jack seems like a little munchkin to compared to Ian.

That night we all cleaned up for church the next day. Including the babies in the sink of our cabin.

Sunday we headed off to a church in Stanley, ID. About 30 minutes from our cabin. They have a small branch there that meets in a little log cabin church that they rent out. It has big windows that looks out onto the Sawtooth Mountains. So fun to sit through a meeting with that in the background. It was a fantastic meeting. I'm glad we went. Afterwards we took a few pictures outside church looking into the Sawtooths.

Jack was asleep for this one, darn it!

The first smiling picture we got the whole trip. Little stinker!

We had a great relaxing day after church. We stopped at Red Fish Lake on the way back from Stanley to have a picnic lunch and let the kids wade in the water. It is a much bigger lake with lots of people. After lunch we went back to the cabin. Most of the kids went on a hike. Haken stayed behind because he so desperately needed a nap. I felt bad holding him back, but he didn't fight about it too hard. I think he was really tired.

That night some of the adults had a competitive game of horseshoes while the kids played on the swings and ran around. After the kids went to bed the adults played some games until after midnight. Needless to say, we were all pretty exhausted by the end of the weekend. Jack was such a good little camper, despite the sleep deprivation he had.

On the dock at Red Fish Lake

The babies playing during our picnic lunch at the lake.

Shad's victory pose. This was taken half way through the game, he actually ended up loosing. Poor guy.

Being pushed by his "babysitter" Kenya.

The day is not complete without a bedtime story by Shad and lots of songs sung by Angela.

It was a great weekend with a fun little twist at the end.....On our way home our A/C in our car went out just as we got out of the mountains. The drive through the lava rock desert was not much fun. We finally made it to a mechanic in Twin Falls thinking that we might as well fix it now since we were going to have to fix it anyway and be comfortable for the last 2 hours of the trip. After telling us that it was more than just the A/C and that it might cost up to $1300 we decided to take our chances on the drive home and fix it the next day. Anyway...we made it home and our car DIDN'T break down and it wasn't too bad driving with the windows down all the way back (just a little noisy). The car went into the shop today and it looks like it will be a $850 fix, not $1300. I think it's a small price to pay for air conditioning and a car that works, however, our cheap vacation turned out to be a bit more expensive than we anticipated. It was all worth it in the end. So glad that we have great friends to spend time with! Can't wait until next year. It will be great, minus the car repair....I hope.