Jake's B'Day BBQ and the Return of the One Called Austin

This past Sunday we spent at my sister Tanya's abode, celebrating an early birthday for our seldom seen brother Jake who lives in Pocatello. And the return of our cousin (Tanya's son) Austin, who just came back from a 6 month stint in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands doing, well, playing and "working" –pretty just experiencing life elsewhere. He's the tall one with the tan.

Ethan and Madeline love playing with Kai, Kenzi and Autumn so they milked it for all it was worth. If you could harness that energy I swear your utility bill would be golden for a month.

Austin had his scooter back in running condition and took all the little cousins for a individual rides – even little Madi! No problems though.

Sometimes I get down about living here in little 'ol conservative Idaho Falls, but it's get-togethers like this and ones with Jeff and Tamera, that remind me why Britt and I stay here. Family has always been important to us and I know that Madi and Ethan love being able to see their cousins, aunties, uncles and grandparents on a frequent basis. Plus, there's rad climbing here.

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Ethan's Birthday Bash at Bowl-ero

Tired of the same 'ol hyper-kid-infested-birthday-party-establishments that have been known to turn even the most kindest parents into nerve-wrecking lunatics, we decided to have Ethan's birthday party at a local bowling alley. And it was a blast.

Kids from 2 to 8 seem to love bowling. I was a bit worried that one of them would bash their little toes with a ball but no worries, they seemed to handle it all pretty well.

Ethan had a blast with his buddies and cousins. I don't think they even finished a whole game but it didn't matter once the cake and ice cream came out.

A few more pics from the party.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN!

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Westside Elementary, meet Izzy dog

Today Ethan had the joy of having his turn with Show & Tell at school. He wanted to show his class his dog so I had the honors of delivering the pooch to school.

Izzy's always up for anything, although she probably didn't expect to have 20+ five year olds grabbing at her in a classroom. However, she did fine and Ethan did an excellent job at getting up in front of all his classmates and answering questions. I found out that 5 year olds don't ask typical questions. One that made me chuckle was "Does she lick your face to wake you up in the morning?" Something I wouldn't think to ask any friend of mine but I guess that's the difference between old fuddy duds liek myself and vibrant 5 year olds.

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You should see the other guy, part 3

One of Ethan's front teeth finally fell out a couple of days ago. It's his 3rd tooth he's lost so far but he's just as excited as if it were his first. I think every tooth that comes out is a big deal when you're a kid, (probably a big deal too when you're an adult but that's just bad hygiene), and should be celebrated as such.

Ethan wanted a picture taken of his somewhat toothless grin, then he wanted to take his own pics. Every time I let him have the camera I end up with about 10-50 shots of randomness and, of course, self portraits of our 5 year old. I have to admit though, some of them are classic.

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Easter/Spring '09 Post

This is a bit late in posting but Easter has come and gone. Britt and I decided to forgo the Easter Egg Hunting Madness this year, (and for good), due to last years event that left a sour taste in our mouths. People are truly crazy.

Anyway, the kids had fun in the morning plowing through their booty of toys and candy. The weather was ideal that weekend so we planted our vegetable garden as well. Peas, carrots, string beans, and radishes are now in the ground waiting for the damn sun to come out and warm things up. The tender veggies will go in as soon as the frosty nights cease for the season.

Madeline is still going through potty training. She is a bit reluctant sometimes but knows what she needs to do. We thought she'd be a breeze to get her out of daipers but alas, every kid is unique and we have to just remind ourselves that she will learn when she's ready, we just need to keep trying and be patient. Did I mention that she is fiercely independent? She HAS to do everything herself and won't take no for an answer. Ahh, you gotta love that girl!

Ethan had tubes put in his ears again about 2 weeks ago. This is the 3rd set of tubes he's gone through since age 2. It seems his eardrums are retracted and his eustation(?) tubes are having a bit if difficulty developing. He shouldn't have any permenent hearing damage or loss when he's older but we have to monitor his ears really close as he grows. He is almost finished with his kindergarten class and his progress reports are show that he is amoung the top in his class…pretty cool!

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Spring in the Tetons

This weekend the westside TeNgaio's took advantage of the awesome weather on Sunday and headed to Teton Park – with our bikes.

For the month of April the park allows only bicycles, foot traffic, etc. on the road in the park. As long as the sun is out and there is no wind, riding bikes up there in April is really cool. There's still about 2-3 feet on the flats but the road is bone dry.

The kids had a good time; Madeline just chilled in the bike trailer while Ethan got his groove back on his bicycle skills. He just learned how to ride sans training wheels last summer so he took a bit getting used to riding again – at first he forgot about his brakes and would just crash into the snowbanks on the sides of the road. Classic.

We only rode about 2 miles in until the kids had enough and just wanted to play in the snow, so not a physically demanding day. Fun though, and certainly good for the winter blahs.

The Tetons are a special place that we feel privileged to live so close to and we want the kids to learn to appreciate as well. All kids should have a connection with the natural world and what a better place than the Tetons to start at.

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Spring Break 2009

We spent the week of Ethan's sping break down in the land of (g)litter, glam and gale-force winds – Las Vegas.

Britt and I had ever taken the kids on such a long drive before (roughly 630 mi.) and were a bit curious to see how they would handle it. We figure that if we want to see all these places that we have in mind then we need to just load the kids up and go. They'll get used to it. Anyway, the kids did great and there were only a couple of meltdowns.

Highlights of the trip were:
• Playing at the Adventuredome in Circus Circus. A full-on indoor theme park including a roller coaster (which Ethan could not get enough of), water slide, merry-go-round (which Madeline could not get enough of) and tons of other goodies. Oh yeah, and we got lost trying to find our damn car afterward.
• A day spent hiking outside at Valley of Fire. A state park that hosts a natural playground of red rocks sculpted by the wind. Caves, gullies, petroglyphs, boulders, etc. that the kids and adults had a blast playing in.
• A day of dad, Ethan and Mike bouldering (climbing big rocks w/o ropes) near Red Rocks. Oodles of fun just a stones throw from town. Unfortunately, we didn't see any wild burros though (they reside there).
• Fremont St. in the old part of the strip. You have to see it to apreciate it. Madeline put on a performace for this group of small, elderly japanese ladies who just could not get eough of her dancing. It was classic! Plus, I ran into my cousin Greg and his wife Ericka who now live in Grand Junction, CO. A pleasat surprise, yes!
• Eating at the Rainforest Cafe in the MGM resort.
• Swimming outside in the hotel's heated swimming pool in the afternoon sun.
• Madi's Care Bear taking a flying leap for freedom out the car window.

It was a good time had by all and I hope the kids learned a few things about what lays outside of our small little white-bread town. I know it always makes me appreciate living in this smallish town whenever I return from Vegas – the downtown/Strip area is just crazy and I would shoot myself if I had to endure that environment on a daily basis. Fun place to visit but…

More pics from the trip can be viewed here.

Oh, and if anyone happens to find a blue Care Bear along the interstate in St. George, make sure to give it a good home.

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February 2009 Wrap Up

Well, it's been a whole month since our last blog. It's not that we were busier than any other time, just plain slacking. Yup, gettin' old and flakey I guess.

Madeline moved on up to a toddler bed – no more crib in our house, (it's kind of weird). She's been sleeping fine in it and not wandering the house in the middle of the night, (as far as we can tell). It might help that it's a "Tinkerbell" bed, so maybe she's more stoked to actually stay in it.

Madi also started potty training recently and is faring well. There's been the typical accidents and the typical messes but she's getting the hang out pretty quickly. So long for supporting Huggies! Now if we can just figure out how not to support the daycare.

Madi's also been taking toddler gymnastics. How she loves to show us her tumbling skills.

Ethan has been enjoying basketball at the YMCA. He's the tallest kid out of the bunch and usually ends up making most of the baskets for his team. It's funny to watch 4-5 year olds learn the game, most of the time the kids run completely away from the court once they get the ball. It's akin to herding cats.

Mom and dad have begun praying to the summer gods to hasten their annual arrival and have even considering doing a sacraficial ritual, (there are a lot of neighborhood stray cats), if that's what it takes.

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Ethan Rewi TeNgaio vs. David Lee Roth

The title says it all.

To check out the raw power of Diamond Dave's vocal tracks, go here – you'll laugh your bum off.

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