We spent every moment we could outside, enjoying the summer weather and my parents' yard. We all got nice tans. Connor loved playing on Grandma's slide, trampoline, and outdoor toys.
He also loved playing fetch with Luke's dog, Ranger. He liked to throw the plastic frisbee for Ranger to retrieve, although Connor couldn't throw it very far. Each time he tossed it, the frisbee only flopped to the ground a few inches away from Connor's feet...and sometimes landed behind him. Haha! Ranger would jump and grab the frisbee anyway and Connor would laugh and squeal and clap his hands. It was great. Connor loved Ranger so much and would always look for him when we were outside. Ranger is almost as big as Connor is, so Connor was a little nervous whenever he got close but would still try to pet him whenever he could.
Connor absolutely loved the toy car and tractor. Each time we were outside, he would make a bee line to the closest one and that's where he stayed until we went back inside. Most of our pictures during this part of our trip are of Connor in one of those toys.
It was so windy the week we were there, so we did spend some time indoors when the wind was blowing the hardest. One day I was walking into the house through the back door. I didn't realize Connor had crawled up onto the porch and was following me inside. I pushed the door outward to keep it open. The wind blew the door back, and as it swung shut it pushed Connor of the porch. He had quite the tumble and ended up with scratched knees, fingers, and face. Darn Idaho wind. He got scratched pretty bad on his left cheek, just below his eye. It scabbed up pretty good. Poor baby. I felt so bad that I didn't pay closer attention and caused the door to hit him. Then a day or two later, we were inside near the TV and Connor was pushing against me. I moved and he fell and hit the edge of the TV stand just below his nose. That fall resulted in a good scratch underneath his nose. Poor kid was all banged up. He cried a bit after each experience, but once he stopped crying he acted just fine. You wouldn't have known anything happened to him if he didn't have those scrapes and scabs on his face. I'm so glad he felt fine and wasn't hurt any worse, but every time I looked at his face my mama heart started to hurt and I felt so bad.
Connor loves to try on Daddy's sunglasses and hat. Of course they are way too big for him, but that makes it so adorable. He is also very independent and doesn't like us to help him put them on right. Brian got some great pictures of Connor trying to wear his sunglasses and hat.
The first Sunday we were there, we went to Kiley and Scott's house in Driggs for a family dinner. Dinner was great, and we had a fun time. Connor loved playing outside with all there toys. He immediately found their toy car and quickly claimed it as his own. Haha! He cried a lot when I had to pull him out of it so we could drive back to Chester. He also had fun playing with his cousins. I loved that he got to spend so much time with them all during our visit. At one point, four of them squished themselves in the sandbox to play. There was barely room for the to reach the sand, but they had fun anyway. Connor didn't like the feel of the sand on his feet, so he only stood in there for a few minutes, then he wanted me to pull him out. He's okay with grass now, but I guess we'll have to work on sand.
Grandma and Grandpa spoiled Connor while we were visiting. He got lots of hugs and kisses, and Grandma was always sneakily giving him a piece of chocolate or licorice or a popsicle. She let Connor help her make a cake for the 4th of July and he got his first taste of cake batter. He was a fan, and went back for more and more.
Our time in Chester was perfect. Not only did we get to play outside every day, but every night we had a movie night before bed. One night, Connor found the rocking horse and after rocking for awhile, decided to try some trick riding. The little monkey climbed up and stood on top of the horse. He laughed and laughed and was so excited about his new skill. He might just grow up to be a cowboy yet!
It's been quite a while since I've got to celebrate the fourth of July with my side of the family, so I was really happy that we got to this year. We started the morning by going to the Ashton parade with Jamie and Danny and Tyler and Kelsey and their kids. The streets were crowded, and the kids loved watching the airplanes fly back and forth over our heads while we were waiting for the parade to start. Each time they passed overhead, Connor would point at the sky and wave his hands excitedly while growling. During the parade, he especially loved the firetrucks, tractors, and horses. The kids collected bags full of candy. Brian and I grabbed a few pieces that came our way. They give out so much candy at parades these days. When I was little, we would go home with a pocketful or two. Now the kids bring bags to hold the mounds of candy they collect. We had a lot of fun.
After the parade, we drove to Tyler and Kelsey's house where we got to meet some of their animals. Connor loved petting one of their horses. They have a lamb named Chuck that is pretty tame. They let him out to run around there backyard. While Tayte and Emytt like to play with him, Connor wanted nothing to do with him.
We went to my Grandpa's house for a BBQ lunch. It was good to see my cousins and aunts and uncles. I haven't seen many of them in a while, and it was fun to catch up.
After the BBQ, we drove back to my parents house and had some down time before dinner and fireworks. Brian went to put Connor down for his nap. He must have been worn out as well, because when I went to check on them they were both fast asleep. They were so cute that I had to snap a picture. I love my boys!
Before the evening party started, my Dad ran his fogging machine to kill off the pesky mosquitoes. They were so bad at my parents house, and we were getting eaten alive sitting outside. It was crazy. The fogging helped a lot. We appreciated Dad's efforts, but that didn't stop us from teasing him about his "jet pack." Haha!
My siblings all came over to my parents house the evening of the 4th for a potluck dinner. After dinner, we pulled out some of the fireworks. Everyone brought pop-its and the kids and adults alike had fun throwing them on the sidewalk. I let Connor try to throw some, but he couldn't throw them hard enough to make them pop. That didn't stop him from having fun though.
With eleven adults and nine kids all throwing pop-its, chaos ensued. The sidewalk was covered with papers and sawdust. It was great!
After the pop-it extravaganza we settled on the front lawn while the guys lit some snakes, tanks, and flowers in the driveway. The kids loved it. Connor got so excited each time a firework went off, and would point, growl, laugh, and clap with delight.
It was still really light and too early for the bigger fireworks, so we pulled out the sparklers to keep the kids entertained while we waited for it to get dark. Everyone had brought their own sparklers, so there was a lot of them to go around. The kids loved holding, waving, and dancing around with the sparklers. I held Connor with one arm while I held a sparkler with my other hand outstretch away from him. He didn't like being that close to the sparks even though they weren't touching him at all. He was content to watch from far away, so we sat down on the blanket and watched the other kids playing.
Luke brought out a bucket of water for the kids to throw their spent sparklers in. It was a good idea because there were a lot of hot wires around, and it saved many a bare foot from being burned. It didn't prevent all the burns though. By the end of the sparklers seven of the nine kids had been burned. Jackson and Connor were the only ones left unscathed. Haha! I can laugh because none of the burns were serious, just minor stings.
Once it started getting darker, we settled in for the larger fireworks. Carson sat on top of Danny and Jamie's car so he would be out of the way. The rest of us settled back onto the front lawn.
Luke and Scott and Brian did the honors of lighting the fireworks this year. We had a lot of fun watching them go off. One of them was a parachute man firework that shot a tiny plastic man with a parachute really high up into the air. It made a loud boom and then the parachute appeared and he floated down behind Dad's shop. Scott ran over to get him and all the kids wanted to keep him. Since Brian and I had bought him, we kept him for Connor. It was one of the favorites, and next time we'll have to buy more so all the kids can have a parachute guy.
One of the fountains we had gotten was called the Jawbreaker. It was a square shaped firework cake that we thought wouldn't be anything special. We didn't know that it was to be the most exciting and dangerous firework of the night. After letting off a fountain of sparks, it started shooting colorful balls into the air. After the second shot, it tipped over and then things got crazy. It shot a ball off that went under mom's car and then exploded. We were watching it just sit there under the car and tried to warn Dad and Luke who were leaning against the car. We didn't get any words out before it exploded. Boy did it make them jump and dance. Luckily it didn't do any harm, just scared everyone. The next ball shot past Carson's head (who was still sitting on top of the car) and hit the side of the house. The kids started screaming. We all ducked for cover as small but loud explosions kept going off. Finally it stopped and everyone caught their breath. Then we all started to laugh. Now we know to stay away from the Jawbreaker. I don't think we'll buy that one again, nor will we forget about it.
Connor liked the fireworks that didn't make any noise. He got excited about the different colored lights of the fountains, but if they started to pop or crackle he would start crying. The loud noises scared him a bit. Maybe next year he'll enjoy them more. It was a great 4th of July and we all had a lot of fun.
At the end of the week, we all gathered again for family pictures. Makaylie Mason--our cousin Jake's wife--took the pictures for us. She charged a great price and a great job. We drove up to the drive farm and had the pictures taken by the river near the cliff. Then we went back to Uncle Verl Miller's place and took some by one of his barns and tractors. Thankfully the scratches on Connor's face had healed and were barely noticeable for the pictures. I was very glad for that. I didn't want him looking like he'd been beat up in the nice family pictures. Haha!
Connor did not cooperate at all. He wasn't interested in holding still and posing, he just wanted to run around and throw rocks. He kicked and screamed and wiggled and tried to get away every time we tried to pose for a picture. I thought for sure that Makaylie wasn't able to get any shots of us without him wiggling or crying. The only time he was happy the whole night is when he found the tractor and my Uncle Verl's house. He was obsessed! When we put him in the seat and let him play with the steering wheel he was in heaven. The only problem is that he refused to get off. I really wanted to get a picture by the barn, and we tried a couple times, but he just kicked and screamed in my arms. He just wanted to get back on the tractor. Silly kid. We tried to do take some pictures on the tractor, but he was not happy sitting on Brian's lap. He had to be sitting on the seat himself. Stubborn kid.
Despite Connor being cranky, along with a few of the other little ones, Makaylie managed to get some great pictures of everyone. I loved how they turned out.
We had such a great time in Chester, that I didn't want to leave. There were a few things that I wanted to do while we were there that we didn't get to because we just didn't get time and also because of the crazy wind. I really wanted to have a family volleyball game and float the canal, but we didn't get to. Other than that the visit was perfect. I love Idaho in the summer, and I'm so glad we live close enough that we can visit easily and let Connor experience life in the country.
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