Oh CRASH! my BASH!

Let's start with the self portrait; lest you forget what I look like.



Of course my arms aren't long enough to get my whole face apparently, so Tyler was nice enough to snap this photo for me later.



The fourth was crazy busy and fun. We went up to Idaho to see the other half of the family. Grandma got a new rig. She got a whopper of a truck, but it was necessary to pull around her new abode. I like how the kids said, "Grandma got a new house." And it could be, the thing is that enormous.



Thirty-nine feet long, sleeps ten. It is bigger than our first apartment. But it was a nice space to step into after playing on the hot dunes.

We spent Saturday up in St. Anthony, gallivanting over the sand dunes. And we gallivanted in style.



That little number is also a new addition to the Cazier family. It is called a side-by-side and the one Ty's family got is legal on most trails. I think I could do some serious 'hiking' in that thing. As for cruising the dunes...I left that up to the others. I did go out twice with Tyler, but that was to spend quality time with HIM, not the dunes or the side-by-side. The kids on the other hand seemed to really enjoy the experience, complete with overly large helmets on their small noggins.



I spent most of my time in the trailer or trailing kids. (Nifty word use, eh?) There was a small park nearby that got quite the workout from our crew. I loved the swings there.



They were old school. Tyler even got into the action. He would swing so high, he would end up upside down.



They were super good for underdogs.



There aren't a lot of cousins to choose from, but I don't think that matters. What you lose in quantity, they make up for in quality. Kat and Kolb's three boys are little gentlemen.



They play so nicely with the girls and help out the younger children. I really enjoy their family. Kathryn is talented, beautiful, and helpful. She loves my babies and my babies love her. (All my children have smiled for Kathryn the first time they saw her, including Pearl, who had not smiled for Daddy at the time.)



The only girl cousin is Rozzlyn. I think she is always happy to see my gaggle of girls cross the border. And why shouldn't she when she has generous cousins like June who will bury her in sand.



Oh the sand. It was everywhere. But really, you expect that when you go to the dunes. Half the fun is just getting covered in sand. Daisy spent a good portion of the time with this shovel and bucket, displacing sand from one spot to another.



We were all covered in a light dusting (at least) by the time we were finished. Look at this little duck.



She almost had a beard by the end of the trip. (Sticky face + sand = a pretty good five o'clock shadow.)

The only downer that I could see was getting stuck in the sand in the last five minutes we were there.



The van was no match for this 'quick' sand and after a tow from one brother, we were on our way.



The whole weekend was great. Tyler left Monday and the girls and I stayed a few more days.

Highlights:

Grandpa drew names on their foreheads as usual for church. (Yes, I put that in highlights Grandpa.)

Playing at Kathryn's and seeing her remodeled bathrooms. (I might hire her someday.)

Making Blueberry/Rhubarb freezer jam and eating it on Grandpa's world-class waffles. Ahh, heaven.



Making jewelry with Grandma.

Going to see Eclipse. (Pearl's first movie. I think she was team Jacob.)

Lowlights:

We missed Dad.

Moxy (still traumatized from our last vacation) kept escaping and following us down the road. The night I packed, she snuck under the fence every time I went out to the car. I'm sure it didn't help that we left her there (since we can't take her to Martin's Cove.) That poor dog is going to have serious abandonment issues after all this. We're looking into a doggy psychiatrist for her separation anxiety.

I lost my car key right before we had to leave. J.R. had to get me a new one from the dealership. (Slightly embarrassing.) Then I found the key in the car on the way home. (More embarrassing.)

Driving all five girls home by myself. Okay, it really wasn't that bad. We didn't even use the DVD player on the way back. This picture was taken while we were there.



Pearl was even pretty good. This is how I usually see her.



All in all, a great trip. Kudos to you who have made it through this post. Here's my favorite picture of the trip.