October Part 3: Fall Break

We decided to go to Idaho for Fall Break for two reasons. First, our bank account was still recovering from Brian's sabbatical. Second, I haven't visited my mom at her house since Spring Break, and I hadn't seen my Grandma since then. I don't know how much time we have left with Grandma, so I want to go as much as I'm able. 

Ben and Jenny came into town for the BYU vs Utah football game, and they asked to stay at our house with us, but since we had already made plans to be out of town, they came and stayed at our house without us. We made sure to get everything ready for them before we left. I taught Gabe how to make his bed, complete with square corners, and I asked if he would help me make up the bed downstairs for Ben and Jenny later, and he agreed. Next thing I know, Gabe came up to tell me that he got the room in the basement all ready for them. I was stunned. 

"Who helped you drop the [murphy] bed?" I asked. 

"Nobody. I did it by myself." Gabe answered proudly. 

We have so many questions, but the foremost one is "How?" How did he do this without seriously harming himself? This bed is so heavy; I can't do it by myself. He obviously didn't harm himself, so how did he drop this bed without it harming the flooring or the bed? Brian and I are looking forward to watching the video of Gabe dropping the bed in the next life. He did a great job making the bed for them. He even set out towels for them. 

We got Michael to drive most of the way to Idaho, and Brian and I sat in the middle section of the van in the captain's chairs. This was fun new territory for us. Rachel rode shotgun. 

We made it to Idaho in time for dinner, which was nice. Chelsea arrived later that night, and it was great seeing her. 

The next morning (Friday), Brian and I took Michael and Rachel to the Idaho Falls Temple to do baptisms. We only had appointments for 2 but they let Brian and I participate as well. 

I loved being in the temple with everyone so much. This is the first temple I ever went to as a youth, and my testimony of the gospel and my love for the Savior was greatly increased from some of my experiences here. Michael figured it out so that Brian could baptize Rachel, then he could baptize Michael, then Michael could baptize Brian, and then Michael baptized me (all in behalf of those who have passed away.) My heart was bursting with joy to watch each of these people in the font (I was the last to go). I really loved being there with all of them. This is also where Brian and I were married, so it is extra special. 

Here we are afterwards.

It was such a beautiful day. 

Before heading back to Mom's house in Ririe, we stopped in to see Cal and Cassidy. I'm not sure what is going on here, but Cal, Brian, and Michael for sure bonded over their love of snowboarding. 

Meanwhile, upstairs, Rachel and Cassidy bonded over dance and decisions to stop doing ballet. We recently encouraged Rachel to  Brian made the call to pull Rachel out of her ballet studio after she came home crying--again--after her pointe class. Whenever the studio director fills in for Rachel's classes, she often comes home crying. We've watched the light and joy of dancing dim over the last little bit, especially this school year, and Brian couldn't take it anymore. Previously to that day, Rachel had decided to stick out the school year, but those tears that Saturday in October were the last straw. It had become quite clear to us that this studio owner was more concerned about her studio being a certain way than for her to develop each dancer individually. She didn't have any tolerance for Rachel's skill level being below where she thought it should be. Rachel constantly felt embarrassed and belittled at dance, and we wanted her to know that it isn't okay for people to be so mean to her, especially adults who should know better.  (Brian's note: to me, it was not right for someone to be treated that way repeatedly. I pushed hard for it and Devri agreed. Really, it was very important to me that Rachel knew it wasn't ok for people to treat her that way if she's in a similar situation in the future. Rachel tends to be a people pleaser and would keep on submitting to it if given the choice. That's just my opinion though, in the end we all agreed on it.)

Cassidy asked Rachel about dance, and we told Cassidy what was going on, and she was so great. Cassidy told Rachel that a similar thing had happened to her, that she found herself not enjoying dance and quit around the time she was Rachel's age. It made Rachel feel so much better about this decision and gave her hope that things would be okay. 

After our visit, we went back to my mom's house. Michael immediately disappeared to the Barn, and I tried visiting with my mom and Chelsea who were both working. Brian and I went to find a good spot for our family pictures, and found a great spot right by the river that was out of the wind and beautiful. 

We headed there a few hours later with Chelsea and Mom. Chelsea was the most amazing assistant, and mom was a fantastic photographer. I would get everything set up on the camera and with our posing, and then my mom would take the photos. Chelsea stood in for me several times so I could make sure our posing looked good. 

She kept all our spirits up, held our jackets and blankets, and kept all our smiles fresh. 

And my mom got some great behind the scenes shots as well. Here's a combination of her shots and mine. 

Chelsea really wanted to do a quick video to go with the song "Me, You, and Steve" by Garfunkel and Oates, so Rachel filmed us and I put the clips together with the music later that night.

On our way back to my mom's, we saw two moose. Chelsea and I were happy to be in a car this time. 

The next day, we headed to Craters of the Moon National Monument. We drove past The Site (it's been called several names over the years: The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (The INEL), The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (The INEEL), and I think now it's called the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). We always just called it the site. It's where my dad (and thousands of other Eastern Idahoans) worked until I was a freshman at BYU. We stopped in Arco for a quick bathroom break, and then headed to the rest of the way to the Monument. Unfortunately for us, the Visitors' Center and Lava Tubes were closed due to the government shut down. We still enjoyed exploring though. 

It surprised me how barren it was out there. I remember for years that the lava along the freeway by Blackfoot looked like this, but somehow, in the last few years, that area started getting vegetation. Yet clear out here near Arco, still so much barren lava fields. 

It's fascinating to me to see what grows and where it grows. It's quite mysterious out there. This tree looks like an Ent from Lord of the Rings. 

We had a picnic lunch at one of the stops, and the day was perfect for all the little walks/hikes we did. The most exciting and crazy thing was that we climbed to the top of one of the volcanos. It's much higher than it initially looked. Brian, Michael, Gabe, and Cal decided to race to the top. 

Here they are looking down at us. 

Here we are looking up at them (I don't remember who "We" were, but I know it was at least Chelsea and I.)

One side of this hill was just totally black, but there were sides that had some vegetation. Crazy! 

Gabe needed a break after his sprint up the volcano. 

Brian took a panoramic shot. 

We did see some lava tubes, but we weren't able to go inside. 

There was some drama with our children; this wasn't their favorite place we've ever gone, though Michael was delighted by how light all the rocks were. We stopped at this sign to get a picture on our way home. 

Chelsea slipped on her way down, and that made her laugh so hard. Cal's didn't hesitate to add to the humor of the situation. 

We three siblings were the best of friends growing up, and it was really fun being with them here. They've been here multiple times, but this was my first. My school field trip got canceled the year I would have gone due to bad weather. 

After we got home, we watched the BYU vs Utah game, which BYU won, thank goodness. 

We visited Grandma and Aunt Margie while we were there, and grabbed all the hugs we could get. 

They also came over for visits. 

We went to sacrament meeting with my mom on Sunday, and headed home after linner (late lunch/early dinner). We got hugs and pictures before we headed home. 

And, here's my video that I made for Instagram. I sent it to Michael, and he said, "Why is this funny? You guys shouldn't be this funny."