we still exist...in case you were wondering

WE DID IT! WE SURVIVED! We made it through 8 long months without Dad/Husband/Adam....it was hard, but we did it. We are so glad to be together under one roof again. What a blessing families are! We couldn't have done it without cell phones, skype, planes, or support from our family and our friends! Thanks especially to Mom and Dad Bingham who have graciously provided a roof over our heads and wrapped their arms around us over and over again! They loved us, provided so much for us, and never once complained against us. "Thank you" does not suffice in the least bit.
We are patiently waiting to hear if we have "matched" to a residency program. A huge reason why Adam traveled around the country this past year was to spend time at several residency programs. He interviewed during the month of January and he has ranked and submitted a list of the programs that he would like to attend. The programs have also ranked the students that they would like to have come to their residency program. Also, in January, Adam took Part 2 of Boards (big huge test). He passed that test!, but we are waiting for those who took boards a few weeks ago to get their results back. Once they get their results, than the match will be announced and everyone will find out where they are going for residency. We are anxious to find out!
Meanwhile...We are here in Terreton, Idaho still. We will be here until graduation (May 26th). Adam is doing some rotations with a few local doctors and enjoying his time with us. Since he has been back we have all enjoyed our time as a family. We have played a lot!
In February, we took a family ice fishing trip up to Mackay Resivoir! Kaleb and Adam caught 10 fish between the two of them. Kaden fell partway through the ice and got wet early in the day, so he stayed wrapped up in some extra clothes, but had no dry socks or boots to put on. Thus, he wasn't able to walk around at all. I pulled him around on the 4-wheeler and held him most of the day. He did really well despite the circumstances.

Also in February, we took the kids bowling (Kaden out bowled some of us!). Adam and I enjoyed a date night, a trip to the temple, and a get-away weekend to Park City, Utah with Lindi, Nathan and a bunch of cool people from their ward.

  In March, we joined lots of family in Island Park for Henry James Slaughter's blessing day. While up there we couldn't resist playing in the snow for a while. There was enough snow up there that we each took a turn sledding off of the roof! It was nuts! The following weekend, Adam and I decided we hadn't gotten enough snow, so we headed down to Pomerelle Ski Resort for a fun (and warm) day of skiing/snowboarding. We had a great time. It was a nice little resort. We laughed a lot and enjoyed being in the beautiful Idaho mountains together. Neither of us planned for such a warm day and when we got into the car to travel home we both could feel our sunburned faces start to hurt! Adam was fried crisp! I got away with not too bad of a burn. Sunscreen will be applied next time we go. Whoops.

This past weekend (as if I hadn't played enough recently) Steph, Shyla, Mom Bingham, Clarice, Valerie, and little Addy attended "Time Out For Women" in Idaho Falls. It was an uplifting weekend filled with lots of uplifting music and messages about how to "Seek the Good" and be good in our lives. What a wonderful weekend!

We are hoping to go to California in April sometime..so hopefully some more family fun is just around the corner!

dirt and boys go together!

The boys have been enjoying the dirt/sand area in the backyard lately. Grandpa tilled it this last weekend and so it has been extra soft and easy to dig in. I was inside the house talking to Adam on the phone when I looked out the window to see them dumping loads of dirt over their heads. They were also throwing dirt and laying in it. Basically just basking in the dirt and trying to get it all over them! It was so funny. 

2011 Summer Vacation

After traveling over 2,500 miles in the last month I am happy to sleep in my own bed and be home. The boys and I had a blast over the past month as we visited family and friends. The first official stop was in Calaveras Big Trees State Park for a Bedke family reunion. This needs to be made into an annual get-together. This was Kaleb and Kaden's first experience camping for reals. They did awesome and I am sure that we will be going again soon. There was plenty of dirt, mud, and soggy shoes but the great company, beautiful surroundings, and delicious food made it all worth it. We went swimming, rock jumping into the lake, and had campfires. The boys explored, found pine-cones bigger than their heads, hiked, laughed with their cousins and ate smores and cobbler. 

Our next destination was the Olson Family Reunion at G&G Olson's Home. It was wonderful to see so many of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and their families. I hadn't been to their home since 2004, so it was exciting to go back and see all of the changes they have made to the place, and to reminisce about the annual family vacations  that we spent there as children. It was fun to tell Kaleb about things that I did as a kid. The best parts of the reunion included: swimming in the freezing cold pump, eating Aunt Tessa's cooking, swinging out of the tree on the rope swing, sitting on the porch Saturday night and laughing so hard with my brothers and sisters, listening to Uncle Chris tell his bear story, chatting with many of my relatives, and eating as much ice cream as I could handle! The boys were awesome while we were there- they played in the water most of the weekend, as it was very hot there. Kaleb loved riding his bike around and shooting his marshmallow gun that he constructed.
After the reunion, we headed down to Bakersfield for several days of swimming and good company. The boys and I swam almost everyday for the next 10 days. By the time we left they both were attempting to swim all on their own. They jumped off the diving board and the sides of the pool. They also enjoyed going down the slide into the pool. There isn't much fear in these boys! It was nice to have the Ericksons close by, so we got to spend lots of time with them. The boys also played Legos, built with the Constructs, dressed up in costumes, played with Amber (the dog), and reenacted Star Wars all week. What a blast! I especially enjoyed eating out of the garden (cantaloupe, zuchinni, squash, tomatoes, and peaches), and working on my denium quilt with Mom's help. We got it all tied off (i will post a picture later once I finish the binding).

Our next roadtrip stop was in Las Vegas to visit the Jones Family. We had a great visit with them as well. Some highlights of that visit included:

• going out with Lindi for the evening (kid free courtesy of Nathan!). We went to 5 Guys Hamburger (so much better that In-n-Out + their fries where made from Idaho potatoes), than out for dessert downtown (can I just say that I absolutely love chocolate), and than to the movies (we saw "The Help" which we both read- it was really good).  
• we swam a few times in the pool 
• Kaleb watched Clone Wars with Ryan and that is basically all they talked about for a few days (I've since had to ban Kaleb from watching any Superhero shows)
• Lindi and I stayed up late every single night 
• Eating some amazing food (this is always a highlight of staying with Lindi). My favorites were the homemade pizza and the grilled sandwiches! 
• We visited Red Rock Canyon again and hiked around for the day. When we got to the picnic area, there were several people looking and whispering about us. The twin radar must have really been going that day. Haha. 
• The surprise night for the kids which included: ride the carousel in the park, go to Neilson's Custard for dessert, and than to the airport to watch planes land and take off. 

Our last few days of traveling included several stops in Utah. We were able to visit with Doug and Pam Bedke and their family in Draper. It was fun to see them and visit. The boys called Doug "grandpa" (he and Dad do look a lot alike). Laura was in town visiting, it is always fun to see her and to catch up with her. I also got to see Kristin's baby girl (sooooo cute). it was fun to hang out with Beth Ann, Andrea, Adam, and Jacob too. When we where pulling out to leave, Kaleb said in the sappy voice, "I really miss Jacob, he is my best friend." & "i liked that puppy so much." (jacob is 15 and the "puppy" was actually Andrea's hairless cat that Kaleb totally loved, especially when Andrea sat down with him and let his feed the cat treats.) Great times! Oh, and another awesome part of our visit with the Draper Bedke's was aunt Pam's Beef and Noodle dish that she served Thursday night. It was awesome.
On Friday we met up with some friends from Iowa! What a treat to see Natalie and Alison. It was so good to see them both. The kids all played great as us girls chatted and caught up with one another like old times! Alison and I hung around until late afternoon just talking. It was great to have her to talk to again. I just love my friends! I wish I could see all my Iowa friends! I miss you girls!
Our last stop on our road trip was in Logan to see Lori and her family. We got to see her beautiful new home and she cooked up an awesome dish for her and I that night. We had lots of laughs and the kids played great together. On Saturday we went to the farmers' market, to Pepperidge Farm Thrift Store, and out to lunch. It was a quick stop, but totally worth it.
Well, we are home now. Mostly settled back in. Adam is coming for a visit on WEDNESDAY! To say that I am EXCITED is a huge understatement! :) He will get to stay for about 10 days this time! So, no blogging until after Labor Day! :)

my little fishermen, hikers, and explorers

The boys and I headed up to Island Park, Idaho this past weekend and had a blast! We went up there to see Nate & Sarah and to PLAY! And play we did! We played all weekend long and we loved just about every minute of it. 

 We hiked around on several trails and forest near the cabin. It was beautiful and refreshing to be surround by so much nature! Nate and I ran twice together. One morning we saw 2 white-tailed deer and a mousse while on a run. We heard an elk that morning also.

 The boys loved exploring outside, playing with and throwing dirt and rocks (aka "fireballs), and petting Iris (one of the coolest dogs ever...minus that she lost major brownie points by chewing on my Chacos...urrrgh)

 The boys both said that their favorite part of the trip was "fishing!" We floated down the river (I think it was Henry's Fork) and Nate fished with the boys while Sarah and I steered/paddled the boat and took pictures.

We spotted a cow mouse with her calf walking down the bank of the river and than walking across it. That was cool. The coolest and most exciting part of the float (besides Nate hooking and reeling in...a rock) was when Kaleb reeled in a 19 inch Cut Throat fish. The fish was huge! I think his smile tells it all!

Kaden enjoyed a little fishing of his own too!

The boys both fell asleep in the boat after all the excitement had died down. 

 That evening Nate cooked up the fish and we ate it all up. It was so yummy and the boys really thought that was cool to eat what they had caught in the river that day. Thanks Nate for being a great fishing guide!

 On Monday we visited Yellowstone National Park and saw lots of animals and beautiful sights. Yellowstone Lake was amazing- probably the bluest body of water I've ever seen. It was fun to spend time chatting with everyone as we drove through the park and saw lots of great things. (animals we saw...eagle, geese, black raven, buffalo, yellow-bellied something, elk, squirrel, and we hear a wolf)  It was a long day for the boys, but they sure enjoyed throwing rocks and jumping off stumps when they could. Also worth mentioning is Old Faithful and the thermal stuff around that, the Old Faithful Inn, and a mile hike that Kaden may or may not have been carried on about the entire time...(:

Other highlughts of the trip included:

• a 3 way tie in BananaGrams
• crossword puzzle races
• Kaleb playing Nitendo64 for the first time
• Touring Big Springs and being attacked by misquitos
• lots of yummy food (torrilla soup, dutch oven chicken & potatoes, chicken chili)
• smores everynight
• roasting sausages over the fire
• long talks with Sarah 
• the bunk beds! 

FOUR YEARS OLD

Kaleb turned 4 this last week! We had a fun birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa Bingham's with lots of family. (A nice perk to living in Idaho now...we get to see family lots!) We roasted hot dogs and ate smores and enjoyed the day. Kaleb requested a train cake and I am happy to report that this train cake actually turned out looking like a train...(see kaden's birthday party disaster cake for epic fail). Kaitlyn and Lilly helpped me create the cake.

smoke in his eys but having a good time still

helping uncle Kade assemble his new bike...check out that tounge sticking out

mom, kaleb, and lillian- all happy about the cake!

a close up of the engine...YUMMY!

on his new bike. (on a side note: he was riding it yesterday and he said that his bike's name is "Christopher.") hahaha!

that is one happy 4 year old boy!

A few things about Kaleb:
   This cutie keeps me laughing. He is so funny. Kaleb askes about a billion questions a day. He wants to know how things work, why people do things, how to make stuff...etc. I am constantly reminded how much I dont know!
His favorite colors are blue, red, and green
His favorite food is strawberries.
He likes playing games, building, and wrestling.
He loves to go on 4-wheeler rides and helping Grandpa mow the lawn and feed the animals.
He loves feeding the chickens and bringing in eggs. He is such a hard worker and loves helpping others.
   Last night, Kaleb discovered that the cat had had kittens and he was so excited and jumping up and down. He counted 5 of them there this morning.
Kaleb can count to 14, spell his name, and write the letter K. He knows his shapes and most colors. He likes to sing songs and is learning so much in Primary and at home. He amazes me how much he remembers as we talk about the scriptures. He tries so hard to do what is right. (Thumbs up.) He is very excited to start going to preschool in the fall!

Kaden and Adam's birthdays...(5 months late)...but its getting posted...

So, even though it is totally embarrassing that this post is so late and so past due, I am posting it anyways...Kaden celebrated his 2nd birthday on December 27, 2010 and Adam celebrated his 29th on December 31st, 2010. I am so grateful for both of these guys. Their birthdays were both super low key, but that is just how we roll around here. Adam told Kaden to get used to it. :) As you will notice, we didnt have matches for either birthday celebration, and Kaden's cake was a disaster- dont look too close! I was relieved when Adam said he wanted cookies for his birthday, rather than cake. I can do cookies! 

I am grateful for Kaden. He is such a blessing to our family. He is a kind brother and loves to hang out with and follow Kaleb. Kaden is such a snuggler and crawls in my bed each morning and "nuggles". He loves to show love for everyone he is around. He often hugs visitors to our home and gives me kisses frequently. He is quick to apoligize and give hugs with an "sorry" after he makes mistakes. He has a cute little dimple on one cheek and still melts hearts with his dashing good looks and wide-mouthed smiles! Kaden loves singing songs, going to church, playing with his friends, jumping off things, climbing, and riding his little push bike. He loves to swim and splash in the water. He has little fear of anything. He is so brave.

Adam is amazing. He keeps me sane! He is so logical, rational, calm, and practical (a good balance to keep me in check). He makes me laugh everyday and is such a tease to each of us. The boys cant get enough of him. They love to do anything with their Dad. Wrestling, shooting the Nerf gun, and dragon rides are probably their favorite activities. He likes to get them hyped up at bedtime! He is a good man and he takes care of us. We are so lucky to have him. Adam loves running and exercising and has been dreaming about the mountain bike he is going to buy sometime in the future.