04 September 2007

Funland

We spent Labor Day weekend out on the road (WOW! Out of town again?? What a surprise). This time it was up to Idaho Falls with Kip and Whitney to visit the parentals and Rick and Jen's family. Saturday we went to the family ranch just north in a little place called Humphrey. Its kind of like a cross between cattle grazing ranches and a ghost town. Just a couple of years ago the whole town was for sale. Yup, the town. My great uncle bought that too, seeing how we are the only people to ever step off of the freeway and into the actual township. Anyway, we've had a ranch up there for the last 100 years. And that's where I spent most of my summer vacations as a strapping young lad. So we had our picnic lunch, rode on an old immobile tractor, shot the guns, mooed at the cows, and I actually heard May say about the restroom facilities, "Now that is an outhouse I could go pee in."

On the way back into The Falls (that's how the locals say it) we stopped in on Rick at his fire station. He took us for the usual spin in one of the huge trucks. He lets each of the kids shoot the overhead water cannon. Then, as he was prepping to take the truck back into its garage and as I was walking away . . .. Yup. He shot me with about 100 gallons of water in two seconds. I didn't actually do anything to deserve it so directly. Its just probably owed to me over all the years and things I have said and done. At least, that's what I think he tried telling me later.

But the height of excitement for the kids is definitely Funland. Its Idaho Falls' secret theme park that is also an actual historical landmark. Its probably a landmark because the tractor engine used to turn the ferris wheel looks, oh, about two hundred years old! But its great. There is a Merry-Go-Round, a train, planes a miniature golf course and one of those spinny, uppy and downy rides that make the normal person's cheeks tighten up and turn pink as a warning to the forthcoming regurgitation of lunch if the ride isn't stopped post haste! That's why only May and Jen ride it with Adelaide and Jimmy. This time it was Jimmy's turn to stop the ride. That was always my role when I was his age. STOP THE RIDE! STOP!

4 comments:

{natalie} said...

looks like a fun weekend. i was hoping may would be home in time to catch the justin timberlake concert on hbo with me. we'll have to set up a time to watch it. see you soon

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