2nd Annual BOYS CLUB!

My kids won't let me forget about how much fun they had last year at our first boys club party so we decided to do it again! The boys helped plan the activities they wanted to do and they helped me get all the materials we needed! It was a MESSY success again!

We started inside painting toy tops and making SLIME!

Then we headed outside and did some finger painting:

After we were covered in finger paint we washed off by having a SHAVING CREAM war!

Then to wash all of the shaving cream off we had a huge water balloon fight that also included WATER BOMBS!

We ended up turning the hose on and spraying everyone on the tramp until all the shaving cream was gone!

Dirt and worms were served:

And after an hour and a half of MADNESS......the boys went home. And I'm ready for an afternoon nap!
2nd boys club meeting adjourned!

The picture show

Nate's mom has been here for a couple of days. Last night we packed up the kids and tons of blankets and headed over to the good ol' DRIVE IN. We're in eastern Idaho now....we're blending in with the locals! :) What fun! We took the seats out of the car and made our own little make shift couch. The movie didn't start until 9:30 and MOST of us lasted through the whole thing.

We saw the cutest movie! Despicable Me. Good message, absolutely hilarious, LOVED IT!

Porter Park

We headed up to Porter Park in Rexburg yesterday with some friends to play in the splash park. Its funny to think that if we were still in Boise the kids would be back in school by now. No school for us! We're still living it up these last couple of weeks!

Lando thought the water was just a bit too cold:

Don't leave us summer! We love you WAY too much!

"Adventure" to Yellowstone.

When you leave your house at 9:30AM and you're supposed to get to your destination by NOON but you don't end up getting there until 7:30 PM, it is safe to assume things aren't going according to plan.

Here's the story:

We left Friday morning heading up to Yellowstone with the whole fam. Nate hasn't been there since he was a boy so we thought it would be fun to go up there since it is "so close" for a little camping and sight seeing. We decided to go through Jackson Hole for a more scenic ride of the Grand Tetons. Here we are on top of the mountain looking down on Jackson. That is when things started going downhill......literally.

As we ventured down the mountain our car started overheating. We stopped at an auto repair shop and put 2 gallons of anti freeze in. Problem solved right? We continued to the next town until.....yep we were OVERHEATING again! 2 more gallons in and away we went again. Surely the problem is solved by now right?

30 miles outside of Jackson and we had to pull over yet AGAIN. STILL OVERHEATING. If you know me you know how much a HATE my van. Some choice words were said. Some over-reacting MAY have taken place. :) I may have told Nate that he has about 6 months to get me a new car or I am setting it ablaze or accidentally sending it off a cliff or something.

We had to turn around and head back to Jackson. Obviously something was VERY wrong. Just then a huge rain storm came upon us. This was a huge blessing because the temperature outside literally dropped about 30 degrees and we were able to make it back to Jackson without overheating again.

We pulled into a Dodge dealership and the nicest service man came out to see what the problem was. After replacing 2 hoses (one of which was cracked and causing the anti freeze to leak) and spending an entire hour fixing our car, he sent us on our way. Oh, by the way he didn't charge us a dime. Seriously? WHO DOES THAT?? Especially in this day in age. He said, "You guys have been through enough today....no charge." I told him he was my knight in shining armor. What a great guy....I'm still in awe. Perhaps he felt sorry for us since our poor boys were going CRAZY in the car for such a long time.

We thought about just bagging it and heading back home but after the major hookup from the service man we decided that our luck must be turning around so we opted to press on!

We're glad we did because we had a FANTASTIC time:

The Tetons really are majestic:

Here we are at our campsite:

Saturday we spent the day seeing lots of hot pots, geysers, mud pots, wild animals, and breathtaking views.

We LOVED watching Old Faithful. Parker's comments were the BEST: "Is this OLD geyser EVER going to go off? Why can't we just tell the ranger to TURN IT ON ALREADY? Maybe the geyser is a little bit shy and that is why it is scared to go off." All of the people around us were chuckling.

Our trip ended up being worth all of the crazy stress. We all came home absolutely exhausted!

Yeeeah....thats a little AWKWARD.

Jen is in town and we had a great time going to Ross Park yesterday. My kids were THRILLED to see some friends from Boise. We played in the sun from OPEN to ......."ATTENTION, water in the kiddie pool is contaminated" CLOSED! Eww gross.

Don't you just hate when you walk into a store, or church, or maybe a WATER PARK and someone is wearing the EXACT same thing that you are?????

It is downright embarrassing and perhaps a little uncomfortable. You're wondering, "Do I look skinnier in it, do my boobs look bigger in it, does my swim skirt go better with it?"

I had plenty of opportunities to ask myself these questions.
Exhibit 1:

Exhibit 2:

Exhibit 3:

3 women....that is 1 and 2 and 3 ALL wearing my same exact swimsuit! What the heck??? I opted to wear my cover up for the duration of the visit.

Needless to say, I won't be rocking THAT swimsuit at Ross Park anytime soon!

Life is Good.

Tonight we took the kids to the park over by our house. It was a beautiful Sunday evening...perfect temperature, not too hot and no wind. I had one of those experiences where you just try to capture a moment in time.... a moment where a million things go through your mind and you'd do anything to prevent it from ending.

I looked over at my good husband...playing with our kids, forcing me to ride the teeter totter, holding my hand and giving me kisses in (GASP) a public place. I'm so grateful for him. I'm beyond words thrilled that he is mine. Mine forever. He works so hard for us and I fell such gratitude for all the time and effort he puts into making sure we are taken care of. I love LOVE the fact that he works in a place that he enjoys. His hard work is acknowledged and he is respected. What a difference. What a blessing.

Then I looked over at my Dallin. My ALMOST 8 year old. Where has the time gone? How is it he can already be this BIG? Two more months until he is baptized. How can it be we are already at this huge milestone? I swear he just started preschool and learned how to ride a bike. I'm grateful to be the mom of this sweet, gentle boy. I've loved spending the summer him. I've tried to make the most of it and soak it all in. If 8 years can go by this fast, he'll be moving out and heading to college before I know it! I love my sweet peacemaker boy.

Parker is starting kindergarten in just a few weeks. I took him back to school shopping yesterday...what a surreal experience. I said, "Parks...I'm going to MISS you so much when you go to school." His response, "Yeah mom....I KNOW! You've said that a ba-gillion times." Parker is so fiesty hard headed. I'm excited to see the things he will learn and to watch him grow by himself... without his brothers right next to him. 

Good luck kindergarten teacher. :)

Landon. My baby isn't a baby anymore. He's just one of the big boys now. He thinks he can do it all by himself. He'll be lost without his brothers when they both starts school soon. Luckily he is a mama's boy through and through and we'll find some fun things to do together. Landon and mama date day...everyday!

Its kind of hard for me to admit but Idaho Falls is growing on me. I love the slower paced lifestyle and the major focus on family here. I love how close we are to some of the most beautiful places on earth. I love all of the open space, the big yards, and the quiet cool evenings. The people are all so down to earth and have been so kind and welcoming to us. It's nights like this where I realize that things happen for a reason, I know were being taken care of, and I'm simply happy. (I'm trying to get the camera back from Nate in this picture)