A Camping Adventure . . . In The Backyard

Ryan & Alex have been wanting to go camping all summer long and we just have not been able to go yet, so Shawn set up the tent in the backyard. We sat in our "camping chairs", roasted marshmallows around the fire-pit, and they slept outside in the tent. Nick was fascinated by the tent and kept running around inside it. By the time we drug him back inside the house, he was filthy and looked as if he really had been camping because he was covered in melted marshmallow & dirt. Ryan & Alex stayed up late shining their flashlights around and talking and laughing. I thought they would end up back inside the house, but they slept outside all night. I think they had a lot of fun.

Nick's Favorite Spot = Toy Box

Nick recently mastered his climbing skills and is now climbing into & onto everything he can. He loves to climb inside the toy box and just hang out in there.

Roaring Springs Water Park

Begging your 7-year-old son to go on a sort-of-scary water park ride is not one of my more admirable traits, but I LOVE going on the bigger water rides at Roaring Springs and so I managed to convince Ryan to go on the "Avalanche"! (Kallee - you would have been so proud of him). I am not going to lie, it was a bit intense and he definitely would not agree to go on it again . . . although I didn't think to ask him. In fact, on the way home - he even asked me, "why were you screaming the entire time on that ride?" Ouch! The truth hurts!!!!! It was a very hot weekend and we decided to head to Roaring Springs Water Park to have some water fun. It was great. The boys all had a good time. Nick loves the water and was not very happy when it was time to leave. Alex is getting braver and braver. Ryan suddenly developed an obsession with practicing his swimming skills. This should really pay off when we start swimming lessons in a few weeks. It was a really good day. Ryan did go with me on the Avalanche. The raft was super heavy and he wasn't much help as we (well, I) dragged it up many, many flights of stairs. It was worth it though as it felt like a free-fall at first. The lazy-river has become a favorite of everyone and we spent a lot of time going round and round the water park. Nick loved the slide and insisted on going down it over and over. We all had a lot of fun. Here's a few pictures:

Ryan & Alex Shawn & Nick Sliding












Ryan crawling thru Nick Having Fun













Krista & Alex posing for a pic











Nick loving his time in the sun

Reality Check

OK - so my friend Natalie had this really cute idea on her blog and I am copying it. I can't remember every picture that she had, but here are a few (without any adjustments) that will give you a sneak peak into my home life . . . .

#1 My Refrigerator: Embarrassing! It may look like we only drink milk & soda pop, but there is food inside here as well (most of the time)












#2 My Sink: Not too bad! My wonderful husband usually does the dishes for me.









#3 What Are My Kids Doing Right Now - Bedtime.



























#4 My Favorite Room In The House (well, this is not exactly a "room" but I love my backyard. It is beautiful and peaceful and fun. )

Go Boise Burn! (Arena Football Game)

The roar of the crowd is overwhelming loud as the quarterback finds his receiver on the field and throws a perfect spiral . . . . the receiver is close, we can almost reach out and touch him . . . the ball glides through the air . . . the receiver leaps up and captures the ball . . . touchdown . . . the receiver celebrates and scans the crowd for a perfect place to offer the football to a supportive fan . . . he spies an enthusiastic red-headed boy in the front row . . . he hands the ball to the smiling 7-year-old . . . still grinning, Ryan returns to his seat and then glances up at the big tv screen to watch the replay. . . . . . .

Last night we went to the last home football game for the Boise Burn. We have had season tickets for the past two season and have had a lot of fun at the games. We sit in the endzone, second row up - so we are very close to all the action. In general, the boys have enjoyed going to the games. Ryan has been our resident "TV Star" as he is on the opening video for the Boise Burn's entrance onto the field. His stardom is related to the story above. He now keeps his prized football on a shelf near his bed. Nick has also become a

favorite on the big monitor as we sit near the cameraman who is always searching for an adorable face to put on the screen. Alex is a bit less enthusiastic. He thinks it is "too loud" (thus the sound-silencing-headphones) and that the games are "too boring"! We bribed him to attend the last game by allowing him to bring his Nintendo DS. We now have to wait about a month without football until the Boise State Broncos first game in August.

Just A Side Note . . . .

Many of you already know this, but I just wanted to point out that I am luckily married to a guy who is the best dad ever! My boys absolutely LOVE their dad so much. He is hard-working and does so much for me and our kids. He loves to play with the boys, teach them lots of different things, and just spend time hanging out with them. I love him for the good man that he is and the wonderful father that he is to our boys. I hope they grow up to be just like him!

Ready to Battle Breakfast

Our silly little boy refused to eat breakfast until I let him wear this battle helmet. Can you imagine his frustration as he tried to figure out how to eat his pancakes? He figured it out though as he finished his breakfast and kept the helmet on.

Fourth of July 2008

Alex playing in the water at
the Middleton parade
We had a fun time on the Fourth of July. We went to a parade in Middleton with Tom, Megan, & Carter. We stood near the fire station and firefighters had hooked up hoses to the fire hydrants and were spraying the crowd. It was chaos as lots of kids (and many adults) ran through the water. Alex loved it and got soaking wet! Ryan chose not to venture out into the crazy crowd. Nick sat unhappily in his stroller as it was close to naptime. Later, we had a barbeque and lit off a few fireworks. We watched lots of "big" fireworks from the neighbors around us. The highlight at our house was sparklers! It was fun. It is always good to be reminded of how lucky we are to live in this country. God bless America!

Welcome To The World Of Blogging!

Under the pressure of my siblings and a few friends, I am finally taking the time to create a blog. I am actually kind of excited as I have loved looking at others blogs and keeping up-to-date on what is going on with the people I care about. Here we go . . . . .

Starting with the most important part of our blog page: The Boys!

Ryan - 7 years old - a competitive kid with a heart full of kindness and concern for all things including people, weather, west-nile virus, and the stress of eating new foods. He is a fun kid with lots of love for life. He is enjoying the summer and looking forward to 2nd grade! He assured me that he has not forgotten anything that he learned in 1st grade. He has recently developed an interest in reading real chapter books. He loves all-things-sports! He is a big Boise State Broncos fan and is registered to play football in the fall. He has all the normal oldest-child responsibilities and often wonders when he will be old enough to "be in charge of himself".

Alex - 6 years old - a loving, tenderhearted kid with a quick mind, love for music, and quirky personality. He is anticipating the adventure of 1st grade and has been spending his summer practicing eating his lunch quickly so that he will not get in trouble in the "real cafeteria". Watch out first grade! He has an amazing memory. His current favorite thing is the Nintendo Wii and doing his best to play the drums on RockBand. He is looking forward to upcoming events like swimming lessons and a vacation to Bear Lake.

Nick - 1 1/2 years old - a bright-eyed little kid who is entertaining, stubborn, and silly. He is a tornado of energy and can make a mess faster than any kid we have ever known. He likes fitting into small spaces as he is constantly clearing out cupboards and climbing on in. He tries over and over to fit underneath the couch, but his dang big belly prevents him from succeeding! He loves to laugh and LOVES HIS DAD!