What peaked our interest initially was this night rainbow. I've never seen a rainbow at night, and honestly I didn't even realize they existed. Click on the picture to make it bigger if it's hard to see:
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Thunder and Lightning
We had the coolest summer storm last night. We rarely have electrical storms in Idaho, but we had a good one last night. It was a little scary, though. Some of the thunder boomed pretty loud. We sat outside and watched it for a while. Dave decided to do a little experimenting with the camera and got some pretty amazing shots. It looks pretty light, but it was almost 11:00 pm when he was taking the pictures:
Happy Birthday Daddy!
Dave's birthday was yesterday. It's funny how even when you are grown up, birthdays are really more fun for the kids. They had such a hard time containing their excitement! At least they didn't ruin any birthday present surprises.
I usually let the kids each pick out a gift for their dad, but this year we all went in on one together. We got him a golf punch card that he can use for 10 games. In true Bria fashion, she made him an adorable birthday card.
And, we made him a cake to go with his golfing gift:
Happy Birthday, Dave!!!
I usually let the kids each pick out a gift for their dad, but this year we all went in on one together. We got him a golf punch card that he can use for 10 games. In true Bria fashion, she made him an adorable birthday card.
And, we made him a cake to go with his golfing gift:
Happy Birthday, Dave!!!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Lesson Learned
We got our kids a slip and slide this year. They spent all day playing on it. Before they went outside I had the kids put sunblock on. Bria really wanted to help by putting sunblock on Max. I guess she didn't get it on very evenly. He came in yesterday afternoon with a very interesting sunburn on his back
Note to self....don't let the kids apply sunblock to themselves.
Note to self....don't let the kids apply sunblock to themselves.
We spell hero D-A-D
"It should have great meaning that of all the titles of respect and honor and admiration that could be given him, that God himself, he who is the highest of all, chose to be addressed simply as “Father.”"
--A. Theodore Tuttle, "The Role of Fathers", Ensign, Jan. 1974, 66
For Father's day this year, we spent Saturday at Dave's parent's house. It was SO HOT! Such a change from a few days before at the Elder's Quorum Barbecue! They got the slip and slide out and the kids had a blast while the dads worked together on yard projects
10 Months
Logan is growing like a WEED!!! He is getting so much bigger and smarter every day. He is 10 months old already!
Here are a few of his milestones this last month:
He eats like a horse! He is starting to grow out of his baby food stage and is more and more interested in big people food.. It's nice in some ways - like he can feed himself. And in other ways it's not so nice - like he wants to feed himself (and in doing so makes HUGE messes)! We still do the baby food thing, but we're trying to slowly start fazing them out. He's not messing around with growing teeth either....He is already up to FIVE!
Logan started crawling a month ago. He is really fast at it now. What would be the word that is equivalent for running, but still crawling. That's what he does. He is also very fascinated with the outdoors and tries to
Logan has discovered the art of posing for pictures. He knows exactly what to do when he sees a camera. It's really cute and makes taking pictures of him that much more fun.
We sure love our little guy!!!
Primary Talent Show
Our ward had a primary talent show on Saturday night. It was awesome! Bria signed up to share a talent. We weren't exactly sure what to have her do. Not that she's not talented, she just isn't in anything....like dancing or gymnastics. At first, she wanted to teach everyone how to make a fan out of paper. You know. Fold left. Fold right. Repeat until you're done. Then, she decided to sing. She wanted to sing Follow the Prophet. I personally thought that other kids would probably pick that same thing since they are learning that in primary this year. We couldn't find another song that she could learn well enough in time. Then, Dave had a great idea! We could video her jumping on the trampoline. She really loves doing that and she's taught herself a few tricks. So, here is her talent:
Bria and Max also brought some artwork to display.
Max is showing his "pirate" face in the picture. That seems to be his newest talent. Almost every time we go to take a picture of him lately, he shows his pirate face. Almost every picture we have of him has one normal and one piratized!
Bria and Max also brought some artwork to display.
Max is showing his "pirate" face in the picture. That seems to be his newest talent. Almost every time we go to take a picture of him lately, he shows his pirate face. Almost every picture we have of him has one normal and one piratized!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Elder's Quorum Barbeque
Last week was the week of people at our house. It was nice because since we knew people were going to be coming, it was nice and clean all week. And, we didn't have to keep cleaning it over and over since it all happened pretty much at the same time.
Thursday, we had an Elder's Quorum Barbecue at our house (Dave is the EQ president right now). It was way fun, but WAY cold! Darn Idaho! It never seems to warm up! Despite the cold, it was a ton of fun! Lots of people came and Dave even got a big jumpy house for the kids to play on.
Thursday, we had an Elder's Quorum Barbecue at our house (Dave is the EQ president right now). It was way fun, but WAY cold! Darn Idaho! It never seems to warm up! Despite the cold, it was a ton of fun! Lots of people came and Dave even got a big jumpy house for the kids to play on.
The Lloyd's Visit
Last Wednesday morning, our good friend Amelia called and surprised us by saying that she was in town and wanted to come visit! We haven't seen their family in almost 4 years, so we were way excited!! I was so sad that my camera's battery was dead from our busy weekend before! At least we got one great picture of all the kids.
Thanks for the fun visit, Amelia! It was so fun to see you guys and how much your kids have grown! Next time it's our turn to come to Arizona!!
Thanks for the fun visit, Amelia! It was so fun to see you guys and how much your kids have grown! Next time it's our turn to come to Arizona!!
The Walker's Visit
We've been super busy the last 10 days or so. It's amazing how summer can make life really exciting all of a sudden, but at the same time so, so busy. We had some friends from Texas come up to visit. They've never been up this way, so we wanted to show them everything we could in our neck of the woods. We started with Salt Lake City. We drove down last Friday night.
We took them to the Mayan for dinner
The next morning, the kids got up early and headed straight for the pool. What good is a hotel without a pool, right?!?
Saturday, we walked around Temple Square. While there, we went to see the new Joseph Smith movie. It's in the visitors center in Idaho Falls also. If you haven't gotten a chance to see it yet....GO!!! It's amazing. I think it just may be my most favorite church movie yet!
While there, we also got to catch up with my sister Aubri and her kids. It's been about a year and a half since we've seen them, so it was fun to visit!
Then, went to the Church History Museum. On the top floor, there is a children's exhibit. It's way fun. Our kids always like to stop there if we can.
We also went on a tour of the Conference Center and went to a late lunch at The Lion House Pantry. YUM!
Sunday we drove them up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We walked around and toured the town. We also went to the Ripley's Believe-it-or-Not! Museum.
As if that weren't enough. After staying up way late both Saturday and Sunday nights (and being completely exhausted!), Monday morning we got up and headed to Mesa Falls.....
and then to Yellowstone!
At Yellowstone, we went to Old Faithful
Saw some of the water pools
Saw a waterfall:
And we saw a little bit of wildlife (but not as much as we expected!)
And did lots of driving and walking
We ended the day at Mammoth Falls.
It's been several years since we've been to Yellowstone. I really want to try and make a trip back later this summer and spend a few days up there.
I think everyone was completely exhausted by this point. We did in 3 days what we would normally do on several different trips. It's amazing what we accomplished!
We took them to the Mayan for dinner
The next morning, the kids got up early and headed straight for the pool. What good is a hotel without a pool, right?!?
Saturday, we walked around Temple Square. While there, we went to see the new Joseph Smith movie. It's in the visitors center in Idaho Falls also. If you haven't gotten a chance to see it yet....GO!!! It's amazing. I think it just may be my most favorite church movie yet!
While there, we also got to catch up with my sister Aubri and her kids. It's been about a year and a half since we've seen them, so it was fun to visit!
Then, went to the Church History Museum. On the top floor, there is a children's exhibit. It's way fun. Our kids always like to stop there if we can.
Sunday we drove them up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We walked around and toured the town. We also went to the Ripley's Believe-it-or-Not! Museum.
(sitting on the Buffalo couch)
(in front of the matchstick train)
It rained the whole time we were in Jackson, so we didn't get very many pictures. We were way disappointed because we drove up to Grand Teton National Park, but the clouds were so thick, you couldn't see the Tetons!
and then to Yellowstone!
At Yellowstone, we went to Old Faithful
Saw some of the water pools
Saw a waterfall:
And we saw a little bit of wildlife (but not as much as we expected!)
And did lots of driving and walking
We ended the day at Mammoth Falls.
It's been several years since we've been to Yellowstone. I really want to try and make a trip back later this summer and spend a few days up there.
I think everyone was completely exhausted by this point. We did in 3 days what we would normally do on several different trips. It's amazing what we accomplished!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Life's been busy
We have been super busy around here. So busy that my blog has been seriously neglected. It's really sad, too. We've had lots of blog worthy moments!
Here's what we've been up to:
LOGAN - He turned 9 months almost 2 weeks ago (missed the nine month post!). He is probably the main reason I've been off the blog for a while. He started CRAWLING! Life is definitely different with a crawling baby. Not just a crawling baby, but a very curious explorer. So many chocking hazards!!! And, his most favorite thing to seek out is cords. Not just any cords, but especially the kind that are already plugged in. It's amazing how many of those exist! And, he's completely obsessed with the stairs. We have a gate, but it seems to get left open by the older two quite often. Logan's already taken his first tumble. Thank goodness he came out with nothing more than a big surprise and hopefully a lesson learned. I'm hoping all this running around to catch and keep him out of trouble will finally get this extra baby weight off! Oh! And he got tooth #3 today!
MAX - Max has been as busy as ever!!! He is such a fun little boy and sometimes I think he gets lost being the middle child. Max is so fun to watch learn and discover. He has a way of explaining things very thoroughly. He is also a huge help! His favorite chore (and the one he's the best at) is gathering all the dirty laundry in the house and putting it in the laundry room. We tried to teach him how to sort, but I think he still needs a little work in that area. But, gathering he's an expert at. He asks almost daily (sometimes even hourly) if he can find all the dirty clothes in the house. The thing I love about Max and his helpfulness is that he can start something and stick with it until it's done.
Max is also very good at entertaining the troops. If Logan is upset, Max can cheer him up. If Bria needs someone to play Littlest Petshop with, Max is the man. Not that he even cares if they are girl toys, he's just happy to play anything. I think the most fun he's had is all the friends he's starting to make in the neighborhood. There are a few little boys his age that he's been starting to play with and he loves having his own little group of friends.
BRIA - The older Bria gets, the more I realize she is taking after her dad. She doesn't ever seem to stop! Not only does she go and go physically, she explains and talks her way through everything. She is always scheming up some sort of party or play group or something to invite the whole neighborhood to. And, it of course nearly always includes some sort of snack or food item. She colors very elaborate invitations to hand out and plans every last detail. I think I should maybe be worried for her teenage years. She is out of school for the summer and I know already that she'll fill every waking moment with some sort of adventure. Her most recent obsession is her new friend "Rocky" which....yep....is a rock. She had this whole imaginary world where Rocky is her baby and she has to put him down for a nap, feed him, etc. etc. Her other goal is to raise money so we can buy chickens. (I just mentioned one day that it would be fun and she hasn't let the idea go.) She's drawn a few pictures and tried to sell them, but I kindly and gently tell her that she can't sell her drawings to the other neighborhood children. It's too late for chickens this year, but if she keeps this persistent, maybe we'll get a few new pets by next year. At least I don't ever have to worry about entertaining Bria.
DAVE - What is Dave not doing? He has by far been the busiest. Today, he had a huge assembly closing the Rachel's Challenge program his school started in February. The kids had a parade around the neighborhood showing each link they had worked to collect these last few months. Each link represented an act of kindness done by someone in the school. And....he was on the news again!
Aside from the very big assembly, Dave has been waiting to hear on his job. His school district was considering cutting counselor positions with all of the budget cuts. We were pretty worried for a while since his is an interim counselor right now. But, the teachers and parents stood up and said that counselors are something that they are just not willing to live without. In the meantime, the school Dave's been at has only had a part-time counselor in the past. The district decided that they finally needed to make it a full time position. But, since it was a brand new position, Dave has had to go through all of the formal application process. He hasn't had his interview yet, but we feel really good about it considering that he is in essence applying for the job that he already has. The teachers and the principal really like him so that probably gives him a pretty good chance. We feel really blessed that there is even a job available in such a bad economy.
Another kinda funny update with Dave is a job he contracted with Pix and Flix (his videography company). BP Energy is starting a windfarm in Idaho Falls and wanted him there to shoot the opening ceremony. You may have heard of BP recently concerning an enormous oil spill in the gulf coast. Apparently they had a huge budget, so Dave quoted them what he would charge for 2 weddings and they didn't even hesitate. So, we're very happy about that.
Aside from those, he has been working and working on wedding videos, websites and other business design type stuff. He is really a hard worker!
Dave has also been working like crazy in our yard. He works very meticulously on our grass. Hours every week - and it shows too. He is also the driving force behind our garden. I spent hours weeding and Dave came in and finished ten times more than I could in a fraction of the time. It's pretty cool to watch!
ME - Aside from keeping up with the house, the laundry, and everyone else's goings on, I've been pretty busy too. I finished getting the garden all planted yesterday. I didn't do starts inside the house this year, just seeds straight in the ground. I did buy some tomato starts, though. So, hopefully everything will actually grow fast enough. I'm really excited about having a garden and not being pregnant this year. I've got huge dreams for what we are going to do with the harvest! This year we planted: tomatoes (3 different kinds), cucumbers (regular and pickling), green beans, lettuce, onions (sweet, red and green), bell peppers, sweet corn, zucchini, jack-o-lantern pumpkins, pie pumpkins, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, peas (regular and sugar snap), carrots and of course we still have our strawberries and raspberries. Oh, and we have a rhubarb plant that we still need to find a place for. That should keep me pretty busy for the summer. More time outside = less chores inside, right?
Aside from garden and household stuff, I've been making soap, reading about soap, and talking about soap like crazy. I taught my sister in law, Jessica how to make soap last month and she loves it as much as I do. So, with a lot of encouragement from our entrepreneur husbands, we decided to start our own little company together. We're both really excited about it. We put together a website so check it out and let us know what you think. It's a work in progress and we're still working on building our inventory. We're also going to sell our soaps on consignment through Austin Kade Academy in Idaho Falls. (Just a side note: if you go to their website and click on videos, they would all be Dave's handiwork. He also helped build their website. I have a very talented hubsand!) Anyway....we'll see where this new adventure takes us. Right now we're just having fun working together and making soap. I would honestly be happy if we sold just enough soap to support our little hobby, but I wouldn't mind it being more either.
Hopefully that catches us up! I promise we have not dropped off the face of the earth, we've just been so busy! It's crazy how life can get in the way of blogging sometimes, right? But, then what would I ever blog about if it didn't?
Here's what we've been up to:
LOGAN - He turned 9 months almost 2 weeks ago (missed the nine month post!). He is probably the main reason I've been off the blog for a while. He started CRAWLING! Life is definitely different with a crawling baby. Not just a crawling baby, but a very curious explorer. So many chocking hazards!!! And, his most favorite thing to seek out is cords. Not just any cords, but especially the kind that are already plugged in. It's amazing how many of those exist! And, he's completely obsessed with the stairs. We have a gate, but it seems to get left open by the older two quite often. Logan's already taken his first tumble. Thank goodness he came out with nothing more than a big surprise and hopefully a lesson learned. I'm hoping all this running around to catch and keep him out of trouble will finally get this extra baby weight off! Oh! And he got tooth #3 today!
MAX - Max has been as busy as ever!!! He is such a fun little boy and sometimes I think he gets lost being the middle child. Max is so fun to watch learn and discover. He has a way of explaining things very thoroughly. He is also a huge help! His favorite chore (and the one he's the best at) is gathering all the dirty laundry in the house and putting it in the laundry room. We tried to teach him how to sort, but I think he still needs a little work in that area. But, gathering he's an expert at. He asks almost daily (sometimes even hourly) if he can find all the dirty clothes in the house. The thing I love about Max and his helpfulness is that he can start something and stick with it until it's done.
Max is also very good at entertaining the troops. If Logan is upset, Max can cheer him up. If Bria needs someone to play Littlest Petshop with, Max is the man. Not that he even cares if they are girl toys, he's just happy to play anything. I think the most fun he's had is all the friends he's starting to make in the neighborhood. There are a few little boys his age that he's been starting to play with and he loves having his own little group of friends.
BRIA - The older Bria gets, the more I realize she is taking after her dad. She doesn't ever seem to stop! Not only does she go and go physically, she explains and talks her way through everything. She is always scheming up some sort of party or play group or something to invite the whole neighborhood to. And, it of course nearly always includes some sort of snack or food item. She colors very elaborate invitations to hand out and plans every last detail. I think I should maybe be worried for her teenage years. She is out of school for the summer and I know already that she'll fill every waking moment with some sort of adventure. Her most recent obsession is her new friend "Rocky" which....yep....is a rock. She had this whole imaginary world where Rocky is her baby and she has to put him down for a nap, feed him, etc. etc. Her other goal is to raise money so we can buy chickens. (I just mentioned one day that it would be fun and she hasn't let the idea go.) She's drawn a few pictures and tried to sell them, but I kindly and gently tell her that she can't sell her drawings to the other neighborhood children. It's too late for chickens this year, but if she keeps this persistent, maybe we'll get a few new pets by next year. At least I don't ever have to worry about entertaining Bria.
DAVE - What is Dave not doing? He has by far been the busiest. Today, he had a huge assembly closing the Rachel's Challenge program his school started in February. The kids had a parade around the neighborhood showing each link they had worked to collect these last few months. Each link represented an act of kindness done by someone in the school. And....he was on the news again!
Aside from the very big assembly, Dave has been waiting to hear on his job. His school district was considering cutting counselor positions with all of the budget cuts. We were pretty worried for a while since his is an interim counselor right now. But, the teachers and parents stood up and said that counselors are something that they are just not willing to live without. In the meantime, the school Dave's been at has only had a part-time counselor in the past. The district decided that they finally needed to make it a full time position. But, since it was a brand new position, Dave has had to go through all of the formal application process. He hasn't had his interview yet, but we feel really good about it considering that he is in essence applying for the job that he already has. The teachers and the principal really like him so that probably gives him a pretty good chance. We feel really blessed that there is even a job available in such a bad economy.
Another kinda funny update with Dave is a job he contracted with Pix and Flix (his videography company). BP Energy is starting a windfarm in Idaho Falls and wanted him there to shoot the opening ceremony. You may have heard of BP recently concerning an enormous oil spill in the gulf coast. Apparently they had a huge budget, so Dave quoted them what he would charge for 2 weddings and they didn't even hesitate. So, we're very happy about that.
Aside from those, he has been working and working on wedding videos, websites and other business design type stuff. He is really a hard worker!
Dave has also been working like crazy in our yard. He works very meticulously on our grass. Hours every week - and it shows too. He is also the driving force behind our garden. I spent hours weeding and Dave came in and finished ten times more than I could in a fraction of the time. It's pretty cool to watch!
ME - Aside from keeping up with the house, the laundry, and everyone else's goings on, I've been pretty busy too. I finished getting the garden all planted yesterday. I didn't do starts inside the house this year, just seeds straight in the ground. I did buy some tomato starts, though. So, hopefully everything will actually grow fast enough. I'm really excited about having a garden and not being pregnant this year. I've got huge dreams for what we are going to do with the harvest! This year we planted: tomatoes (3 different kinds), cucumbers (regular and pickling), green beans, lettuce, onions (sweet, red and green), bell peppers, sweet corn, zucchini, jack-o-lantern pumpkins, pie pumpkins, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, peas (regular and sugar snap), carrots and of course we still have our strawberries and raspberries. Oh, and we have a rhubarb plant that we still need to find a place for. That should keep me pretty busy for the summer. More time outside = less chores inside, right?
Aside from garden and household stuff, I've been making soap, reading about soap, and talking about soap like crazy. I taught my sister in law, Jessica how to make soap last month and she loves it as much as I do. So, with a lot of encouragement from our entrepreneur husbands, we decided to start our own little company together. We're both really excited about it. We put together a website so check it out and let us know what you think. It's a work in progress and we're still working on building our inventory. We're also going to sell our soaps on consignment through Austin Kade Academy in Idaho Falls. (Just a side note: if you go to their website and click on videos, they would all be Dave's handiwork. He also helped build their website. I have a very talented hubsand!) Anyway....we'll see where this new adventure takes us. Right now we're just having fun working together and making soap. I would honestly be happy if we sold just enough soap to support our little hobby, but I wouldn't mind it being more either.
Hopefully that catches us up! I promise we have not dropped off the face of the earth, we've just been so busy! It's crazy how life can get in the way of blogging sometimes, right? But, then what would I ever blog about if it didn't?
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Kindergarten Program and Graduation!!!
(I did this post almost a week ago. Her program was actually 2 weeks ago!!! I wanted to put video on, but the darn video wouldn't work, so I waited and waited thinking I could find a magical way of getting it on here. I'm finally giving up. So, here's the post 2 weeks late!)
Can someone please tell me how to stop time....or at least slow it down.....so I can soak in every moment before our kids grow up. Bria had her Kindergarten program/graduation last Tuesday the 18th. I felt like she was so big when she started Kindergarten, but now she is already done. Tomorrow is the last day of school. She has grown and learned so much this year! She is a very good reader and got very good scores on her IRI. I couldn't be a prouder mom!
The Kindergarten program was fun because Bria had so much anticipation. She started coming home a month ago practicing the songs. We would sing them in the car as we drove, while making dinner and pretty much all other times in between! Most of the songs I knew from my own kindergarten days, but Bria was very quick to correct me if I sang it wrong or she learned differently. On the morning of the program, she was all butterflies as she left for school!
I was very grateful to my friend Brittany got there early and saved us a seat right in the front row. And, Bria came in and stood nearly directly in front of us, so we had a great view!!
I've really had bad luck with the camera lately, so when they called Bria up to receive her Kindergarten "diploma" I couldn't get the camera to click. I had the exact same thing happen at Dave's graduation a few days before. And no video because the battery died during the last song. But, I did get a few good pictures before and just after:
And we couldn't forget to take a picture with Bria and her awesome teacher Mrs. Tucker!
We are so proud of our cute and special girl!! Way to go Bria!!
Can someone please tell me how to stop time....or at least slow it down.....so I can soak in every moment before our kids grow up. Bria had her Kindergarten program/graduation last Tuesday the 18th. I felt like she was so big when she started Kindergarten, but now she is already done. Tomorrow is the last day of school. She has grown and learned so much this year! She is a very good reader and got very good scores on her IRI. I couldn't be a prouder mom!
The Kindergarten program was fun because Bria had so much anticipation. She started coming home a month ago practicing the songs. We would sing them in the car as we drove, while making dinner and pretty much all other times in between! Most of the songs I knew from my own kindergarten days, but Bria was very quick to correct me if I sang it wrong or she learned differently. On the morning of the program, she was all butterflies as she left for school!
I was very grateful to my friend Brittany got there early and saved us a seat right in the front row. And, Bria came in and stood nearly directly in front of us, so we had a great view!!
I've really had bad luck with the camera lately, so when they called Bria up to receive her Kindergarten "diploma" I couldn't get the camera to click. I had the exact same thing happen at Dave's graduation a few days before. And no video because the battery died during the last song. But, I did get a few good pictures before and just after:
And we couldn't forget to take a picture with Bria and her awesome teacher Mrs. Tucker!
We are so proud of our cute and special girl!! Way to go Bria!!
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