Memorial Day

This Memorial Day we set out into the great out doors with food and friends for a hike up Table Rock.  For those of you who don't know, Table Rock is a 1.5 mile hike through the sage brush up a mountain to overlook the beautiful city of Boise below.  It was the perfect day - warm but overcast with a slight breeze.  We loaded up the kids and drove to Quarry View Park for a picnic and then began our ascent up the mountain.  It wasn't hard, but I'll admit I was sweating.  There was a total of 8 adults and 15 kids so you can imagine the crown - and unfortunately, Ava and Brycen were the ONLY casualties.  Brycen slipped on some rocks at the top and got a few really bad respberries on his arm.  Then later on our descent, Ava slipped on the trail and gashed her knee open.  Don't worry, I did not include that picture.  :)  

All in all it was a very successful, very enjoyable trip together.

Nana and the kids.

So I finally downloaded the pictures off my camera onto the computer. You'll have to excuse me while I finally blog what's been going on lately and for the last month or so! As I was going through the pictures I came across this one from when Nana and Papa were here in April. I love this sweet picture of Nana and the kids! We love you and miss you guys!

Last Day of School!

YAYYY! School is officially over for us here and we are so excited for summertime! The last week of school is always full of fun and this year, we went to Skate World for the last day. Our school had the whole place to ourselves and we all had a great time with friends and family!

Charlotte is 6 Months!

I can't believe how fast our little miss is growing up! She turned 6 months a couple weeks ago and is getting big fast! At her Dr. appointment she weighed in at 18 lbs. 1 oz. and 27 in. long. I LOVE her super chubby legs and she's just so cute all around. She's just finding that she can blow raspberries and say bababa and she's very smiley with her two-toothed grin. Within the last week or so, she has discovered that rolling over can get her places and get her the toys she wants. She also scoots backwards by arching her back and pushing with her feet and often goes across the whole room this way. She loves eating her food and likes to grab at whatever anyone else is eating too. She is a mama's girl, but loves to hang out and play with Dad (especially when he's playing his Motocross game - she loves to watch!) and she's so spoiled and loved on by her brothers and everyone else! We sure love our sweet little lady! 

 

 

Family Hike

With our crazy spring weather, it's been chilly and rainy lately, but we got a break on Monday with clear skies and a warm sun! Jayson surprised us by coming home early and getting us out on a hike for family night! It was so much fun and needed by all of us. We went on a section of the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park and started off Newberry Rd. and ended up at Kim and Karen's house (Jay got a ride back to the truck). It was about a 3 mile hike and the kids did so awesome! Hopefully we'll be able to go on the trails more often and have a lot more family fun!

Spring Fever... and it's getting HOT!

This spring has taken off with projects at our house!  Drew and I decided that it was time to catch up on a few big projects that need attention around our house.
So here is the list:
- Side Yard Parking
- Garden
- Playgroung Rock
- Front/Back Yard Grass
- Vinyl
- Carpet

We used to have pavers - this is on the side of our house where Drew parks his trailer.

 Drew found a guy - who is AWESOME by the way - who came with his own equipment and dug our the side yard, helped spread the new asphalt, and then compacted it down.  He was truely amazing, and so kind.

 Ava even got in on the action - in her pjs - she wanted to help so bad!

 Looks good!

 Then we used some of the dirt that was removed from the side yard and filled in my new garden spot in the back yard.  I have every intention to plant actual plants in this garden - but so far - it has not happened yet.  I guess it will be a late harvest this year.  :)

 Then we added rock to the the kids playground area - this is so much better than before and the kids love it!

This is our yard.  Yes it is supposed to look like this right now - but soon it will look green and beautiful and without all the ugly grass and weeds and uneven ground.  Our grass has been taken over by yucky grass and so we have decided to kill our lawn and start over.  

 Vinyl - it was old and ugly and... well that is bad enough.  So first Drew cut out an extra section from the carpet to add space in the dining room.

 This is the old, ugly stuff...

 This is the new, beautiful flooring that looks like hardwood - but of course we know it's vinyl.  Such an improvement, don't you think?

 Then is was time to rip out the carpet.  BTW - I have to add that this whole project meant we had to "move out" of our house - really - to get everything off the floor in order to change it!  This was so much work.  But worth it, for sure.

 Gross!  20+ year old carpet is gross!

 10:00 pm and we are ready for the new carpet tomorrow!

 The top one is the old, ugly gray carpet and the bottom is the beautiful, soft new carpet!  

 It looks like a completely new house!  So much better that before.  Now I walk around the house shewing all the kids into the kitchen and dining room with their food and drinks - praying nothing will spoil this new floor!

Whew!  It has been a crazy couple of weeks but I am so happy with the results.

Pretty in Pink

A few weeks ago, Ava came to us and said her vision was "smeary".  We just waved it off and figured she could wait until August when she is due for her eye exam.  Then she became a little more persistent and started talking about it all the time - at least once a day.  So I relented and scheduled an eye exam for her at my office.  (I must say - it is so awesome working for an optometrist!)  She got in right away - and - yep, she needed glasses.  Her prescription is very small, but enough to need a little help for distance.

 And here they are... I think they are pretty cute!  WAY better than my first pair!

This little girl is rockin' the PINK!  What a cutie.  She absolutley loves her glasses and is very concerned about taking care of them.  Thank goodness for that!

Happy Mother's Day

There's a certain wisdom, a deep sensitivity and an indescribable capacity to love... that a woman acquires at the moment she becomes someone's mother. It's a beautiful thing and a miracle to behold. Happy Mother's Day to a wonderful woman who's an extraordinary mother.

To my wonderful mom - who has taught me so much and continues to inspire me today!  Love you!

Rookie of the Year!

Last night Drew and I attended the annual Eagle Fire Dept. Awards Banquet.  The entire department is invited to come together to enjoy good food and company and then participate in an awards ceremony for a few outstanding firefighters in thier group.  Afterwards they have "Casino Night" 'til late with amazing prizes for the top three winners.

We sneaked away for a few hours to enjoy some delicious mexican food and then joined the crowd for the awards.  The head fire chief stood at the front, surrounded by 8-10 beautiful statues and began to praise the efforts of the few selected for outstanding achievements and contributions to the EFD.  One award imparticular was for the "Rookie of the Year" - an award given to one of the newest members of the team - a volunteer.  He said things like, "this award is for someone who is exactly what we are looking for in a firefighter - has the right work ethic - is the kind of guy we want on our team - he is the future of our dept." - etc,etc.  Then he said Drew's name and we both went into shock - especially Drew!  I think he said something like, "Oh, wow?!" and walked to the front of the room to shake hands and accept his award.  I could tell by the look on his face that he didn't know what to think,say,do - and probably wasn't hearing another word that was said.  :)

I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!

To us this means that people are taking notice - that they are aware of what he is doing and that they like what they see - AND they know his name!  All good things.  Congratulations Drew!

Back in the Saddle ;o)..

Well, it's been quite a while since I fired up the motorcycle and frankly I wasn't sure it was ever going to get much more use...until...Friday, Sue and I went out to dinner on a tandem bike date with Dave and Cindy and Doug and Kay Kowallis.  We rode along the Boise Green Belt and had a very nice evening ending with S'mores and a nice fire in Dave's back yard.  Doug and I got to talking and it turns out he's quite a biker - both road and off-road.  He and Kay have put in some long trips across the US and Canada in recent years on their Harley.  So... Doug says "Let's go up into the Owyhee mountains tomorrow...  I couldn't resist!
There are hundreds of miles and OHV trails everywhere!!  We started near Murphy and put in about 48 miles going up into Silver City - an old mining town from the 1800's.  What a fun trip!!
Today, my body is trying to cash the checks I wrote yesterday - but all together I feel pretty good.
 Just a few pics of the trip...  fun fun fun...