If at First You Don't Succeed...

We packed up and went camping again this last weekend. I think this has been the busiest summer I have ever had, it seems like every single weekend we have something to do. It has been a lot of fun, but it is making the summer go by WAY too fast!

Once again we were able to find a great spot that was far from other campers so the kids could be free to run around and play wherever they wanted to. We took their bikes and I think Jace spent 90% of his time riding his. Poor Paityn can't ride without training wheels yet and hers won't go on uneven ground, so she spent most of her time cheering on her brother. It was so nice to be able to just sit around and relax and still be able to watch the kids at the same time.

And of course, boys being boys, Jace and Tim found a little trail that Jace labeled a "racetrack" and he literally spent hours trying to make it down one side and back up the other without stopping. There were a few crashes and several tears shed, more out of frustration than anything, but with his mommy telling him not to give up until he defeated it, he finally did it! He was so proud of himself, and that it the greatest thing to see. Once he had confidence that he could do it he did it several more times, although not in a row, but he never gave up.

Most of his attempts ended up similar to this first video, although in this one his chain came off. Most of the time he was able to get really close to the top, just not quite over.

Splish Splash

Yesterday we went to Boise and went swimming with Tiff and her kids and some other friends. The kids had a great time in the kiddy pool and Tiffany and I spent hours working on our tans (at the edge of the pool, don't worry) and trying to keep track of 6 kids at the same time. I told her we needed to tie them all together with a long rope so they could only get a little way away from each other. I didn't take any pictures of them playing in the water because there was so much splashing going on and I was afraid of my phone getting wet.

Motorcycle Mania

Jace got a motorcycle a few weeks ago and Grandma Ann told him that if he brought it with him when he came up, he could have a "Motorcyle Party" with one of the boys that goes to her daycare. Tim and I purchased some property with an old house earlier this spring and it has almost 20 acres so there is plenty of room to ride. So on Saturday we loaded up and headed out there (just outside of Priest River). When we got out there, we realized that the weeds/grass had grown significantly since we were last there, so we had to use the riding mower to make a "track" for the boys to ride on. That was okay for a little while, then they decided it was fun to cut across through the grass. They rode for HOURS and had a great time. One of the times that they took a short break, Jace said, "Can we have cake now?". I was like, "What cake?". He said, "If you have a party, you have to have a cake.". Oops, I guess we forgot!





Ann didn't want Paityn to feel left out, so she let her invite one of the little girls from daycare to come play while the boys rode. They were really cute playing dollies together, Paityn doesn't get to do that very often. She spends most of her time playing Transformers with Jace.

Aunt Kristin made them these cute headbands from wildflowers in our backyard.

Fourth of July "Parade"

This year we spent the 4th with Tim's family in northern Idaho. Tim's mom runs a daycare out of their house and one of their "traditions" is to have a bike parade on the 4th of July. All of the kids bring their bikes and things to decorate them with and they wear their patriotic clothing and have their faces painted and fingernails colored. I couldn't believe how excited they all were, even the older ones. It's really cute because they aren't really parading for anyone other than themselves, but they think it is so awesome, and Ann even gets them candy to throw just in case their happens to be someone to throw it to. Their parade route consists of going up to the elementary school, riding around it, and going back home.

The weather was not great - drizzly and in the high 50s, so I had to put Paityn's red, white and blue outfit on over a sweatshirt. It looks pretty funny, but at least she was warm.