A Glorious Day at the Park

We finally had a beautiful day yesterday (high 70s) - so we loaded up in the car, stopped at the Quick Stop and grabbed an Icy, and headed to the park!

Tim's Birthday/Carnival

I guess I'm not a very good wife, because Tim's birthday was last month and I am just now getting around to posting the pictures. In my defense though, we have been EXTREMELY busy and have only been home a few days at a time before leaving town almost every weekend for the past month. Anyway, better late than never!

Tim's parents and brother just happened to be here on his birthday this year and we invited our friends/family Jake and Tiff and their family to come over for dinner and then to take the kids to the carnival that was in town.

I had to put this first picture in because I think it is only the second gift I have ever gotten Tim that he really likes - the other was an iPod for Christmas 3 years ago. That makes me like 2 for 20 for all of the Christmases and birthdays that we've been together. Not such a great ratio. If you can't tell what it is, it's a TomTom navigation GPS thing. I am now regretting getting it for him, however, because I have to listen to it tell us how to get to the grocery store! What is it with guys and electronics?



Some of his other gifts included an inflatable life vest for fishing and a reclining lounge chair for camping.





I love it when it's someone else's birthday and I get to pick out the cake because I always get a Dairy Queen cake - they're my favorite!



Here's Tim and his "little" brother Chad. If you look carefully, you can see that they are poking each other in the ribs and that is why they both have funny looks on their faces. I don't think they will ever grow out of harassing each other, it just seems to get worse the older they get!



After dinner we went over to the carnival that was in town. It probably wasn't Tim's first choice of what to do on his birthday, but we were leaving town for the weekend and it was the only chance to take the kids, who weren't going to let us get away with not going. I was the only one brave enough to go on the "spinning" rides and the kids weren't quite big enough to go without an adult.




Grandpa and Uncle Chad did go on the bumper cars, but the kids were big enough to do those on their own, so that must have been for their own enjoyment!



The kids had a great time. It takes me back to the Blackfoot Fair and having so much fun going on all the rides. I can't wait until they are big enough to go on the really big rides so Mommy can go with them!

Jace's First T-Ball Game

Jace just had his first t-ball game and I could not be more proud! He played 2nd base in the first inning and raced to get EVERY ball that was hit, occasionally taking out his own teammates in the process. In the second inning he played first base and was the only one on either team to actually catch a ball that was thrown to him. He was so proud of himself his dimples were showing from 20 yards away :) Everyone got two turns to bat and on his second hit he hit it over the infield's heads which was the farthest hit out of either teams. He thought he was pretty awesome...and I did too! Way to go little man!

Here is his little team (with several kids missing).



Waiting for the game to start.





The outfield got a little boring...





The first time he was up to bat, he missed the ball two times before he finally got a little hit...Gee, I wonder why?



The next time he batted, Mommy went up to the plate and made sure he could see and that he was standing correctly. That was the time he hit it so good. I'm not sure if I was supposed to do that, but it worked!



And of course, I can't help but take pictures of my beautiful little princess! :)

Camping Trip #2 - We're Pros!

I am very pleased to announce that our second camping trip of the year was a complete success! Well, almost. We did forget one little tiny detail - the keys to the camp trailer. But that wasn't going to stop us! We just broke in by putting Paityn in through a little tiny window, next year that definitely won't work. I'm sure that the people camped around us were wondering why this nice little family was stealing somone's camp trailer, but the police never showed up so I guess they weren't too concerned.

We learned our lesson last time and took our trailer up on Wednesday night and found a spot, even though we weren't planning on camping until Saturday night. It ended up being a really great spot and the kids had a ton of room to ride their bikes and run around without having to worry about traffic. There were other people in the campground, but they weren't even close enough to be in any of the pictures, it was so great! The kids spent two days exploring, riding bikes, playing frisbee, and practicing their casting. They played so well together - mostly thanks to Paityn who will agree to play whatever Jace wants to.







We found a cave in the lava rocks behind our campsite, and Jace was brave enough to crawl all the way through it. He even had to take the flashlight with him because it was pretty long. My Mommyness (new word) was saying "no way", but he wasn't scared at all and thought he was so cool for being brave enough to do it. Here he is at each opening of the cave.




This creek was just over the little hill behind our trailer and the kids were dying to go across it and explore. We all made it across one time and found some good walking sticks on the other side. Then later, Jace and Tim decided to go back across just so Jace could walk across the log again. I'm not sure how he ended up on Tim's back...




And of course, there were the nightly smores. But camping isn't camping without smores. Paityn prefers to eat hers separately, first the marshmallow (not roasted) then the chocolate, and no gram cracker. Maybe someday she will understand the true value of a sticky, gooey smore - I know I sure do!

One day a year is not enough...

Once a year we officially recognize our moms by sending them a card or a gift or calling them on the phone. This doesn't seem quite adequate to me. Our moms are there EVERY day, maybe not in person, but they're there. They are always there to talk to when you need someone, and most importantly they are inside of us and a part of us because they taught us to be who we are. I don't know how often I will say something and think to myself, "I just sounded exactly like my mother". And most of the time we probably don't even realize it, but most of what we say and do was learned from our mothers. My mom taught me to be strong and independent...and how to cook most of my favorite dishes :) Thanks for everything mom! I love you, everyday.



There are a couple of other "moms" that I want to thank as well. Tim's mom is amazing, and literally the best mother-in-law I could ask for. We have always had a great relationship and I always look forward to spending time with her. She's fun to be with and easy to talk to. Thanks Ann for everything you do for our family, I love you!



I would like to take personal credit for the next one. Janis is now my step-mom, but I've known her for a long time as "the nicest lady I know". Long story short, I felt like she would be perfect for my dad, and the timing worked out just right to where they were both available at the same time. A short time later they were married, wow I am good! ;) Janis is an amazing lady and I am so glad to have her as a mom. Thanks for everything Janis, I love you!




Happy Mother's Day today and everyday!