Fun in Island Park

In the middle of July (2009), we took a short little family vacation and spent two days up in Island Park. Due to connections w/ a great friend, we had free lodging and enjoyed some of the local sights. After returning home, we asked the kids what their favorite part of the "trip" was and it was unanimous -- "The see-saw that Dad built!" Goes to show who needs money to have fun...only logs and flowers and such needed!

Here's a creative homemade hat rack...


A family of ducks enjoying an afternoon swim.




The kids at Big Springs





Dad is great...look at the seesaw he put together for us!




Of course, the trip back home wouldn't be complete without a stop at Big Jud's. The hamburger really is the size of an entire dinner plate... fed our whole family!

Whitney's Reward

So Marc promised the kids that once they memorized all 13 Articles of Faith, he would make them a HUGE lollipop, carrying on a tradition from his grandma. Well, Whitney accomplished her goal and was excited to receive her very own "made-by-dad" giant lollipop. Here she is with her prized possession.
And what little sibling wouldn't want a piece of that yummy treat? Carter thinks if he does his special smile, Whitney will instantly share!

Happy 4th of July!

Before the holiday we had gone to spend time w/ family in June. This is Carter receiving some love from a cousin that is 2 years older than him. :) Just a fun picture!




We stayed here in town for the Independence Day celebrations for the first time since we moved here 3 years ago! We enjoyed a fun breakfast with our ward family, then made a dash over to the parade, followed by a leisurely afternoon, and an attempted bbq with some families in the neighborhood. I say attempted as you'll see from the pictures that mother nature had other plans. However, by the time it was dark, the weather cleared and there was time for awesome fireworks.

Always nice to see folks from "home"!






The kids were always at the ready for any and all candy that might come their way.







Here is the storm that blew in that early evening. It lasted for about 2 hours from start to finish and included all the cool stuff...lightning, thunder, hail, wind, and water!































The kids enjoying the result of the storm and then a few hours later, Bryce and Carter ready to watch fireworks outside...

Back to Life...Back to Reality...I mean Technology

Okay, so it's no surprise that I have once again been a slacker in the record keeping department. Now that it has been brought to my attention (thanks Heather & Elizabeth) more than once, I suppose there are others out there who may, on occasion, enjoy reading about the random day(s) in the life of our humble family. Not to mention I need to document at least a few activities from time to time so that my kids will know that we tried to be fun, cool parents and so they can have proof for their children one day that they too were children... etc, etc.

A little patience, please, as this technology stuff, though not difficult, is still a learning process (I know, if I kept up the blog on a regular basis, it would not be such a slow process...see, I know what you're thinking). So here goes a few posts to update everyone on the past few months. ENJOY!