Scooters and Swings

If you have read my blog for any amount of time you know that we have awesome neighbors who are our family here in Idaho. Our kids have developed strong friendships that can sometimes mimic sibling relationships. It is no more evident than in how Mauryn {age 3 1/2}and their Cooper {age 2 1/2} get along. These two beg to play with each other but are very competitive with each other. Can you say strong personalities... times two!

The other day Cooper decided to hop on a scooter and cruise up and down the sidewalk.

Up until that day Mauryn had showed no interest in using a scooter. Even when her siblings would ride their scooters she would just follow along on her bike. She did not want to be outdone by Cooper, so Mauryn went to the garage, got out a scooter, and tried to keep up with Coop.

As much as these two compete with each other, they also have their very sweet moments of loving each other and being the best of friends. After their morning of racing on scooters, they spent part of the afternoon swinging side by side their laughter carrying across the yard.

As frustrating as their play time can be with the clashing of their competitive strong willed natures, there are moments like these that stick in my memory and hopefully theirs as well.

4th of July

Each year on the Sunday closest to the Fourth of July our church has a patriotic church service and then a picnic after church. This year since the Fourth of July fell on a Sunday, that special service and picnic were held on the Fourth of July.

Over the past few years it has been so hot that we would eat and head home for the air conditioning. This year the weather was gorgeous! I think our high was upper 70's or low 80's. It was so nice to be able to sit, relax, visit, and enjoy the sunshine into the afternoon.

Our friends John and Kim and their boys were back in Idaho visiting family. John's sister was gracious enough to open up her home for a BBQ. Once we returned from the church picnic and had a short rest/nap time we headed out of town. The kids had a great time playing outside and they really wore themselves out! Of course the highlight of the evening was fireworks. The kids enjoyed throwing the pop rocks and playing with the sparklers. The big boys really enjoyed putting on a great fireworks show for all of us.

It was a great way to spend our Fourth of July!

How did you spend your Fourth?

{almost} wordless wednesday: because it's my birthday

i am indulging my two favorite things:

* sippin' a fountain soda and

* vanilla ice cream mixed with fresh baked chocolate chip cookies... yum!

i will probably feel sick later tonight or tomorrow but it is so worth it :o)

my baby thought we should do some self portraits since it was my birthday - she put on lip gloss and her "fancy" sundress just for me

"because its your birfday mama i am taking a pichure of me"

my baby reminded me, and anyone we came in contact with today that it was my "birfday" it was so fun to see her so excited to celebrate although she is a tiny bit upset i didn't make a cake with pretty pink "sfrinkles" :o)

Maycation

Yes it is July and the title for my post is maycation because i am that far behind!!

The kids and I had been looking forward to maycation {also known as "i don't care" cation and carb cation} since we left bass lake last year.

We loaded up the car early one morning and started the 12 hour drive to California to spend a week here

with Denise Jones, Sarah Markley, and their families {you can read their posts about maycation here, here, and here that were posted you know in may.}

Our first morning was a little chilly so to pass the time before we made our way to the beach, the girls decided to put on a fashion show for their American Girl dolls. It was very entertaining and the judges {michael and denise jones} were quite tough!

One of the highlights for the kids was swimming/canoeing over the island right off the beach. They loved the freedom of all that space to run and play.

Even though the water was a little bit chilly {only 54 degrees} for swimming, the kids liked to play on the tube or jump off the top of the pontoon.

One of the best things about our week in Bass Lake is watching our kids play and develop their friendships. It is fun to see them find joy in each other and pick up their friendships from where they left off last summer.

One of the highlights for me, was getting to spend quality time with these two wonderful ladies.

{photos courtesy of Michael Jones photography}

On our last day in California, Denise and I packed up the kids and went to Yosemite National Park. I had driven through the park last year on my way to the lake but had not stopped to look or explore. I was excited to have a personal tour guide to show us the highlights.

Our week at the lake was exactly what I needed after our school year ended. It was filled with laughter, joy, relaxation, and the comfort of spending time with friends who are just like family.

I can't wait for next year!

Whirlwind

Our last month has been a whirlwind.

Hence, no posting on the blog.

We finished up school on May 19th. It felt really good to have our school year completed. As soon as school was over we were busy getting ready and packing to head to California.

We had an amazing week in California with the Jones and Markley families. A post is coming full of pictures of our fun week.

We returned from California for a week chocked full of errands and activities. We had enough time to stock up on food, do laundry, get haircuts, fit in a birthday party, and pack again for Minnesota.

The kids and I loaded up the car and started our 23 hour drive to Minnesota to visit family and friends as well as attend the wedding for one of our favorite couples. Our week in MN was crazy busy. Our week came to an end very quickly and the kids and I were back in the car to make the trek home. There is a post coming.... soon.

I am working on getting pictures uploaded and edited, posts written, as well as catching up on stuff around the house, emails, and reading blogs. I am trying to fit some sleep in there as well.

The whirlwind is dying down, I hope. I am ready to catch up and share with you all our great adventures over the past month.

It is all coming in time.

Surprise

We came home yesterday to find these on our doorstep:

landon ran as fast as he could to the door to check out what was waiting: NOODLES

checking to see which one is his

handing out the noodles

reading mauryn's noodle to her

morgan checking out her noodle

landon concentrating on reading his noodle

mauryn always the poser... showing off her noodle

thanks denise and family for the fun surprise. the excitement level went through the roof. see you at the lake on thurdsay ;0)

Just a Reminder

We have had a cold, wet, and windy spring.

It even snowed on Saturday.

At the end of May.

In Idaho.

Strange, strange weather!

We had a nice weekend about a month ago. The sun was shining, it was warm, and we spent the entire weekend outside.

Today, I am trying to warm up and remind myself that summer is on the way... at least I hope so!

waiting to get someone with that squirt gun

playing volleyball with the neighbors across the fence

cooper and mauryn decided to check out the pool

there was just enough water after hauling buckets full, to get her hair wet

relaxing and working on getting a tan :o)

my big girl's shadow {she loves experimenting with the camera}

the love/not so much love relationship between coop and mauryn: he wanted to hit a ball off the tee and she was using it as a microphone. you can see coop is not so happy.

Our weekend would not have been complete without Mauryn giving us a performance. This is my little spitfire in a nutshell... using a tube of sunscreen as her microphone, making up her own song, the drama/expressions on her face, and just giving it all she's got.