Raspberry Days 2008

So for those of you who may not be familiar with the Raspberry Days celebration, it is a little festival that takes place in the beautiful town of Garden City, UT. You would be amazed at the number of tourists you can pack into such a small town. There is a craft fair, parade, fireworks, dances, entertainment, fun at the lake, and of course the famous Raspberry Shakes!!!

THE DREADED DRIVE

So you may wonder if we are going to Raspberry Days what are our children doing in the trunk in the middle of the road on the reservation just outside of Flagstaff, AZ??

Yes, that is a semi trailer blocking both lanes of traffic. Two hours of fun on the pavement stuck in a big line of traffic with no alternate routes. Although the thought of turning around really sounded appealing after the first hour we are glad in hind sight that we waited it out.

BEAUTIFUL BEAR LAKE

With scenery like this awaiting you two hours doesn't seem that terrible. This is the view from the deck at my parents house. As my sister Kerrie would say "God Bless America!!!"

FUN AT THE FAIR Jacob trying to get the ball while being bounced in twelve different directions by the other children in the bouncy house. (don't mind the love birds in the background...gag me!)

Madison all harnessed up awaiting her turn on the trampoline extreme-o. Okay I don't really know what the actual name of the contraption is but they hook your harness to some rubber bands which are attached to poles in the air and a worker grabs you and bounces you way up in the air. You can do flips and such but Madi preferred the stiff as a board approach. I was pretty impressed that she gave is a whirl however.

So after Madison went, Patrick talked me into trying. They get you pretty dang high up. The harness is only slightly violating and I flashed my G's to everyone at the fair and I looked like a complete idiot... but other than that is was pretty fun.

Madison and Porter at the end of the big blow up slide.

FUN AT G-MA and G-PA's HOUSE.

All of the girls helping Grandma bake Halle's birthday cake.

Courtney my sister getting all of the kiddo's ready for a treasure hunt.

Madison and Halle asked Grandma to make them dresses on Sunday afternoon so they could play dress-up (just a note they ask Grandma because they know she is perfectly capable of whipping up a couple of dresses in no time at all. They have a very talented grandma.)

Bedtime stories with Grandpa.

Thanks mom and dad for letting all of us invade you house. I know we are all a little overwhelming all together and appreciate you hospitality and patience.

FUN IN THE SUN AT THE LAKEMadison and Halle. Two sun bathing beauties.

The kids had a blast playing with cousins, chasing the Seagulls, digging in the sand, splashing in the water, taking in the rays and making great memories.

Bet you can't guess.....

Yep, another camping trip!!! I am a little behind in my blogging so this is from a few weeks ago. We headed back up to the mountains to try and beat the heat. Right when we got there my husband lovingly wanted to take me on a quad ride just the two of us and asked if our fellow campers would watch the kids for a few minutes. I should have known something was up because it usually is when he acts a little to anxious to spend some "quality time" together.

This was some of the beautiful scenery we encountered while we were on our little getaway. Breathtaking isn't it? The trees, the wild flowers, the fog in the air, the smell of rain...

Oh right and don't let me forget the sound of screams and splashing as a wave of muddy water come crashing down on your head. I should have known he was up to something...history repeats itself. (And of course this picture was taken after numerous trips through this and many other "puddles")And here is the end result...you should have seen the rest of us. Thank heavens for travel trailers and showers.

This is Madison on the kids quad they just got. She spent many hours circling camp with her good buddy Brad. Notice there is not one of Porter...after his last spill on our previous camping trip the thought of driving is less than appealing.

Oh yes another highlight was the beautiful boat ride with wonderful scenery and fishing and don't let me forget the constant whining and complaining of our children as they beat into our heads how boring it was and that the fish were not biting and I want to go back to camp and where is Brad and yadda ta yadda ta yadda ta. That is until we gave up two hours into our four hour time slot and headed for shore... of course now hearing how much fun it was and how they didn't want to go back to shore they wanted to stay on the boat. Needless to say we went back to camp and Pat needed a nap. I did manage to get a few photos of our fantastic and last boat trip with the kids. (for a while anyway)

This is Jacob terrified, not moving, and obviously not enjoying himself (very unlike him) as we boarded the boat. Could it be the fact that we have drilled into his head how dangerous water is or the life jacket choking him? Either way it didn't take long for him to return to his dare devil little self again climbing around on the boat, holding onto the sides and jumping up and down, leaning over just to the brink of falling in so he could get his finger tips into the water. Ahhh sweet memories.

The scenery around the boat was actually very pretty minus the noise and chaos inside the boat. This was a pretty picture of a Bald Eagle high up in the trees. And had we made it to the end of our four hour time slot like George and Lanette we would have seen it swoop down and catch a fish from the water. Oh well, pretty none the less.

And as always there was plenty of games, fishing, food, chatting, and laughter.

Back to School

Madison's back to school already, it seems like she just got out. Here are some pics of her on her first day as a 1st grader.

Okay when I went through the pictures I realized I got one of her pretty much every step of the way. I hope I am not one of THOSE moms, you know the crazy stalker type who can't let go. I really didn't think I was but there is something about the first day of school where I have a hard time letting go.

On her way out the door. She was sooo excited and just absolutely loves school.

On our way into the school (ya so maybe I am a little of the stalker type but only for the first couple of weeks)

And her she is going through the halls, she looks so small in those big halls but it doesn't seem to bother her as much as me.

At the class room at last (that is her teacher standing behind her, she seems pretty nice.)

And she has arrived, this is her desk. Fortunately her good friend Ethan is in there with her and they got to pick desks next to each other for the first couple of weeks. I am so glad she has good strong boy........friends to protect her. (Thanks Rocko and Ethan) And I think behind that last smile she is saying okay mom it's time for you to leave now. At least she humors me with a smile every time I ask. Love you Madi.

Camping Again

We went camping this past weekend with our good friends George, Lanette, Brad, Nicole, Mike and Brenda. We had a blast playing latter ball, eating good food, fishing, quad riding, camp fires, marshmallows, and visiting. We love to camp and thank heavens we have friends who feel the same. How do you spell dirt? J-A-C-O-B. Man does this kid know how to get dirty!

Just before this picture on the yellow quad, Porter learned his first lesson in quad riding. Never make a sharp turn while giving the quad full gas. He was a little quad shy after his spill but he came around and just said he was too little to ride one by himself right now. I think his pride hurt more than the bruise.

Porter caught a couple of crawdads with dad's help while we were fishing and he even ate them.


Madison spent most of her days lounging in the hammock. She did however get the hang of riding her friend Brad's little quad all by herself, her daddy was quite proud. Especially when she reminded him that he had promised to get her one once we sold the Idaho house.

Porter and I kickin' it in the hammock. Patrick showing off his happy side.

If anyone doesn't know...I love love love to fish, so our friend George and I usually get up early one day and head out for some fishing. We had been fishing for about 3 hours with only one bite that got away before I got it to shore and had determined it just was not our day. But then a man and his family show up next to us and just start reeling in fish after fish after fish and so I asked him what they were using. He came over and rigged up my pole gave me some slip sinkers, treble hooks and this wonderful orange stink stuff and then the fun began. Patrick and the kids showed up just in time for the fun as the fish started to be reeled in one after another. Patrick got into it so much that after his line broke with the last little treble hook on it that he ripped of his shirt, took off his shoes and swam in after is line (which he did retrieve). All in all the count was George-10 Patrick-3 Me-2 and 2 more fish that someone gave us while we were getting skunked earlier. It was a great time and we ate a ton of fish back at camp.

We love the great outdoors.

Madison kind of got the shaft on the whole birthday party thing...considering her birthday was in May and her party was the middle of June. Pretty much everyone we know was out of town so we ended up taking her and the boys into town to the mall to play and shop and eat those enormous slices of cheese pizza (which are her favorite). She got to pick out some Hannah Montanna pj's and we took her to the movies to see Kung Fu Panda. Which will probably be the last movie we see there for a while unless Jacob is not with us.

She wanted a Hannah Montanna cake...so this is what she got. I has better visions in my head but decided last minute to still do the cake. Madison and Porter were great helpers and Madi seemed happy enough.

Make a wish.....

Slip and Slide

One of Madison's presents from her birthday was this slip and slide. So we decided to give it a whirl. I wasn't sure how well it would go over considering the size of the back yard and the fact that it is flat. Madison did great slippin' and slidin'. However if Porter and Jacob invented the slip and slide it would have been called the run...stop...drop to your knees...splash onto your stomach...and army crawl. The name would have been a little longer but the smiles would still be the same.

Wrong way Jacob!!!

Porter and Jacob scooting to the end.

Jacob cheering Madison to the finish line.

Gotta Love Summer Time!!!! (Just not in Arizona!)

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY MADISON

Our sweet little baby girl...

Girls are made of sugar and spice,

Everything sweet, & everything nice,

Girls are ruffles, bonnets, and bows,

Dimpled smiles and dancing toes,

They're tears and giggles, dolls and curls,

That's how it is with little girls.

Six great reasons to love our little girl...

1. She has a smile that will brighten your day.

2. She is a great big sister and loves her family.

3. She is a girl through and through...painted nails, clothes, shoes, you name it.

4. She is very tender hearted.

5. She can't wait to grow up. And tells me all the time, I will do everything for you and daddy today so you don't have to worry about it.

6. She is the best daughter we could have ever asked for and we are thankful everyday that she is such a special part of our family.

WE LOVE YOU MADISON