Second Post of the Year!

Well it's a good thing I didn't make a New Year's resolution to post at least once a month. I thought about it, but knew better. Instead of listing all the reasons we've been MIA, I'll just say we are back and doing just great enjoying the very best part of Idaho...the SUMMER!! Spending lots of time at our favorite summer spot. And yes, Ben is sporting a mohawk for the summer. Maybe if we allow some extreme behavior now he won't feel the need for a nose ring later. On to other main events. I just became an Aunt for the first time and the kids now have a cousin! This is baby Warren and he is now three months old. We absolutely adore him, and it's the cutest when Maggie says in her little voice, "my first baby cousin" and "he's so tiny."

Also, Seth just competed in his first grilling competition. He did very well and I was very proud of him. He placed second so that was exciting. He looks forward to getting involved in other competitions in the area.

AND...last but not least, baby #3 is on the way! The little one should be arriving right around Thanksgiving. I certainly hope my next post won't be when the baby arrives...I'm not making any promises:)

Birthday Boy!

Ben just turned 5 and he had his first friend party which turned out great and everyone had lots of fun. It was a dinosaur party, but since I didn't feel like making a dinosaur cake, I just went with a volcano with dinosaur toys around it. It was pretty easy and the boys had a fun time playing with it after we cut it up.

The typical birthday party games. Ben didn't quite grasp the idea of the spoon relay race, I don't think he meant to cheat by holding on to the egg instead of the spoon. Oh well, no one else noticed:)

Aunt Miranda and Aunt Melissa were there too!

Blowing out the candles.

Everyone got to make their own volcano in their cup with Sprite and a package of Pop Rocks. It was really tasty too!

We decided to make the pinata since a dinosaur egg shape was pretty easy with a balloon form. It was the first time I had ever done any type of paper mache and it wasn't too bad. I'm glad I started it early and did one layer each night for about four nights. Decorating it took the longest! Next time the crepe paper will go on like post-it notes. Oh well, it was a good learning experience.

I hope you had a wonderful Birthday Ben! We LOVE you!!!

Happy Halloween

We had a very nice Halloween with very nice weather and a good amount of Trick-or-Treating.

Dad carved our pumpkins as usual. In case you're not a Simpson's fan, the big one is a regular occurring alien on the show.

And a cute Curious George for the kids.

Ben doing his T-Rex roar. He was a great T-Rex!

Aunt Melissa came too. Silly clown.

Maggie enjoying her candy. We had the hardest time restricting her candy limit. She probably would have eaten it all if we had let her. She also said the cutest thing while Trick-or-Treating. At one house Darth Vader was giving out candy and sure enough Maggie let out a huge cry as soon as he opened the door. Luckily Seth got her to settle down pretty quickly and Darth Vader gave her some candy. She said "Thank You Darth Vader" We thought it was pretty cute.

They're BaAack...

Yay! Aunt Melissa and Uncle Jeff are back up for school. Which means free babysitting and a large crowd for Sunday dinner. We spent a BEAUTIFUL Friday evening at the farmer's market eating some amazing corn on the cob, cotton candy, and fudge. Can't get any better than that.

Since it's been a while since I've posted I thought I'd do a quick up date. On Labor day we took a nice drive up to Mesa Falls for a little walk and a picnic. The best part of the trip was that saw our old Bishop and his wife. What a fun surprise!!

There was a little museum and it was funny seeing Ben afraid of the dead bear on the wall.

He liked the moose.

Then last Saturday some of our good friends were taking their train out for rides. It's the cutest little train that has been in there family for years. Seth took the kids while I was out running a group yard sale for my FCCLA girls, which turned out to be a great success!!

Just a random picture of the kids playing in the dryer.

And another random picture of the first batch of many pints of tomato sauce we will be canning this month. We made a few mistakes with our very first garden, but one mistake turned out pretty awesome.

We planted exactly 18 tomato plants because I got them for really cheap at the high school horticulture sale.

I thought why not, having no idea we would end up with two hundred plus tomatoes. So if you need some tomatoes come on over!

Maggie Turns Two!

Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!! I was so happy Maggie has been loving puppy dogs because I really wanted to make a puppy dog cake. It was so fun and super easy! Plus, who wouldn't want to eat a twinkie with frosting all over it?

Aunt Sam and Uncle Barry came to the party. Thanks for the super cute puppy dog and backpack! I LOVE how it looks so much like her cake, that was too perfect!

Ben helped blow out the candles. What are big brothers for?

Maggie got the eat his nose, and her favorite part was the junior mint nose, so she got to eat the eyes too. It's her birthday, she gets what she wants.

Opening presents...

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the doll house!

Maggie loves her new Bath Time Baby, thanks Grandma Stephenson!

I also had to post a pic of my new haircut! Shortest ever and I'm so glad I did it. It was time for a change, thanks Meliss for holding my hand.

Back Together & the Tulsa Zoo

Seth and I drove down to Oklahoma to pick up the kids from Grandpa and Grandma's house. They all had a wonderful month together, and now it was time to get back home. The drive back with a four and almost two year old was not as bad as I was expecting. I sat in the back between them for most of the way which kept the peace. I think I played "This Little Piggie" with Maggie about 85 times, but it kept the screaming down so it was well worth it.

Before we left Oklahoma we made a quick trip to the Tulsa Zoo. Thanks Grandma for the tickets! Ben is petting a bearded dragon after we learned about reptiles.

This is Oscar. He was around when Seth was a little kid.

We found Grandma's title.

Maggie loved the petting zoo. I think she was laughing at the goat.

They also loved the carousel, what a surprise that Ben picked the elephant:)

And the zoo trip couldn't be complete without riding the train.

Also, before we left OK, a little bird had built a nest in one of my mom's hanging planters on our front porch. We were so lucky to see one of the birds hatch the day before we left. This picture does not do it justice, it was the tiniest most amazing thing ever.

And now we are enjoying the amazing Idaho summer weather and eating fresh peas and carrots from the garden.

Oklahoma Friends, No Kids, the Seattle Coast, and a 10K

This month we had a great trip with our friends from back home. Thank you all for making it happen and a BIG thanks to Grandma for watching the munchkins. We started out with a very nice and relaxing kayaking trip around the San Juan Islands/Annacortes. Our tour guide let this nice little crab walk all over his hands. We did not see any whales, but we did see a really cute seal pop his head out of the water a couple of times.

Basking in the sun... the weather was amazing that day, it didn't even rain.

The views were beautiful. I think this is the highest point on Annacortes.

The girls.

The boys.

On our last day we drove up to Bellingham for the 10K trail run. It was crazy and a lot of fun. I wish I had a picture of inside those trees. We were on narrow paths winding up and down, over tree roots, small creaks and muddy paths. One of the runners described it like it was the Congo.

After the race, we were so happy it was all done and everyone completed the whole race in the allotted time!

We also ate some great seafood. I was so excited to try my first scallops. They were everything and more I dreamed they would be. We will definitely be doing more couples trips in the future.