Good Times

We headed to Lava Hot Springs for the 4th. We've kind of made it a new family tradition as this was the third year in a row we have gone. We love the small, little town nestled in the mountains. The river, that runs through town, is beautiful and the Olympic size swim pool is a lot of fun. My kids love it because all they want to do in the summer is swim, swim, swim! We enjoyed staying with our little family in the camp trailer for a few nights, floating the river with friends, and meeting up with the rest of the fam for, swimming, barbecuing and fireworks on Friday. As Robert and I packed to go last week, I was feeling strange. It just seemed so surreal that we are the parents of this little family. I feel too inadequate to be the adult planning and packing and doing everything for these three, young kids. It is overwhelming sometimes the responsibility we have as parents. But as hard as it is, that responsibility has made me a better person and brought me more joy in my life than anything else.

Here's some highlights from our weekend.....


Thanks Mikkel for bringing the fire-works. THEY were the highlight of my kid's night!

What is it kids find so fascinating about the stink bomb?!
Mikkel in action.....
Enthusiastic spectators (Check out Payton's shoes.That girl's always wearing grandma's party pumps!)
I really wanted to steal, little Drew. It was hard for me to give him up and let Payton hold him!

It was so great to visit with Gary, Sarah and their new little man, Drew. They are living in Boston and we hadn't seen them in years. Gary and Robert went to HS together, played football at ISU together, and both worked Pharmaceuticals at the same time. Gary was Robert's best man in our wedding. So, as you can see, they go way back! We wish there was a city big enough in Idaho to draw them closer because they are some of the coolest people we know, and we sure miss them.

Grill Master, thanks for the good grub dad!

The river walk

Good thing they allow horses on these trails.

Here's me with Les, Heather, and Britt. We are four of the seven girls who were best friends in HS. Yes, seven girls doing everything together. No, there was no fighting. It is hard to believe, but we were all so close. There was never a dull moment. We are now all spread out over the country. Only me and Britt still live in Idaho. I miss these girls! But when we get together it is like no time has passed. I can't believe how lucky I was in HS to have such an amazing group of friends. Boy do I love and miss you guys! Wish you had been here, Trish, Megan and Molly!

We had the best time floating the river. You have to see more pics. of this in the slide show. Robert took some great ones of Alex falling out of his tube!

Harlee and Payton, bosom cousins.

There's nothing like playing in the pool with grandpa!
Yeah! It's Aunt Mikkel! The craziest girl we know.
Here's Avery doing her little, fancy jump. This pic. doesn't do it justice. Ya had to be there.

See that girl all alone on the first platform?
Yes, that's Payton. She just walked up there and jumped off that thing all by herself!
Whew! That girl is brave.
But not as brave as my brother, Stan. He walked up to the top platform and threw a gainer. There's better pics. of his frightful jump in the slide show too!
Payton can still look fabulous...
play baby dolls, and boss her brother around.
These two can ride a stick horse just about anywhere! Movie night in the trailer.

Nice set-up, Robert!

The rest of the pics

Payton and The Real Girl

Robert and I stayed up late Monday night watching Lars and The Real Girl. It is about a guy who treats his pre-ordered, plastic doll like his real girlfriend. Everyone goes along with him and treats her like a person too. Robert and I were cracking up at how funny it looked to see people treat a doll like a real, live person. It seemed absurd! The next night the kids were swimming in the pool. Payton immediately wanted me to bring her her baby doll. It dawned on me....Payton treats her baby dolls like real people too! She is obsessed with her baby dolls. She wraps them in blankets, carries them around, sleeps with them, takes them with her when we go to the store, cries when cleaning up the bonus room I carelessly toss them head first into the toy box, etc. When the kids were swimming they were giving the baby doll swim lessons, rides on their backs, jumps into the pool, and treating her like a real, live baby. I don't know why, but it was cracking me up! Some of the time, the baby doll really looked like a real person. It was eerie and silly at the same time. I was busting up about the pics. Robert looked at me and said, "Really, it isn't that funny!" I thought so! See for yourself! If you get a chuckle or even a little smile, I win!

Hair Today

Alright, so I am terrible at doing my girl's hair. It is so pathetic that parting their hair is a difficult task for me, no kidding! Angie B. gave me this great site that has a lot of fun ideas for doing your girl's hair. The best thing is....most of them are easy. If I can do them, anyone can! Check out the site below. Happy hair combing!

http://shedoeshair.blogspot.com/

Patience

I read something on my friend's blog that really hit me. The words were so well written and absolutely true. After reading it, I sat and thought about my life and how many missed opportunities, disappointments, failed plans, broken relationships, bad decisions, etc. that could have been avoided had I been patient. Too many times in my life I have wanted things to be perfect and when they were not, I wanted to scream, run, end things, give up, start new. How foolish that is. The most important things in life do not come to us quickly. Like the old saying says,"Good things take time." I notice when I am patient with my husband, my kids, my job, my friends, my family members, I feel, like the article says, less stressed and more joyful. I vow to be more patient with all that life unravels in front of me, and I will be crossing my fingers that the world will be patient with me!

I would encourage you to read the article below. I bet you too will feel the world would be a better place if we would all strive to be more patient!



Willingness to Wait
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell
A young woman decided to plant a flower bed, determined to make it lush and overflowing. She planted numerous seedlings side by side until the bed was full. But instead of thriving, her garden died. If she had given her seedlings room to grow at their own rate, eventually they would have filled her garden with glorious flowers. But because she was not willing to wait for her plants, she lost their potential.
How often we try to rush our own growth—and the growth of those around us—instead of letting time bring the desired results. Too quickly we get discouraged, forgetting to take the long view, forgetting that all of us are works in progress. As our own worst critics, we sometimes give up on ourselves just as we reach the brink of progress.
Patience is essential if we are to enjoy the best life has to offer: happy marriages, fulfilling careers, developed talents, peace and contentment. Without patience, we rip open the bud, forever robbed of a blooming flower. Without patience, we fail to forgive and deny ourselves loving relationships. Without patience, we cannot conquer our own weaknesses and wind up avoiding anything we can’t do easily or quickly.
Patience is the loving restraint with which we watch a child try a new task—and try again. Patience with others is a form of charity, a loving willingness to wait. When we show faith that improvement will come, children and loved ones blossom with hope. Patience is giving power to others, letting them grow at their own pace.
When we choose to hold back a hasty judgment or pause before reacting, we step into a calmer sphere of peace and contentment. Our stress levels drop; our joy levels rise. And everyone around us feels the warmth of acceptance that allows growth to occur.
All beautiful gardens began as patches of soil. They became glorious only because someone was willing to wait.

Whirlwind Weekend

It's been a fun few days. We went to Roaring Springs, participated in the Main St. Mile, watched Kalli play softball, went to a Boise Burn game, and Avery gave her first talk in church. Whew!

Friday night Payton took 10th place beating out 353 kids in the Kid's Half Mile run. We were pretty excited for her! I was conned into running a team challenge for a friend who was signed up but injured. Boy was I nervous to run a fast mile. I have never done that before. I was just happy I finished without puking and got a lot of cool, free stuff!

Kalli's team lost out today, but we had fun watching her. We didn't get to see all her games, but the ones we did see, Kalli was awesome. She is a great catcher and had some power house hits.

Karrie and Aaron drove up from IF to see her play too, so we were lucky to have them stay. We were glad they came and enjoyed hanging out with them, Jared and Toni!

The Christensen's invited us to a Burn game, so we went to our first Arena Football game. The kids had a ball cheering for the team and dancing to the loud music.

Avery gave her talk and actually did it! I thought for sure she wouldn't. I just whispered in her ear and she repeated after me in the microphone. She kept looking down, but Robert was in the hallway watching, so I told her, "Look at dad." So she looked up and finished her talk nicely, renewing my faith that small miracles do happen!

Here's some pics. of Keion's last night in Idaho and our busy, fun, whirlwind of a weekend!

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Peterson clan.....

Kylan, Danette, and Keion came to Idaho to visit for 10 days. They had a graduation barbecue last week in Twin Falls for Kylan. He graduated from Medical school and now has five years of Residency in Michigan. We don't get to see them nearly as much as we would like. So, we were happy that they came and stayed with us for a few days before they flew back home. I can't tell you how nice it was to have them here. My kids adore Keion and had fun playing with him. He is such a well mannered, good kid. The night before they left, Payton cried because she didn't want Keion to go. She woke up super early the next day (on her own at 5:30 a.m.) and rode with her dad to take them to the airport. She cried the next night too, saying she missed them.

I missed them too. Danette mowed our lawn, cleaned my kitchen, did my girl's hair, and helped me learn new things to do on my blog. We even put Kylan's Dr. skills to work while he was here. He looked at Avery's hurt arm (diagnosis, everything's fine, just a lot of drama from that child!) He used his tool (I don't know the technical term for it) to look in Owen's ear for an infection. The little guy has been very fussy and not sleeping, so we thought he might have an ear infection. So, Petersons you were a delight to have stay. Please come back again soon! We love you guys!

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"I'm Four Now Mom!"

We Love You, Avery J!!!!!

Avery turned four! It is hard to believe my baby girl is getting so big. She has been such a joy to our family. Sure, she has been challenging too (whew!), but with Avery there is never a dull moment. She is the most imaginative kid. She had an imaginary boyfriend, Shane. They were going to get married but eventually broke up. For a period of time she thought she was a dog. She called herself, Max. No kidding, she would crawl around on all fours, bark, and lick you when you came to our door. Her latest adventure is being a cowgirl. If I had known she would have loved her stick horse so much, I would have written Santa and said, "No, gifts but the stick horse, please!" You wouldn't believe the quickness and skill she has maneuvering that stick horse around the house. The greatest is that she now thinks she is a barrel racer. My friend, Tessa made Avery her own set of barrels for her birthday....ingenius! Now she practices her racing in the backyard for hours.

You know when you have your first kid you just assume the others will be just like them? Well, Avery is the polar opposite of her big sister, Payton. I used to wonder why she was so different, but now I am embracing those differences. Payton is reading books like Junie B. Jones, and I realize, hey, Avery isn't so different than Junie! There are wild, crazy, silly, never a dull moment kids out there, and we were blessed with one.

Thanks Avery for being my snuggle bunny. Thanks for constantly entertaining us and making us laugh out loud! Thanks for being such a good big sister to your brother, Owen. Thanks for being a great swimmer, barrel racer, big wheel rider, painter, rock out dancer, and serious animal lover. You are a star in our eyes!



Because she loves dogs, we decided to have a puppy dog party for her. When the kids came to the door we put dog ears on them, painted their little faces, and gave them a dog collar made of ribbon. They had to come up with their own dog name and we wrote it on the ribbon collar. The games were a puppy obstacle course and barking and howling contest. The kids were so cute acting like puppies. A lot of them really got into it and were in character the entire party. We fed them peanut butter sandwiches shaped like a puppy and dog bone. We laughed as they tried to eat their food like a dog. Robert made a pink dog bone birthday cake that turned out nice. Avery had fun with her friends and especially acting like a dog! Thanks family and friends for all the nice gifts and for coming and celebrating Avery's fourth with us!

Summer

Going through McDonald's drive through at 11:00 p.m., spending the day at Roaring Springs, company almost every weekend, late nights by the fire-pit, kids wearing swimsuits all day, sleeping in, not getting dressed until noon................................Summer's here...............It's official!

Owen's first buzz cut!

Oh, no you didn't just shave my baby boy's head!


Oh, yes you did!