June so far.....

i know! i know! i haven't posted in weeks....and i am too tired to write anything witty..so here are the reasons to my blogging hiatus!

We got a brand new beautiful piano! Here is my dad after un-crating it...tuning it to perfect pitch with the help of the boys:

We got Jack all to ourselves while his mom and dad went Halibut fishing with grand-dad....this is the view of him for most of his time with us: in the highchair, ready to eat!

Here we are at the Birds of Prey! We were given a family pass for Isaacs birthday from auntie laura and uncle mike et al!

Proud nona...

She seemed pretty chill this weekend...even though she was the main care-giver for Jack!

Little ones turned 5!

Other little ones practiced their favorite past-time:

Party Time

Group shot of all Isaacs favorite peeps:

Auntie Carrie surprised Isaac with his very own Yoda Pinata!!

Here he is seeing it for the first time! SO AWESOME:

First Wack!

No candy here! Just toys and sparkles!

Star Wars Cake..these were his favorites that he wanted on display!

the 3 brave cousins.....

Just a favorite shot of my youngest with his favorite toy (of last week...he has now moved onto a tube of lip balm from the dentist he won't let go of!)

Some people went fishing:

All of them caught something great!

Dad with his 50 pounder! He could barely lift it!!

And lastly....lots of visits with friends:

good friends......

Laura came for her first sleepover with Oscar to the lake! We are aiming now to make it a tradition!

Andrew and Sarah and new baby Emily

Andrew introducing me to my first cup of coffee! (i just wanted a sip! hence the little cup--don't be fooled..its not expresso!)

Phew....and there we are: guilt from no blogging over!! It's been busy, it's been fun, it's sometimes been stressful, but we are very blessed! Here is to a great 2nd half of June!

To remember......

24 degrees

Good friend came for a visit

Lawn is cut, house is clean

Lunch was served at camp after a fun time at the beach

Quading home after lunch

Elliot up front holding his bubbles

Isaac on back holding onto my waist, leaning his head against my back

Sun on my face

and then isaac says 'i just wiped a booger on your shirt and its gross'

ah.......summer

Becoming an Outdoor Woman 2009

This year, BOW was in Winfield and unlike last year, carrie wasn't 7 months pregant, so she could come...and mom and i had such a good time last year that we invited friends!

We did alot of this: This is Susan...sister to my dads second cousin...we still aren't sure what that makes her, but she's family!

Here i am with my first date with a chainsaw.....i was treated quite nice and would consider a second date.....

Mama trying her hand at it!

Baby Jack came for a visit to see mommy.....

Self shots:

Carrie and i learning to Flyfish

Skinning a beaver that Pete had taken out of his freezer for the class....he was one crazy dude. He taught my Bear and Cougar awareness class (whoa the stories he told!) as well as my Wilderness Survival class......learned alot, it was a great couple classes. I took those 2 as well as Flyfishing and Chainsaw.

Here is Carrie watching them skin the beaver......picture is worth a thousand words hey?

My bud......

My Fam....

Chillin by the fire.......note my moms well manicured toes!!

The classic 'end of retreat' picture

It was a nice weekend with friends and family. So awesome that carrie could be there....i feel like i don't see her much, so its always great to get paired up again. Before bed on sat, we all had to go to the bathroom (carrie, cristin and i shared a room)...so cristin headed out to trek up all the stairs to the bathroom, and carrie and i look at eachother, grab some tissue and cop a squat outside the door down the hill......we were both back in bed, giggling, and all cozy before our bunk mate made it back....ah..my sis....love it....we had lots of laughs.

I am glad to be home--i am sick with a cold (thanks to airplane recirculated air, and not enough fruit, veggies and water through the weekend)...but it was quite fun!

Olivia turns 5

Isaacs oldest friend turns 5 today--but her party was yesturday! Olivia and Isaac have been little pals since birth....they are quite sweet together. However, i missed out getting a shot of them together yesturday because isaac was busy chasing with the other little guys and Olivia was busy with her girlfriends...... Elliot thought Spiderman was pretty cool (side note: Isaac still has the paint on today!)

Elliot trying not to look guilty as he was caught trying to grab a beer from the cooler (seriously! ;-)

Spiderman and KISS, i mean, Batman.

Spidey and mom

Elliot and his new little monkey that he helped to stuff.......

Ok--i am being dragged off by my 2 year old...off to play! Enjoy the pics!!

What 35 can look like......

I think that vision takes perseverence.

I think that passion is a virtue i will always admire.

And i am married to a man who holds passion and perseverence tightly in his grip on a daily basis.
He is a a dad who comes home after a long day at work and gets right down and plays with his boys because he knows they have been waiting all day to see him.....though he would rather soak in a hot bath by himself and watch the news.

He is a guy (i am hoping) who would rather eat a giant Smartie chocolate chip cookie made with love for his birthday by his kids hands than a regular old birthday cake.

"D" for Daddy

To a guy who loves camp fiercely and believes in the power that camp can have on the life of a child.

To a guy who can still kick back and be amazed at small things.

To a guy who loves his family more than anything in the world and works harder than anyone i know to support them.

When he would rather be kicking back and relaxing with his family after a long day at work, he heads over to the house that needs renovating so it can be finished.

To a man who loves his best friend

To the guy who knows how to play hard.....too hard sometimes!

To the little guy who was going to grow......

.....into this amazing man!And to the man who has a love for a big God who has allowed us to live here:

Happy 35th birthday to the love of my life........your life makes a difference and there is no other place i would rather be than here with you.

POTTY TIME?!

See this sweet little face? He did something the other day that made me want to document it so that i would never forget...... We were in walmart returning a few things, including a little potty that was NOT working for us (didn't have the front cup that is such a necessity with little boys!)....anyways, I was standing in line with both boys (a circus in itself!)--but i was off in my own little world, when isaac starts trying to get my attention....but unfortunatly, he was sounding like white noise initially...until the panic in his voice got my attention as he is pointing towards elliot.....

Elliot had dropped in pants around his ankles and was trying to take a pee in the potty we were currently in line to return!! When i whisked him up, he looked at me like 'what???! Isn't that what that is for??? You are giving me SUCH mixed messages lady'