Busy, Busy July

 Ryan took some time off work the first part of July, which was really nice and we were able to go do some things. We went to Idaho City one of the days and did 4-wheeling, played in the creek, had a picnic, shot the BB Gun, and finished it off with an icecream cone from a little place in Idaho City. It was a great day!

 We also went boating with some friends on Ryan's other day off work. It was fun...hot, but fun!

4th of July

 I really meant to post about the 4th of July a month ago, but July has been BUSY!!! So, let's try to do a little catch up.
We had a fun 4th of July celebrating with our Patriotic shirts (Ryan's idea, and I was blown away when he suggested it,) flooding the grass at Grandma and Grandpa's, dinner, and ending the day by enjoying a firework show in our cul-de-sac.

All the 3 of our kids and the neighbor kids decorated their scooters and bikes for the big celebration. Unfortunately, we didn't make it back home before the neighbors did the cul-de-sac parade. But the kids didn't seem to mind, they all just did a parade over and over anyway.

Boise Cousins

That firework must have been a good one! :)

 Happy Father's Day to one great daddy!!!

 June has been busy with playing outside, riding scooters and bikes, getting a fair share of scraped knees, Ryan fishing with Adam, Mindy trying to keep the kids on a decent schedule (not doing a very good job of that) and we're just getting started! :)

And at the end of the day all of that playing has wore us out!
Oh, how I love the summer!

June

June started out with a bang! On the first day of June was Adam's last day of 2nd grade. He has mixed emotions this day: sad to leave his excellent teacher, but excited to start summer break! He did wonderful in 2nd grade and can't wait to see what 3rd grade brings.
On the second day of June, Adam ran the Capitol Classic race for the third year in a row. This year he had more buddies to run with, which is always great. Before we left, he said to me, "I'm determined to win, or at least finish!" (Last year he and several others fell at the beginning of the race and got a free ambulance ride down to the finish line.) This year he ran the mile in just over 10 minutes!

The racers before we left to go downtown. Jenna can't wait until she's 6 and can participate in the race.

Right after the race...feeling a little tired

During the race...pictures compliments of The Idaho Statesman



Mother's Day

 

I have to say this Mother's Day was probably the best one yet. First of all, I was able to spend time with my mom on Friday and Saturday in Twin Falls. We did some shopping, went out to eat, went to a movie, and had great conversations.
On Saturday, we were able to meet up with my youth at the temple and witnessed them baptize and confirm 147 of my mom's family names. It was also wonderful to do a session with my mom after the youth were done.  What a great couple of days!
Ryan also surprised me with a great Mother's Day gift when I got back from Twin Falls! It was fun to be surprised!
 It never gets old to see my children sing to me in church on Mother's Day. The nice gifts from their Primary class was the icing on the cake.
I love being a mom and grateful for all the moms in my life!

Adam's Baptism

What an exciting experience to have your first child choose to be baptized.

It was a wonderful day full of family, anticipation, and the spirit.

Adam was able to overcome some fears before being baptized. One fear he had was going under the water. So, after a few weeks of swimming lessons, we thought that fear was taken care of until Adam informed us that he thought he could go under the water as long as he wore his goggles. You can imagine his disappointment when we told him he could not wear goggles to be baptized. So, after more practice, he was completely ready to go underwater...without the goggles. 

There was another fear, however, that being the Bishops Interview. That went much better than Adam thought it would and realized that the bishop is a pretty nice guy.

Then, the morning of the baptism, Adam realized how many people he had coming to support him and got a little nervous to be in front of so many people. He was later overjoyed with all the love he was receiving from his friends and family.

We appreciate all the support we had for this special event. The dinner afterwards went well (I'm always a little nervous about how it will turn out. Will there be enough food, where will everyone sit, are you sure there is enough food?) We had enough food! We always do! Thanks to those who brought food and for the good company. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such great people!

Look Who's FIVE!

Jenna decided that she needed to turn 5! YIKES!!! I'm not sure I'm ready for her to be so grown up! We went and registered Jenna for Kindergarten a couple weeks ago and now that she's had a birthday, she's ready to go. (And a little disappointed she has to wait until after summer to start school.)




Here's the birthday girl in her new outfit, on her new scooter, wearing her new horse helmet



Grandma and Grandpa Richards took Jenna to Build-a-Bear for her birthday. She came back with a Monkey named Wink, who is a boy! I say that because she was very adiment that this monkey was indeed a boy! (I think Jenna told me that about 5 times in the first 3 minutes she was back.) She thought it was so great to have Grandma and Grandpa all to herself for a couple of hours.



EIGHT is Great!

 I can't believe Adam is EIGHT! And we all know how great EIGHT can be! He got to have a friend/cousin birthday party. Adam tried to have ONLY boys, but ok'ed having a couple girls there.

Adam's traditional cake decorating: Angry Birds!

Then we get to take treats to school to share with all his classmates. He also got to take charge of a good game of "Heads up 7 up!"

Along with being eight, you get to start scouts! Adam was excited about his first den meeting!

 
To come: Adam's BAPTISM!!!

Easter 2012

I love being a mom! It was so fun to hear the kids' excitement the moment they woke up Easter morning exclaiming that it was indeed "EASTER!"
They set out to find their baskets and seemed pleased with what was inside!

And again, it was impossible to get all 3 kids acting nice for a decent picture before church. Oh well, we'll try again next year.

We love our Easter Egg dying and hunts with our cousins at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Jenna's big week

Jenna had a big week last week! First she learned to ride her bike without training wheels. (It had been a work in progress for about a year.) Then she jumped off the diving board at swimming lessons all by herself and last but not least, she registered for kindergarten.
Can you believe they let these little ones go to school? I have tried to stop her from growing up, but time does not stand still. Jenna is SO EXCITED to start school. Every day she asks me if she is five yet and can go to school.

A birthday...

Ryan had a birthday...a month ago! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RY, I LOVE YOU!!!

Logan was quiet and I should went to find him sooner...usually Logan isn't quiet. When I saw him running through the family room with a marker in hand, I knew he had been up to no good. This is what I found: When I asked him why he wrote on the walls, he said, "It's a surprise for daddy!" I found 7 little surprises on the walls and piano. I took a picture then put him to work with a dry erase marker (LOVE THOSE!) and while he was cleaning up his surprises, he says to this picture, "good-bye guy!" We love getting pictures from the kids, but maybe next time it will be on paper!

No, I guess it's not...

No, I guess Spring isn't here yet, so we'll make the most of it. Jenna was so excited to see snow that she didn't want to go to preschool because she was afraid the snow would melt before she got home to play in it. Luckily, for her, the snow sticked around for a little while so the kids could enjoy it.

Then, we got to go to Grammy and Papa's house to meet baby Rylee. She is so cute!!!! The kids (and myself) coulnd't get enough of her.Big Sister Hailey with Little Sister, Rylee.

And is there anything better than building a snowman with your cousins?