Wow. I Am a Dork.

I just realized I already posted pictures of our trip to CA. There's some repeats in here. Oh well, I think my kids are so cute, everyone needs to see em twice.

Sorry bout that.

I am done catching up on summer, next posts are what is happening currently, promise!

More hiking

So pretty. We went from hilly grassland to deep dark Black Forest complete with granite canyon walls, and huge rocks in the middle of the path. I seriously felt like we were going to run into a little rock cottage built against the canyon wall with a witch and cauldron or something. It was a good day.

Family Hike and More CA trip.

We took a family hike this summer. You could really tell that our kids had not done anything outdoorsy before. It was pathetic. They were so whiny, and not confident. And the complaining, oy! At first.

But as the trip went on, they were literally singing. Ben was bounding over rocks, and laughing with abandon. Jake was doing his best Man vs. Wild impression, complete with British accent. And Angelice was considerate, concerned for others, and cracking hilarious jokes the whole way. More of the hike in the next post.

Here's a couple more of Lake Almanor:

By the end of the summer, I was trying to think of everything we had done, and I didn't feel like we had enough fun. But, I have enough pictures of the stuff we've done for at least three more posts. We really had a blast this summer, and I am so glad that we live in such a geographically diverse state. It's been such a blast!

Camping and Swimming In CA.

More fun adventures from this summer. This is our nephew Cole and his cute doggie. We went camping at Lake Almanor while out in CA visiting Ted's family.

Ben, Angel, and Katelyn had fun playing around the campground together.

Swimming in Aunt Shauna's pool. Jake perfected the cannonball.

I am actually quite impressed we got Ben into the pool. He has previously been very nervous about the water, ever since he almost floated away in Grimes creek. I think there's a post about that in the archives.

Holly getting her little feet wet. She actually loves the water, and when the big kids were done playing, Daddy took her into the pool for a little while.

To be continued.

Hoover Dam: It's Dam Fun

So we went to Hoover Dam while visiting Andy and Callie, here are the long awaited pictures of that trip.

Somebody Likes To Play Dress Up

And her name is Angelice. We took a detour from the usual this summer, and went to visit my brother Andy and his beautiful family in Las Vegas. Angelice, her cousin Emma, and Holly all dressed up like the princesses they really are.

And, okay, so Ben played too. He, being the boy in the game, played the handsome prince. Check out his wicked awesome sword.

While staying there, we had some yummy shakes, played with the kids at the park, and visited Hoover Dam. The Dam pictures were awesome. The Dam drive was worth it. The new Dam bridge is huge. The kids had a Dam good time. Ha! Those pictures coming right up.

Just A Few Pictures of Our Trip to CA

Summertime around our house means it's time to visit Ted's family in Sacramento. We usually go camping. We always swim in Grandpa's pool. We always stuff our faces. I tried to add more, but I think I will have to make another post.

The cool thing about going to California is watching the kids get to spend time wearing themselves totally out. They have formed great friendships with their cousins, and genuinely enjoy being outdoors in the Plumas Forest. We camped at Lake Almanore this year again. It was less than pleasant at night with a baby in a tent...she sort woke up the whole campground. I don't think we will be attempting camping with her again for a couple years...but the older kids had a blast in the Lake, playing in the dirt, running around with dirty faces from eating s'mores.

Next post will just be more pictures.

We Are Still Alive

Okay, so I know it's been awhile. Summertime is kicking my trash. Between the extra housework because my two older kids are here all day as opposed to being at school, and the summer sports teams, and our various family trips, I just haven't had time to update. Oh, throw in a desktop computer crisis, and voila! No bloggy update for several weeks.

I am currently in CA with the hubby's side of the family. When I get home, I plan on learning how to upload and post pictures on my husband's lovely laptop, and then I will update. I have pictures from our trip to Las Vegas, Zion, CA, the 4th, and I think more baseball pictures but I am not sure...

Until then, I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

Before! (above)
After! (above)

And a close up of each side! She was so brave! She wanted to cry so bad, but she didn't!

Coach Pitch Suits Angelice

She did pretty well! Like her little brother, she had a little dance party in the outfield though. Which was actually pretty cute. I was with Ben on the nearby playground, watching from afar. She got two hits in all. Lots of fun!

Kickball Rocks!

These pictures sort of say it all. These kids don't know how to run bases, tag runners, or play outfield. But they sure have a lot of fun! Ben actually laid down in the grass and looked at the clouds at one point. And he was having a dance party while playing shortstop. Ah, what I wouldn't give to be able to play with such carefree abandon again!

Holly Gets Her Swing On

I think these pictures just speak for themselves. *Sigh*.

So, this weekend we went up to help mom and dad move out of Pocatello. They have lived here for 22 years. They are moving to Payson, about 15 minutes south of us. It was really weird being in the house all empty, like the day we moved in.

While we were there we stopped at this great little drive in at Ross Park. It has a particular delicacy that I think is unique to Pocatello. It's called Taco Spaghetti.
I ate it on my lap in the car. Which is kind of hard, because it's messy. But oh so good. And twice as good when consumed with a cherry shake. Yes. We totally abandoned our "healthy by 36" objectives here.
So goodbye Pocatello. My last familial ties are gone. I imagine we will swing in every once in awhile to visit some dear, dear friends who still live there. But driving back, I realized that Pocatello hasn't felt like "home" for some time now. The home I grew up in, the memories of cruising around town with my friends, the fun and sometimes crazy things we did, all of that is really just a place in my heart now. It was a good place to grow up. But grow up we must. Thanks, Pocatello, goodnight.