Summer Fun

Jared loves watermelon, seriously.... this boy can pack it in. That chunk of watermelon I sliced off was bigger than his head and it was only half of what he ate before noon.


I learned the coolest thing from my friend, Linsey. You know those broken pieces of crayon you probably have under your couch or in the crayon box? It's just annoying and I usually end up throwing them away..... until now. Introducing GHETTO FABULOUS CRAYONS!!! Just have the kids peel off the paper, break them into smaller pieces and put them into mini muffin tins. Bake it about about 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes, or until melted and let them cool. They pop right out. Viola! Ghetto Fabulous Crayons! They keep my boys busy with all of the different colors. They'll be coloring something and say, "Mom, look! It changes colors." Well of course it does, they got to mix the colors and when they put yellow, blue and red together... well you get the point.

GINORMOUS POST

What else do I name the longest post ever? We just got back from our 8-day vacation. The kids have had more fun than they can remember. We went to Yellowstone on Tuesday. The kids went with their grandma to see some sites while Larry, my dad and I hiked to the top of Mt. Washburn. It was 3.2 miles to the top and a 3000 elevation change - WHEW!! It was seriously awesome and I really enjoyed taking photos all the way up. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get to the top, my dad's fastest time ever - he has hiked Mt Washburn every year for the past 3 years. There was snow at the top, big horn sheep, and rumors of a brown bear (although we didn't see it on the trail).



This little guy was picture ready! He just stood there and enjoyed the view on Mt. Washburn.


The boys saw buffalo, elk, a coyote, and a BEAR!! What a treat for us.


They didn't really care about the elk, but they sure loved this old rotted log.


We spent the week with my grandma in Ashton, Idaho. This is the old homestead, where my dad grew up and where all of my sweetest memories are. I could live there forever in this town in the middle of nowhere. Ashton is my "happy place" and the image I see when I close my eyes for relaxation and comfort. My brother is buried there, I leave Skittles every time I visit (it was his favorite candy) - but this time the boys ate them as fast as I was dropping them which is okay with me. Someone should enjoy them. I get my love of hummingbirds from my grandma, I could sit and watch them for hours. Did you know they can flap their wings 90 times per second? I have a special trick for catching them and even a picture stashed away of me holding one, but this time I took pictures.



My dad took the boys for a ride in a tractor, Jared told me it was his "dream come true." I think he would love life on a farm and everything that came with it (even the hard work).


It wouldn't be a vacation without a few problems. Along the way, we lost the lens for the brake light, it just flew off somewhere on our journey. We had to put red tape all over it so it looks pretty ghetto. Also, our tire went flat so that was fun. At least it happened 10 miles away from a Les Schwab on a business day. What would we have done if it had happened outside of business hours on a weekend?? Despite the trouble, we were blessed.


While I was in Idaho, I got to see a couple of very special ladies. It was a real treat for me! My former college roommate, Kathryn, came up from Wyoming and brought her family. Our kids are about the same age so they played at the park and we had lunch. Kathryn is so talented, she invented a bunch of baby products and was even on Good Morning Texas. If you are interested, check out her website: babycoverz.com


My other special lady is Pam, one of my best friends. We lived nearby while Larry served in the Air Force, there is no one in the world like her! She is one of the kindest people I know.


While the kids played at the park, we saw ninjas! Jared and David were their audience and as soon as Jared yelled "Ninjas in the park!" they had more kids gather to watch. I asked them if they could stand for a picture when they were finished, they were too nice!


One of the main reasons for picking this particular time to visit Idaho was for my sister. She graduated with her Bachelors Degree, I am so proud! I took our family pictures in the park (and a few others, feel free to check out my photo blog). Everyone was here for it, it's the first time in awhile since that has happened.



We went to Jackson Hole on Saturday and rode the Alpine Slide all the way down a mountain. The boys had loads of fun, I'll have to bug my sister to send me the pictures she took with her camera. We happened to pass under them as they were riding the ski lift up to the top. Later that evening, we saw the Bar J Wranglers. Seriously, if you've never seen them, they are worth every penny! We had an authentic chuckwagon dinner and listened to old cowboy songs all night. These guys are also like stand up comedy, Jared laughed hardest when "granny" came out (one of the guys dressed up).


At the end of the trip, I can't help but think this was one of the best vacations ever. The boys sum it up best.....

They were too happy to quarrel.

As if this post isn't long enough, we came home to a COMPLETED HOUSE!!!! YAY!!






And my favorite part....

Blog Bling for a Ding a Ling

Jan nominated me for this lovely award, if you don't know her, then you're missing out! She is one of the sweetest people I know. To Jan - I didn't forget about the hike you wanted me to take your Activity Day girls on and I think I found the perfect one.

Rules of award:
1. Post the award on your blog
2. Add a link to the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 7 other people for this award and add links to their blog.
4. Leave a message for the people that you nominated!

This is very hard because I love all of you, but Jan made this a little easier because she already nominated some of my favorites. Thanks Jan!

Annie - She is family and I enjoy reading about my nephews and their adventures. I sure wish I could meet them in the near future! We'll just have to take a trip sometime.
Cindy - She is new to the blogging world and from my former are of residence. I sure miss her! We were walking buddies and I babysat her kids often. Jared still says he's going to marry Callie :)
Linsey - The funniest blogger I know! Seriously, I just read about Ghetto Fabulous Crayons last night and laughed out loud. You can bet I'll be baking crayons in the very near future!
Misty - She is my photo mentor, I have learned so much from her and continue to glean from her experience.
Lee - Also an awesome photographer, she took the time to show me the ropes of photoshop, which has become my main editing software.
Sweatpea - She is an awesome blogger, I enjoy reading about her life and getting to know her better on the MOF board.
SmartMama - Really is a smart mama! I enjoyed reading about her latest vacation, she handles things so well and keeps a cool head. I admire that!
Sheree - She is a fitness queen! I cheered her on when she ran the Wasatch Back marathon. I admire her stamina.

Whew! That's quite a list.

Amber waves of grain

There is a wheat field across the street from where we live and it just looked like it was ready to harvest. It was close to sunset, the colors from the red sun seemed to dance on the field. It was like magic. Of course I had to get my camera and play dress up with the boys. They endured it.




Some of you requested that I put up pictures of the colors so I took pictures this evening when we went to check out the house. All of the paint was Valspar brand from Lowes.

The master bathroom was 'Azure Snow' - a light blue color.


The master bedroom color was called 'Secret Passage' - a cool grey with blue undertones.


Jared picked 'Camel' for his room - it's a sandy color.


David picked 'Palm Frond,' a light mossy green color.

Hike on the 4th

My dad and I got up at 5am to go hiking for the 4th of July. It was a nice morning, the sun was already up and it wasn't too hot. We went to a place called Inspiration Point (although it's not marked, a friend told me about it). We hiked to the top of a mountain and got some nice pictures of the city area. I took one of my dad looking at the view. It took us about an hour total and it was good practice for Mt. Washburn - a long hike in Yellowstone that my dad intends to take within the next couple of weeks.



The boys have been in swimming lessons this past 2 weeks, they've really enjoyed themselves. Friday was "fun day" so I brought my camera. David and Jared both make the silliest faces when they come up out of the water.




We enjoyed the 4th of July fireworks. I took some pictures, but forgot my tripod so they weren't good. Larry and I will go to Niagara Falls in September, they do fireworks twice per week so I'll do better next time.

I spent the weekend painting rooms in the new house. After painting the master bathroom, master bedroom and both of the boys rooms, I'm sore all over and I don't even have pictures! I'll take some this week and post them. I'm very happy with how they turned out, I'm no professional and there were mistakes, but furniture will cover most of it. :)