Best Little Friends

Our good friend Annie came to visit a couple of weeks ago. We get to see her about once a year so it was nice to catch up again. The kids all played really good together...especially Allie and her little girl Brianna. They are just a few months apart and were cracking us up. They are both so girly and so alike. They had so much fun we got them together again the next day out at Annie's dad's and had a blast. It was the most fun I've had in a while. Nothing beats a day in the country with 4-wheelers, creeks, raspberries and a llama. Oh wait, that's right, Allie didn't want anything to do with the llama until we were leaving. That's ok though because she LOVED the 4-wheeler (that's my girl)!Two peas in a pod.
My kind of girl's day. I would tell you how long it's been since I rode a 4-wheeler but I'm too embarrassed to say.

This is our girls 2 years ago. Aren't they cute little binkie babies??? They were little buddies even back then. They seriously were the cutest things to watch prance through the house with their purses and different outfits everytime they walked by....so funny. Thanks for the fun time Annie...hopefully we'll see you again sooner than later!

Mommie's Little Helper

Last week I tried to be a happy homemaker and sew a crib skirt for Gracie to match the colors in the girls room now that they are moved in together. Keep in mind that I DO NOT SEW. I would like to, but it's a talent I haven't quite figured out yet. This project was especially fun because no matter how hard I tried to do it while she was sleeping, I kept ending up with a little helper. She was in heaven. She kept rolling in the material and was fascinated with the spool of ribbon...not the ribbon, just the spool. She is so funny and already the best little helper!

Our little Triathlete

For a few weeks Tyler had been bugging me about letting him do the youth triathlon here in town. He kept seeing the flyers at the gym. I haven't ever put my kids in swimming lessons yet, so I kept putting him off. It has always bothered me a little bit that my parents never pushed us to try a little harder at the things we were doing, or encourage us to try things that might be hard for us. I think I suffer a lot from it now because I just recently have started pushing myself physically. I realized that I was doing something far worse by discouraging him completely. So I talked to Eli and we decided, why not. So this Saturday we suited him up and away he went. I was so nervous about the swim. It was 75 yards across a pond, and since we are in Idaho the water is never warm. The most he has swam is the length of a pool. He has never had to swim with a life jacket on, and he has never swam in the cold. Well, he did all three and he ROCKED. He did so awesome. As soon as he was out of the water he ran to his bike, threw on his shirt and tore off down the road. It was awesome to watch. He started off the run on a dead sprint but we could tell he was getting pretty tired. He would sprint and then walk until someone started coming up behind him, then he would sprint again. He doesn't believe in jogging, he thinks it slows him down. I think he might change his mind next time we run. He was a trooper though and finished running with a big smile on his face. I got choked up...I was so proud of him. He did something so hard and challenging and never thought twice about it. He hardly broke a sweat! It was such a great day and he became such an example to me. If he can do hard things...so can I. He really is amazing to me, and Saturday he became so much more.
He's off! (second from the left)

He smiled the whole time, and kept looking to see if we were watching. He even stopped to wave during the run :)

Still going strong (but starting to feel it)

The last few yards.....and still smiling. I love this little man so much!

He even got a medal!

They think we're just fishin'

Just a few pics from our last fishing trip with the kids. My dad has a stocked pond just out of town that we love to go to. Usually the fishing is great but this time we only got a couple of nibbles. The kids had a blast though. The boys are getting so big. Ty has got it down and thinks he is the master fisherman and Zach is close behind him. They hardly ever need help. And Allie just wants to swim. She kept pretending to be a mermaid. She is just a little fish herself. Gracie was a trooper and slept the whole time. I can't believe that summer is more than half over. It seems like it takes forever to get here, and just like that it is over. We always have a million plans for things to do during the break and I don't think we've ever come close to completing even half of them.....oh well. We've got 4 weeks left to cram it all in, right???

Love my girls!

I thought my life was complete with my two little boys, but boy was I wrong. These little girls are so much fun, I can't imagine what I would do without them.

Allie just loves her little sister so much. It is the cutest thing to watch her snuggle up to her in the morning.

What would I do without this little nut??? She is the sweetest, most motherly little stinker I know and is soooo full of her little personality it hurts!

And they don't come sweeter than this little bug. I love her to pieces and can't squeeze her enough. She has so much love for her brothers and sister and for her dad and me. Such sweet, sweet, sweet little girls. Life just wouldn't be right without them.

Lovin' those tootsies!

Gracie has a new toy...she just can't resist her toes and feet. As soon as I take off her socks and pants she grabs them and starts playing. Usually she starts munching on them too. Can't say that I blame her. Just look at her! I could eat her up right now.

We got to go to Bozeman a couple of weekends ago for Eli's cousin's graduation. I love his family and we always have such a good time when we are around them. It had been a while since we'd gone up to Montana so it was good to see everybody. As usual, everyone had a great time hanging out, shootin the breeze, eating the best food ever and spending time together. It was fun to take the kids too because they've grown so much since last time. Uncle Matt got a kick out of the boys. There was a lot of family there that we hadn't seen since Eli's grandma's funeral in Colorado 5 years ago and it was fun to catch up. Good times for sure. I can't wait until we can do it again.

Eli's cousin Zalie....the happy graduate!
Aunt Sandy, Zalie, Ronnie and Uncle Paul...bunch of clowns.

Watching everyone playing horseshoes....the weather was perfect!

Little Gracie Bug hanging out in the sun.

Tyler playing horseshoes....he is getting too grown up. No clowning around on this trip. He wanted to hang with his uncles and grandpa playing with the big boys. He loves horseshoes and is pretty stinking good at it too.

This is all Zach did the whole time we were there. He kept trying to land a backflip. I took about a dozen pictures of him and they are all so silly like this. He actually landed on his feet this time, believe it or not.

Anything they can do she can do better....or at least she will try. Our little Allie has no trouble keeping up with the boys on the tramp. This was the first above ground tramp she's been on and it didn't phase her a bit. (did I mention that she may or may not have found a stray beer from a relative laying around and may or may not have chugged way to much of it before any of us realized what was going on? for the record, once she swallowed and realized how awesome it tastes, she does not like it at all and was more than happy to chug the taste away with daddy's sprite).

Three sleepy little kiddos after a long day in the car, sun and pool. So sweet. Then about a half hour later.....

Chaos even as they sleep. I love my kids.