Idaho

 We spent our 4th of July in Idaho again this year.  It was a lot of fun!  Our friends from Denver, the Rowles, moved to Washington D.C. in March, but just happened to be driving through Malad.  We were lucky enough to meet them for dinner at a park.  It was wonderful to see them again.  I am really getting tired of my friends all moving away!

 The next morning was the biathlon that Clint was too sick to do last year.  This year, we both entered.  Clint biked and his friend was going to run for him, but his friend was sick, so he found a substitute.  My sister, Savannah, ran for me and I biked.  It was a 5k run and 15 mile bike ride.  Before the race started the organizer explained that the little town didn't get a lot of bikers and to be extra careful.  Such a difference between there and Colorado!  Clint was so sweet the night before.  He drove the route with me, pointing out loose gravel, and other things I needed to watch for.  Clint's nephew, Josh, took first place and set a new record on the course.  He ran and biked and still beat everyone!  Clint's team was third and Savannah and I came in as the 7th team, but I think the first or second all female team.  We finished in an hour and 18 minutes. 

 Clint's runner, James, Josh, Clint, me, and Savannah

 The race will have to be an annual tradition!  That afternoon we met several of my siblings in Pocatello at the water park.  Regan loves the lazy river!  Savannah and Dale went around and around with her.

 Lila loved playing on the stairs with the water fountains.  This is the only water park I have ever been to that requires swim diapers to be covered by plastic pants.  It didn't seem to phase Lila, though.  Haden had fun playing with all the levers, wheels, etc. that controlled the water.

 My kids love the freedom they have there.  As long as they told me where they were going, they could wander over to their cousins house a block away. 

 Their cousins have LOTS of baby animals!  Lila nearly strangled the baby miniature duck.  She was about the same size as the calves and wasn't so sure about getting licked!

 

Clint, Haden, Yoda, and the cousins slept out on the tramp.  Between the full moon, all the animals, and the roosters crowing at the crack of dawn, poor Clint didn't get much sleep.

 

 My kids helped with chores every chance they got! 

 

  

 We recently purchased a small piece of land a few blocks away from Clint's parents house so we can eventually build our own house up there.  It had been neglected for a long time!  We hired the kids to come help haul all the branches away.  We managed to get one corner cleaned out.

  It's the perfect place for a clubhouse.  Clint used to camp in that same corner with his buddies when he was growing up.  He showed the kids where he built his fire and where they would sleep.  It's neat that his kids will get to have all those same experiences that he did!

We paid all our helpers with admission to Downata Hot Springs.  It was perfect and nearly deserted!  The kids all had fun going down the slide and playing in the water.

 The next day was Independence day.  We went to the parade.

 Lila didn't appreciate the fire engine,

but loved the taffy!  She was such a sticky mess!

 The BLM firetruck cooled all the kids off.

 Regan refused to use the red plastic bags for her candy that everyone else was using.  Pink flower purses are much more her style!

 We watched the fireworks that night.  Haden made a lightsaber out of his glowsticks.  Somehow, everything is related to Star Wars with that kid!

 

 And no trip to Idaho is complete without a few visits to the Blue Goose.  When I would ask Lila if she wanted to go to Idaho she would say, "Grandpa, Blue Goose, candy, chocolate"  in that order every time.  She wasn't disappointed!

 We made many visits!  We walked one time.  Lila chased some chickens alongside the road. 

 

 The preferred method of transportation was Grandpa's new gator.  All three kids are pretty good at steering!  Lila would intentionally drive all over the road, laughing hysterically the entire time.  She would hit Clint's hands away every time he tried to help her.

 We visited Clint's grandparents' grave.  I love this picture!  Lila loves her Grandpa!

It was a fun trip!  All three kids were awesome travellers.  It will be fun when we can build our own house up there!

My baby is 2!

Little Lila turned 2!  Despite plans for a small party, her birthday fell on the eve of our annual summer trip to Idaho, and one of her best friends was sick, so I postponed it, and we haven't had a chance to do it yet.  She's only two, she'll never know the difference! 

 

 There was lots of dancing that day!  (Let's be honest, there is always a lot of dancing at our house!)  Regan is doing a great job teaching Lila how to dance gracefully.

 

 Haden isn't sure what graceful is, but he sure has a lot of fun!

 

 Lila danced very gracefully, but with her tongue sticking out. 

She opened lots of presents!

 She loves her princess stuff!

 Her cake was going to be a princess castle.  She became enamored with the Disney princesses while in Disneyland in February.  It looked way better in my head than I could get it to look in real life, so I changed plans and she got a boring square layer cake.  At least it had Cinderella and her prince on it!

 She always has lots of help!

This is why she isn't wearing any clothes.  She was a disaster when she was finally done!

Lila is definitely her own little girl.  She loves to shop, just like Regan.  She found this Tinkerbell jacket and the purse on her shoulder all by herself while I was distracted helping Regan look through dresses.  

She can't live without lip gloss.  She can easily go through a tube a day.  Tantrums might result when she is told that she has had enough lip gloss, but it is fabulous for keeping her quiet and still when I need her to be.  She also loves accessorizing; hats and sunglasses are her favorites right now.  That must be a dominant gene with my girls!

She does not let Clint go for a run without taking her.  And then when they come back, she teases him, saying that he ran slow!  Little stinker!  Note the upside down sunglasses. 

Yes, that is butter she has smeared all over everywhere and is shoveling into her mouth.  I only stepped away for a minute.  I spend a lot of time cleaning my house.  It's lucky that she is so darn cute!

  

Lila really is a lot of fun!  I love her very strong personality.  She can hold her own against just about anyone.  She is quick to apologize, though, and quickly kisses whatever "owie" she inflicts, even on her own little body.  She likes to pick her clothes and has an opinion about what music we listen to in the car.  Regan has taught her to dance and she is always pretending to be on the phone talking to one of her best friends, Avery.  She is a very enthusiastic helper in the kitchen and loves to be in the center of everything.  We all love little Lila!

Happy Birthday, Regan!

Regan turned 7 this year!  She is so grown up!  Since she has a summer birthday, we brought treats for her class the last week of school.  Everyone does cupcakes and Regan definitely does not like to be like everyone else!  So, she requested miniature fruit pizza with her favorite fruit.  I love how they turned out, but more importantly, so did Regan!

Her teacher, Mrs. Mramor lead the class in singing "Happy Birthday".  Even though three of Regan's very good friends moved away this year she still loved first grade.  

On the day of Regan's birthday, I just had time to get home from camp and shower before we had to leave to celebrate.  Regan LOVES going to Cheesecake Factory with her American Girl doll.  And she loves going anywhere with Savannah.  So, we had a fabulous birthday lunch there.  All three kids did very well.  Lila didn't even break any dishes this time!

One evening while I was at camp, Savannah took Regan shopping.  Together they picked out Regan's outfit.  She still absolutely adores shopping!  This year Regan told me that she had outgrown toys and could she just have clothes and jewelry for her birthday? 

Yoda accompanies us just about everywhere we go.  Haden also makes lots of loud comments about how he is a Jedi master and how he uses the "force" to do things like open the automatic doors at the store, etc.  Needless to say, we get A LOT of looks and smiles.  I recently made him a Jedi cape and that also comes most everywhere with us.  Even though it is 100 degrees and it is made of fleece...

 We were all too full for cheesecake and had to rush Savannah to the airport, so we had to take a rain check on dessert.  Because of crazy schedules and Regan's indecisiveness, we didn't actually make her a cake until the following week.  She picked pink lemonade flavored cupcakes with strawberries. It was nearly bedtime when we finally sang to her, thus the wet hair and pajamas.  Thank goodness it is summer!

 

I love my beautiful little Regan!  I love watching the young lady she is becoming.  She is a fabulous friend to everyone and loves to socialize.  Fashion is still a top priority for her.  She loves riding her bike.  (She asked for biking gloves for her birthday.  Maybe so she could be like Clint, or maybe because she loves to accessorize any outfit!)  Regan is quite the pianist and loves dancing to classical music.  Lila and Haden just adore her.  She will always be her daddy's girl.  (Tonight she insisted on waiting up until 10:30 when he came home because she just had to see him!)  We love having Regan in our family! 

Girls' Camp

Girls' Camp was the first time I have left my kids overnight.  Crazy, huh?  I am so grateful Savannah, my sister, was able and willing to take off work to watch my little stinkers.  I love my young women.  They are so much fun to be with!  Despite the bears, we all had a wonderful time!

 

Maddie and I spent the first night in hammocks under the stars.  Bears were more of a problem the following day so it was requested that we sleep in a tent the last night.  It was probably a good thing; a bear was chased right through our campsite 5 minutes after we returned from our early morning bathroom run!

 

I am lucky that I have such wonderful friends that I get to serve with! We have the best time together! I wish we would have gotten a picture of all of us!

When I got home, (Regan's birthday), I found this sign waiting for me.  Clint said it was all Regan's idea.  I love my sweet kids! 

Regan's Field Day

Regan had her field day last Friday afternoon.  I love her PE teacher.  She always comes up with fun activities for them to do.  Among other things, they threw Frisbees, and water noodles (javelins), (the boy in the red shirt introduced Regan to the word "sexy".  Wasn't that kind of him?  I didn't think I would ever be discussing "sexy" with a 6 year old!  Blasted kid!)

 played volleyball,

 ran relay races, (Regan is smoking the boy who is supposed to be her competitor.  His family clearly does not take running as seriously as we do!  Clint was so proud!)

 

 and played several different games with the parachute.

 

Lila was happy with her treats!  Haden had my  phone whenever I wasn't taking pictures with it, thus none of him.  (We had spent all morning at a playdate for Haden and I was running late to make it to field day, so I forgot my good camera.)

Regan loved field day, and honestly, the rest of us just endured it.  Too much hot sun for one day!  I got sunburned on my nose and Lila tells me it's an "owie"  and she kisses it for me regularly.  She really can be so sweet!  (On a side note, one time she and Haden were fighting.  She hit Haden and he retaliated.  She gave him a dirty look, paused to kiss her arm where he had hit her and then slugged him back.  I was laughing too hard to intervene!)

Company!

The Thursday before Memorial Day weekend my sister and her three kids stopped by for a visit on their way to Texas where they are living for the summer.  It was fun!  I told Regan she could skip school if she wanted, but she insisted that she go.  (Clint claims that his genetics are the cause of her responsible nature.  I don't think I believe it!)  So, we just hung out around the house until it was time to pick her up from school. Haden and Hazel played fabulously well together.  I'm not sure Gemma knew what to do with Lila.  Then we hit Crave It.  Jessica's girls had never been and my kids love going there. 

 Veta, Hazel, Haden, and Regan.

 We're very serious about our frozen yogurt!

 And then we headed to the park.  The water was on despite cold temperatures.  It didn't stop the two little ones from immediately heading in.  Lila would come back to me complaining that she was cold and then run  right back into the water.  She doesn't have much sense yet. 

 

 Lila loves going down the slide.  This one makes me nervous if she goes by herself, though.  It goes pretty fast and is not forgiving when little kids tip over.  Veta was very gracious to take her down it multiple times.  The kids all had fun and slept very well that night.  The next day, Jessica loaded up her truck and made the 16 hour trip to Houston.  I'm glad it was her and not me! 

4 Mile House

Regan's 1st grade field trip coincided with Savannah's visit.  (She had just aced her Series 7 licensing test and needed a break from all the studying, so she came for a visit!)  The school was looking for chaperones, and Savannah was going to be here, so Regan didn't really give her an opportunity to say no.  They went to the 4 Mile House which is a very small historical farm.  They only had some horses, a couple of goats, and a few chickens.  Since there wasn't enough room on the bus for Savannah, I drove her and thought I would pay a separate admission and then just wander with the other two kids.  Well, the site didn't open to the public until afternoon, so there wasn't really anything for us to do except wander around with Regan.

Savannah was in charge of these 4 girls.  Regan, Destiny, Bethany, and Trinity.  Destiny has become Regan's new best friend since everyone else has moved away.  She currently lives in an apartment and will probably follow suit, but at least she's around for this year. 

 Regan got to show off a Native American outfit for a two year old little girl.  By the way, she came up with her outfit and accessories all by herself!

Everyone got to pan for gold, well, fool's gold.  She found some and even got to take it home. 

 

 They went on a ride on a horse drawn wagon. 

 And got to explore a covered wagon.  The presenter was telling everyone that the little kids only got to bring one small toy with them.  Regan expressed relief that she didn't live back then.  It was a fun to learn about life way back then.  It was a fun day for Regan, made all the better because her favorite aunt was her chaperone!  Thank you, Savannah!