Oh What do You do in the Summertime...

There's always so much to do in the summertime. I love it!
We've been spending a lot of time outside, at the park, and playing in the water. The good weather seems to be indecisive if it's here to stay. Some days we'll get lots of rain with thunder and lightning, but, it's sunny.
This past Friday we went to our ward campout. Kaleb has been before but this was a first for Xander. Both seemed to enjoy it. They got as dirty as possible, ran, screamed, and ate chips and cookies for dinner.
Xander tried his first toasted marshmallow

He really enjoyed it but wasn't so sure about the mess afterward

 Kaleb just wanted the plain ol' marshmallow

The boys slept okay. Kaleb had no problems. Just laid there quietly until he fell asleep. It took Xander a while to finally settle down. He was pretty restless the whole night. Jake and I didn't sleep too well either. But, that's usually the way it goes.

We got home Saturday morning. I threw in a few loads of laundry then headed right back out the door.

Drove 470 miles by myself to help my beautiful grandma celebrate her 75th birthday. The girls met for dinner. I enjoyed fish n' chips, and the best onion rings, ever.
I then turned right back around and went home. It made for a long day but was so worth it. I'm grateful I married into a great family who I was able to fall in love with instantly.

Jake had a spa set up at home right when I walked in the door. If you have never soaked in a hot bath with coconut milk and rose petals, you are missing out. Add candles around the edge of the tub, a bowl of almonds and dark Lindor chocolate, heavenly! Then a hot rock massage, bouquet of roses, sparkling cider, ahhh yeah. It's a fact, I have the best husband ever! Just wanted to brag a bit about how amazing my husband is.

Daddy's Shoes

My little eyes are watching,
My ears are listening too.
I take in everything
That you say and do.
My little hands are eager
To do the things you do.
I'm hoping and I'm dreaming
I'll grow up just like you.
Pretending I'm as big as you,
For soon that day will be.
I hope to be like you someday,
Strong, patient, full of love.
You’re the greatest Dad on earth,
With quite the shoes to fill.

I am so grateful for Jake and his example for the boys. I am also grateful for the wonderful husband he is to me.
I am grateful to his dad who was an example to him and helped raise him to be the fine man he is now.
And lastly, I am grateful to my own dad

I don't think I tell him often enough, I love you, and thank you for loving me so unconditionally. Thank you for having the courage to join the church all those years ago. I am grateful for the example I had to follow. I am grateful to know we are an eternal family.

Thank you, for all the toys you mended, games we played, outings to the park,
Thank you, for the sacrifices you made so I could be involved in so many enriching activities.
Thank you for working so hard to provide for our family. I can still clearly remember going with my dad to work. I couldn't have been more than six. I would bring a bag of toys and sit in his office while he got the days work done. I remember stripping down to my underwear and swimming in the hot tubs on display. Through all my dads entrepreneur adventures I learned anything is possible. And you're never too old to open another business :-) (can't wait to come enjoy some frozen yogurt) I watched and followed my dad's example. Don't be afraid to try, anything is possible.
Thank you for having such faith in me and always being there when I needed you.
Most of all,
Did I ever say thanks for caring?
I love you Dad!

Ready for Summer!

We are ready to really kick off summer. We'll get one  nice day and I get my hopes up. I feel like we're a few months behind here with all this rainy, gloomy, cold weather.
We are busy planning our first big family vacation. This is the first summer we both don't have a schedule. I am so excited for our trip.
We've been able to visit family a lot, and have more trips planned.
We mostly spent as much time outside as we can. Puddle jumping, lots of walks, the boys love it all.
We are right down the block from the main city park. It's a fun place. Now that it's "summer" the carousel and splash park are open.
Kaleb really disliked the carousel. He had a white-knuckle grip on the pole with his head down in his lap. When it wasn't moving he was holding his hands over his ears "too loud!" Xander thought it was okay for a few minutes. He wasn't so sure, he got fussy after a few circles.

 Both boys love the swings and could sit there for hours letting us push them back and forth.
We had one warm day that we ventured out to play at the splash park. It was a huge hit. As long as Kaleb didn't have too much water in his face he loved it.

I've been busy sewing and scrapbooking. Jake is getting a little bored being home all day and is ready to go back to school.
Mostly, we're just staring outside everyday, hoping the sun comes out. Hoping summer decides to come sooner than later.

Memorial Day

 Happy June! Too bad it's still cold! We had one nice hot sunny day, so I know it can happen, even in Idaho.
We've been just doing a lot of chilling, walking and hanging out at home.
Xander likes to watch a movie in his own unique way. Who wants to sit on the chair like normal?

It's was a hot dry day. We go outside with the boys to play in the driveway. What's the first thing Kaleb does? Finds the only mud puddle.

I love being closer to home. We were able to go home for Memorial Day weekend.
We stopped at the air force museum. The boys loved it. Airplane! Helicopter! They were pretty disappointed they couldn't have a ride.

It was fun to see some of the planes Jake's uncle flew in WWII
This is the B17

The next day I had my family meet us at my parents house for a bar-b-que

Jake will love me for posting this picture.

Newest family addition. Baby Penny

Penny's big sister Sabine

My Beautiful niece Nile

We were celebrating two birthdays. Ella got the flower pinata that she wanted. The boys loved helping break it open.

The next few days were spent with Jake's family. Sunday is the traditional bar-b-que at the grandparents.  This year was sandwiches instead. I didn't get any pictures until this one at the end. I dumped out the ice on the lawn. It was like moths to a flame. All the kids were immediately there. Despite the cold rainy day they loved playing in the ice. Some of the kids were filling their pockets to take the ice with them. Ha ha ha - wish I could hear what the parents said about the wet car.

Monday was the usual. Jake's family visit about seven different cemeteries. They place flowers on the graves of friends and loved ones. We also stop half way through and everyone meets at Tony's for pizza. We only visited two cemeteries. Ended up taking a nice drive around the mountains. It was a gloomy and cold day. At one point there was hail. But, it was still a very nice day.

Both boys love music. Kaleb will often be heard humming or singing as he plays. His latest favorite has been a church song. Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam. I was trying to be sneaky with the camera, if he saw it he wouldn't have been singing.

We stayed an extra day than planned so I could attend my cousins wedding. We made it for the ring exchange and luncheon.
We also finally made it to Ikea for a desk. I have really been needing a space for all my needs. It is a bit bigger than we had planned for this corner. I think it's perfect though! It was worth it to tie it to the roof and haul it 4 hours.
It covers a bit of the doorway and takes up more of the living room. But, much better than a pile of boxes. I am so glad I don't have to dump out boxes anymore to find what I'm looking for. This little area has to serve a lot of purposes. Quilting, general sewing, scrapbooking, general crafting, and office. Well, I guess I have to share part of the office part with Jake. I barely got it all to fit.
My own space! I am excited to be off the kitchen table.

I quickly put my space to work and finished a quilt for a friend. A lady I visit teach at church. I hope she loves this quilt as much as I do. She is expecting a girl. It was fun to make something girly.

This was my first attempt at a completely machine done quilt. Since I finished so much quicker I had time to whip up a few burp cloths

Of course I couldn't stop there. I wanted a unique card. Whipped up this little thing. I think everything turned out so perfect. I can't wait to give her this present.

Now we're back to our everyday. I've been doing a lot of organizing and cleaning. I feel like I make more of a mess when I organize. We have some fun trips planned this summer. Can't wait for summer!