Hannah's Photography Take 2!

So, Hannah asked if she could take my camera and take pictures around the yard. Of course I was a little nervous that she would bury it in the sand box, but never-the-less, I gave it to her. I was truly amazed at some of the pictures she took. She was able to capture some great pictures. Everything on both of these collages were taken by her and unedited by me. All of my other collages I edit and take out all the background stuff. A couple of my favorites are their feet, the tennis ball, the worm, her wolf pup, and Elayna on top of the tree house (head view). She didn't use the zoom at all. (I never told her about it. I was trying to minimize the number of buttons she had to push!) She asked for a camera for Christmas. I asked her if she wanted Santa or mom and dad to get it for her. She told me mom and dad so we could get the right one! Of course, she wants a purple and silver one...boy do I have a task in front of me!

Congratulations!

Well, Hannah's T-Ball season is over. She ended up playing fabulously. By the end of the season she was about 70% focused on the game and 30% focused on twirling, jumping, and picking dandelions! That is a huge increase from the beginning of the season. She was playing hard, hitting well and running SUPER FAST (thanks to a new pair of shoes). We bought her some new shoes and she was convinced that the shoes made her run fast...not her. Gotta love kids!

Ross Park

A week ago mom took a day off to spend with us at Ross park. Jaime, her kids, mom, Elayna, Hannah, and me enjoyed relaxing in the tubes, splashing in the water, and picnicing in the sun. Fun day for all!

New Hot Tub

So, we FINALLY got a hot tub. After years of complaining of aches and the NEED (I say this because I want to believe we needed it) for a hot tub, we finally broke down and got one! The girls looked at it as a mini swimming pool. They eventually found out that they couldn't swim in it very well. It has been nice taking them in there after dinner as a nice way to relax before bed. Love it!

Playing in the Sun

When it gets hot, the kids surely love to get wet. Somehow, we came across two different kid sprinkler items. One was from mom, the other was in the garage...can't remember from where. In any case, the blue ring actually pushes out the water quite forcefully. Elayna hated it since it was always over her face! The hopscotch however, was perfect for Elayna since she could walk across it without getting her face wet. Although, she quickly found out that once you step on an edge, water comes blasting out (hence the wet face). With the weather this nice, we have been playing outside often, and picnicing almost daily. We are into BBQ'ing everything! It was a fun week, except for a minor sunburn that Hannah attained. She kept laying on her back and scooting across the hopscotch. Well, apparently that made the sunscreen come off quicker than I had planned and she has a small sunburn. I don't think she has ever had one before. One thing is for certain, she doesn't like having one!

Hannah's Photography

So, the more I scrapbook, the more Hannah wants to! AHHH, Ed would be so proud. The last time I scrapbooked, Hannah sat with us for almost three hours scrapbooking herself! So, while we were in Yellowstone, she asked if she could take a picture of us. Her argument was that she needed to practice for when she got her own camera to make scrapbooking pictures! Of course that argument was enough for me! Not so sure Ed was too thrilled about it! In any case, here is the picture she took. Not too bad if you ask me!

Fourth of July

For the fourth, we took it relatively easy. It started with a simple game of double deck pinnochle, which turned into and epic battle in which the women were victorious! Then, we went to Lowe's to buy some PVC pipe to make the game ladderball. Our BBQ at the Jolly's started at 5, and we alternated partners and teams from 5-9:30 when we walked to the fireworks. Ladderball was quite fun! Thanks Rachel for introducing us to it! The firework display was nice. I spent most of my time trying to figure out my camera. I was able to get a couple of nice shots! Finally we walked back home to let off our AWESOME fireworks! I love the 3ft rule for Idaho...nothing can go above three feet...of course many people don't follow that rule. Elayna and Hannah both liked the sparklers, mainly because they could hold them I am sure, but Elayna kept holding on to them well after the sparkle was out. Since they are now made out of a straw type material, it slowly made it to her finger. That was the last sparkler she held. I now have a daughter who is afraid of the sparkler! All-in-all a good day. Nice and relaxing.

Yellowstone 2011

Fourth of July weekend we decided to take the girls to Yellowstone to camp. Normally we spend one long day running around the park seeing the sites. This time we decided to take it a little easier and spend one night in the park. We stayed at Bridge Bay Campground, very nice place. By spending two days in the park, we went on a couple of hikes that we haven't been on before. Hannah did surprisingly well. She walked well over two miles the first day and one the second. Elayna walked to entire 2/3 mile loop on her own, and then down another 3/8 mile to the brink of upper falls. She was way too tired to walk back up the switch backs though. Luckily for us, as we were driving, we saw two bear sitting off the road. The amount of people stopped was insane! I have waited my entire life to see bear in Yellowstone, we have gone there yearly since I was 8, and now I have seen them two years in a row. I guess the time of the year matters! Hannah wasn't that excited to see the bear. To her, it was just another animal to check off.

We took the girls for a nice dinner at the Lake Lodge, bit of advice, make reservations ahead of time! Afterwards, we went back to camp and built a fire to make smores! We used cookies with chocolate as the base, then fancy campfire marshmellows for the inside (although I am not convinced they are any better than normal marshmellows! By the time we made it to bed, it was well passed their normal bedtime; compounded with all the hiking, the girls were exhausted! All three of us slept in two bags zipped together, while Ed slept by himself! Wipe a tear! The next day we leisurely made our way to Old Faithful and then out. The new visitors center at Old Faithful was kind of nice, but it looks a little to modern for my liking. Lots of information inside, especially for kids. Not to mention, a cool place to get out of the heat! After Old Faithful, we made our trip back home. Great weekend!

Puppy Face

A week ago we went to my father's company picnic. Hannah was so excited when she finally made it to the front of the line. She asked to look like Beauregard (my mother's puppy). She was so proud of her face! I think they did a fabulous job!