Ryan at Bat

Last night we went to watch Ryan and Amy's team play. When we showed up, Amy was not there. After all these years of playing volleyball, I believe there are less than 5 photos of me. So, I spent the time capturing moments of Ryan!
With my new camera, I was able to catch Ryan throughout his swing without the ball being a big blur! Now I need to get to another game to capture Amy!
 

First 5K

June 8 marked the day of my first 5K. The girls and I had been walking the river daily (~2.5 miles) and decided that a 5K shouldn't be much harder to accomplish. We grabbed the whole family and off we went. Elayna and Hannah saw that it was race and immediately started running after the pack of runners...It took us almost a mile to catch up to both of them. With Elayna's legs being so small, she ended up running the entire thing...Hannah ran about half of it, and Ryan, Amy and I ended up running about a third of it (mainly trying to keep up with the kids!) Mom and dad kept a steady pace the entire time and finished strong. It was a great experience for all of us and lots of fun! Here are to more 5K's in the future! Thanks Susie for posting the link to this race on-line!
 

Coffee and Fishing!

We are spending most of the month of June in Idaho Falls. Throughout the month, I hope to keep the kids continually busy and active. Since Grr retired, he has been going fishing every Friday morning. The girls and I tagged along this time. Before heading to the fishing hole, we stopped for a coffee...or Italian Soda in the girls' case. The key to a good fishing hole is getting there early! Elayna had her limit (2) and both Hannah and I had one fish landed before dad had his pole put together. Needless to say, he decided to use Elayna's Barbie pole to fish out the rest of the morning. Hannah eventually got her second fish and dad finally got one.
 

New Bike

Elayna finally outgrew all of her bikes! Right before we came to Idaho Falls, we donated all of the small ones to the church rummage sale. (Kind of sad seeing all of the baby/toddler stuff leave the house.) We ended up getting her a bright pink bike and she LOVES it. Now, it looks like Hannah may be outgrowing her bike. I think there is a new one in her future...hopefully it will last the season.

 

Shoshone Falls

Over Memorial Weekend, we met the Jolly's in Twin Falls for a small hike around the falls and playing at the park. It was nice to get out of town for the day and see the beautiful falls. I have lived near Twin Falls most of my life and had never seen Shoshone Falls before!

There was also a lake right by the falls with a nice park where the kids could play.

There was a "roadkill" wheel that Hannah found quite entertaining. The point was to run on it without falling off.

Bike Ride

After a very busy morning, Grandma and Hannah took to the road. Hannah is getting quite confident on her bike and mom (who hasn't ridden in years) on Ed's bike. While Elayna was napping, mom and Hannah rode around the neighborhood. Only two incidents to report, first, Hannah's pedal fell off. She walked her bike back home, we reattached it, then off they went again.
Later, on the last leg of the ride, Hannah saw a car pulling out of a driveway, so she stopped and waited. Good thing since the car raced out of the driveway only to hit the brakes after it was halfway in the road. Glad she is smart enough to watch the driveways and cars backing.

Dance Recital

Today was all of our first dance recital. Elayna has been taking dance for the entire school year and had her culminating performance this morning. The rest had never been to a dance recital and were not sure what to expect. It ended up being a showcase of many different daycares (about 10 in all) where each had a 5 minute spotlight (2 songs/performances). Elayna, as always, was confindent and performed with great enthusiasm. I will post a video...if my computer will do it in under 48 hours! Next week is her last dance class. She has truly enjoyed it, and I am greatful she had the opportunity.

Hannah Turns 7

Today was Hannah's big day! Last night I baked her a chocolate cake with hot pink frosting, pink sprinkles, and the 7 candle. She thought it was the best cake ever! Success Pillsbury, success! For breakfast, Ed ran her through McDonalds, then she took cugar cookies to school, pojo's for fun and games, Mc Donalds for dinner, then cake and ice cream! Can we say healthy eating day. Not to mention Hannah spun the birthday wheel at Pojos and won 300 tickets instantly. Then, Elayna put a token in a game where the coin has to travel 2+ feet on an inch wide ramp, then, make it into a tiny hole in then end to win the jackpot...and she won! Out spit 200+ tickets there as well. By the time they were finished, they had won over 600 tickets. Of course, getting on big cool prize was unheard of, so we ended up with handfuls of candy, dum-dums, pixie sticks, a spider ring, and three mini stuffed animals! Yeah!
Finally we came home and Hannah ate her cake and opened her gifts...she got a new Kindle Fire with Temple Run 2 and Angry Birds and is quite happy...oh, she may get books on it too ;)

April Birthday's Are Us

Well, I can honestly say this is the brithday time of year for our family!!! Between March and April we have birthdays for Amy, mom, Ryan, Davy (scooter), me, Adrea, Elayna, and Ed (in that order). Not to mention Cooper was born sometime in the month of March. In anycase, here are some of the awesome cakes that we enjoyed.
Mine was a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake from cold stone...my favorite! I have loved mint chocoalte chip ice cream for the longest time. I remember getting it at Yellowstone during our family vacations.
Elayna's was a homemade rainbow chip cake with purple frosting and lots of sugar chunks shaped like princess decor. I thought it was hilarious when she was explaining all of the figures to my mom... "a wand, a castle, a crown, ABC's, a rhombus..." What, a rhombus?!? Gotta love the good old rhombus thrown in with princess shapes. Maybe I am a little anal when naming shapes we see out in public. Not all four sided figures are squares. Both of my girls will be quick to tell you that!
Ed originally chose a cheesecake, but hinted that it would be awesome if cold stone would make a personalized cake...I listened and made a cake to order! His cake was banana ice cream with cookie dough chunks and oreo bits inside, chocolate cake layers with carmel between the ice cream and cake. It definitely was a hit. He was shocked that I got it. Pretty tasty too...I have to admit. The only interesting thing is that he was positive he was turning 34.

Caldwell Invitational

The weekend of my 33rd birthday was also the Caldwell Invitational Meet. The Jolly's thought it was a perfect opportunity to come over and visit. First thing April 13 (6:20am) Hannah and I were on our way to Caldwell. The meet was at the College of Idaho. Once there we set up our chairs and made a base camp. Elayna has become quite the trooper at these events. Give her some snacks and her "video game" and she is content for hours. Hannah was in six individual events and one relay. They have come to count on her as the lead backstroker. I was able to catch a couple of nice action shots with the new camera. Although she DQ'd on the breast stroke, she made personal best times in the 25 back, 50 back, 25 free, 50 free, and 100 free. She even won her heat on the 50 free resulting in yellow lei. The heat winners get a small prize. Seven events and two days later, she left feeling confident in her swimming abilities, but exhausted. Proud of her!!!

Easter 2013

Since it was only going to be us for Easter, we decided to dye only a few Easter Eggs. Hannah "hates eggs" and Elayna won't eat hard boiled eggs. So, not wanting to eat a dozen hard boiled eggs, Ed and I boiled a handful. None-the-less, the girls still managed to dye their hands a rainbow of colors.

That night the Easter Bunny came and left all of us a little something. Elayna and Hannah both got a video, a bath toy, and a handful of chocolate. Ed and I both got a chocolate bunny and a handful of other candy. The girls were dressed up very nicely...especially since church started at 6:30am. One nice thing about going to mass that early in the morning is that you don't have to fight for your seat. We were home by 7:45 and breakfast was cooking by 8:00. After watching one of the movies, we took the girls to a park and played around for quite a long time.

At the end of the day, we had smoked turkey for dinner and finished it all off with a rainbow chip cake. Finally, we watched the second movie, then it was off to bed.

Easter Egg hunt

This year we went to our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. It was quite a fun event. They had the Easter Egg hunt split into age groups so the little kids wouldn't get trampled by the big kids. It was kind of nice that way. Elayna and Hannah didn't want to grab "ugly" eggs (blue, orange, green), so they tried to only pick up the pretty ones. Eventually they realized that there were only a few eggs left and needed to grab whatever they could. Each ended up with almost the limit (plenty enough candy from my perspective). Sadly, it was so hot that all the chocolate candies were melted inside the eggs.

After the Egg Hunt, the girls went and got tattoos on their faces, ate a cookie and punch, played in the bouncy tent, blew some bubbles, and hugged the Easter Bunny. Needless to say, they were exhausted by the time we walked home. Yes, I said "walked" home. It is always fun walking tired children (even if it was only three blocks).

Adventures in Photography

As we near the last of our boxes, we finally found Hannah's camera. Over spring break, when we went back to Idaho Falls, she had the opportunity to show of her photography skills. Our previously planned trip to Oregon had to be rescheduled due to a small bout with Mono...grrr...moving on...Anyway, dad, Hannah, Elayna, and I walked the river pretty regulary over the week. Hannah wanted to capture as many photos as she could. Some were pretty well taken. Others needed a little cropping. Not bad for a little kids camera. Can't wait to see what she scraps with these pictures.

First Time at Dentist

So, most people aren't all too excited to go to the dentist. Elayna on the other had was super excited about her first time at the dentist. Yeah, I know I was about a year behind the recommended first dentist check-up, but in the process of moving, I delayed it slightly. None-the-less, she enjoyed every minute of it. She was even allowed to suction her own spit. I wish I could have caught her expression when she suctioned the inside of her cheek on accident.

Tubing

Shortly after all the holiday buzz wore off, Amy and Ryan were able to make it to Boise. We decided that it would be fun to try out the tubing hill in Garden Valley. They had really tiny tubes for Elayna, but she didn't weigh enough to keep her tube from falling off the tow rope and kept sliding down the hill. We eventually moved her into the double tube with me and that proved a little more effective. Hannah wanted to go off on her own, and enjoyed the moments of independence... that is until she saw how AWESOME our tubing train was. Once we were all finished, I started took off the girls' snowpants. Elayna was literally dripping wet. I took of her pants and socks and it was almost as if they had been dunked in a swimming pool. What a trooper. She didn't even complain once. I guess we need to get her better snow pants for her ski season next year ;)

Dance Performance

Well, she has gone and done it. Elayna has joined the one thing that I was positive my kids would never do...DANCE! The daycare Elayna attends offered a dance class for the 3-5 year olds once a week. Trying to break up the monotony of daycare, I signed her up for it. Little did I know that it would become her obsession. Not only does she LOVE dance, but she forced us to watch The Nutcracker about 10 times over the holidays while she danced and copied all the moves from the performers. She is currently preparing for her big recital in May. I may be biased, but she is quite the little dancer.

December 2012

For Christmas, we were blessed with family. Dale and SiRan (Papa and Little Grandma) came the Friday before Christmas and stayed until the day after Christmas. It was truly an enjoyable time. The girls especially loved having someone here for the holidays. It was Ed and my first Christmas where we didn't have to leave the house. All six of us truly took advantage of the situation and dressed in our best pajama bottoms the ENTIRE day!

For a quick transition, Papa and Little Grandma left the day after Christmas and my parents (Grr and Big Grandma) came in later that day bearing a new set of presents. Elayna especially loved the chocolates and the Lalaloopsy costume and Hannah was infatuated with her new MP3 player. Take note of the matching pheasant shirts with stylish...pajama bottoms!

A couple days later, my parents celebrated their anniversary with us. Dad took us all to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner and we treated them to a night at the Botanical Gardens: Winter Garden a Glow. very impressive evening. There was even a light snow falling to add to the experience.

Anyone who has been to my mother's house has seen, or slept in "blue blanky". So, mom brought material enough to make each girl their own "blue blanky". She had each girl guide the blanket through the sewing machine. When it was finished, she put two butterflies on each. The only difference between the blankets is the ties. Hannah has pastel colors and Elayna has rainbow colors.

Christmas Preparation!

YEAH! Camera and pictures have been found, now for a serious update. Let's start where we left off. Here is Hannah and Elayna decorating their Christmas Tree. Our new house has a living room and a family room, HOWEVER, we don't have furniture enough to fill both spaces. We decided that two Christmas Trees would be the perfect way for that. Also, here are the girls' Christmas letters to Santa. I helped Elayna spell hers, but otherwise all was done on their own. Proud of them.

November 2012

In November, we were blessed with the opportunity to see friends and family that we hadn't seen in quite some time. Melissa and Baby Davy a.k.a. Scooter came to Idaho Falls to visit. The girls truly enjoy seeing their Aunt and new cousin. We had lots of laughs and plenty of fun. Too bad the visits never seem long enough. Hopefully soon we will get everyone together for a longer period of time!

Over Thanksgiving, we went to Butte. Once again, it was great to see family that I hadn't seen in quite some time. I also got to meet my new baby cousin Otto. With so many family members, we had the Thanksgiving dinner at a nearby church. Elayna loved that red dress she is wearing. I don't think she took it off the entire weekend! Thanks Sam for sharing!

 

October 2012

Well, I had a SNOW DAY on Thursday, so I spent most of the morning putting together a couple more collages! Here is how we spent our October.

We started the month of by heading out for our annual hunting trip. This year we spent it up in Malta, Montana. My dad won an auction for a two day pheasant hunting trip for five with meals included. Not knowing what to expect, Amy,  Ryan, Ed, my dad, and me grabbed our gear and headed north. (Of course we dropped the girls off in IF to stay with Big Grandma, Little Grandma, and Papa, dogs stayed in Boise) When we arrived at the ranch, there was lunch already on the table...delicious! While there, we had some great meals, good hunting, fabulous weather, but most of all made some new friends. Here are some pictures of the week. Six boxes of shells, and limiting out twice, we had quite the successful weekend. We actually had another pheasant for dinner the other night, and my kids gobbled it up before we could have much of it!

Of course, with October, comes Halloween and Boo at the Zoo. This year we went to Boo at the Zoo in Boise. May I just say that Idaho Falls, you do a much better job. None-the-less, the girls loved it anyways. Having two little girls, Halloween will never be ghouls and goblins...it tends to be a never ending rotation of Disney Princesses. Last year we were Rupunzel and Cinderella. This year, Snow White and Ariel. Of course we wanted under the sea Ariel, so we needed a mermaid fin. Both kids truly loved the opportunity to dress like a princess.

Finally, we carved our pumpkins the weekend before Halloween. Ed drew the short straw and had to help Hannah carve her pumpkin. She always has some sort of unique, curvy face to carve out. This year, it was heart eyes. Elayna is much easier. She wanted basic shapes for the eyes and nose, and a fairly simplistic smile. I have her draw them first, then I try to replicate it. After Ed finished carving Hannah's pumpkin, he was out of energy to attempt something fancy for our pumpkin. So, he pulled out the drill and attempted to drill a nose into it. As you can see, it was quite humorous. Hannah and Elayna's contribution was gutting the pumpkins, and drawing faces on the remnants.

 

September 2012

Well, the blog has been evading me lately. Working the 14+ hours a day really can take away time from the little things. All spare time was spent with the kids...or traveling! Hopefully I can get the blog caught up and keep it there. However, I always tend to fall behind in the winter. I guess I can make that my New Year's Resolution.

Starting off the first of the three blogs is our Sage Hen Hunting Trip. Hannah looks forward to this trip, since it is a relatively mellow hunt, with not much walking. She did have to get out and hike for about 3 miles or so. She only started complaining at the furthest point from the truck. Funny how time repeats itself. I remember a similar hike when I was 6. None-the-less, she enjoyed herself. Her favorite part was spotting the birds from the sun roof. Elayna (only being 3) was left with grandma. She knows that when she is 4, she can start coming out with us as well. She actually told the waiter at the restaurant that the other day...couldn't believe she remembered. I guess we better hold up to our end of the deal.

After hunting, Ryan's band was playing down at the Teton Harley Davidson. We quickly showered and ran down there to listen for a bit! It was great to see friends and family that we hadn't seen for some time. Here are a couple of pictures of the rest of that weekend.

Lastly, Hannah had her first swim meet with the BoiseY Swim Team. She continues to speed up on her times and has made a very good friend on the team. He is also 6 and the two are inseperable at the meets and at practice. Elayna is very excited to start swimming with Hannah. We recently enrolled her in swim lessons at the YMCA as well. She is already a level 2. I told Hannah to watch out. If Elayna keeps it up, they will actually compete against each other in a couple of years. She keeps telling me she wants to swim in the big lanes with Hannah. With her determination, I believe that she will be there before we know it.