Because the 1st one didn't take....

Today Mike is applying and registering for classes and getting ready to go back to school. (It started a week ago, but Mike thinks he is special and will start on Monday.) I guess that the 1st bachelor's didn't really do much for us or something, so now we are going to try again. So, he is now taking Education core classes and next semester we hope to see him student teaching. By this time next year we hope he is a certified teacher with a teaching job and that our lives can be somewhat stable...Here's to hoping.
In other news. It is that time of year when the garden starts producing and the fruits of our labors pay off. We have eaten potatoes, corn, cucumbers and carrots from the garden. We have 3 pumpkins...Just the right amount for us this year and we have this amazing onion that is about to sprout legs and break free from the dirt. I can't believe how huge this thing is!! It makes me laugh when I see it and I just can't bring myself to pull it up yet. I don't know why.

Family photos!

On Friday evening, we went and had our $5 family picture taken at the school. Since we were all dressed up, I thought we should probably take advantage and get some pics of us. So, my friend Lisa came and shot some great pictures of us. I think they turned out pretty well. We tried to get by a red barn that is pretty cool, but the side we needed, was growing a ton of stinging nettle. (Lisa found that out for us 1st hand!) Anyway, I want to maybe put one at the top of my blog, so feel free to vote which is your favorite!!

First day of school, movie party with friends and boating with the Brunson's!

School started last week and the girls were pretty excited about it. I have to admit that I had a harder time leaving Brinlee at the school this year on the first day. It seems strange that she won't be my little buddy for 1/2 the day, but I always have Aidan to fill in the would be quiet hours!
Anyway, they LOVE school!! I am so grateful that they are so willing to go and do anything. And that they love most everything in life right now!
We had a small party on Friday night to watch Hannah Montana the Movie. The girls invited a couple of friends and they watched it outside...yes, in the sunshine (it was from 7-9 so the sun wasn't quite down). It was a lot of screaming and sqealing! But, I think it was pretty fun too!

On Saturday Bonnie and Jason invited us up to the boat club that they belong to and we were able to go boating with them. My kids were able to ride tubes for the 1st time and LOVED it so much...they are already trying to plan the next boat trip!

I also took a turn on the tube with my good pal Bonnie and we took Morgan and Aidan with us. Aidan actually thought that it was a-ok too! I was also introduced to "Tube Wars" with the Brunson fam and let me tell you, it can be brutal...I think they took it easy on me since I could barely hang on as it was! I did get dumped and then I was out for good. I am STILL sore!! Thanks for the great memories and muscle pain you guys!!

Things that don't "crack" me up!

I can find a lot of joy in my children. They come up with some hilarious things to say and do and can be quite fun. HOWEVER! Some things do not "crack" me up. Let me explain the day I was having at the time I took these pictures. Only Aidan and I were home. So, I put him in the tub and went to grab a diaper for him. After I returned 20 seconds later, I noticed he had pulled his towel into the tub and then thrown it out on the floor and was proceeding to dump cupfuls of water on top of it. So, I got him out and dressed him. While I was cleaning the bathroom, he proceeded to get in the fridge and break the eggs in the egg carton all over. Great. So, I had to clean the fridge. Which to be quite honest, really did need it. While I was cleaning the fridge, he went outside and got a scoopful of pebbles from our backyard and came in and dumped them all over my living room carpet. Aw...the joys of a 19 month old baby boy!! Needless to say naptime and bedtime are a favorite at our house!! :)

The Wedding of the Century!!

Last Thursday my brother Andy got married. We couldn't have been more happy or excited!! My new sister in law is Kristin and my girls absolutely adore her. She is perfect for my brother and he waited a long time to find her! Here are a couple of pics from the BIG event!!

This is my grandma with my girls. My mom has this great friend Colleen who made some delicious treats for people to have after the wedding while we waited for the bride and groom to come out. It was so perfect and we are so thankful to her! Anyway, here they are enjoying the treats!

Here is my sister and my girls. She is the best aunt in the whole world...Don't believe me? Ask my kids!!

A picture on the famous stone steps. We waited for a while...and the kids were kind of bored...


No,this is not a picture of Kristin or Andy's family. Yes, that is my dad. He likes to play "Who is that guy?" in wedding photos. When my dad goes to weddings at the temple, he waits until other bridal parties are taking family photos and then just casually gets into them like he is part of their family. I am sure that the bride and groom and their families wonder "who is that guy" when they get their pictures developed. Everyone thinks this is a hilarious joke in our family!! **Side note on this particular day. My dad was helping the grandparents and others get positioned for the picture. Like he was really part of the family or something!!

These are pictures from the reception. It was in this really amazing greenhouse place and it was so beautiful. The batteries in my camera died at the end of the reception, but a limo picked them up and my girls thought that was a dream come true. They really wanted to see inside, but there just wasn't time...I guess Andy and Kristin will have to tell them all about it...
Anyway,now my bachelor brother is a married man. How strange/wonderful is that? And, they lived happily ever after...The end!!!

PS Kristin's dad does AMAZING wedding videos. Here is the link to his blog if you want to watch Andy and Kristin's "pre-wedding" video. I can't wait to see the wedding video!! http://idovideos.blogspot.com/

It was more fun when I was a kid....

Every year when I was growing up, we would float Big Springs with our cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents. It was so much fun and we loved it! Mike and I haven't floated since we had kids because...well, I am not sure what the excuses were. Anyway, this year, my aunt Rosalie and uncle Ryan and my cousins Lane and Megan and their families invited Mike and I to bum along on a river float! It was really fun, but I remember it being a lot more fun and way less work when I was a kid.
This is what we looked like starting out. Aidan wasn't much fun at first. He kept crying and whining and so I thought it was going to be even more miserable. However, halfway through, we figured out he just wanted to put his feet and hands in and play in the water...not float in a canoe!
Mike thought the kids would have fun in a raft to float down, with us pulling them behind. About half way through the trip, he said it was like pulling an iceberg and so he deflated the raft and they rode with us. This is how Cambree rode most of the way in the raft...

Soon, we were able to adopt out one of our children to another canoe. This is Brinlee hitching a ride with Jaxon, Courtney and Megan! She rode the rest of the way down the river with them. (Thanks you Anderson people!) Megan is due to have a baby in about 3 weeks!?! Crazy isn't she?

This is my aunt and uncle and Mikayla... she is Lane and Chelsie's little girl. My girls love playing with their girls!

Chelsie, Lane, Makenzie and Mason... (Ryan and Rosalie in the background along with everyone else in the state!)

Here Aidan is at the end of the trip kicking his feet in the water.
At the end we just played in the river while we waited for the boys to shuttle back the cars!

Free Weekend at Yellowstone National Park!!

This past weekend it was free to get into national parks. So, Mike thought it would be the perfect time for a little ride up to Yellowstone. (Who can argue with free right?) We saw several animals...Elk, Buffalo, a bald eagle in a nest and the occasional chipmunk. It wasn't the most animals that we have seen there, but it was enough to satisfy!
The elk below had antlers that were in velvet. Didn't mean a lot to me, but Mike thought they were very nice!

This buffalo was so close to the road and lying on a dusty hillside... You can actually see the road on the lower left corner along with the photographer in the mirror.

Mike thought this was one "healthy" looking elk. Always fun to go to Yellowstone with a hunter!
We had a picnic and Brinlee was our official scout. Actually, she just thought these were cool rocks that would make a great picture. Not sure why she is posing like that...

We kept making stops to get the kids out for a little stretch and to take little hikes to see what was happening with the good old hot pots and geysers. We stopped at Yellowstone lake so that "Aidan" could throw rocks. However, I guess we really know who the rock skipper in our family is....



A few years ago, when we were on a trip with my family, we happened upon a fun hike to the "Artist Paintpots". It has these really cool pots that spurt up muddy clay stuff and make super great noises. Definitely worth the hike to see. (Sorry you missed it Sean...we missed you.)

On the way home, Cambree had to use the restroom, so we stopped at a little wayside rest stop and there was a spring that you could drink out of. So, Cam took full advantage of that!
That sums up the adventures of Yellowstone that we had last weekend...I only wish we could have seen a moose...Right Dad?!?