Tuesday, July 29, 2014

QOTD

"Girls...you just never know what they're going to do next." -Preston

QOTD

"Dogs are like humans, except they have fur...and 4 legs...and a tail..." - Archer

The Road Home

We were all ready to get home - and we all missed Ender! - so we left on Sat morning and decided to drive straight through instead of spending another night in a hotel. You would think 9 hours wouldn't be that bad for us since we're used to road trips, but it dragged on. We got to make a few little pit stops along the way (and a few more than we planned due to a queasy kid!).

And now...we're home and the unpacking/laundry/garden/housework catch up has begun. I'm thankful that we have a bit of a break before we have any other big summer plans!

Friday, July 25, 2014

Sun Valley

We have been in Sun Valley for the past few days - John has a dental conference so we are tagging along. Honestly...I haven't been super impressed, but I think a lot of that is because we love in such a beautiful place, that it takes a lot to impress me these days (unless it involves 90 degrees, white sandy beaches, and warm ocean water...then it doesn't take much to impress me!). Either way, we've had a fun time and have gotten to see a part of Idaho that we haven't been to before. 

The boys and I have been spending most of our days at the pool. It's been pretty warm, and the pool at the condo we are staying at is pretty quiet. We've spent hours there, and while I can't say it's super relaxing for me (Archer has decided he can't swim, despite being a pretty decent swimmer at swimming lessons!), 2 of the 3 are good enough swimmers that they can do their thing...the one who thinks he can't swim though...that's another story! 

We've also been exploring Sun Valley some. We've tried out a few nice restaurants, checked out the cars for the Sun Valley car rally, and went to the sawtooth botanical gardens. Overall, it's been nice to getaway, but I'm excited to go home!

Ready to road trip!

We had some beautiful scenery on the drive

Pool time!

The botanical garden had a gigantic sandbox...the kids could've played there all day!
The beautiful greenhouse! I got some good ideas...

Dinner at The Cellar Pub. Delicious. But the boys were all in a good coma after downing footlong hand-dipped corndogs and fries!

Tomorrow we start towards home. We haven't decided yet if we will stop in Missoula or try to make it all the way!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Another camping trip

We have been crazy busy. I feel like we are hardly home...we go from one thing to the next. And anyone who knows me knows that I LIKE to be home. I might be getting a little homesick!

Last weekend we had planned to go to Wenatchee with John's family, but our plans were altered by wildfires. We ended up near Snoqualmie Pass, near a little lake. Unfortunately, while the forecast was in the low 100's in Wenatchee, it was only in the low 70's where we were. I had envisioned a weekend of paddleboarding and playing by the lake, but I didn't quite get my way. 

Either way, we still managed a short paddleboard trip, the boys got to try out Archer's inflatable raft that he got for his birthday, and Ender got to take her first swim in the lake. 
Smoky sky


And he's 5.

My baby turns 5 today. FIVE! Such a big number. The magic "starting school in the Fall" number. (No, I'm not ready for that!)

We are currently in Sun Valley tagging along on a dental conference with John, so we did Arch's big birthday celebration a while ago, but of course we have to make today special too!

We started the morning with a breakfast of chocolate milk, bacon, kix, sweet potato bars, and raspberries. All requested by the 5 year old. 

We are kinda holed up in the condo currently, since it's a bit too cold for a swim and there's not a whole lot of other things to do besides outdoor things. The boys have played a few games, read a book or two, played with Arch's new police car (present from Grandma that he brought along), and they are now watching Daniel Tiger. They are starting to act a bit cooped up though, so we're going swimming after lunch whether it's warm or not!

Archer, at 5:
Still mommy's boy.
Loves loves LOVES the puppy.
Is majorly into police officer stuff. He wants to be a police officer and a dentist when he grows up.
Is opinionated about pretty much everything.
Gets hurt multiple times per day. He's a rough and tough boy! There is no middle ground with this child...he goes 100% until he crashes. 
He is NOT a sleeper. Never has been, but I thought this might change at some point. It hasn't yet! He consistently gets less sleep than both of his brothers. Truthfully, he needs more, but he doesn't like to sleep. When he is well-rested, he has a slightly less intense temperament. :)
Loves water, dirt, worms, animals, cars...boy stuff!
He's still a hugger and cuddler! 


Monday, July 14, 2014

Celebrating

Yesterday we celebrated Archer's 5th birthday. His actual birthday isn't until the 24tg, but we have a crazy schedule for the next few weeks, so we decided to go for an early celebration. 

We started the day off with presents and a special breakfast for the boy (French Toast!). This kid is seriously into police stuff and his most requested item was a REAL police car. Ya know, one that drives and has lights and a siren. Thank goodness for craigslist! I had been looking off and on for months and finally one popped up and we snagged it. Between that, a new police shirt, and an inflatable raft from momma & poppa, the kid was in heaven! 

We BBQ'd with friends last night - the adults chatted in the shade while the kids played in the pool. Archer loved his police car cake (not one of my better creations, unfortunately), and we had popsicles. It was the perfect way to celebrate our youngest little guy. More about ARCHER on his actual birthday, but let's just say I'm having a hard time accepting that my baby is going to be 5!


And just a quick pic from today of the boys enjoying the pool and the pup on guard:


Saturday, July 12, 2014

So much to do...

...so little time to blog about it!

We have been camping, going to the beach, bike riding, golfing, gardening, playing in the sprinklers, enjoying the outdoors, going to the park, going to Silverwood...and so much more. Summer has been crazy busy! I've been snapping pictures when I get a chance (how did I ever take pictures before iPhones??), but not as often as I wish I would!

Yummy garden bounty! Our peas are finally ending, the strawberries are just about done, and the blueberries and raspberries are just getting started. We've picked a handful of cherry tomatoes, but not many yet. We enjoyed our first beautiful head of broccoli, and we're anxiously awaiting green beans! I'm going to try a Fall garden this year, so we're getting ready to plant that.
We are fortunate to have a neighbor who gets us free tickets to lots of events at the fairgrounds. We get to go to way more events than we would otherwise...like Monster Trucks!

Selfie by the 4-yr-old

Poor B! He was walking Ender and had a little issue!

We went camping over the 4th. Not my pick of times to camp, but it wasn't too crowded and most of us had a good time. (I was kinda cranky and not feeling like camping.)

After we got back from camping, we did a little fireworks celebration in our backyard.

Ender LOVES the sprinkler. In fact, we've been turning it on just for her, even if the boys don't want to play. She will run through it as long as it's on!

This kid is working his way through a big summer reading list

Silverwood!

Oh, yuba. We LOVE the yuba. It has enabled bike rides that might not be possible otherwise.

And take a look at our weather forecast! I'm envisioning lots of ripe tomatoes in our near future!
High 90's! Thunderstorms! Sunshine! Lows in the 60's! This is why I insist on only taking vacations in the winter/Spring. Who wants to leave this???