Slap Jack and Catch

Elli, Amy, and their only cousin (so far), Khanya played a little card game.
We haven't seen Khanya for more than 5 years! It was neat seeing her all grown up.
Brandy and Gregory played catch and enjoyed the shade of the trees.

Idaho Falls Parade!

It was a chilly morning on the day of the parade! We came a little late and didn't get curb side seats, so Adam was not happy that the candy rarely came back far enough for him to get much.Amy was fine with a piece here and there. She's not much of a candy girl.
Elli found a spot up close though and soon the other 2 joined her. They found out that if you wave and make lots of noise, people throw candy right at you.
Then they just had to collect it. And fast! That big kid on the left was quick, too!

Riley's List

When Riley joined us, he came with a list. A list of all the things he wanted to do. He likes to stay busy and not just sit around watching cable TV. Now that the kids are older and don't need naps, I'm okay with going all day. One thing on the list was driving to the Buttes. They are 2 old volcano mounds with a trail around the rim. I remember going to them on a field trip in 5th grade.

I wasn't excited about this hike, but it turned out to be a fun morning. Here's Adam about as excited as I was.
Once we got walking, we all had fun. Riley's Dad came with us, too. There's the great Idaho landscape behind us. Lots of flat farmland.
Elli got pooped about half way. She really was having fun.
And Amy. She was mostly happy.

Last Night in Idaho

Also on Riley's list was a bunch of restaurants that we love. We had to go to Papa Murphy's (take and bake pizza), Scotty's Drive-In, Reed's Dairy, and of course, Papa Kelsey's. They have our favorite sandwiches. It was a full week, but I think we did got thru most of the list.
And since he missed out on Heise for the family reunion, we had to go one more time.

Last Stop... Salt Lake City!

We had one full day at the end of vacation to walk around the city and show the kids where we used to live. Adam remembered a lot, Elli a little, and Amy hardly anything.This is our old house on 2nd Avenue. Old and dirty, but so many memories!
Walked around Temple Square...
and through some parks we used to play at. This is the "wheel park" at the bottom of the hill. We would walk through here at least 2-3 times a week.

The tired feet got a rest while the bellies got a snack.

City Creek Walk

This is another place we would walk to all the time. It's just down the hill from our old house.
Adam would play in this fountain every time we came. It was kind of weird to be back. Seemed like forever ago but at the same time like it was just yesterday.

Long Time Friends

These are some of the best friends we have. We were all in the same neighborhood when we were all first married. When Cheryl heard we were coming to town, she and Annalese got us all together at Liberty Park, another park we would go to often. It's always fun to see how each other's kids are growing and to catch up every few years. Helene, the one on the end with the newborn, had her baby a WEEK ago and still came! Love you guys!

Is That the Watermelon!?

The garden keeps on getting bigger! Some stuff is doing well and other stuff hasn't started. Riley didn't think we needed to label anything, so I'm guessing the huge vine in the middle is the watermelon. I know the photo below is spinach and I have already plucked some leaves off for my salads. Yum Yum!

Nathan and Emma

I started watching these two kiddos on Mondays back in February. I knew it would only be until summer, but I can't believe it went so fast. Just in the short time I watched them, I saw them grow so much! It took a couple weeks, but once they warmed up, they were right at home.We'd always eat lunch right before going to drop off Amy at the bus.
Thank goodness for Amy. They would play with her all morning and then couldn't wait for her to get home.
Look at those faces! We are going to miss having them in our home!

Playing with the Flash

Riley got me a nice, nice camera for Mother's Day. My friend, Christina, tried to show me how it works, but I think the best thing is to try it out. I have no idea what I'm doing and can't remember what I had changed to make it do different things. The kids were all sitting down watching a show, so I thought I'd practice.Sure wish I knew more. I hoped the camera would magically make every picture perfect.

Playing with the Focus

Hello, Adam.Hello, Elli.
Hello, Amy.

Decorating Cupcakes

I made some cupcakes for Sunday and Elli got to use the rest of the melted chocolate. We wrote our names and made flowers and hearts. Our names broke, but that great big heart was as solid as could be!

Summer's Bounty

I love summer fruit! Riley stops by the Produce Junction on his way home from work sometimes and the fruit is so good right now! He got strawberries, mangos, grapes, blackberries, oranges, pineapple, apples. And they have pears, nectarines, watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, raspberries, on and on...delicious.

Elli's Baptism

This last Saturday was Elli's baptism. We waited until June so that Riley's mom could be here for it. The program was short and small with good friends and good food. Elli did so well, even though the water was COLD!We were lucky to find the dress the day before.

It was a really nice day and everything went pretty smooth. We are so proud of Elli!

Things are Growing!

This is the spinach that Riley planted. Mine is still coming up too.Here is the cantaloupe I think. It's even bigger now!

Our Garden Project

We finally planted some seeds in the lovely garden box Riley made (by himself, NO instructions, with his bare hands). We had to have somewhere to put our sweet compost! We decided to try little squares and each kid picked what they wanted in their square.

Elli picked spinach and a cantaloupe I think. Adam chose peppers and a watermelon, and Amy planted some spaghetti squash.
I helped Elli plant the spinach until Riley came along and showed us how. I've never gardened before so I just started poking holes. Riley made nice little raised rows and it looked much better. He has gardened. Elli's are growing anyways.
All done and excited to watch what happens! Hope we can keep the rabbits away! I loves me spinach!
There are no pictures of the other kids that didn't look like they needed to go to the bathroom.

8 Year Old Elli

Elli turned 8 this month and she got to decide if she wanted a party or a gift from Mom and Dad. She wanted a gift, then switched to a party too late, so she got the gift anyways. Instead of a big party, she invited her favorite friend, Laurel, over for a sleep over. We took them to Pizza Hut and Country Side Ice Cream. On her real birthday, she got an Ipod and picked her favorite dinner and cake. She asked for Chicken Curry for dinner and Lemon Bars for her cake. She loves her new hat from Grandma and all the $ she got from Grandpa and Grandma and is constantly listening to her playlists on her Ipod. She'll get baptized in June and is so excited to go to Activity Days on Wednesdays!

New Things at Our House

GEESE!

Kathy sent us a package this week for Elli's and my birthday coming up. She said I could open the "pink" package inside the box now. I love opening pink packages! I could not believe it when I saw these! I knew she had found them last year and I politely said, "Oh, those are very nice," when secretly I coveted them for myself. He he. I don't know how you could part with them, Kathy, but boy oh boy I sure do love them! I will be so good to them. (thank you)SILLY BANDZ!

Not sure what it's like where you live, but Silly Bandz are crazy popular over in our town. I tried for a couple weeks to find them at the stores, but they were always sold out. Finally I ordered them online and finally they came. I must say I like them better than Bakugon and Pokemon. I think they are cute.
SNUGGIES!

Amy and I were shopping at Target and saw these on clearance for under $4! I grabbed 2. A kid one and an adult one. I wish I had one during the winter. I used to laugh at them, but not anymore. You can read, type, and....
eat while you wear one! What more could you ask for? You really need one, too.