A GIRL?

 Cade's hair was so long that we could have put pony tails in it.  He almost could have passed off as a GIRL!
Today was the day!!  YEAH, Cade was looking so straggly after two full months without a haircut.  It finally took bribing him with money to get him to relent.  The deal was he could grow his hair out over the summer, but he had to get it cut before he went back to school.  I liked it a little long, but his hair is so thick that it took on a whole new meaning for BUSH!  When I cut his side burns, he stated, he was glad to be getting rid of the side burns, and hated how they tickled his ears.  We bribed him with money to get him to cut his hair a few weeks early. It worked, and now he looks handsome with his new cut!

No more being a girl!

Bear Lake

 At the last minute we decided to head off to Bear Lake to enjoy some 4-wheeling and friends.  We spent the day swimming and riding 4-wheelers!  Don't tell, but while Craig and the boys were out 4-wheeling, Mike rolled the 4-wheeler, and Liam got hurt!  If Kathy finds out, YIKES, I would hate to be in their family.  Ha, ha, I won't tell, NOT!!!

Us girls took off by ourselves, and ended up on the other side of the mountain, way off the beaten track.  We weren't lost, but too lazy to come back the same we came, we found the main highway and prayed for the cops to disappear, as we rode through the hoards of bugs on a busy highway back to our camp ground!  Disgusting bugs, we were covered from head to toe. 

Uneventful?  I think not, but loads of fun!!

The following day, we met my parents and went to Minnetonka Cave.  Cold, chilly, but very interesting, and to top it off we had a singing tour guide!  Hmmmm, not sure what to think about that!!

Nice Job Cowboy!

"Nice Job Cowboy!", as the announcer said.  Our little city boy out riding his first cow at our local 24th of July celebration.  We though for sure Cade would back out, but after watching two of his friends ride, he was determined to out last them.  When asked if he wanted to go again, the answer was NO!  He had fun, and I am glad he had a chance to enjoy the country life for a night.

At the end of the night they duck taped money to a cow and the wanna be cowboys chased the cow to retrieve the money.  Cade came close a few times, but that slippery cow just kept escaping his grasp!  Good try!!!!

House update!

As of today, our brick if finished and the interior has all it's drywall with tape and texture.  Now we WAIT!  The stucco is scheduled next week, along with almost everything else.  We are all so excited, we can hardly wait.  They are still saying we will close at the end of this month, so cross your fingers that all works out!

 Finished Brick!

Great Room!

Kitchen View

Boating, Boating, and More Boatin!

 We took the boat out with our good friends Mike and Kathy and their two kids.  This was the best boating trip I have had in a long while.  The weather was perfect, the water was smooth, and the friends were great!  To top of a great day, Cade and I decided to try wake boarding together.  We are awesome, what can I say.  Cade is becoming a good wake boarder and we both popped up on the first try!!  SWEET!

Cade's confidence level soared this trip!  He flew over the wakes and even caught a little air.  I guess we will have to invest in a tower next year!!!

Coming Along!

After several frustrating moments, we are slowly making progress. The roof is finished along with the HVAC, rough electrical, plumbing, and installation. Next week they will begin the exterior and drywall.
We had a few minor problems, like the duck work was in the wrong location, and designing the kitchen didn't actually mean designing the kitchen. But I have to say that our builder has been easy to work with and has taken care of all the problems.

First Walk Through

Today was the first day we could actually see what our floor plan looks like. Love the Kitchen, Love the Family room, Love the porch. Little smaller Master, but totally fine. bummed about the master closet (nice, but I am spoiled now). The only real bummer was the itty bitty shower! Although standard, not big enough for Craig. O'well for the 5 minutes he spends in the shower it will have to work. He can spend the majority of his time in the garage. LOOK at that door!

Framing

Some of the same subcontractors who built our existing home are building our new home. Not the most comforting thought. Thank goodness we have the ability to visit the job sight daily, and watch the building of our home closely. They first messed up with the footings, and now our footings are a foot wider the entire base of the house. The next major mistake was they forgot to plumb the rough plumbing for a basement kitchen. Then we learned that they had to use 2x6 in the garage because our garage will be so tall. Shouldn't they know the Codes? A little unnerving, but I have to say that the builder has been fairly easy to work with and any mistakes, he is more than willing to fix. I wish I could say the same for the super intendent. O'well I am just happy to see progress. We are just over 2 months out.

Mitt Romney

I care about YOU! Whatever. Typical politician. We were invited to attend a fund raising reception for Mitt Romney. The cost was $1000 per person, but we got in for Free. It was fun being in the same room with senators, and other important people. I just wish I knew who everyone was, as far as I knew they were just some Joe off the street. O'well we felt special for one night. After listening to Mitt, I have to say I was quite impressed. He focused on the issues that hit home for me and my family, and I like what he stands for. When it was time for him to leave he raced out the door, but Craig was determined to get a picture with him.

Me and Mitt, best FRIENDS!! ha ha

Booddocks Adventure

Our Boondocks adventure turned into a little more of an adventure than we were hoping for. We started our afternoon off with bowling and I managed to score fabulous score of 89! Going for the Pros! Then my dear sweet husband decided he wanted to ride the bumper boats. Craig went out to the car to place my purse and all our items we did not want to get wet. When he returned he had that horrible look like something terrible had happened. He was so diligent and placed everything in the trunk along with the KEYS! Yikes we called Dad and he rushed out the door to save our day. In the mean time we exchanged the bumper boat passes for pizza! We had one $24.00 pass and everything else was in the trunk. Out the door went the fun, and we opted for food instead. While waiting for food they made a mistake on our pizza and compt our entire meal. Thank you for simple blessings. Dad showed up shortly after and all was well.

Aaron Riding His Bike!

Last year we tried to teach Aaron how to ride his bike without training wheels. After several failed attempts and falling head over the handle bars Aaron was determined to never get on his bike again.

This year we decided to try again. With Aaron being a little taller and could now touch the ground it made a huge difference. After several tries, Aaron took off. He now zooms around the neighborhood with little trouble. Aaron loves his bikes and we can hardly get him off it.

Our New House

After several stressful moments, our new house is making progress. They poured the foundation on Thursday, and should begin framing next week. We are so excited, we can hardly wait!

Twin Falls

My dad has always loved to take drives, he loves the country and if he had his way he would travel the world. He has an amazing memory and can remember and recall details that we quickly forget. He can tell you facts about places that many people have no clue. I always learn so much and it was so fun spending the day with my parents.

At the end of our day the kids found this amazing hill, and couldn't resist rolling down! I think Pain, they think FUN!

Twin Falls

With the massive snow melt and unrelenting rain, the falls were amazing! Wow, so worth the broken down car and the 3 hour drive!

Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere

With nothing to do on a beautiful Saturday, we decided to load up in my parents 1980 van and head to Twin Falls for the day. Craig was very apprehensive (he jinxed us) and stated that the old van would never make the trip.
We made it to a lonely gas station in The Middle of Nowhere where the old van began to overheat.
Determined to keep going we put water in the radiator, and headed on our way.




This is Craig's happy face about being stranded in The Middle of Nowhere!

This is the lone gas station with out a toilet, but at least they had water! Cade's dutiful job was to fill the water bottles for Grandpa.

In the Middle of Nowhere we got to see alpacas with their funny new haircuts! Always an adventure when we travel with my parents!

Making Progress

My Second Grade Class

Started the year with nearly 8 kiddo's who could not read, major behavior issues, one student who was autistic, and one student with a processing disorder. After a grueling year I now have three IEP's written, two students reading at a first grade level and two who made benchmark. WOW! is all I can say. I survived and I still have a job to come back to next year.

Our New House!!!

They poured the footings to our new house, and with all the rain over the weekend we now have a swimming pool.

The footing subcontractors could not get their act together, first they set the house too far west and then it was to0 close to the street. So after moving the footing twice it is now being framed. We now have 33 inch footings all around the base of our house. It should be strong and stable by the time we are finished!

Precious Moments

Every once in a while you turn around and your children surprise you. This was one of those moments. I sent the kids outside to play, after a long day of constant fighting and this is what I saw. Cade was teaching Aaron how to play baseball. I watched from the window as Cade patiently worked with Aaron and taught him how to watch the ball and swing the bat. In the end Aaron hit the ball right into Cade's Crotch (Ouch). Great swing Aaron!!