Hiking, Camping, Canoeing, and Just Plain Fun!!

We have had a fun couple of weeks. A couple of weeks ago my Dad, Barbara,Kenzie, my kids and I went hiking up to a beautiful waterfall. At first the kids were a little whiny about walking so much but once the trail got a little rockier, prettier, and harder they loved it!! The waterfall at the end was definitely worth the climb! It is the same hike we took a few years ago with Chris and Jen so it was a nice remembrance of that as well!

I just can't get over this picture...for any of you who know Brayden well...the irony of the word danger under him on the rock makes me laugh. I didn't even notice it until I got home and put the pics on the computer!!



If you notice up in the recesses of the cliff is Jordan...this was a great accomplishment as he is terrified of heights...



The kids and I!!!



Grandpa and Brayden!!



The end is in sight!!

For the 4th of July Barbara, her kids, and my kids and I went to the Miller's cabin in Island Park, Idaho. We had a great time!! There was a lot of canoeing, playing, and just plain chilling out!! The morning of the 4th we were roused out of our beds by a loud horn that kept going off and finally the kids came and told us there was a parade. So we ran to the end of the lane and enjoyed a parade-cabin style-lots of four wheelers, decorated bikes, trucks hauling boats, and, of course, candy!! On an interesting note, we saw Jordan's school teacher and family in the parade-small world! Later we went and sat on rocks at the waters edge and watched fireworks over the water which was very pretty!! It really was one of the best 4th of July's I have ever had!! On a sad note I did drop my camera into that beautiful lake and it has never recovered, so for a while my blog may be pictureless. :(



Brock, Caleb, and Brayden impatiently waiting for the fireworks to start.



Barb and Josh



Jordan, Tristan, and Kenzie- professional canoers!



Caleb and Connor



Barb, me, and a whole lot of boys (5 to be exact!!)- we were not professional canoers- we kept going in circles and almost hitting other peoples docks or boats- for some reason we did much better the next day when Barb was in charge of steering-go figure!! :)

We have had a lot of fun and are looking forward to camping next week! It is nice to get a break here and there from the "real world"!

To My "Little" Bro!!

Well obviously I have been way behind on my posts!! First and foremost I must say I am sorry to my dear brother, Chris, for not posting about his funeral sooner...some pains take time to be able to face. I still sometimes am taken by surprise that Chris is gone. I will visit his grave and be surprised all over again for the millionth time that he is there. But maybe that is because I know, as do we all, that he is not really there but is in Sadie's laughter, Jen's strength, and all of our hearts. I know he is doing great work on the other side, both for those there, and us here and I am so proud of him for that. To me there is no better tribute to one, then to say...you have lived your life well, you have blessed others, you have been true to yourself and to your Heavenly Father, you have nothing to regret...and that is Chris. I love you Chris, I miss you, and I am so proud of you!

I have had a rough few months...I am learning that trials hurt, some pains seem so much bigger than anyone should have to take but the Lord is there...always. He is our strength, our rock, our Savior, we only have to let Him in. He can't always stop the rain but He can open our hearts that the rain feeds our soul instead of drowns it. I am learning that some pains are bigger than any one person can take on their own and there is yet one more reason for family...sometimes friends and family are the only way you get up in the morning and put one foot in front of the other. And for that I want to thank mine...you all are wonderful...I couldn't make it without you and thank you.

Busy Month

Well, it's been a busy few weeks. We had 4 boys in soccer, 2 boys in scouts, 1 girl in track, 1 girl and 1 Mom (me) in Young Women's. Whoo....the time has come to an end, it's been crazy but fun!! Some highlights....Jordan loved his soccer team....the second one....the first one he was so unimpressed with because of their rudeness and swearing that he wanted to quit. But once we changed his team he loved it. I was very impressed with his desire to be in a good environment! Go Jordan!! Jordan is also in a chess tournament...and doing very well...obviously he doesn't take after his mother over this one! But I am very proud of him!

Brock lost his last soccer game but won in the sportsmans area!! He was kicking the ball in the middle of a group of boys and one tripped and fell, the ball landed right in front of Brock. I was (as a good soccer mom does) yelling...get the ball!! get the ball!!! He literally stepped around the ball and gave the fallen boy (from the other team) his hand and helped him up. Then he followed the boy asking are you allright, are you allright...while the boy was trying to go get the ball!! I was crying...I figured...ok...Brock will never be a football player (can you imagine...Did I hit you too hard...are you ok?...I am so sorry!) but he will be a caring guy...who needs football player sons anyway! :) Needless to say it was a proud Mom moment.



Tristan made North End in track...don't ask I guess it is like half district or something. She trained to be a sprinter and ran the mile at one meet just for fun because she hadn't qualified in anything else that meet. Her time was good enough to make North End and so she had a whole two days to train! She ran the mile in 6 minutes 49 seconds...not quite good enough to make district but she did get 12th place out of 26 and she won her heat. Her coach told her he was excited to see her next year and train her for distance and he figured he could get her to district!!! Go Tristan!! I was, of course, crying...it made me proud to see her run her little heart out.


The twins played soccer and did a great job!! It was fun to watch them play soccer for the first time ever! They both did a great job. It has been a fun couple of months but very, very busy!!!

Winter Fun!!

Just thought I would post some pics of the kids having fun in the snow. Grandpa York took all the kids tubing down his street behind his neighbors 4 wheeler. The kids had a blast (and so did the adults!! :)) Grandpa was even good enough to let three boys sit with him on the 4 wheeler at the same time so every one could get a turn "first".

Every year a snow plow comes and plows the snow from the roads into a big hill right in front of our house. The kids love it and find new and creative ways to use it!!

more elfed

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Kids Elfed

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Brayden...again!!

Well we have yet another doctor visit for Brayden. Somehow he fell off a nine foot cement driveway and was no worse for wear, but play Santa Claus with his brother, Brock, and watch out!! Somehow, in Brayden's words, Brock dodged him and he hit the table...I don't know I never knew Santa Claus could be so dangerous but with our boys I guess anything goes! So for Christmas this year Brayden got six stitches! He handled it well...didn't cry at all until i got home and changed the band aid...go figure...the shots don't hurt...the stitches don't hurt...but take off a band aid... :)

Makeover!!!

Well, with Chei's help my bathroom got a makeover this week!! I didn't get any before pics but lets just say it really needed it! Our baseboards were cracking (Darrin and a friend replaced those-my hero!!), our towel rack was broken off the wall (another heroic act by Darrin got a new one put on the wall :) ), and we didn't have a shower curtain...yes, it was sad. Oh and it is our guest bathroom....so here are the pics of my new bathroom...after lots of painting by Chei and I and lots of scraping paint off the floors by Tristan and Jordan it had its unveiling on Thanksgiving. Yay to new bathrooms!! :)

Yes Chei and I were a little crazy off the fumes!!

The finished product!!