Land that I love! Happy fourth

 We had a great fourth in Idaho. Everyone woke up early and went over to Buhl to run the 5k. Navy and I cheered them on as they crossed the finish line. 

Benjamin won 2nd place overall and got a medal!

Emma won first place in the girls age 10-19 group!

Emilee, my cousins wife who is 8 months pregnant won first in her age group too! 

Grandma won first in her age group also! 

I would say our family swept that 5k up!

After we stayed for the parade. It was probably the longest parade I have been to in awhile. The kids loved getting hit with water guns and getting all the candy! 

That night we had a bbq at Jeff and Janelle’s. We played bocce ball and cross net. The kids had so much fun running around and enjoying the weather. Uncle Jeff even put on a firework show for everyone. Growing up it was one of our favorite parts of the fourth! We were so excited that our kids got to experience it too. They loved it!

On Sunday we played games and then drove down the road where we got a view of the valley. We had the perfect spot to watch all the fireworks. Our favorite ones were a smiley face and a flag! We got home and Kylee had bought some fireworks too. Such a fun way to end the night.

We are so grateful to live in a land where we can be free. I love the fourth! 

Finally back in ID

 Yay!!! The kids and I couldn’t wait to come back after Covid. We got to visit my cousin’s house where he has the cutest little puppies. The kids loved the dog piles. We went down to Bass Lake in the canyon with my friend. She has a girl Navy’s age and they were both so excited to see each other. The kids had a blast playing in the sand and swimming. They would swim out to the dock and then do flips and jumps out there. They also got to go out in the kayaks and can’t wait to go back. It was beautiful there that night and we had it almost to ourselves. 

Emma is 11

 We celebrated this beautiful girl! I’m so proud of this one. She had an amazing school year. She is just getting so big and mature. Emma would do everything she needed for school and organize all of her activities without being asked. She has babysat a few times and it’s so fun watching her grow up and turn into this smart, wonderful teen! 

For her birthday she got her BFF cousin Penny to have a sleepover! This doesn’t happen and was a very special occasion where everything just aligned for her big day! The girls had the best day and I loved watching them. We started off the day with going to get pedis and manis. They of course got matching colors. After we went shopping. They got matching things plus fun things to do. We went and got birthday drinks then home for lunch. They were so excited that we were the only ones home so they had no boys. They got face masks from the store so they had some spa time as they refreshed their youthful glows. That night we went ice skating at the knights practice rink. It was the kids first time, but a blast! It was also super nice hanging out in a cold place and getting out of the Vegas heat.  

A couple weeks before we added a kitten to the mix. We had bad luck in our old neighborhood so this change of scenery with him will be great! His name is Boots, after Puss in Boots from Shrek. The kids are so excited and want Ghost to be donkey for Halloween. This cat is so fun and loves to cuddle and just purrs and purrs. We sure love him. My sister’s in laws had a litter of kittens and were so kind. We were able to go visit them a few times before we took Boots home. 

On Monday we swam and had her birthday dinner at my parents house. She wanted to go night swimming with the fun lights. Emma had braces last year on her birthday and during Christmas when I made caramel. So instead of a cake or cupcakes she asked for her own pan of homemade caramel. I made a big one for everyone and then she got her own heart shaped pan. It is my great grandmas recipe and so yummy! 

Happy birthday sweet girl! I love you Emma. 

Father’s Day

 I’m incredibly grateful for the men in our lives. My grandpas are just the best you could ever ask for. My dad is our rock and I don’t know what we would do without him. Thank you for your example to each of us. Jeff thank you for loving our family and providing the best bbq swim days! Jake, I don’t know how you do it all. For what you have done and what you do for us. Thank you for protecting our family and loving us. Happy Father’s Day to all you amazing men! 

Also since I’m the #1 child, I got my dad socks with my face on them! 😂

June summer fun

 We did lots of swimming in June and had fun with company that came to visit. We got to enjoy the drive in a few times and we all know that’s one of our favorite places. Can’t wait for the rest of the summer fun!

End of school

 School is out! Time for summer! The kids had a great year for being a weird virtual year. Benjamin did much better in person school then virtual. He needs more going on and is too social lol. Emma just carried herself this year. She absolutely just killed her last year of elementary school. Noah loved being in person too, he is so ready for second grade. 

Noah’s teacher was so sweet and planned a summer swim party since the kids didn’t get a end of the year field trip. We had so much fun swimming and hanging out with his friends. This boy also got one of the best awards he can get! Noah received “the most caring person” award for first grade. It sure made this mama proud hearing the stories that got him this. 

Navy got so lucky and was able to go to the elementary school near us for pre school. She was able to get in for the last two months and absolutely loved it! She loved her teachers and her friends. It was so fun hearing her come home with the fun things she learned. We also loved going on our walks since the school was so close.