Enjoying Winchester Lake

Throwing Rocks

Addi checks out "MyUncleShane's" motorcycle

Kaden Mikal 4 months old!

Uncle Shane visits

We had a nice visit with Shane. Tony and Shane had an awesome time on the river with the boys and they both came back sporting nice tans. Addison loved to have him here and she calls him "myuncleshane". It is all one word, and it is his name according to her. He will be living in Portland now and we are happy to have him closer to us. Portland is close enough for semi-frequent weekend visits. Shane stayed with us for a while when he was a senior in highschool. He made alot of friends while he was here and it was nice for everyone to get a chance to see him again. Shane is a great guy and one of my closet friends. I am really happy he is my brother!

Camping at WInchester Lake

On our own

Tony just left for a 4+ day rafting trip with the boys. I am so jealous. It is hard not to be. I can't even imagine being able to go do something like that without my kids. It sounds good in theory but I bet in reality I would be worried about them the whole time. When they are older I am going to start doing those things again. Tony's little brother Shane came to visit and is going on the trip with Tony. They are floating the lower Salmon through Hells Canyon. It is a fun trip, one I used to do every summer while I was in college. The beauty and the solitude you experience in that canyon is breathtaking, and the rush of the whitewater experience is amazing. Tony is going with the group of boys I hung out with in college. When Tony moved to Moscow so we could be together, he was welcomed into the group. I would never have imagined back in those days when I was partying and having all the fun on these trips that one day my husband would go and I would stay home to bake and take care of the kids. :o) Holy cow life happens fast. I did stay up all night baking four loafs of bread for them to take and a few batches of cookies. I know they are going to have so much fun and I am happy for that. Tony and Shane deserve this time together after being apart for so long while Shane was in the Marines. They are making memories this weekend they will have thier whole life. That makes me smile. As for me, I am not going to sit around here and feel sorry for myself. I am packing up the kids and going camping this weekend at Winchester Lake. I booked a great campsite in the shade over looking the lake and we will be there for three days enjoying ourselves. The internet never ceases to amaze me. I was able to brose campsites, looking at pictures of eachone and then reserve it right on the state of Idaho parks website! Fabulous. I hope I catch a monster bass.

The box says it all....

Shake yer butt!

Put 'em up!

Mr. Grumpy Pants

This one's for the coolest girl in the world

Addi has a new friend. She is older and "so cool" (according to Addi). Her name is Zoe and she lives next door. She is going into the first grade. Addi follows her around like she is star struck. Anything Zoe wants to play is just fine with Addi. I think that all little girls have some older girl they look up to. If you are lucky enough to have a big sister, she usually fills this role. But I wasn't blessed with a big sister and neither was Addi. Addi has Zoe, and I am sure there will be several others as she gets older. For me, there is one girl in particular that filled this role. Her name was Brooke. She lived up the street. She was two years older and she was the coolest girl in the world. (According to me) Brooke was absolutely beautiful, athletic, artistic, creative, tough and sensitive at the same time, popular, funny and loyal. She was there to help me improve my softball skills, help me dress cool during those awkward jr. high days, my shoulder to cry on about a fight with my friends, and give me advice about boys. She saved my life when as a sophmore in high school I managed to piss off the biggest scariest senior on campus. Just by knowing her I felt cooler myself. I hope that Addi finds her own Brooke to help her through jr. high and high school in the way a mother can't. But for now she has Zoe, and she is lovin every minute of it. :o)

4th of July 2009

Bears, Oh my!

Bubble boy blue

All work and no play makes me a dull girl.....

I arrived home from work this morning to find Addi dancing naked in the living room to some Led Zepplin using this mornings paper as a guitar. The house was a complete disaster. I want to fully blame my husband for this, but deep down I know I am partially to blame. It is summertime and I feel like a kid again, trying to squeeze in as much fun as I possibly can out of each and every day. The direct result of that of course is falling behind on my housework. All mothers know you can't take a day off from your chores, you simply will have more to do the next day. I don't think men can understand this because somehow everything eventually magically cleans itself and puts itself away in it's proper place. Magic. Yeah right. So today I am taking a day off from fun and staying in to clean my house and get all my laundry done. Yay. :o) But I do love the feeling when it is done, even if it is for a short moment. Yesterday we went boating with Will and Mandi on lake Couer d'Alene. It was a beautiful day and I am thankful that I got to spend time with my friends. Will's nephew kept trying to hold Addi's hand and when she declined he would start bawling. I tried to explain to the little man that Addi doesn't hold hands on the first date, and he would have to prove his worthiness to her. The crying probably wasn't helping with that. But I suppose I will have to teach her to be more polite with her rejections. Although, I must admit I wouldn't mind if she made the boys cry for the next 20 years or so. Will's brother in law was very enthusiastic about Idaho's scenery, and it did make me feel proud to live in state filled with so much beauty. He made me giggle when he said, "wow, even the kids seem happier here. Look at how happy this little country baby is. I have never seen a baby so happy." I didn't tell him that Kaden is not a country baby. We live in a city, in a neighborhood. But then it occured to me that he probably considers all of Idaho the country. :o) Yeah summer time is awesome. Can't wait to have some more fun once I get my housework done!!!

A great way to get the kids ready for bed....

Saturday Adventures

Saturday tradition around these parts is to go on a Saturday adventure. I usually have no idea what we are going to do, I just pack up the car or stroller with all the food and necessities we will need for the day and take off. It is always fun, and always random. We usually always find something new to entertain ourselves for the day. This Saturday we found a nice country park in Whitman County, WA. It was beautiful!! It had a really nice playground that entertained Addi for hours and plenty of shade thanks to all the beautiful trees. They had hiking trails that were nicely groomed and well shaded as well. It made for the perfect Saturday. On the way home we stopped at Dairy Queen for a blizzard. Mmmmmmmmm. Today we are hiding inside from the heat. Tony slept in and Addi went in to wake him up by saying, "Good morning Dad! Wake up! It's Game Time! Time to play video games!".......he came down the stairs a few minutes later with a grin on his face. We are going to chill out and enjoy eachothers company today. And most certainly going to be playing some video games.