Summertime fun!

There will be more to come, but for now this is all I have time for.

4th of July rodeo in Oakley.

Wheeler Farm. It was sooo hot that day. We went with my sister Britta and her son Gage, and my sister Kimley and a girl she nannies for named Elle.

Hunter loves to iron. Didn't get that from me!

Lounging after church.

Dressed in their Sunday best.

Water fun in the hot sun!

Soapstone camping. Playing in the rain.

Hunter and Norah played in the rain and got soaked. We told Hunter to go change his clothes. He was half way through changing when he spotted a squirrel out the window. He grabbed his BB gun and ran out half dressed. He kept saying he wanted to shoot a bird or a squirrel to hang in his room. I tell Greg all the time that he is brainwashing our kids with all this hunting stuff. This just proves my point. I'm just glad Hunter didn't actually get something because he really would have wanted it in his room and I would have had to be the mean guy and tell him "no".

Camping at the bow hunt.

Norah and her cousin "Big Josh". Hunter and Norah love Josh so much. He is always so good to them and will play with them and do whatever they want. Norah had picked some wild flowers and Josh helped her put them in holes in the tree stump.

Bath time in the trailer.

Getting on the bus with the big kids! Hunter said he had a great day until the bus ride home. When he got off the bus I was waiting and I could tell he was fighting back tears. He ran to me, hugged me and cried. He was scared that the bus driver didn't know where to drop him off and that he would get lost. I feel bad I didn't explain it to him before hand. I made sure he knew all about the pick up and where to go once he got to school. I just assumed he knew he'd be dropped off at the right place on the way home. Poor guy was one of the last drop offs too so he was watching all the other kids get off. I think that added to his anxiety.

My mom, Greg, Norah and I walked Hunter to the bus stop his first day. Norah had to push her bear in her stroller.

Hunter's first day of kindergarten. I can't believe he is so old!

Hunter got some cross country skis for Christmas. Hunter got the idea from my dad who cross country skis regularly during the winter. My dad makes a track around his 5 acres and will do laps when he can't get up to the mountain trails. Hunter asked Santa for skis and a snowboard, but Santa only brought skis. He can master this one and then move onto the snowboard. The first time on his skis Greg went out with him and it was more of a workout for Greg. He was constantly pulling Hunter up. I was so glad that Hunter did not give up. He's been out a few times since and is improving tremendously each time. These pictures are of his first trip out on the skis.

Kids on Christmas Eve. We all slept on an air mattress out by the tree. Santa came really quietly. Hunter didn't notice until 5am when he woke up. The look on his face when he saw the presents was priceless. I finally let him wake Greg up at 5:30am.

Norah in her new jammies on Christmas Eve!

California!

We went to California the week before Thanksgiving and had a blast! The first three days we spent at Disneyland with Greg's sister and her family. It was the perfect time to go. The weather was between 70 and 75 the entire time, we could walk right on to all rides - no waiting in long lines, and it was decorated really cute for Christmas! We had so much fun at Disneyland. It was definitely the highlight of the trip for us.

On one of the rides at Disneyland. Norah didn't like very many of the rides. She mostly sucked her thumb and said, "Scary" over and over through most of the rides. She did like the dumbo ride and Small world, that was about it.

At the beach in Newport. It was kind of cold on the beach, but still fun! We also went to Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. Sea World and the zoo just didn't seem as fun after being at Disneyland the 3 days prior. Norah's favorite was Shamu. She still talks about it and sleeps with her stuffed Shamu's (she got 2) every night! We're already trying to figure out when we can go back. It went by way too fast! It was a great family trip!

Birthday Time!

It was birthday time again in September. Hunter turned 5 yrs old on the 13th and Norah turned 2 yrs old on the 12th. I can hardly believe I have a five year old. We had Hunter's first friend party this year. He's old enough now that he really wanted one. So we played pin the tie on Spongebob, had a Spongebob pinata and thanks to my talented sister he had a Spongebob cake! Can you tell who his favorite is right now? We gave Hunter a ripstick for his birthday. It's one of those skateboard type things with only one wheel on each side. It takes a lot of coordination. He has yet to try it. Norah got her first tricycle and she loves it. They were both spoiled by family and friends. I'm so blessed to have these two beautiful children in my world! I love them so much!

Pin the tie on Spongebob. I drew this Spongebob and was proud of how it turned out because I am NOT an artist!

Hunter with all his friends at his birthday party.

Hunter and his Spongebob cake courtesy of Britta. He wouldn't smile for the camera!

Britta also made this cute ladybug cake for Norah

Norah on her new tricycle

Hunter with his ripstick. I think Greg has enjoyed this gift the most!

My mom made this beautiful dress for Norah for her birthday. Norah absolutely loved it! She would walk up to people and point to her dress and say, "Pitty" (Pretty)! My mom made the cutest little bloomers to wear under the dress. I wish you could see them!

What life is all about!

Our happy family!

Cutest kids in the world!

Soapstone

We went on a camping trip to Soapstone last month. It was a lot of fun and so nice to just relax and do nothing for four days. A lot of our family was up there too which made it even more fun! Yes, that is snow in the background. There were still a few snow mounds up there in the shady places, but for the most part it was green and sunny! I completely forgot to take pictures until the last day, so these were all the pictures I got. Hunter and his cousin, Colton, made a big mud pit by digging a hole and smashing snow into it with sticks. I looked away for a few minutes and next thing I knew Norah had plopped herself down right next to it and was covered in mud. I figured she was already covered and we were camping so I just let her stay there and play in it until she stood up and stepped in it. It went past her knees.

Norah's "cheese" face for the camera.

Hunter trying to look cool for the camera. These are usually the only kind of shots I get of him. I can rarely get him to look at the camera and give a normal smile. He usually does some kind of pose like this. It's funny, but very frustrating!

New Haircut

Norah got her first real haircut. Aunt "Pickle", or Mikael as most of you know her, cut it for her. The front of her hair wasn't growing as fast as the back and it was kind of starting to look like a mullet. So, we had to get it cut. She cut nearly two inches off. It turned out so cute! I love it. She looks so much older to me now. We put her in the sink with some bath toys to entertain her. She doesn't like her hair touched. Whenever I do her hair I have to let her play in my makeup drawer to distract her long enough so I can do it.

Here's a view of the back. Mikael did a great job!