9/24/09

We had so much fun at my moms this summer. I was able to stay a month and it really went by fast. The girls love going to see their Nana and Papa. There is something magical about going to stay at your grandparents house.
One of the days we went 4 wheeling. This was the clan, and it was awesome. My brother in law Aaron, Judson and Michelle, my older brother Brandon, John and I and Alain. It was a little sketchy for me at times. I'm not a fan of going up a cliff at a 90 degree angle. I wanted to live to see my children again! :) It was incredibly beautiful!! John of course loved the adrenalin rush, but said the best part was having me hold onto him so tight! Ohhhhhh, doesn't he just know all the right things to say! Michelle and I were so dirty! We rode up to some beautiful waterfalls and hiked down to get these pictures. There were so many cows on the trails. It looked like we were about to go bowling, but just in the nick of time they would all go scattering in every direction as we drove by. Oh, the little baby ones were so cute. Cows really are a massive animal to see up that close. I love this picture of Brandon, Michelle and I. We missed our Jamie though! It has been really fun for our family to go up to Idaho every summer. We love living by the beach, but this gives our kids an entirely different experience. Sometimes when I was jogging in the mornings I would look at fields and fields of wheat blowing in the wind as far as I could see and it was breathtaking. Just as got over this certain ridge I could begin to see the steeple of the Rexburg temple coming into view. Sometimes I would just stop and look around me. It was a sobering moment to be reminded of how blessed I really am in my life.

9/22/09

Ellie's Birthday!!

Ellie turned 6 on September 9th. She had a few friends over for a beauty party! We did nails and played with make-up, ate pizza, drank milkshakes, and of course ate cupcakes!!
Our little gifts bags turned out really cute. Ellie helped me make the hair clips, and we filled each bag with Jelly Bellies and a lip gloss!!

9/21/09

Refugio

In August we were able to go to Refugio Beach with the Thompson's. This was my seventh year, and not being a camper, I must say I am pretty proud of myself for happily enduring! Our girls absolutely love it and and of course Johnny! John was kind enough to buy us a top of the line air mattress that truly made all the difference for me. We even brought our nice warm comforter. At times it even felt like we were home. Just kidding. Ya right!! :) It was really windy during the night, but the kids slept really well and were always up early eager to see what the day would bring. Janet and Sherry Risser always made sure there was plenty of delicious food around, and as always Bill cooked up his famous stakes on the last night. Our good friends Quinten and Shelly and their darling baby Boyd came down from San Jose to spend the day with us. It was so great to see them as always. And what would our trip have been like without Jason and Kate. They were able to come up on our last day. We talked Kate into going kayaking and assured her that even though she did not have a swim suit she would not get that wet. Well, John and I looked over just in time to see their kayak turn over into the freezing water. We can laugh now, but I'm not sure if Kate will ever. It was awful but memorable. Thanks Kate!!! Here are some pictures from our adventure. Uncle Jeff dug a huge hole for the kids. They called it their fort and played in it everyday.
The three Amiga's. Ellie and Paige love their cousin Liv!! They were inseparable all week and were sad to say goodbye. This is Ellie's sixth year going to Refugio and such a fun tradition that they look forward to.
All the grand kids love their Grandpa. He always takes them on a hike to "the cliff." Emma was good little camper. Taking a baby camping in the crawling phase is always interesting. We had a lot of fun though and survived yet another year at Refugio!!

More Refugio

John gave Ellie and Paige their first surf lessons! I was shocked out how brave they were. Ellie got tossed by a huge wave, came out of the water and jumped back on the board!! Daddy was proud! John brought the kids back a purple starfish after snorkling!!
Ellie with a huge python in background. Can you believe those long legs??
This was at the Natural History Museum.
Playing with some friends by the pier
Our weekly visit to Taco Surf. Sad but true!! During happy hour we can all eat for under $13!!
Can't beat that. There was a way better picture of the girls, but I had to put in this one because of Paige's face!!
Emma