Family Camp 2013.

We had our annual family camping trip recently.  Typically we go to Holland Lake, which my friend Kristin has informed me was one of the best kept secrets in Sunset magazine (I hope it is still a secret).  This year we mixed things up a bit and went camping in McCall.  The trip was quite short for us, but about the same distance for others.  If it were not for my parents vehicle overheating, it would have been an absolutely perfect trip.  Their 6 hour drive turned into a 10 hour drive.  They finally made it to camp and the festivities began.  Sidney celebrated her birthday early.  She was so excited.  My mom made her a butterfly cake.  I believe she changed her mind several times before settling on this cake.  The frosting melted a bit on the long ride down, but nobody seemed to mind.

The grand kids messing around with Papa.  One thing about my dad...he almost always has a goofy face for the camera. 

My beautiful Sister!

The dogs were loving every minute of it.  We all swam in the lake at least 2-3 times every day and Cooper, Dakota, Boston and Annabelle came along with us.  Cooper was like a little kid!

Sidney getting ready to head for the buoys.  She literally paddled out to the buoys and back which is quite remarkable for her.  It was over her head and she stayed calm the whole way.  All of her time at the pool this summer has made her much more comfortable in the water.

What you don't know about this picture is that Kendall is telling me that her tooth fell out while she was eating her sandwich.

Thank goodnes the tooth fairy was able to find her at the campground.  She has been a regular Jack-O-Lantern this year!

We saw a ton of wildlife.  We saw a mule deer bedding down with her fawns.  The guys ran across a bunch of Elk beds when they went fishing (I cannot reveal their secret spot).  Dylan was able to get very close to this deer right outside of our camp. 

Sidney enjoying the morning....

Kevin and Cooper chilling out after a tough day of playing.

 

I did not take enough pictures this year.  The only regret about the trip is how darn fast it went.  How can five days feel like one?  The guys went golfing, the ladies went kayaking, we all went on a ton of bike rides and squeezed in a trip to the Fogglifter for coffee.  It was an awesome trip.

A Seamstress in the Making.

Kendall loves to make things.  My mom had given us a little kids sew machine that turned out to be just plain scary.  It was loud and fast and bound to cause an accident.  I had picked up a super easy dress pattern at a yard sale last year.  The dress only has four pieces to cut out and sew together.  Kendall was ready to take on the task.  We took a quick trip to Joann's where each of the girls picked out fabric.  With quite a bit of guidance and a whole lot of perseverance, Kendall made her first dress.

Sid was not quite ready for the task, but we made her a dress also.  I did help her sew the hemline.  Here is the finished product.

 

The dress called for Velcro at the shoulders.  Yuck!  We did buttons instead.  Sid picked out pink ones (look very closely and you can see them).

 

Sleeping Under the Stars.

Sidney was dying to sleep under the stars and with 100 degree temperatures this seemed like the perfect time.  Kevin pulled out the air mattress and made it happen.  Kendall and I had absolutely no interest in this adventure so it gave Sidney some Daddy time all to herself.  I expected that she would not make it through the night, but I was wrong.  I could hear her jabbering until about 10pm.

The next morning they woke up at 7am and headed into the house.  Sidney was very excited to tell us all about their night.  She did not want to fall asleep until she started to see the stars (it was a little overcast that night).  She told me that she had started to think that there were not going to be any stars, but as soon as they started to talk about God the stars came out.  She loved every minute of it!

...And the Camel Picture.

My sister unblocked Hallie's picture messaging long enough to send this once in a lifetime picture.

Carnival Day with Papa.

The girls have been up at my parents for the week.  Today my Dad took Kendall, Sidney and Hallie to the carnival.  Last night my Dad called to tell me about his big plan.  The girls have never been to a carnival.  I reminded him to take the remainder of the girls spending money (which was not much).  He was so excited and said, "Oh Yeah, they are going to be able to do a ton of stuff!"  My reply?  "Dad, clearly you have not been to a carnival in years, because that will only last about 2 seconds."

As expected, they had a blast and zipped through their money fast sending my Dad running to the ATM.  Hallie took a few pictures on her phone, then texted to tell me she does not have picture messaging.  Bummer!  Apparently there was a camel at the carnival.  Kendall was the only one brave enough to ride it.  Hallie was not too crazy about the idea, but she put on a brave face and talked Sid into riding it with her.  The minute the lady tried to lift Sid onto the camel, she started to yell, "Put me down now!"  Such a demanding child, but who can blame her?  After all, it was a camel.  They are pretty tall.  Lucky Hallie!

However, Sidney was brave enough to ride the ponies.  In fact, she did not want to get off and sweet talked the lady into giving her a few extra rides on the house.

My Dad sent a few pictures from his phone.  Thank goodness for picture editing since they all seemed to have a finger in them.  His answer when I asked him about the finger, "I'm old."  This picture could not be saved from the fat finger.

Here a a few rides that the girls rode on.  Why are they not pictured?  I imagine the camera was just not fast enough.  I was going to ask my Dad about this also, but figured the answer would be the same.  Love you Dad!!!

So what have Kevin and I been up to with all of this free time?  It is incredible how much time we have on our hands.  Last Sunday we went to the driving range, went for coffee, went bowling, bought groceries, and went out to lunch - all before noon! 

We watched an incredible movie last night, titled The Impossible.  It is based on a true story about a family that was caught in the 2004 Tsunami that hit Thailand.  It reminded me of how grateful I should be each and every day and how quickly things can change.  It is difficult to understand the devastation caused by these catastophic events.  The movie did a good job of depicting it.  There were cars, trees and building swept away.  People were repeatedly pummeled by the large waves and slammed into by huge inanimate objects.  In the aftermath, the survivors were separated from their loved ones not knowing whether they had made it or not. 

A Walk Down Memory Lane.

Last week I found our wedding negatives.  Yes, we were married before digital cameras were commonplace.  It will be 16 years next month.  I took the negatives in to Costco to be put on DVD.  Our friend Shelley photographed the wedding.  It was her very first event.  She has since graduated and now works at the Brooks Institute of Photography.

Our friend John officiated the wedding.  I am quite certain that it was his first wedding.

 

Our friend Big Stu sang at the wedding and then DJ'ed the rehearsal.  I remember that he sang the song "I Hear God Singing to Me" a capello.  It was the most amazing and powerful song.  It had given me goosebumps.  

We got married on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon just on Point Mugu just south of Ventura, California.

So young...And, yes, that is Kevin with a mustache.  I thought that I had married that mustache.  Lo and behold it disappeared about one year into our marriage. 

Husband and wife.

Kevin with the ladies.

Me with the gents.

Our ring bearer and flower girl, AJ and Alyssia.

My beautiful sister and Matron of Honor.

My mother-in-law made this amazing cake and brought it down with her from Montana.  I imagine she may have set a record for transporting a wedding cake the longest distance.

No special reason for this picture than merely because I love it.  We had daisies for our wedding flower.  Kevin had picked me a wild bouquet in New Zealand while we were dating and I have loved them ever since.

Yours Till Niagra Falls, Abby...

In my case it is "Lorain".  She is my BFF in every way.  Many of you have probably heard the story about how we met.  It was third grade, Mrs. Berry's class.  I was new to the school.  The first week, we had to start learning our multiplication tables.  There were only two people in the class that could go all the way to the 3's on that first day (at least that is how I remember it).  Myself and the tall girl, Lorain.  It was an instant bond that has never been broken.  It is now 33 years later (no one do the math please) and she is still my best friend.  Trust me, it has not always been roses.  There was the "gagga magga" club, fights over boys, fights over girls, awkward phases where we were trying to find our own identities, first loves, first heartbreaks, etc. 

Then there were the good times:  The Gorge at George.  Walking to town from Dalene's (in the middle of night).  Sleeping on the beach at Priest Lake (not sure if that classifies as a good time...we froze our fannies off).  "Trying" to get stuck in the snowbank so we did not have to go back to school.  Skipping school to lay on the docks (sorry mom).  Softball tournaments.  The "gagga magga" club (this was also a good time).  Boys!  Getting my car stolen on Halloween only to see Bobby and his friends driving it around with egg all over the place (have you ever seen me angry?), etc.

Then we grew up.  We have lived both thousands of miles apart and only minutes apart.  We have seen each other through the birth of our children and the death of loved ones.  We have went years without keeping in touch only to pick up right where we left off.  She truly is my best friend.  Now she lives 5 houses down from my mom and 10 house down from my sister.  She has four kids.  I have two.  My kids truly believe they are all cousins.  In a sense, they are.  They lived here for a few short years up until recently, so they come back to visit periodically.  Last night we enjoyed their company during one of their return visits!

Lorain is still tall (and I am still short).  Some things never change.

The boys wrestling with Cooper.

 Goofing around.

 

Don't you wish you knew what they were talking about?

 

The whole gang!

Another New First.

While we were miniature golfing yesterday, we saw a sign in the adjacent bowling alley that said kids bowl free (this link will take you to the registration site).  We registered the girls and bought the family pass which registers four more adults.  Essentially we can all bowl 2 games free each day from now until the end of October.  We only pay for shoe rental.  Today Kevin was in a golf tournament, so the girls and I headed to the bowling alley after church.  They were having cosmic bowling - regular lights out, strobe lights on, loud music blaring and music videos flashing.  It was a perfect day for teaching the girls.  I should mention that I have NO BUSINESS teaching the girls anything about bowling.  I am almost always the worst adult bowler in the bunch.  I have even won the "bowling shoes" at our annual work outing for the low score (only one year).  The other years I have barely squeaked by. 

The girls and I had a lot of fun.  The pictures are not terrific due to the crazy lighting.  Kendall lining the ball up.  The girls used the bumpers and had the ramp to roll the bowl.

Kendall trying to steer the ball at the end of the alley with her body.  Believe me, I wish that worked!

Sidney with her green ball.  Oh how they wished they could use the pink ball.  It was just a little too heavy.

Sid being Sid!

Game One (Sid and I tied).  To my credit, I did not use the bumpers or the ramp.

Game Two (Notice the strike in the ninth frame).  Thank goodness or my six year old would have beat me!

Good times!

Bitten By the Golf Bug.

Golf.  This is not a sport that I ever thought I would enjoy.  It always looked crazy boring.  However a year or so before Kendall was born, I was bitten by the golf bug.  I bought a cheap set of clubs and would hit the driving range.  It was a kick.  I did a few rounds with Kevin and even played in a tournament at work (I am certain I did not keep score). 

Life has been busy the past few years, raising babies and now little girls.  The itch to play golf has been back with a vengeance.  So much so, that I told Kevin our next date night must be to the driving range.  Today I could not take it anymore.  I talked Kevin into taking us to play miniature golf.  Not quite the same, but very fun!  It was the first time the girls had ever played.  Kendall is the perfect age.  She loved it and caught on quickly.  Sid also did very well, but decided that she was done at hole 10.  She was quite a trooper though and hung in there while we finished.  She had more fun checking out all of the cool structures.  She did play hole 18 (with the promise of dipping dots after that).  She put it in the hole with two strokes and just about freaked out when she could not find her ball.  The hole had swallowed it.  I got great amusement out of watching her try to figure that one out.

A natural...

A quick little lesson from Mom and she was off...

A Beautiful Wedding!

Last weekend we went to Big Sky for the wedding of our niece AshLee.  Of course, I forgot my camera.  The notion to pack it went through my head at least five times that morning.  It somehow never made it into the van.  The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun.  Here are just a few pictures that I have gleaned from others.

The girls were honored to be flower girls.  Sidney did not quite make it onto the stage, but she had a blast nonetheless.

 Patrick and AshLee with her parents, Roy and Sherry.

AshLee's grandparents:  Terrell, Sue and Fred.  That Fred is quite the ladies man!

The beautiful little flower girls.  They danced the night away showing off their break dancing moves and more (the more none of us could quite figure out, but it was super fun to watch).

The photographer has posted some of her pictures from the wedding at the following link:  Ashlee & Patrick tied the knot!

Alas, Sherry came through with a few more wedding pics.

The Newleyweds.

 The flower girls with the beautiful bride.

 Gold sandals and pretty painted toenails.

 Sweet girls:

The bride heading for the main event.