Relaxing at Home!

With Kevin not feeling too hot this spring/summer, we have been spending quite a bit of time relaxing at home.  It has been lovely.  I have been spending time taking care of the flowers and garden.  I have actually grown to love mowing the lawn (never thought I would say that).  After all the work is done we sit down and enjoy the fruits of our labor.  We have a very peaceful backyard.  My mom gifted us these new pillow for our patio chairs.  They are handmade by her, and I adore them.

I harvested the first zucchini from our garden.  We cut it up and put it on the BBQ this evening.  Delicious!

Kevin has also taken to bird watching, and we do have lots of them.  We have hummingbirds, doves, robins, and more.  Two nights ago we noticed the momma robin bringing her babies dinner.  The first night we watched them, there were three babies.  Sadly, one of them fell out of the nest and did not survive.  There are still two sweet little babies left.  We managed to sit down and watch them eat dinner the next night as well.

The first picture is the momma with a worm in her mouth.  You can see one of the babies popping up on the right side of the picture.

The babies poking their heads up looking for more.

A Flight Like No Other.

Kevin received an email Thursday from The Kif Brown Foundation.  This organization is led by the family of Kif Brown who passed away from pancreatic cancer last year.  They provide support for parents and kids that have been affected by cancer.  This year, they have invited others with cancer to take part in some of the activities that Kif enjoyed doing.  One of these activities is Hot Air Ballooning.  So, Kevin, participated in the inaugural Hot Air Balloon flight.  

We woke the girls up bright and early on Saturday to get to the launch spot at 6 am sharp.  The weather could not have been more perfect.  We got to watch the whole process of unpacking the balloon and getting it ready for flight.

Sidney brought her camera and took some pictures down the balloon tunnel as it started to inflate.

Kevin was excited and surprisingly a little nervous.  Though I am CERTAIN he will never admit it.

As they tilted the basket upright, they called for the passengers to come on over.  Kendall would jump every time the flames shot up.

Kevin was grinning ear to ear as the balloon lifted off the ground.

Higher and higher they went.

Bon Voyage!

Sidney posing with Daddy's hot air balloon behind her.

They flew for over an hour.  As I said, it was an absolutely perfect morning.  Not a cloud in the sky.  The girls and I visited with Dawn and Sarah (Kif's wife and daughter) while the rest of the gang was in the air.  We had a great morning.  The balloon's landed shortly before 10 am at Eagle Island State park.  We drove over to pick up some of the passengers.  What an experience of a lifetime!

A Bonus Trip to Grandma and Poppies House!

A few weeks back Grandma Terrell told us that she was heading up North for a trip. She offered to take the girls to my parent's for a week.  The girls and my parents were very excited.  They set off on their journey last Thursday morning and returned home the following Friday night.  They had nonstop fun and a little "excitement". 

 

At the beginning of the vacation, Hallie and the girls were riding the four wheeler.  As the story goes, Hallie went to take off and Kendall fell off the back.  Uncle Jason came to the rescue.  He calmed the girls down (yes, there was LOTS of crying).  He disinfected the scrapes and called grandma Karen over.  Apparently the road rash looked pretty gnarly the first day.  My mom would not even send me a picture until late the next day. Not that I ever want the girls to get hurt, but it was a good lesson for all three of them on how quickly accidents can happen.  A healthy level of fear was instilled that day.

Aunt Stephie spoiled the girls by taking them all to Finding Dory on opening night.  That was quite a treat for the girls, since we usually subject them to the cheap theatre.  She also bought them these super cute summer tank tops.

One of the days got pretty hot.  My Mom had heard about a new water feature park that had opened, so she took them there to play.  They had a blast hanging with the local kids.

They spent several evenings at the Legion baseball field watching their cousin Dylan play.

Hallie has been taking horseback riding lessons.  The girls went with her one morning to watch her lesson.  They really enjoyed petting the horses.  Sidney has been asking to go horseback riding.  I was hoping this might sway her the other direction, but no, she is still itching to get on a horse.

Kendall made her famous apple crisp.  Papa took them golfing.  They spent an afternoon with my BFF Lorain (yes, I said it, BFF).  They learned all my secrets from growing up.  The clubs we used to have, the games we used to play.  They were full of stories.  They came home with their love tanks full!

Golf Camp.

Kevin has golfed ever since I met him.  For many years, I thought it seemed like a pretty ridiculous sport.  Who would want to spend hours chasing a little white ball around a course?  That all changed one day shortly after we moved to Boise.  I went to the driving range with him and decided to hit a few balls.  I was hooked.  He bought me a few lessons for my birthday, so I would know the basics. 

 

That all happened shortly after Kendall was born.  Once the girls came along, it took me awhile to make it back out to the course.  The past two years, I have been getting out a bit more.  I really am a terrible golfer, and have never actually kept score.  That being said, I love getting out there and giving it a go! 

 

We live about a mile from a little nine hole golf course.  I have started taking the girls over there with me in evenings.  We started with putting and eventually worked our way up to the driving range.  They love it and never want to leave when it is time to go.  So, Kevin and I decided to enroll them in a golf camp.  We signed up through a fantastic organization called The First Tee of Idaho.  The girls had their camp last week.  It was each day from 9-12:30.  I was not sure exactly how it would work out.  After all, it was a super hot week and that was quite a long morning.  As it turned out, they came home each day with a ton of stories and a lot of excitement for the next day.  

 

The last day of camp, they got to put all of their new skills to work playing a full nine holes. 

Here they are with one of their coaches heading out to the course.

Sidney putting into the hole.

Kendall lining up for her putt.  I don't know about you, but it appears Sidney is doing some crazy kind of dance in the background...

 

Our good friend's, the Samm's, also enrolled their boys in the camp.  In fact, between the two of us we were responsible for half the class.  I was very grateful for Charon, as she was able to take all of the fantastic pictures of the girls on the last day.  Here are Ethan, Sidney, Jacob and Kendall after their big game.  I love Jacob and his "Do I seriously have to take a picture" pose. 

The whole gang posing for a picture at the end.  What a great camp and experience.  Well done ladies and gentlemen!

A Visit to Firebird Raceway.

My Aunt Lynda and Uncle Mitch were here for a drag race.  Mitch races in the AA Supercharged class with his car "The RodFather".  We have been out to watch them before, but this year was extra fun.  The girls were old enough to really get into the race.  Instead of "it is really loud", they were on the edge of their seats cheering loudly for The RodFather. 

The RodFather getting ready to race in the background.

Lynda took the girls for a ride in the Rhino.

The girls may or may not have driven the Rhino.  I am not certain...after all what happens at the races, stays at the races.

The girls were all decked out in RodFather gear for the race.   

 

 

 Sid was sporting her National Hot Rod Association racing hat that Mitch and Lynda got them.

 

It was a lot of excitement to watch the whole thing in action.  The races are each 2 hours apart.  In between each race, the car basically gets completely dismantled and put back together again.  Everything in these cars is custom.  It is half art and half mechanics to get the cars running at their optimum.  Mitch made it into the final race, but the competition ended up taking home the grand prize.  These cars are insane, racing more then 200 mph.  Actually are the cars insane or the drivers...hmmm?

 

 

...And They Closed the Place Down.

Both of the girls decided to run the St. Alphonsus Capitol Classic.  The Classic is a kids race that takes place each June.  It is a very well organized race and lots of fun for the kids.  The run is one mile from the Old Boise Depot slightly downhill to the State Capitol.  It would be Sidney's first race ever.  She had been very diligent participating in the school walking club, so she was ready to go.

 

 

I stayed with Sid at the start and ran with her.  Here is our pre-race selfie.

Kendall's friend Avery ran the race with her.  We caught up with them before the start and took a few pictures.  The girl's saw several other classmates and one of the Girls on the Run coaches.  The runners have to be at the start one hour before the race actually starts, and it was a scorcher that day.  Fortunately, they kept the water flowing.

Here we are heading downhill to the starting line.  Each year they alternate who starts first between the boys and the girls.  This year the boys started first.

Kendall getting a few high fives just after crossing the finish line.

Sid spotted Dad and Grandma just after she passed through the finish.

There were plenty of treats for the kids afterward.  Sid enjoyed her TCBY yogurt and even managed to snag some of Grandma's. 

 

 

Kendall enjoyed the sandwich. 

 

The kids gathered on the Capitol steps for a picture.  I can assure you this is not a fraction of the kids that ran the race.  The girls are on the bottom left of the picture.  Can you spot them?

There was a fair for the runners located in the park area outside of the Capitol.  The girls had a blast going from booth to booth spinning wheels and winning prizes.  We were just about the last people there.  As tired as they may have been, they relished every moment of it.