Our Little Free Library.

It is finished!  Phew.  I think in the end, we all chipped in to make our new library a reality.  The girls came up with this idea several months ago.  Kevin made them write a letter to the homeowner's association asking for permission.  They also had to go talk to our neighbors that border our yard.  The HOA came back with a few additional questions, but before too long the project was a GO.

The library is now filled with books.  We have already had a few exchanges.  When the girls get back from my parents, they made fliers to pass around the neighborhood announcing the new Little Free Library.

A Visit from Steph and Hallie.

My sister had a conference at the Capitol last week, so she brought Hallie with her.  They had a great week relaxing, swimming and playing.  We met Jason's brother and his family one night for dessert.  We took them to none other than Small Cakes!

The library was doing Henna tattoos for teens that week.  Hallie was very excited to get one.

Once the paint dried, the puffiness flaked off and she was left with a beautiful cross.

The last night we all went to see Wonder Woman.  Awesome movie!  However, it was the most intense movie the girls had ever seen.  They kept covering their eyes and peeking through their fingers.  In the end, I think they loved it.  The girls flew home with my sister to spend a week with my parents.

It is always hard to see them go for a whole week, but it is such a good experience for them.  Their motto, "What happens at Grandma and Papa's, stays at Grandma and Papa's".

Cabin Camping in Seely.

We were able to take our annual camping trip with family.  Kevin was not really able to haul the trailer.  Thankfully, one of Roy's friends was generous enough to let us stay at his beautiful cabin.  It was Bailey's first long car ride and camping trip.  He did awesome on both accounts.

Uncle Roy and Kyle rented a couple of jet skis while we were there.  It was a ton of fun.  Both of the girls really enjoyed it.  Sidney kept referring to them as "water motorcycles".

The forest fires were just starting up while we were there.  The air quality at the lake was good, but they were starting to fight the fires with C130's and helicopters.  Here is a helicopter picking some water up out of the lake that we were swimming in.  What an awesome sight to see.

We did quite a bit of non-motorized playing as well.

Roy's friends Randy and Sue brought their boat up one day.  The girls and I did quite a bit of tubing.  They joined the other women for a "ladies cruise" in which the music was blaring and the girls were dancing!

Uncle Roy took Kendall for a hike up to Holland Falls.  We were super grateful for that.  She had her heart set on making that hike. 

 What a champ!

Our last night at the cabin.

A picture of the whole gang!

On the way home, we stopped at Traveler's Rest.  Kendall had studied Lewis and Clark last year.  She was excited to show us all of the history.

All Work and a Little Play.

Who says you cannot work and have fun?  I went to Denver with my co-worker Janelle for a few action packed days.  We attended many meetings, but managed to squeeze in a little fun while we were there.

Janelle lives in San Francisco, so ride sharing is her thing.  We tried a Car 2 Go while we were there.  It was totally fun to take this tiny little thing up to Golden, CO.

The food was DELICIOUS.  I will show dessert before dinner, because that is the way my mind thinks.

Summer Fun.

The girls have been having a truly fun filled summer.  We have discovered our new favorite sweet shop...Small Cakes Cupcakery.

 

The girls set up the air mattress and slept outside one night.  I was quite surprised that they actually made it the whole night through.  This was actually on the 4th of July.  They were the only ones in the house that saw fireworks that night.

Terrell took them to the Discovery Center one day.  They had a blast, as usual.  I just hope the temperatures below are in Celsius and not Fahrenheit.  Brrr.

Lots of fun in the pool...

 

...and Bailey's new swimming pool.

 

...and the slip and slide, of course.

Hannah stayed the night and we went and saw Captain Underpants.  I am pretty certain I lost a few brain cells during that one.

The girls earned Roaring Springs passes for reading this past school year.  I decided to make a party of it.  The Nelson kids and Hallie joined us for a day of fun!

We found ourselves a nice shady spot under one of the slides.  Here the kids are waving to me on their way up.

Lego Americana Roadshow.

The Lego roadshow went through Boise.  I took the girls to the mall to check out the national monuments built out of Legos.  Here they are pointing out the Speaker's balcony where they had their picture taken with Paul Ryan.

Hannah joined us for the fun.

I love this picture, because Sidney is explaining a story about the Statue of Liberty.  Last year, she read an article that stated the torch used to be open to the public to climb up into.  However, there was an incident in which people fell to their deaths, so they subsequently closed it to the public.  Morbid, but interesting.

The White House.

They have this same picture with the real Washington Monument in which they are pretending to push it over.

Moving on Up to Par.

The girls have been trying their hand at golf this summer.  Kendall was invited to move up to the next level "Par".  In order to move up, she had to take two written tests, do a nine hole putting game and play nine holes in under 2 hours and 15 minutes with an accurate score. 

She was excited to give it a try.  Coach Katie walked the course with them.  Parents were invited to walk also, but we had to stand a certain distance away and were not allowed to give any advice (like I would be able to give Kendall golf advice).

Here she is stretching before the game.

For one of the holes, she managed to put the ball on the green in two strokes.

Here is her group.  The kids did excellent and showed great sportsmanship.

The dress code for Par is strictly enforced, so we had to do some shopping.  No more jean shorts on the course for Kendall.