Spring and Summer 2011

It's been since March since I last posted. Just too stinkin' busy. I'll warn you now, there are many pictures, so I'll be brief with the naration.

Here's the boys with Gunther right before we sent him to live with Brian's parents in California. They have a Golden Retreiver as well and we knew Gunther would be happier living with them. Plus, we still get to see him when we visit. He is missed though.

Here's Jack back in April when he learned to swing by himself. So proud!

Caleb at Easter, Silly Goose.

This is the performance of Jack's class on the last day of school. He's the one with his hands on his hips and the frown. Nice.

Here's the boys with all of their Friga cousins when we visited in June. From left: Grady, Campbell, Bryce, Caleb, Ryan, and Jacksen.

At the races in Missouri. Caleb LOVED them, Jack freaked out.

Riding the tractor with Grandpa, probably the biggest hit on the farm, along with riding the 4-wheelers. Jack knows quite a bit of Willie Nelson et. al., so Dad made sure to play some for him while they rode.

The boys bathing with Campbell, her first shared bath. Of course, about two minutes into it, Caleb giggles and says, "Hee hee, I pee peed!" Lea Ann yanked Campbell out, I laughed, and said, "Ah, no biggie. At least it wasn't #2!"

Me, Missy (Reiners) Aldridge, and Margie (Coatney) White, friends since grade school. Got together with all six of our kids at Missy's house in Republic. A great day.

Caleb, Mom, and Campbell. Every time we all got in the car together, Caleb would scream at Campbell, "This is MY SIDE, baby! This is MY SIDE!!" As if she could understand or refute this statement...

Playing in the mud in Mom's garden. At huge hit...until they had to be cleaned off with the water hose.

Picking blueberries with Laura and her boys. Lots were picked. Many were eaten.

Brian fishing on the Whatever-Whatever River in Somewhere, Idaho. I can't keep track of his roaming hobby. As long as he enjoys himself, that's all that matters.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Caleb. This is an expression he gets from his father. We get this look from him often, as "The Terrible Two's" are in full swing around here. But's it's still a funny expression!

Here's one of the boys at Cole and Avery Hazeltine, friends back in town visiting from Florida. It was like old times around here, as Lisa and the kids stayed with us for a few days.

Went to a strawberry patch in Twin Falls while Lisa and the kids were visiting. Everyone loved it and had a blast and the berries were so yummy. Lisa and I canned some strawberry jam out of our loot, made 2 strawberry pies, and froze some for smoothies later this winter. Awesome experience and a great price too. I'm going back when the rasberries are ready.

Avery, Lisa, Wyatt, and Cole.

We went on our first family camping trip last weekend to Donelly, Idaho, near Tamarack Ski Resort off of the Payette Lake. I hadn't been camping in four years, since before we had Jack. This trip was great, I gave it a 9 out of 10. Right on the lake, great weather (except for about an hour of a downpour), the kids had a great time and were so tired they fell right to sleep and Brian and I got to enjoy some quiet time around the fire with Captain 'n Cokes. Like ol' Times! We are going again in a couple weeks.

Playing around the campsite.

Caleb's first camping trip. It was some work teaching him the Dos and Don'ts of camping, but he had a great time. And DIRTY! Like most boys, he was a magnet for grime!

More pictures to come from our trip to California over the 4th of July!