Parker's Two!!

Who knew two years could go by so fast. Parker has been everything we ever dreamed a little boy would be. He's the terror of the house, the thrower of the food, and the smile that brightens Dad's, Mom's and his two sisters' day. Happy Birthday, Parker!

Some of Parker's favorite things: Daddy, trucks, the movie Cars, trains, cars, anything that says vroom, anything that he can make say vroom (including Alivia's princess dolls and food at the table), throwing balls, tickles, cookies, sisters, T-Bone, telling -more like yelling - at T-Bone, "no-no," kisses when he is happy, kisses when he is sad, "The Wheels on the Bus," "I am a Child of God," his bunny and his thumb, Mommy.

Having enough air to blow out the candles was a difficult task. We scooted the cake closer and closer and finally with a little help, he blew them out.

Definitely not ready to share. Parker got a new race track with 3 cars.

Weekend in Bear Lake

Last weekend we made our first trip ever to Bear Lake, the Caribbean of Utah.
Our neighbors, the Mechams, have a very cute second home near the lake.
We loved staying there; it's much roomier than our little camper. It had a very large kitchen,
and we had 3 bedrooms and a bathroom all to ourselves.
Some kids play together great and some kids just drive each other crazy. The weekend was so easy. The kids played and played and played. We didn't need to entertain, there was no whining, it was wonderful.

Parker liked to wade in the little ponds made in the beach. The water was warm, there was no current and waves, and all I had to worry about was how much water he was drinking.

We were at the beach for about 8 hours on Saturday. The kids played in the water, collected shells from the beach, and dug through the sand. As for the adults, what a relaxing day at the beach. We set up a table and an umbrella and played Hearts. :)

"Not my head, my ears, or my chin" was Jayce's request.

Kayla and Jayden floated on this raft for hours.

On the way home we stopped in some mountains by Montpellier to find the sought after huckleberry. My mom has always talked about how yummy they are and memories of huckleberry picking, yet I have never eaten a fresh huckleberry out of the mountains. So, finally, we had the adventure of picking wild huckleberries. We picked for about an hour, it didn't take long for the little ones to either wander off or start to get "too tired". Each family brought home about 2 cups. Enough for one pie!

Purple tongues, no wonder we only got two cups.

Shoshone Falls

After visiting the temple, we went to Shoshone Falls.
Thanks to the snowy winter, the falls were overflowing.

The kids had fun hiking the trails, playing in the trees, and climbing the rocks.

Hunters, are you ready? Actually, this was an elk farm
right near the Falls. Everybody had to stop and
take a picture of all of these antlers
standing at the top of this rocky ridge.

I Love to See the Temple

Last Saturday we were able to go the the open house of the Twin Falls Temple.
It was beautiful and a wonderful experiences for the kids,
especially the girls.
Kayla's thoughts: "I liked it a lot." I liked to look for the syringa, the Idaho State flower in all the different rooms. I felt peaceful. It was very beautiful."
Alivia's thoughts: "I was reverent and kind there. It was as pretty as a castle. I want to get married when I am old in the temple when I am in love." (Livvy loves to
watch princess shows. She's quite the romantic)

Oh What do you do in the Summer Time?

This summer has been so much fun. We purchased a camper

and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The first time out it poured all night.
We cuddled up warm and cozy and watched a movie.

What more could Parker want?
Filthy as can be!

Leave it to our little tom boy, Kayla, to be playing with a water snake.

Here is Alivia playing a game of charades.

Craft time in the camper.

On this camp out we were lucky enough to have friends with toys.

Alivia Surfing

I took this picture of Alivia surfing on the snake river the other day.