FORE!

Our friends gave Jackson these golf clubs. He went out the other night to the backyard and said, "I'm going to play golf-ball". He was swinging the club with one hand (and we were ducking). It was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Brent is trying to get him to golf with two hands, but to no avail.
No one is safe!

Looking for that hole in one.

Strong Kiddos

I was praising Ashton for doing such a great job pushing up during tummy time. (Isn't she doing well!) Jackson came up behind me and said, "Mommy, I'm a strong kiddo, too!". I replied, "Really? Show me."
He put his arms up into the "muscle stance" and said, "AGHHHHH".
Yup, strong kiddos.

Sand Harbor Again

I talked Brent into going to Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe (he'd never been). Unfortunately, it was FREEZING! The wind was blowing so hard. We couldn't put up our umbrellas because they were literally blowing away. I was so bummed.....until our friends called us and told us they'd found a cove with no wind! (Thanks Lindsay, for giving Andrea the tip, and thanks Andrea for convincing us to move to the cove!). The rest of the day was perfect...Sunny and sheltered from the wind. What a great way to spend a Saturday.
Check out the swells!

Playing with dad.

Jackson and Ava hanging out at the cove.

Tautphaus Park Zoo

One day in Idaho, I decided to take the kids to the Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls. We had a great time. The zoo has quite a few animals. We saw camels, tigers, kangaroos, penquins, giant tortoises, monkeys, lions, alligators, lots of birds, pigs, chickens, goats, flamingos, snakes, frogs, otters, zebras and went to the children's petting zoo. The zoo is nice and shaded and Jackson loved running on the trails. It was really fun.

My little explorer.
Jackson found a puddle. For almost 20 minutes, he just jumped and jumped. I laugh that one of the highlights of the zoo for my toddler was the puddle!

The zoo had these great cutouts of animals. Jackson wanted to stand by every one of them and get his picture taken.

Other than the puddle, Jackson's favorite thing at the zoo was the model tiger, just outside the tiger cage. He spent the majority of his time here. We went early enough in the morning that it wasn't hot, and the real tiger was out and about. Jackson would run and look at the real tiger, and then go back to the model tiger. He loved it.

Caribou County Fair-2008

We love going to the Caribou County Fair with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma got unlimited passes for the grandkids to ride the fair rides. Jackson rode and rode. I had to bribe him with ice cream to get him off the rides so we could go home!

Riding the airplane.
Jackson and cousin Tyler riding together.

This car ride was Jackson's favorite. I think he probably rode it about 15 times.

The first ride Jackson went on was a little dragon roller coaster. He did pretty well the first two times around, but then starting crying and the attendant had to stop the roller coaster so we could get him off! Maybe next year....

Ashton's blessing

We blessed Ashton in Idaho since we were there with family (it made more sense to do it in Idaho especially since we spent the majority of July there). It was so great to be close to those who mean the most to you on such a special day. We're so lucky to have such supportive friends and family.
Ashton after the blessing. Brent's sister-in-law made her bow, and my sister made the bracelet. My mother gave her the dress-it was perfect. She looked so beautiful.

We were lucky our cousin LJ was there to hold Ashton. Boy, LJ has the touch!

Family catching a bite to eat after the blessing.

Ashton, my mother and father and me.

Hanging out with Cousins

Jackson and Ashton are very lucky because they have lots of cousins. Between Brent's family and my family, Jackson has 7 cousins around his age, and Ashton has 4. I was lucky to be able to spend July with family-it's so great for my children to see their cousins. It's really fun to have children the same age. They play really well together.

Ashton and her cousin, Kesslee (born 2 weeks after Ashton) at the swimming pool.

Jackson and Tyler riding around in the Jeep.
Hanging out.

Ethan and Jackson watching "Robin Hood".
Jackson and Madi getting some lunch.

Family Reunion Time

We had a great family reunion, back at the "homestead" of my grandfather. Almost everyone in the family was there. The theme was "Back on the Farm", and the activities centered around days gone by. There were boat races, a hayride, bucking hay, potato sack races, a treasure hunt, red rover, a talent show, and of course, floating the canal (I opted out of that one!).

Jackson with the "bubbles"-a hanger, a gallon of water and a cup of Dawn dishsoap. This was a big hit for the little ones. (Those hangers make AMAZINGLY huge bubbles!)
My dad giving rides on the scissor lift (scares me to death).

Brent, Jackson and Ashton.

Jackson playing football with the cousins.

Tricia, Cameron, Sheena and Jackson getting some lunch and hanging out.

Having a GREAT time.

Jackson on the hayride.

Sand Harbor-Finally!

July was so crazy! Brent took the Idaho bar, and to give him time to study, I went to Idaho with the kids. My amazing sister, Tricia, flew to Reno so that she could drive with me to Idaho (otherwise, I would have had both kiddos for a 10 hour drive by myself!). I had to make it worth her while, so we did a quick daytrip to Lake Tahoe. We had so much fun!
Trish holding Ashton (and catching up on some reading).

Jackson at Lake Tahoe.

Ahhhhh, this is the life!

Sun goddess-Ashton!