SUMMER 2008

Well summer is over but it sure was fun! We were able to take a few trips with the family and even one just for mom and dad! We took a vacation to Lake Tahoe this year and the boys got to take a vacation from mom and dad and be with Nana! The lake was so gorgeous. We have never seen water so deep blue! We rented a house for a week and just relaxed. Nathan was able to golf and I was able to lay on the beach and shop. We did rent a boat for a day and ride around on the lake. Emerald Bay is soooo pretty. We also rode a gondola up to the top of the mountain and Nathan took a zip line down. It was 3400 ft long. The longest zip line in the USA apparently. What a ride!

GAVIN AT BOISE STATE

Gavin is playing football this year for Barlow. He had the opportunity to travel to Boise State with the team and play on the "smurf turf". He had a blast!

SUMMER FUN

Nathan and Henry mowing our backyard

Henry was being very cautious :)

4TH OF JULY

This is the first 4th of July at our new house. We live on a dead end street so we were all over the place.

As always we acquired quite an arsenal of explosives. We added army guys and toy farm animals this year. All blown to smitherines!!

SHELBY

Our new little addition, Shelby, has been so fun! Oh the joys of a puppy. The boys have had so much fun with her. We are so lucky that she is a very mellow dog and she always gets showered with attention.

HILL AFB

On our way out of town we stopped at Hill AFB where they have an air museum. They have so many planes. The boys loved it.

Matthew and Amber's Wedding

Our trip to Utah to see Matthew and Amber was great. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was lovely. It was so nice to see everyone. We took a trip to Lagoon and just our luck it was the hottest day of our whole trip! Afterwards, we went to Andrew's for an awesome bbq.

BEND

We took a trip to Bend with the kids to visit my stepmom and dad. We went to a big water park and watched a crazy fast bike race through downtown. We were even front row to a nasty crash. Soo scary.

Jumping on the bandwagon!

Well, we finally did it. We created a blog. We all enjoy reading about everyone else and looking at pictures of all of you. We thought it only fair that we create a blog too! As soon as I get the hang of this I will add pictures and more postings. But for now, just a little about what's happening in our neck of the woods....
School is in full swing and the boys are sure happy to be back in the classroom. Henry especially is since he started kindergarten this year. He is so excited to be going to school like all his big brothers. Now he says he can't wait till middle school so he can ride the bus (we live to close to the school so Henry and Braden walk to school). His teacher is Miss Love if you can believe that.
Braden started a new school this year too. He is in the 5th grade and has his first male teacher this year. He really likes him and loves that he can walk to school.
Gavin is a junior this year and plays on the jv football team at Barlow. He endured many hours of daily triple practice this summer and was able to go to Boise State for a football camp.
This is Taylor's senior year. We never thought this year would actually arrive. Time has gone by so fast. He is excited about this year and will continue to work at his job. He got his drivers license just before summer and has been driving all over. It has been so nice to have another driver to help with taxiing around boys and running to the store for the next gallon of milk.
Nathan is working very hard to keep us all in the lap of luxury. He loves riding his motorcycle at work and has picked up golf as a hobby.
I am starting school again in a couple of weeks. I enjoyed having the summer off this year. It was so nice to relax and spend time with the boys. We got to take a few short trips this summer to Bend, and Utah and the big boys went on a week long hike in Joseph OR with the scouts. It was a busy summer.
We also have a new addition to our family. We finally have a girl! She is a yellow lab puppy. We named her Shelby. She is so fun. We have had her for about 2 months. She is about 15 weeks old now. The boys absolutely love her. She is never in need of attention around here. By the end of the day she is exhausted from chasing around all 4 boys.
Well, that's about all I have to report at this time. We think of all of you so often and hope that you are all doing great.
Until next time.....