Catch Up!

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted!  Sorry to my loyal followers (all 3 of you).  I will try to get back on track soon.  In the meantime, here is a photo update of what we have been up to in the last month....

We bought a new house on June 29th, which is where most of our time has been consumed.  Painting, cleaning, painting, cleaning, weeding, weeding, weeding, and all of the stuff that comes with moving.  The gentleman who owned the house had been sick for about a year, so not much of anything got done during that time, then it sat empty for 6 months after he passed away while things were settled with his estate.  We love the house, the land, the location, and are looking forward to being completely settled in soon.

 As a result, we spend a lot of time at the hardware store.

The kids had a week of Vacation Bible School where the theme was "Blastoff."  They had so much fun and the program at the end was priceless.  Lilian won a special award because of her awesome bible verse memory skills.  She was really proud.

We participated in Middleton's 4th of July parade, which was a lot of fun.  Ron and Braison rode in the side-by-side on the trailer (Ron's mom was driving the truck pulling the trailer), Lilian and I rode on a four-wheeler (as did Sidney and Pat).  The kids loved being able to throw candy to the people watching and Lilian perfected her "parade wave" which was quite a feat :o)

   Then we had a bbq and fireworks at my dad's house.

Braison broke his first board!  He broke it with his hand, but said he would try with his head next time.  He is so proud!

Lilian beat out hundreds (ok, I don't really know how many for sure, but I like to think it was hundreds) of other girls and won a bike with her mad coloring skills.  He exact words when we went to pick it up, "I can't believe I actually won this bicycle!"
Hopefully I won't wait another month to post....until next time.

Wordless Wednesday

Finally Summer?!

Wordless Wednesday

Father's Day 2012

Happy Father's Day Ron!

Being a great father is like shaving. 

No matter how good you shaved today,you have to do it again tomorrow.

Memorial Day 2012

"Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored."

Thank you to all of the men and women who sacrifice so much to keep us free.  Along with celebrating and remembering those who served and continue to serve, Memorial weekend also signals the beginning of "summer".  No more school, staying up late, playing outside, swimming, and camping.

So, we decided to head out for a long weekend away.  After deliberating with Ron's dad, we agreed to meet him and Ron's younger brother in Montana at the Hells Canyon Ranger Station.  It was kind of a halfway point and we thought it would be a fun experience to stay in the ranger station.   In addition, we decided to take my great grandmother (who just turned 92 last week) and drop her off with her brother (who lives in Montana, close to where we were heading) for the weekend. And here is how the weekend went:

Our backseat drivers

The ranger station we stayed in.  Yes, that is snow. Snow.

Looking out from the cabin to the road/creek

 On Saturday, we took a little drive deeper into the mountains.

Deer

 On Sunday we woke up to much more snow than we fell asleep to.

Snow angles.  Our weekend version of swimming.

This was her favorite thing.

We played a lot of card games. (Uncle Jake and Braison)

Lilian being Lilian.

Monday (when we were leaving) it cleared up!

 We stopped to pick up Grandma.

Barbara Lee, Grandma Barbara, and Arnie (G'ma B's brother)

 The devil GPS lady decided that she didn't really want us to see the interstate on the way home.  So, we took back highways all the way.  On the positive side, we saw some spectacular scenery 

Well, most of us saw the scenery. 

We pulled in on Monday night around 9.  All in all it was a great trip.  It was wonderful to be able to spend time with Ron's dad and brother.  And, Grandma was thrilled to be able to spend the weekend with her brother and sister-in-law.

Next time, we will meet in the Caribbean.  No chance of snow there.