Two-Year-Old on a Two-Wheeler

Are you impressed? I am. Check out his maneuverability.

We believe in buying quality bikes. This was Chloe's, then Stella's and now, after painting over the pink and replacing the stickers, it is Fred's bike.

Bogus Mountain Biking

Bogus Basin (the ski resort here) had a discount on lift passes so we took the whole family.

"All levels. All ages."

They were just kidding.

Dan took Chloe on the easiest trail. He ended up carrying her bike most of the way.

But she liked the moss on the trees.

I took Stella and Fred to the top and rode around a bit. Fred was on his balance bike so he would cruise and then drag his feet. We didn't go far but it was hard getting back to the lift.Dan and I each took a turn watching the kids while the other rode. It was really pretty. Next year we'll go without the kids.

July 4th Weekend

WARNING: very long and boring travelogue.

Dan had to work in Utah on Friday so we decided to spend the holiday weekend there since his company was paying for gas and a hotel one night.

I searched for a campsite the week before but couldn't find anything available in Idaho or Utah but we took our tent-trailer with hopes of snagging one of the few walk-up sites. Dan woke up early Friday morning and drove the whole Alpine Loop. Nothing was available. I was stressing out because I really wanted to camp and really didn't want to have pulled the trailer five hours for nothing. My friend Amy came to the rescue. She is efficient. Everyone needs a friend like her. She found us a site that the campground host said she would hold if we came right away. Well, when we got there the site was no longer available because of a fallen tree. But! they were able to get us a spot in a different campground near Solitude.

We lived in Lehi for five years and never camped in the mountains surrounding us. They are pretty.
The kids actually wanted me to take pictures of them.
So I did.

Watching the very redneck but very nice people set up camp. Playing tigers on the rocks.

Playing around on the slack line. Riding bikes.

Saturday morning Dan rode his bike down the canyon then back up. Then I rode my mtn. bike over to Solitude and hopped on a trail.

We met Amy and her family in Sandy for fireworks. When we got back to the campground at 10:30 the gate was closed. We had never noticed the closable* gate or the sign telling us about it. We didn't want to drive 30 minutes back down the canyon because it was late and we had paid for the night but our site was too far to walk with three sleeping children.

So we pulled out the sign and placed it over the wrong-way-do-not-enter-tire-puncturing-spikes and drove over. (Photos were taken the next morning. Dan wasn't able to find the hole out of which he pulled the sign.**)

We drove back to Sandy for church on Sunday then Kyle and Angela came up to visit us.

We had dinner--including roasted corn-on-the-cob. And we roasted marshmallows. Very, very big marshmallows. And we made smores with strawberries. So good.

Those marshmallows are ridiculously big.

We also played Frisbee golf.

Kyle is great with kids. See him carrying Stella on his shoulders? I discovered later that she had peed her pants. Sorry, Kyle.

I used our Lagoon bounce-back passes on Monday for a few hours while Dan worked. Then we drove home. The weekend turned out great. If I ever move back to Utah I think we'll camp closer to home more often.

Hmmm...there is a lot of camping near Boise. I guess we should try that out too.

*Not a word.

**I do not end sentences with prepositional phrases.

Da Gagoon

I love Lagoon. I've been to Disney Land & World and I think Lagoon is way more fun. Especially with Rachel and her fast-pass (wheelchair).

Tanner, Stella, Dan, Cyndi, Ella, Grandma, Fred, Drake (sorry for chopping your head), Sara, Chloe, Ethan, Rachel, Ashton.

June

Stella graduated preschool. One of many spills.

Chloe and SidDan made bunk beds for the girls dolls. And I helped them make quilts. Except Stella's still isn't finished.

Fred spent a lot of time naked--because he was potty training and because he likes being naked. Sometimes he made his way out front or answered the door.

Some things found in the central vac.

Fred dresses up nearly every day.

The water park. Without Dan. Things got a little rough during Fred's nap time. He's the type of kid that runs away from his mom. This is especially aggravating around water. Instead of chasing him I would watch him from a distance. This concerned many people who couldn't see his mother.
Toy Story III. We never take our kids to full-price movies--especially not 3D but we were out of town and Dan was working.

Peaceful Slumber

Dan put the kids in our bed while I was away at girl's camp.

Fred started wanting to sleep with his sisters this summer. Notice the plastic sheet. That is for Stella. Notice where Stella is. We need our carpets cleaned.
Stella and Ella.
Fred and Chloe.

Funny Fred

Fred has a talent for remembering lyrics.

The other day he said, "Mom, you are the music in me." (Highschool Musical)

And today he said, (in a high-pitched, sweet, pleading voice)

"Mom, please can I play playdo? Please, mom?

I said, "Sure, Fred."

He said, (in a high-pitched, excited voice) "I can? Yeah! Thanks mom. (singing) I love my mom. My mom is cool." (Sid the Science Kid)

Then he sat ON the kitchen table to play...and peed his pants. Oh, and he was wearing a dress-up skirt.

May Leftovers

Sometimes we make things. Like books specifically for dress designs.
Another piano recital. Painting garbage bags and the doll furniture Stella received for her birthday .

Playing with Annie and Kate . Swinging outside.

Snaggletooth.

One Day...

..we rode our bikes to Chloe's school. And stopped to touch the leaves.
We admired Chloe's project.

We stayed until Fred peed his pants.

On the way home, I convinced Fred to ride his bike down a hill.

He crashed and got a mouthful of grass.

We lost the garage opener and had to climb through a window to get in the house.

The End.


Have I mentioned that I love this neighborhood? The school is new and only two blocks away. There are walking paths and parks and swimming pools.

Suburbia at it's finest.

p.s. I think it looks like Stella is levitating in the fist picture. Can you see it or do I just have a good imagination? Maybe if you squint your eyes.

Five

Stella turned five. She has grown up a lot in the past year. She is a good girl. We love her.

Biggest Celebration of the Year

I guess the huge party we threw her in Santa Clara wasn't sufficient. We thought we should recognize her on her actual birthday. We also wanted to celebrate with her cousins (and best friends) here in Idaho.

In the morning she got to open her presents from her family.

Chloe made this for her Littlest Pet Shops.
We had cupcakes at preschool.

Then we went to Wahooz and she got more presents.

We ate pizza (and pickles).

Drove the bumper boats. This was a little nerve racking because spectators/parents couldn't be inside the gates. There was only one close call when Fred decided he wanted to switch boats. The kids loved it.

Stella's Party

Stella chose a soccer theme for her fifth birthday party. Since we were going to be in Santa Clara the week before her birthday, I planned this party with all her cousins. It turned out to be a really long party, and my whole family (minus Zach) was there, so really it was more like a family reunion.

The activities included:

Dribbling relays

Shooting a goal with your eyes closed. Pizza and sports drinks. Decorating inflatable soccer balls.

Soccer bowling. Swimming.Kicking a pinata.A soccer tournament. Lauren had a broken leg so she was the referee.Cake & presents. Hooray for Stella, birthdays, cousins and soccer!