6 month update

I thought as my kids got older I would actually have more free time.  The last 6 months blew by and I thought I'd post a few things we did.  I don't have pictures of everything we did.  Bryn and Luke were here for a lot of that time and I don't have any photos with them :-(  But we BBQ'd and had lots of fun with them.  We also spent countless hours at the waterpark again.  I love that place!!!

Favorite shot all summer :-)

Ty's Birthday - In case you didn't know, Ty has a HUGE obsession with Spongebob.

And he loves to draw!

and draw.  It got to be so much of a problem with paper all over my house I finally bought him and art journal to keep all his drawings in.

 During the spring, Ty played Tball. Zach was the coach, and this is the trophy ice cream party they had.

 We also got to go to Utah (for me to run Ragnar) and see Erin and kids :-)  I was sad it was such a short visit. It's weird you can go so long without seeing friends and then when you get together, feel like you just saw each other yesterday.

Of course we fished!

 And rafted!

with cousins!

Everybody was here for this trip on the 4th except Bryn and Luke.  It was so fun but made for a super late trip back home and to work the next day.

Ohio State night at the Hawks game.  I love that no matter where you live there are so many buckeye fans (aka NOT bandwagoner fans like some local football team fans I know)

We also meet at the Bulls Head Pub every football game to watch the game.  The owner Scott is a buckeye and opens the "family area" up for us to all watch the games with all the other buckeyes here in the valley.

We floated in inner tubes as well, and if you look closely at Brytons right eye you can see one of our adventures didn't go so well.  I had Bryton with me as we went over a check and got sucked under and fell out of our tube.  She banged her eye up pretty good on a rock.  Every time we would go over the bridge of the canal we fell out in, she would scream "I don't want to go on the waterfall" for about a month afterwards.

 My friend Jill from Ohio came out to see us for a week in July.  I had so much fun with her.  Again, another friend I hadn't seen forever and it felt like just days before we were studying in the dental school til late hours into the night, no kids and multiple diet pepsi's (coffees for Jill), to keep us going.  This picture of Bryton is at a natural water spring on the way to Yellowstone.  I had never seen it before and I can't even count how many times I must have driven by it.  I lost my camera in the car soon after this photo -- so no more pics of Yellowstone.

This was at Grand Teton National Park.  My parents were nice enough to take my kids while Jill and I hiked into Jenny Lake and lucky for us we got to see a couple bison.

 Jenny Lake

(Out of order but we also rafted the South Fork of the Payette with a rafting company)

Hidden Falls.  This place is amazing.  If you haven't been there you have to go.

 After we sent Jill home to go become the world renowned Oral Surgeon she will be someday, we headed to Stanley for a long weekend. Camped, swam, ate, floated... we had so much fun.  Our last night we even had a bear come into our campground.  Lucky for us it bumped the dutch oven off the table and it scared it away.  (Above; Papa Red and Ty on the Salmon)

 Judd and Trey.  Judd fell out soon after this photo - I thought it was the best part of the trip :-)

Jace and I trying out the little rubber kayak thingy....

More fun with cousins

I loved Stanley - If it wasn't so dang cold there for most of the year, or if I could have the weather we had there end of July I could live there.

Oh yeah, and did I mention fishing?  One of many fishing trips ( in fact as I'm updating this blog Zach and Ty are fishing) This was out at Zach's family ranch on the Payette River.  I love this shot.  The fish looks awesome, but also look how excited Ty's face is, and his carotid is about to explode out of his neck :-)

Now we are headed into the fall and I can't help but hope the cold months go by just as quickly as the last 6 and get back to summer.