We Love A Parade

There was a local kids' parade last week so Bob and I took Ethan along with friends and family to watch...We had a great time! The kids liked the floats and cheerleaders, but weren't too fond of the marching bands. A bit too loud for their taste. Ethan's favorite floats were the Rocket Ship, Madagascar and of course Thomas the Tank Engine! BUT the all time favorite thing about the parade was the CANDY being thrown! Ethan came home with quite a few treats and was kind enough to share with all the cousins, aunts and uncles! He's such a cute kid...or smart enough to know that I would let him eat a few pieces while he was sharing!

Slip 'N Slide

Ava and Jax invited us over last week for a morning of slipping and sliding on their brand new Slip 'N Slide. We had a ball. While Ethan and Ava did not instinctively know how to run and slide on their bellies they did have a great time and Andy, Ava's Dad, was kind enough to push/slide the kids for the full experience. The kids were content enough to army crawl, run, and slip down the yellow slide and had a great time...after about a hour and a half they took a break for a picnic lunch and then took a few more runs on the slide. I know Ethan will be asking to head off to Ava's for slips and slides again soon!

Father's Day Camping

Some of Bob's family braved the rainy canyon weather this weekend for a Father's Day Camp Out. (They had trailers.) We on the other hand did not camp for many reasons: the rain, an 8 month pregnant woman who gets up 3-4 times a night, a potty training
2 1/2 year old, and the biggest reason-our camping gear is in the back bottom corner of our storage unit about an hour's dig to get it out...We spent 3 evenings up the canyon though playing, relaxing, visiting, eating, and fishing. We had a great time!

Ethan loved being up the canyon and playing with cousins. We took his bug collecting kit and he and Carolyn and Alissa hunted the entire camp site for bugs, worms, rocks, and sticks. We had lots of good food and s'mores around the campfire. There's just something about being up the canyon that makes food taste better!

We went fishing twice. Neither trip was hugely successful, but big or small fish were caught both times. Ethan has his daddy's love for fishing already. The reservoir was crowded last night so we were just going to go home, but Ethan insisted through tears that we at least wet our hook for a minute. It turned out to be a nice evening sitting on the water's edge watching the fishermen try to lure the fish in. Bob even got to use his new fly rod and reel he got for Christmas. Ethan is a brave little fisherman and doesn't hesitate to hold onto his catch. He loves to reel the fish in and play around while daddy does all the work of hooking the fish, but he even took a few casting lessons last night.


We had a great time with family celebrating Father's Day and fathers...we are blessed to have many great men in our lives! Thanks for all you do Dads, Uncles, Brothers, Cousins and Daddy!

Ethan and I had an especially long weekend with cousins since we got to spend Thursday with Nathan, Carolyn, and Alissa while Mary went to Girls' Camp. It was one of the easiest days ever being a mom...The kids entertained each other so well and cousins are always willing to play with and help Ethan I hardly had to do a thing. We did make a little craft...it wouldn't be time spent with Aunt Joni if we didn't. The girls and I had lots of fun! Ethan even helped a little...what a great family we have!

Potty Trainee Extrordinaire

We have dabbled in potty training for quite some time now. Ethan was interested early on, but would fizzle out quickly...last week I decided that he was ready and we were going to go cold turkey and really go for it. The first 2 days we had more accidents than success and I started to doubt my decision, but on the third day he actually had great success and even told me one time that he needed to go. I was so proud. He also started waking up in the morning with dry diapers...Needless to say I took advantage of that and he stopped wearing diapers and Pull-Ups all together. He has over come his phobia of pooping on the toilet and willingly uses the bathroom even when we are out and about! I couldn't be happier and he has said on a few occasions: "I'm so proud of myself!" He made potty training a dream! Bob and I are quite excited to have a 10 week break from changing and disposing of diapers and both agree that newborn diapers aren't nearly as bad to change as 2 year old diapers! Way to go Ethan!! We are so proud of you!

Planes, Planes and More Planes

Bob and I took Ethan and a gang of family and friends to the Air Show last weekend. We had a great time. Ethan loves airplanes and runs outside to see them each time he hears one so a trip to the Air Show was a given. The Air Force did not disappoint. We were entertained with lots of stunt planes, parachute drops, and fast flying planes.



Ethan thought they were loud and wore earplugs the entire time, but loved every minute of the show!


We stayed all day and could have seen more.

Memorial Day

With all the planning, prep and fun of Yellowstone I completely forgot to post the great time we had on Memorial Day...A day of fishing with Granddad, Uncle Bill, Nathan, Uncle Brian, photographer mom and Dad.
Ethan has been patiently waiting since he got his own fishing pole for Christmas for a warm day to go fishing...We had a few rain shower scares the night before, but luckily the weather improved and we headed up the canyon for a great fishing trip.
Daddy and Granddad both let Ethan reel in their fish. He loved it! He wasn't the most patient of fishermen, but did hold his fish and was thrilled to be out in the cool morning air with some of his best buddies!
After a long family nap here at home, we headed to Granddad and Grandma's for a family picnic. Ethan had a ball playing with all the cousins, swinging and playing croquet. It was nice to relax in the backyard in the sun.

Yellowstone...Seen With New Eyes

We took our annual trip to Yellowstone National Park last weekend. We love the Park and are never disappointed by its wonder, but this year we had the added bonus of meeting up with my parents and sister Amy who had never been to the park before. Plus we had Amy's friend Ray and Uncle Brian and Aunt Tonya along so we were quite a gang. It was so fun to have them there and share one of our favorite places with them.
We loved being in the Park in the early spring...There was more water flowing and spouting and there were lots of little baby animals. Plus the Park wasn't crowded at all.

We were treated to 6 bear sightings: 3 black bear and 3 grizzly bear. The black bears were close to the road and we got to spend lots of time taking their pictures and watching them forage for food.

Ethan was thrilled to see the bear and wanted to make sure everyone saw them. He pointed them out a number of times to us all.

We were caught on the road for about an hour while the park rangers, cowboys on horse back and a helicopter wrangled a huge herd of buffalo along the main road and down in to a meadow. It was fun to watch them come chasing down the mountain being corralled by a helicopter then coaxed by the horses. Some didn't spend much time in the meadow and were back on the road...as a matter of fact the buffalo were the park's biggest delay this year.

The geysers were great as usual. We got to see Old Faithful 3 times, Pink cone, Beehive, Great Fountain and Grotto along with many little spouters along the way. The rivers were too high for fishing, but they made the waterfalls powerful.

This year we got to see a red fox, a couple of coyotes, a moose chasing an elk, a family of badgers, a marmot, pronghorn, a lone deer, lots of elk and big horn sheep. One of the ewes had 3 baby sheep with her. It was fun to watch them run down the mountain and graze by the river.

Obviously we had a great trip...thanks for coming with us Gram, Papa, Aunt Aim, Ray, Unk Brian and Aunt Tonna!


The Best of Yellowstone...Watch and Enjoy!