Let freedom ring!

The 4th is just an exciting time. I love the feeling that is in town. My day was brightened by seeing our flag blow in the breeze against this beautiful sky! I'm so grateful for the freedoms my family and I enjoy. 

We watched fireworks at the high school on the 2nd. There are fun activities every day for this week it seems!

We hit the parade on the 4th with the Eash's as usual. So hot, so fun and so much candy! No one was in the parade this year and I was ok with that. 

After the parade, Brielle's cheer team performed at the park. They are so cute and have improved each time I've seen them perform. 

We relaxed for the afternoon and cooled off. We were invited to a big neighborhood bash at the Hermans. We were worried we'd miss partying with our neighbors on the 4th as we've done in years past, but this MORE than made up for it! Look at all this Foooooood!

They had so many fun games....donuts on a string for kids and dads! Water balloon toss for adults. water fights ensued....

They had a pinata for the kids and all the yard games you could want...kan jam, corn hole, ping pong...so much fun! 

This is my favorite pic of the evening. When all the adults were stuffed full, the kids of course still had room for s'mores! I loved how they all just gathered round the fire and helped themselves. 

I loved getting to chat with neighbors and getting to know all of them better! 

That evening we did fireworks for a long time! Everyone brought some and there were almost TOO many! Wow we had quite a show!

 We are looking forward to many more of these block parties and I can't wait to keep meeting our awesome neighbors! Happy 4th of July!

Welcome to the family

Sweet baby Ivy Lin was born to Brit and Adam on June 29th  at 12:39. 6lbs and 15 oz. She was 20 in long! Welcome to this big crazy family baby girl! We love you!

 

Mantua 2022

We are always happy to visit our regular campsite at Mantua! We love it there! We set up camp and got settled right away!

Our first night we made homemade fries with roasted hot dogs. French fries are BEST in the mountain. They were so yummy!

I've heard about the famous poppy fields there and we always seem to catch the tail end of it when there are only a few left in sight. But this year we went earlier and WOW the poppy fields are AMAZING! We had to go do some pictures in them. And we weren't alone! So many people visit there to do pictures. And I can see why!

The girls had fun exploring as usual and going back and forth to the fairy house. Jilly did well and is learning to love camping too. 

We had one amazing afternoon of glassy water one day. And it was perfect. We had some special visitors for a few days....G&G Hymas came to camp with us! And grandma was so eager to get on a wakeboard!

Boating isn't grandpa's thing, but he was a good sport. 

And on her first try, grandma got up and wakeboarded several times!!!! She is so amazing and did great! I hope I can wakeboard when I'm in my 70's! WOW!

We fried chicken that night and it was SOOO yummy! The next few days were windy and cooler so we played at camp alot. 

And one day we went for a walk around the lake! I've always wanted to go do it. The kids were dragging their feet big time but after we saw some cool wildlife and pretty views, everyone was happier. 

We were a little bummed we didn't get to boat as much as we wanted to this trip but that one perfect day ALMOST made up for it. So glad we have the boat and all the fun memories we are making in it! I know my kids will never forget that their grandma could wakeboard! 
 

Father's Day

We had lots of reasons to celebrate Chad this father's day. Passing his work tests was a big one and the beggining of shift work...not sure if we are celebrating this yet or not. But also the many other reasons of the wonderful guy he is and how much he supports his kids and shows them love all of the time. 

He's always the favorite parent and I'm so glad that he can be it. The kids need the fun this guy brings and the love. These are the only 2 pictures I took the whole day but that just have meant we were busy enjoying a relaxing day....and getting ready to go camping the next day! Love you Chad!

 

BMX

Carter got word that a new BMX track was opening up and he really wanted to go try it out. They had a free night to just come try it out and see the track. And he was adamant about going even though his wounds were still fresh and open! I held my breath and said a prayer and let him go. 

He was put right into a few races and he really did enjoy it. I think it was harder than he thought it would be and I think he was being cautious as well considering what had just happened! 

It was a lovely evening and I did learn a little about BMX. 

He got 3rd in his heat if I remember right and he was proud of himself. I'm super proud of him for trying something new and always being willing to put himself out there even if he is unsure of whats going on. Love you C-man! And I'm so glad you were safe! 

 

Boating & a crash

I went out of town for a quick trip to Idaho for a baby shower. While I was gone, I got a message that Carter wanted to try BMX. Knowing this kids love for extreme sports, I wasn't surprised. Just a few hours later I got these first 2 pictures in a text! What in the world!?!!!!!!!

I stepped out of the party to go see what happened. Well, he was practicing BMX and going really fast and hit some gravel and went flying! I'm so glad he was wearing his helmet...the way he hit must have been close to his head since the sore is on TOP of his shoulder! He skidded and landed hard. Poor kid! He came home and actually didn't tell Chad he had crashed for a while. He thought he'd get in trouble. Dang kid! He finally came and showed Chad and we were surprised he didn't tell us! He was pretty banged up!

We had plans to go boating with his friend that day and so we weren't sure what we would do. But he wanted to go and so we went. The cold water I think was good for it. When I got home he showed me his shirt.....these white marks aren't dust or dirt...they are burns. He slid so much his shirt burned! there were several holes and once again I was so glad he was wearing a helmet! His shoulder was shredded.

We got them all cleaned up after boating and bandaged up. He was pretty stiff and sore for a few weeks. A rough start to summer for sure! 

But yes, we did make it to the water and we had fun. Carter wasn't as chipper as he normally is, but that is understandable. Poor guy! I felt so bad for him but i think it also helped take his mind off of some of the hurt. He had a good time with Brody. 

I had a good time laying in the sun. 

And snuggling Ry-bug. 

We got to tryout our knee board for the first time and Brody was able to get up on it for his first time. Good times!

Hope we can get out on the water LOTS this summer!