Sun Valley and Redfish Lake over the 4th of July

After the two weeks in Montana with the kiddos it was time to finally head down to Idaho Falls and move into our rental house!  I was very excited to get things unpacked and start our new liufe there!  Mom and Dad came back down with me from Montana and helped TREMENDOUSLY with cleaning, unpacking, setting up furniture and landscaping.  Chris had to work until later in the evening on the day that we moved in so their help literally saved me!

After a day of trying to settle in we packed up again for a few days of fun in Sun Valley (tradition for the 4th of July) and Redfish Lake.  There we met up with Aunti Nickie and her girls (nieces Lexi and Chloe) who were here visiting from Philadelphia!  We also enjoyed the fireworks and yummy caramel apples (another tradition) with Grammie Graf and Great Grandma Jones.

Look how cute the girls' little 4th of July outfits are! 

My kids were dressed to kill too but we opted for some warmer clothes prior to leaving for the fireworks

During the day on the 4th we visited the local antique sales and had lunch at the Sun Valley Golf Club.  Chris, Uncle Bryce and Brady enjoyed the driving range while the rest of us kicked back for a little bit.

Day Two:  Redfish Lake!!!

We enjoyed the beautiful drive up through the mountains to the Lake and stopped for a little bit at the fish hatchery.  Unfortunately we didn't get to see any really awesome salmon like we did last year but it was still a nice walk to stretch our legs and find out more about salmon, and especially the red salmon that Redfish Lake is named after.

Chris and Bryce enjoyed the ride up together in Bryce's new Chevy Colorado

1-2-3 JUMP!!!  Daddy and Grammie entertain Olivia along the walk!

We met up with Grammie, Great-Grandpa, Aunt Nickie and the girls again and enjoyed a full afternoon enjoying the sun and the beautiful water (which was VERY cold!)

We all enjoyed paddle boating around the lake

Chloe and Livy mostly stuck to playing on the beach, having a great time filling their buckets with water and sand!  They also got some rides in the raft by both Grammies and Liv went on the paddle boat several times.

THUMBS UP from Brady!  We love Redfish Lake!!!

Mom and Bryce took a boat ride for a while and then Dad, Bryce, Brady and I went out to the "Heaven's Gates" where the two mountains at the end of the lake open up to another part of the lake.  It was beautiful!



Montana for 2 weeks

We had to pack and up and leave our house in such a hurry (1 night's notice) when we suddenyl got renters that I was very grateful that I had two months prior to slowly pack most of the house up.  Chris was already in Idaho Falls and we couldn't move into our rental house for another two weeks so the kids and I headed to Montana for a few weeks.  We had already been planning on spending at least a week up there anyway because my mom had flown in at the beginning of June for the month and my dad was going to be there for the last week of June.  My cousins, Abe and Sarah were gracious enough to let us stay at their house for the whole time!  It was great being around family and relaxing but also hard just sitting and waiting to move into our new home.

Here are some of the things that kept us busy:

Mom and dad went on a fe adventures together.   They did whitewater rafting down the Gallatin River (which was surging at this time of year) and also horseback riding.  Here are some great pictures from their rafting trip. (They are the two on the right).

We visited lots of parks:

Every day we tried to have a picnic or snacks at a different park.  Bozeman has some really fantastic parks so we tried out as many new ones as we could!  Several of them have great nature trails with ponds and also awesome playground equipment (we need more parks in Idaho Falls!)

  

Olivia's favorite thing to do:  swing!

I watched my little cousins as much as I could to help out while I was staying at their house.  They play great with my kids and have gotten pretty close during all of our trips to Montana.  We had lots of fun together!

 

Natalia and Jacobi

Swimming at Bogart Pool:
One hot afternoon we went swimming with Grammie and Grandpa.  The kids hadn't been in a swimming pool for two summers so it took them a little while to get used to it.  It made me sad because they both were such little fish in the water when we lived at Rivercrest with the pool.  Brady used to swim all around by himself with his arm floaties on.  Due to the nature of the craziness of our summer we didn't get to do swim lessons this year but we will definately be doing them next year! 

Olivia finally let Grammie take her around in the water and once she knew that she was going to be safe she loved it and even went down the little kiddie slide a few times.  There are also some really awesome water slides there that I wish I could have gone down...next year!

I tried to get some better pictures...but with lots of splashing and uncooperative kids this is all we got.

Lemonade Stand:

What do you do when it's REALLY hot and the kids are REALLY "bored?"  Have a lemonade stand!  My cousin Abe set up this table with lemonade, punch and snakcs for the kids to sell.  Brady and Natalia actually did a pretty good job of sitting out in the heat!  They each made $4.00!!! (Meanwhile, Olivia and I went to Aunt Linda's and took a nap!)

And this is the view from my cousin's front yard of the Bridger Mountains.  They also live right across the street from the nature park and Dinosaur Park (themed playground for kids). 

Splash Park:
We went to the splash park two times and also to a small pond to go swimming one day.  The kids loved splashing in the water and especially using the huge water guns/cannons.

Museum of the Rockies:
Dad went with me and the kids ad my cousin Megan to the Museum of the Rockies.  They have a lot of dinosaur and Native American displays, as well as a special frog exhibit for the summer.

     

Outside there is a working farm that is an original homestead of an early family that settled in the valley.  They have daily demonstrations on cooking and living during that era. 

Outside off of the back porch was a working well that the kids could pump and syphon out water into watering cans.  They then went around watering all of the flowers and vegetable gardens!

A small greenhouse (I think I will make one of these at our next house!)

The orchards:

And even a two-seater outhouse!  There was also a root cellar, a blacksmith shop, a chicken coop and small barn, and a tool shed.

This is a beautiful picture of wild Montana lupines that my brother, Bryce took!  Gorgeous!



kindergarten down, 12 more years to go! Brady's Kindergarten Graduation!!!

We are so proud of Brady and all that he accomplished during his first year of school!  His teacher was always impressed with how "bright" he is and he excelled in all areas.  We still have to work on reading this summer but we know with more practice he'll be reading adventures in chapter books before we know it!

Chris was in Idaho Falls so he wasn't able to attend the graduation but I tried to take some video to share.  Look closely and you'll see Brady singing his heart out!  When he received his "diploma" his teacher, Mrs. King announced what each of the students said they wanted to be when they grow up.  I think Brady may have been influenced by one of his little friends because he said he wanted to be a wrestler too!  He has told us he wants to be many things (astronaut, firefighter, even work for Enterprise like daddy) but never a wrestler!  We shall see someday.....

graduation "mug shot"

with his teacher, Mrs. King

I also recorded Brady saying his school creed.  I was so impressed that these little children memorized such a long statement!  I couldn't get it on video at the graduation so I recorded him the other day.  The video is dark (I need a better camera!) and he isn't smiling (but he did his best!)  I did not help him and he memorized the entire saying by himself and has still kept it memorized over the summer!  I am impressed!

Here are the words in case you have trouble hearing:

"We are the scholars of Oregon Trail Elementary School.

We are more than students, we are tenacious lifelong learners

blazing the trail of success for ourselves and all those who

will follow us.  Together our mission is to create a place

where we can learn, feel values and be successful.

We will achieve the high expectations set for us by

exhuberantly putting forth our best efforts on a daily basis.

We are trailblazers.  We are AWESOME!!!"

Memorial Day Weekend- Golfing

My brother Bryce came down for a visit on Memorial Day weekend and he and Chris took Brady golfing for his first time!  Liv and I went shopping and out for frozen yogurt!

   

Fat Boys

This is unfortunately the best picture I could get of Chris playing b-ball due to lighting and their "lightning fast" moves!  Chris was on a City League basketball team this past winter/spring and had a blast playing 2-3 games a week.  He made some great friends, great exercise and sharpened his ball skills.  We had a good time going to several of his games and cheering for him and his team. 

(Oh, and "Fat Boys" was the name they chose for their team name...I had nothing to do with that!)

Birthday wishes for Grandma (aka Grammie Opals)

Chris' maternal grandmother, Opal had a birthday in May.  We're so glad that we were there to share in another year of celebration with her!  She is the funniest lady and so sweet too.  I loved her right away when I first me her!  Our kids call her "Grammie Opals" which is so cute!