{Oh, My Son... My Son...}

Just had to share another one of those moments that makes a mother so proud of her son.

*sigh*

It was a quiet morning. Caroline was in the bathtub when Louis comes running past me at top speed giggling, wearing something new...

{We Love Those Chuckers}

"Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the crowd!"

My kids have been completely in L-O-V-E with baseball ever since we took them to an Idaho Falls Chuckers game this week. (Thanks Kathryn for hookin' us up with the tickets!) Caroline even asked her daddy if she could watch Spongebob or baseball on T.V. yesterday. *sigh* Oh, the options.

Anywho, I digress...

We had so much fun!

Daddy was teaching the girls the ins and outs of the game. Elizabeth was really getting into it and would follow the strikes and outs really well. But her favorite part of the game - by far - was the sound clip of glass breaking every time there was a foul ball. What a giggler!

While the girls were following the game, Louis was following "Chucker." The boy is in love. He waved and waved, and if the mascot disappeared then Lou called and called, "Chucker, where are you? Chucker, where are you?!?" until (thankfully) he came back out for an appearance.

(Yep, pretty good seats, eh? Right behind the home plate!)

...and Louis waving frantically to the amazing Chucker.

He was also a big hit when it came to the free giveaways that they throw into the crowd. Poor Lou was determined to catch something, anything, whether they were throwing something at the time or not. So while he was waiting for another glimpse of dear Chucker, he spent his time ready for the big catch. I love this boy.

I wasn't so confident in my children's attention spans and figured when they melted down we'd just take off early. Boy was I ever wrong (and that hardly ever happens...) They lasted all nine innings and were still cheering the Chuckers on at 11:00 that night when we finally got them home and tucked into bed! By the way, it's summer, so don't judge me for keeping my young children awake to such an insane hour. These are memories we're making!

{At Least You're Not at My House Right Now}

Ahh, blessed summer time. When all my kids are home.

All day.

Every day.

With me.

All. the. time.



I should be happy. They are not bored. They are not fighting. They are not whiny.

BUT THEY ARE DOING THIS:


RIGHT IN MY FACE.



I feel your pain Lou buddy. Oh, I feel it.

{Let's Get Together, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!}

It's that time of year again, folks! That special time when you pack (almost) everyone you're related to into one cabin for a weekend and party! I love our family reunions!

Here's just a few (heh, heh, you all know me better by now!) pictures of the good times:

1 Cabin in Island Park

2 Grandparents (We love you Nana and Papa!)

3 Nights of some nice, friendly poker.

(By the way, did you know orange Gatorade caps are worth, like, anywhere from $200 - $800?!? It's true!)

4th of July

Why do our 4th of July celebrations always seem to end in a tiny bonfire...?

5 Grand kids and "wheelers" !

My kids are fearless on these hills... they all just giggle and beg to go faster and higher!

Proof that 4-wheeling is a super attractive sport... you should have seen us all covered in dust!

6 Hours spent "fishing"... I use the term loosely here.

Caroline started us out strong by actually catching a fish.

Louis is still working on his special fishing methods.

We're beginning to regress now... snack time definitely deserves a thumbs-up!

The kids have completely abandoned the fishing poles now to play with the tiny frog Elizabeth caught.

By the end of our "fishing trip" the boys are manning the poles alone while the girls make mud pies.

7 Mighty pine cone hunters

Louis somehow managed to get everyone out searching for pine cones for him...

...all so he could chuck them into the river behind our cabin!

8 "Indoor" S'mores (each...)

...the list could go on and on!

We had so much fun! Until next year my fam, until next year! (P.S. I stole the special orange poker chips! I'm rich!!! Muah-ha-ha!)

{Lou's Little Paaarrrr-taaay!}

We had a little family get together at my mom and daddy's house for Lou's birthday, and holy cow (yep, I said it) I love hanging out with my family! It was a great little afternoon of giggles!

Louis is so in love with trucks right now, I made him a dirt cake and put it in the back of his favorite dump truck. This was the easiest cake ever, and so extra tasty too! I was sure he'd push that magic little button and dump the whole thing out on mom's beautiful white table cloth, but I guess it was my lucky day.

We practiced blowing all week so he would be ready for his big moment... I didn't count on that gap being such a handycap!

Thank goodness he had these "petri dishes" (as Uncle Adam calls them) there to help out.

Let them eat cake!

I must be rubbing off on Laura (my co-photographer for the day). She go some great sunflare in this shot. Way to go Lars! *sniff* I'm so proud of her right now...

Louis was so excited over all his little boy gifts! Thanks everybody for a great party! We should do it again soon... what 'cha all doing for the 4th?