Golf Anyone?!?!!?

Tammy has been taking Aly to golf lessons all summer long but we have never had a chance to go and watch. On Tuesday, we decided that we would all go and check it out. It worked out great as the trainer wanted to have more kids participate so Jonathan and Teila got to join in the fun too! Jonathan was sporting his flip flops (I am not sure that is true golf attire! Oh well, next time we will be better prepared!) Of course when Ron heard about that, we were in the shop digging up his golf clubs to hit some balls as well. It was fun to watch them all. Elizabeth really didn't have any desire to even try but Daddy always gets her to at least one time! (I swear!!! He can get her to do anything!!!!! I am not sure that is always fair!) It wasn't too hot and we had the driving range to ourselves, so it made a great outing! We are even thinking about going back next week-with appropriate shoes!!!

Together Again!

The cost of camp: $155.00
The cost of sunscreen and bug spray: $14.98
The cost of a disposable camera (that was never used!): $12.98
The cost of gas to get him to the van to go to camp: $4.11 a gallon
The cost of spending money while at camp: $20.00
The cost of him coming home: PRICELESS!
The boy is back!! Here is our Jonny getting off the van from camp! Yes, I was the first mom there to pick him up! Yes, I took pictures! Yes, I had a few tears of joy in my eyes and YES, he wants to go again! He had a great time and shared all kinds of wonderful stories with us! It was fun to hear about all they did and hear the excitement in his voice! I know in my heart, it was perfect for him! Hard on all of us at home but it was great for him! However, I do think he missed us a little bit too!! I am not sure he would tell anyone that though! It is great to have him home!!

Girls Just Want To Have Fun!

This title is not only appropriate for our week but also a song from the new Miley Cyrus cd that came out on Tuesday! Since the week has been all about Elizabeth, we gave in and were one of the first to purchase it! I must say that I am enjoying the cd as well, you might want to pick one up for yourself. I have already put 4 of the songs on my own personal ipod. (Shh! Don't let her know though, or I will never get a break!) Our week with just the girls (Well, Ronie was here but does that count?!?!?!) has been great and I have enjoyed the extra time I have gotten to be with my little girl! We have went to the movies, swam in our pool doing water ballet(That had to have been a nice treat for the neighbors!), invited family over for foot night-finishing with polish!, walked the mall,(A must for any girl!),went to lunch with great friends (Thanks Maggie and Kristin!), had family stop by for ice cream sundaes and all of the toppings(Thanks Duckie, Kathy and Ron!), sleepover with the friends/cousins, scrap booking with Grandma Terry, watching the game show network (Oh Boy! Gotta love the Whammy game!) and to top it all off Grandma Phyllis is coming over as we speak to go on a shopping spree for Back to School clothes! ( Thank you Grandma Phyllis!) Our princess is content! She has been a lot of fun and I KNOW enjoyed all of the extra attention!! Here is a peek of our week.....

Check Out the New Doo!

Liz and I pretty much moped around the house yesterday, due to bad colds and missing Jonathan. However, Grandma Phyllis decided to bring us something to cheer us up and what better than some new curlers?!?!?!? We had to try them out (Daddy was so excited!) and before you knew it, Liz was sporting a new blue and orange doo! She hated sleeping in them but we HAD to see how they worked and I begged her repeatedly to keep them in. Today she woke up with the best curls and you could tell she felt like a princess. The picture doesn't really show you the curls that well but it was very cute. She didn't like sleeping in them and I am not sure I can get her to use them again but they work great and for the hair impaired, quite easy to use!

"While we try to teach our children all about life, Our Children teach us what life is all about."-Angela Schwindt

I read this qoute several days ago and it stuck with me! As I tried to be brave this morning(notice I said I!) and took my son to the van for church camp for the first time, the qoute came back to me. Jonathan said last night that he couldn't wait to get up to camp with the boys and go on hikes, swim, spend time learning about God and I realized he was teaching me what "life is all about". Life is about the simple things like camp, hanging out with good friends,and full of "first times" and excitement about getting away and growing up. I realize that I was worried about all of the "life stuff" like what will happen if the van breaks down, what if he gets sick, what if he is lonely. Jonathan was simply reminding me that life isn't about all of the hassle, struggles or have-to's but more about the living it to the fullest. My brain tells me that Jonathan is right where he needs to be (for goodness sakes, I went to camp every year that I could) but my heart feels like a piece is gone. However, realizing that he is "experiencing what life is all about" makes me realize that letting go is one of the greatest things I can do as a parent and if I love him, that is what I need to do! With that being said, I can look at the positive and spend some extra alone time with Elizabeth and do all of the "girlie" things that are important in her life. (As well as eagerly await for Friday when we can pick Jonathan up!!!!!!)

Are You Ready For Some FOOTBALL?!?!?!

Yup, you guessed it! Football season is almost upon us! Nothing better than spending the day watching your son learning about the best game on earth and getting to see some of the boys in blue at the same time! Jonathan had his first ever football camp today. It was all morning and it was hot and to be honest, our little man didn't feel the best, but he was eager to get up and go!

The day ended with a great pep talk from Coach Villiami Tuivai (for those of you who don't recognize the name he is our Boise State linebacker coach. He told the kids (I need to say kids because believe it or not, there were several girls there!) that they needed to #1) Learn #2) Practice #3) Have a great attitude. Then he showed off his 5 bowl rings. WOW! I just wanted to ask if I could wear one (Okay just touch one!) and take a picture but Ron told me no. Of course one of them was the ever famous Fiesta Bowl Championship ring. Double Wow!!!

Ron and I were very impressed with his speech, the organization of the camp and our new coach for Jonathan this season. He worked with Jon all day! We all left with some more Bronco Nation Pride (Is it possible to have more?) and our son exhausted! In fact, when we got him home, he took a 4 1/2 hour nap!

Grandpa Dee gets a new toy!

The backhoe is gone! The boys on the ranch decided that the backhoe needed to go in order to get a tractor that would fit their needs better. Unbelievably, the backhoe and the old tractor sold quite quickly and for many nights, the conversation has been completely about what tractor would be best! Apparently they got it all figured out because when we got home tonight, Grandpa was sporting a new tractor, snow blower and everything! Of course we needed to check it out and fiddle around with all of the new levers and buttons. (Just so everyone knows, I am the one that found out how to keep the engine running while using the backhoe side! See, manuals are not a bad thing! teehee!) I am sure if you want to stop by the men would love to give you a ride or two!

Lions and Tigers and Bears-Oh No! Wait it is our zoo!! You really won't see any of those things!

We decided to head out to the zoo on Tuesday so we could complete an activity that starts with the letter z on our summer alphabet adventure. Bet you couldn't tell that I teach Kindergarten! Haha! Aly is away at camp this week so it was just the 4of us. We had fun even though most of the animals were asleep and it was really hot! We did get to pet (do you say pet?!?!?) a live snake and lots of skins of animals. That was fun and different than anything we have ever gotten to do before! It was a morning out of the house and we needed it! The kids are starting to get the "What is there to do around here" look.... However, even if the stores are selling back to school stuff, it is NOT time just yet!

Special Times

We were able to have our cousins from Oregon come over for a bbq before they headed to have Nat's (or "Duckie" as we call her around here!) surgery. Then as an added bonus, Tammy's great friends from Bend were here visiting and they joined in the fun! It was a houseful but the kids played great (Jonathan even had some boys to hang out with!) and it was fun reminiscing and catching up as well as just relaxing around the house! The kids played in the pool, jumped on the trampoline and after a while, the adults headed inside (to get out of the heat!) and did some bowling on the Wii! How fun is that?

We're off to the Races!

Ronie's boss surprised us with tickets to the Speedway on Saturday night! We were fortunate enough to get to go earlier in the summer but this time I took the camera along. Alan's (Ron's boss) stepson races wing sprint cars and the kids were so excited to get to go again! (Yes, even Liz enjoyed it last time!) We even got to bring Mom and Aunt Nana with us for a special night out! I have to admit that I like to watch the cars. (Don't tell Ronie!) Jonathan even got to sit in the #16 car after the races were over and both kids got an autographed picture! Jonathan was in heaven! Even though "our guy" didn't win, Jonathan thought the world of him! Elizabeth liked the pink cars better but would you expect anything less from a princess?!?!?! Thanks to Alan and the crew! We enjoyed coming and cheering for you so very much! Best wishes in the races to come!

2 Cute 4 Words

I had to post this picture! Can I tell you how much I love these kids? They are so perfect! (Well, most of the time! haha!) Wallowa is about a 1 minute town and this is a picture of our kids before we even turned the corner to head home from Wallowa! How sweet is that?

The Simple Pleasures of a Dock!

The coolest thing about Wallowa Lake is that they have these docks that are out in the lake for you to tie your boat to and just hang out, swim, or do whatever. We asked at the cabin how we could get one and we were told that most of them were private and but some of them were public, you just had to get up early enough to snag one. Ron was all over that! So after check in,we had to launch the boat and check them out!! However, there was no way to know what ones were private and which ones were public and since Tammy was with us (she isn't our shy one!), we decided to ask someone! Well, apparently all of the public ones were tied together for the fireworks show (By they way, they were beautiful! Gotta love the small town pride for our country and the firework show they put on!! Wonderful! I highly recommend going!) but a nice lady, Marty, said she owned two and if noone was on the dock, we could use hers! What a wonderful lady! So on Sunday, we took full advantage of using it!! The dock had a ladder to get into the lake, a picnic table, a little "beach" cutout to hang your feet off and a perfect place to tie the boat up! Jonathan got to use his boat, we did some swimming (even though the weather was kindof chilly for that!), dancing, and the kids did some knee boarding off the dock! It was wonderful! Whoever you are and wherever you are, Marty Thompson, Thank you soo much! We had the best time! We owe you one!

Ah, Wilderness!!

Our vacation in Wallowa Lake was the best! (Thanks Mom!) The cabin was perfect, the lake was beautiful and the whole trip was just wonderful! We did a lot of hiking, boating and hanging out with family! On Sunday, Ron found that the road that runs through town was a dead end and there was a trail taking off from there so we decided to try it out! A little ways into the hike, there was a trail that went up and another that went around the other side of the mountain. Our energetic child (Jonathan) chose the upward trail and away we went! Oh my! That is all the trail did was go straight up and forever! However, we got to see God's creation upclose and a great workout!

Wallowa Lake!