Parks

We went to a lot of different parks but the kids were also moving too fast for pictures. Here is a nice picture of Lincoln with the sand castle he built.

Hats

We took the kids to visit Nathan's old work in DC. They wanted something fun to do so Nathan's co-worker let them try on the hats that were on her wall. They had a blast. My favorite is the hat that makes Lincoln have a ponytail.

Cousin Dress-up

After the wedding was over, Grandma showed the kids were the dress-up clothes were. The kids had a blast. Her is Avalee as a cheerleader.

And this is Lincoln as a dinosaur pirate...

with a double tail.

Seriously, these kids were so funny.

Cousin Wesley was ok to be on the calmer side dressed up as a mom.

Air and Space Museum

All 18 of us went to the Air and Space Museum. It was so busy that we didn't get many pictures of the others that were with us. Here is Nathan and Lincoln in front of some airplane guys.

The kids thought the controllers were fun.

In the interactive center, Natalie could not get enough of this ball being held up in the air by the fan.

The main event

We went to Virginia for Nathan's sister's wedding. I only got three pictures of the entire day. I guess I knew that Amanda was a good photographer and would take lots. I am excited to see the pictures. The wedding was a lot of fun. The decorations and food were the best I have ever seen.

Lincoln's attempt at a smile. We are still working on this.

Aunt Nancy was always helping Avalee be cute. Avalee loved it. She now calls Aunt Nancy. The nice lady that gave me the angel necklace. The skirt that Avalee has on was made the two days before the wedding by me and my sister-in-law, Rose-Ellen. We had 15 choices of fabric and no pattern. I think we did a pretty good job at creating.

The bride and groom coming out of the DC temple.

Airplane Ride to VA

Before Lincoln was 18 months old, he had flown on an airplane at least four times but since then we haven't flown. Avalee and Lincoln thought the airplane was fun and they were so good. Nathan and I were really regretting flying because we had such bad memories of crying kids and a puking Lincoln but now we know it is no big deal to fly. Everytime we were waiting to take off, Lincoln would ask "How long before this plane blasts off?" He got so excited to blast off in the plane


The ginger cookies they had on the airplaine were so good. We all enjoyed eating them.

Avalee's 4-H Projects

Avalee did 4-H this year as a Cloverbud. The Cloverbuds receiving a participation ribbon. Avalee earned three of them. One for her purple ceramic bunny, one for the bag she sewed, and one for her record book. She had a great time doing these projects. Next year she is going to enroll in the cake decorating class and Lincoln will also be old enough to join in on the learning. Avalee's club did this display for the fair. She is the cow in the bottom middle.

24th of July

On the 24th of July our stake had a pioneer celebration with breakfast and activites. The kids enjoyed being pulled in a handcart.

Avalee enjoyed petting the animals but Lincoln would not go in the pen.

The covered wagon was not too fun because it didn't move.

Avalee's Surgery

Avalee's surgery went really well. Her tonsil were infected as suspected and the doctor thinks she will have a much better life without them.

We did have to stay at the surgery center an extra hour because Avalee threw up 10 minutes after she woke up. They got medicine in her fast to stop this. She also threw up on the way home which I was prepared for in the car by myself. She came home and has had three scoops of ice cream and a half of yogurt.

Avalee has been very pleasant and is being very faithful at drinking lots of water.

Summer Fun--Secret Wish

I secretly hope our summer fun in Idaho is not over. There are a couple of fun things I would like to take the kids to at the library, the fair, and a stake activity. Let's hope that Avalee recovers quickly so we can have more fun before our summer in Idaho ends. Stay tuned for more updates in the next month.

Summer Fun--With Dad at Lunch

Avalee wanted to meet Nathan for lunch and feed the ducks. The kids did not expect the ducks to be so large in number or so aggressive. One actually nipped at Lincoln. So we the kids watching Nathan feed the ducks. These ducks were not scared of anything and would not wait for you to throw the bread they would just attack you.


This is my favorite pictures because Avalee is screaming. Mom unlock the door so we can get in. The duck just kept getting closer and closer to her.

Summer Fun-At Settler's Park

This park is amazing. I don't know we have never been there. The kids had a great time and we will go make a couple of times next year because it is free. The pictures below are the things you can do there...play musical instruments, play in the water, climb the rocks, and other things.

Summer Fun--In the Backyard

Avalee got to make a wish list of things to she wanted to do before her summer in Idaho ends on Tuesday. We have done swimming lessons, been to parks, visited the library, had friends over, played with friends, and many other things. I did not get a picture of everything but we have been busy and fulfilled her wish list.

This is a picture of backyard fun. The kids actually understand how to slide this summer.

Merdian 5k Dairy Run

Why we forgot the camera I do not know?

I ran my 2nd 5k this summer. I made it in a time of 32:59 minutes. I would have probably gone faster but there were two hills that I had not expected that slowed me down. I cut a minute of my time and hope to cut another minute off my time in September at the 3rd 5k of the summer.

Avalee and Lincoln ran in the 1/4 mile run. They did very well and got a shirt and cow bell for running and finish the race. I was equally impressed because the next week I found out Lincoln was not breathing and had to go on a dose of steriods for a week.

5-mile run

I accidentally ran five miles on Monday night. Here is how:

On Friday, I went out running and got rained on because I got to far away from the house. So on Monday, I decided to run around our subdivision until I hit four miles. Mapmyrun.com told me our subdivision was .7 miles. So off I went for six laps. When I got home I looked at the clock and thought I had gotten really slow. Then I decided to get in the car and clock it. I found out the subdivision is .8 miles and with six laps. I had ran .2 miles shy of five miles.

This is an amazing accomplishment for me because my foot still hurts at times. With another 5k down on Saturday, I only have one more to go to reach my goal of three this summer.

Tonsillectomy and Adenoid Surgery

After a winter of antibotics and a sinus infection and a six week wait, Avalee finally got into see a Pediatric ENT doctor today. Only to find out the the antibotics had cleared her sinuses but she needs her tonsils and adenoids taken out as they are 50% swollen. The earliest day they could do it is July 14. She cannot leave the area for 14 days. I asked them to please notify me if they have a cancellation because we are going to be pushing it close for leaving for Virginia.

I also guess Lincoln and I are going to my family reunion my ourselves and Avalee and Nathan will be staying home.

I can now say that our summer break will be over in exactly 3 1/2 weeks. The kids and I are going to make a list of the things they want to do and we are going to be very busy.

Avalee's 1st violin recital

As a first year student, Avalee did not go to festival but got to play in the end of the year recital at her teacher's house. She was one of 20 or so students that we got to listen to that evening. Avalee did a very good job. She stood in front of 50 people and played her song the best she ever had.

For the last song of the evening, the teacher and a couple of students played a song together. The teacher encouraged the parents to enjoy dancing. Lincoln was the only one that took her up on that challenge. He is a pretty funny dancer. After the recital, we enjoyed dinner and a swim in the pool. I can honestly say not many students have this much fun after a recital.

Last Days of School

Here is pictures of the last days of school for Avalee and Lincoln. Avalee came home and cried because she did not want to get a new 1st grade teacher. She wants to stay with Mrs. Williams forever. I admit that I cried with her because she has had an awesome teacher this year. I can only hope that 1st grade brings another good teacher.



Lincoln on the other hand is not very proud of his preschool certificate because he doesn't think it is fair that he has to go to preschool again for another year when all the rest of his class passed and got to go on to Kindergarten.

Wednesday's Fun

After three years, we had to buy a new pool. The kids had to check it out today. It started with just simple fun.
Then Lincoln got brave and started cannon balling off the slide. I told him I was not taking him to the hospital if he got hurt.

So then he grabbed the bucket and said "Now I have a helmet and will be safe." Then he jumped again. He seriously has no fear of jumping and water unless he is in a bigger pool.


In Rockland, they make a huge deal out of Kindergarten graduation. So today Avalee got a card from her grandma. This is her expression when she found a couple of $1 in the mail today. Dollars are pretty cool to a six-year old. We are proud of Avalee for making it through Kindergarten.