We went out and visited Geoff, Jenna, Blake, Eli, Mark, and Lynn at the cabin over the 4th of July weekend. It was SO hot, it was great!! The kids had a blast!
Blake and Liv rode in style down to the water...
Dave took his boat out with the intentions of taking our two out fishing. But, Olivia saw his boat and then looked over at Geoff's boat and told her dad, "no, dat boat" and refused to get into Dave's dinky john boat. It was hilarious.
This picture looks like I cut off Geoff's head...but, do you see what my real subject was? See the two little peanuts in front steering the boat, how cute is that?
Owen went tubing for the first time, but, wasn't too sure he loved it...
Jenna took Liv in the kayak and she got a huge kick out of it.
Owen loves the jet skis, but, didn't get much time on them thanks to his sister and cousin!!
Live took it very seriously, but, loved every minute!! Her and Blake would have stayed on those all day if they'd had the choice. Mark had to take one out because Liv and Blake would both cry if the other one got to go, it was too funny.
Shawn and Trevor brought their paddle boards out and Jeff and Dave took a stab at them.
We had such a super early spring, my peonies bloomed in early July. I wanted one of those pictures that of Liv smelling the flower that I could turn into a beautiful sepia picture with just the pink of the flower in color...instead...this is the face Liv made when she "smelled" the flower. It was more of a dramatically noisy inhale through the nose than a beautiful sniff!! It's all Liv though!
The kids were just cute together when we were out to eat one night...I have to document the times they get along because it can be far and few between! ;O)
This just cracked me up....Liv let go of her balloon and decided to get it herself. So, she went and got her stool and kept hopping and grunting like it was just out of her reach. It's hard to see in this picture, but, the string hung just below the door frame, about 6' off the ground...not sure if I should be concerned about her depth perception or not!
From the time Owen got out of school in May through the third week of July, we had soccer or swimming after work 4 days a week!! It was a bit much and the kids were having to eat pb&j every night for dinner because we either ate in the truck or at practice. This is Liv sitting outside of swim practice with the lunch bag on her head...her idea!!!
As we do every year, we hit the Bear Paw Festival and had lots of fun. Liv was totally pumped to ride the horses and then chickened out at the very last minute. But, Owen loves it.
Liv's more a candy cotton kind of girl...hahaha...
Owen somehow managed to convince Shawn to ride the bumper cars with him. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more!
After losing Daisy, I was sure I didn't want another pup. But, unfortunately, Max started deteriorating physically very rapidly. He has always had some severe anxiety issues and without Daisy, there were days that he just sat and shook all day long. We tried getting him out with us more, but, he's never been a fan of truck rides and as it would turn out, he gets car sick!!!! So, after learning the hard way, that was the end of that!! We tried to go visit some of the rescue group booths at the Bear Paw Festival, but, didn't have any luck. We finally decided to stop at the pound and brace ourselves for what we'd find. Thankfully, there were only FIVE dogs in the place and one wasn't ready for adoption. So, it wasn't nearly as heart wrenching as expected. Even with just the five to choose from though, we found Ollie...
Ollie is the perfect match for Max. He too is a husky mix and FULL of energy!! After some investigation, it turns out he's about 4 years old and we are at least his third family. It hurts my heart to know someone didn't care enough to get him back from the pound (he was there 6 days before we adopted him), he's such a great dog and how can you not love that face!! His right eye is a "parti" eye, half blue and half brown, I'd never seen that before! He's a total love bug and very patient with the kids. He weighs about the same as Max, but, stands several inches taller and is kind of like having a horse in the house! We're working on fattening him up, but, he and Max spend so much time outside running and rough-housing, it's been difficult!! ;O) The dogs were almost instant friends and acclimating him into the family could not have gone any smoother. The only negative is that he doesn't like to come back if he gets out of the yard. We lost him the night we brought him home and he dug out of the backyard twice on Dave's poor mom's watch!! Then there was a 4th incident that was totally and completely Dave's fault...but, the good news is, after some coaxing, he does EVENTUALLY come back!! Our $72 pound puppy has already cost us almost $1,000 in a back hoe rental and supplies to fortify the fence....but, he hasn't been out loose since!!!
Dave's mom, Diana, came up ahead of his dad and I think one of the first things we did was drag her to Bouncin' Bears!
We roped Hayden and Kaylee into it too!
Liv got her first "bike" and thinks it's made of gold! Had I known she'd be so good on it, I would have made Dave buy an actual bike instead. By next year she'll need one...it's hard to keep up with her brother on a tricycle!!
The kids and I took Diana to the reindeer farm too. I didn't get too many good pictures, the reindeer are so pushy, it's like being in a pen with 50 Max and Ollie's...except, these are taller than Liv! She held her own, but, needed a lot of help staying upright because they were not above running her over. I just love going there, the reindeer are amazing.
The elk were more her speed...they have to stay behind the fence because they bite. But, there were lots of really friendly ones this year that were more than happy to eat our fresh grass.
Liv's hair is still really short and she hates me to mess with it...but, i did manage to get ponytails in it for a few seconds at least one day! ;O)
I'm SO far behind yet again on pictures, how does time get away from me so fast!! We had a great summer, but, it ended in lots of rain and our fall hasn't been all that much better. On the upside, I don't remember having to water the grass but a few times and I know that there are some states who are in a bad drought situation, so, I guess we should be thankful!!
Owen and Dave got a bee up their bonnets about shooting rockets. So, Liv and I went out with them to watch...I still don't get it...but, they seemed to have fun!
Owen wanted his hair done like the Silver Ranger from Power Rangers...I unfortunately hadn't studied up on the Rangers and their looks...so, here's what he got!! Nothing at all like the Silver Ranger as it would turn out, but, he seemed pleased regardless. I had to gel it up every day for a couple weeks so he could wear it to summer camp like this...it's a wonder the kid hasn't been beat up by the other kids!!
Dave and I celebrated our 11th anniversary! Hard to believe it's gone by so fast!!
Liv got in trouble for something and went to her room. She was so quiet for so long, I figured she was up to no good or asleep. Turns out, it was neither. She hid behind the rocking chair in this tiny space and pouted for FOREVER. She might still be there had I not checked on her! ;O)
Owen and Dave did some fishing this summer, but, not nearly as much as they normally do.
Owen wrapped up his summer soccer season with Uncle Doc, Aunt Laurie, Geoff, Jenna, Blake, Eli, Grandma Gail, and Auntie Shawn coming out to watch his game. Somehow, I took no shots of the game, but, got lots of the little ones, oops! ;O)
We had a family dinner and Liv insisted everyone read to her.
Blake hung out with Owen watching a movie, those two get along so well, it's kind of funny!
Olivia was really hurt every time Dave and Owen left to fish without her. So, Dave finally caved and agreed to take her if I went. She LOVED every minute of it and was far more dedicated than her brother. You would have bet money she was going to catch something for sure...fishing with a washer doesn't land you much though as it turns out! ;O)
We had lunch after and the kids each got a Blizzard...neither one managed to eat it all before they were out cold however!!
We are finally getting on a better schedule and since I'm not obligated to work from home anymore, I'm trying to make a point to do more with the kids on my days off. So, we went out to Palmer the other day to visit my grandmother and my uncle who the kids especially hadn't seen in forever. I made a point to do a Google search and find a new playground to visit. All I came up with was this one, but, it was awesome and hidden, so, we never would have found it on our own!!
I swung the tire swing and then left him to take care of Olivia, not remembering his total lack of common sense...which I totally blame his dad for! ;O) Anyway, Owen didn't think to put his foot down to stop himself and the swing spun until he was super sick. In fact, he came home and slept for 2 hours after our trip and then laid on the couch the rest of the night...oops!!! Who doesn't know how to stop a tire swing!! Our kids are WAY too sheltered!!!!
They had all kinds of fun things to "drive". What other playground can you go to and ride a snowmachine!!
This one is trouble no matter where we are!
I love that her hair is everywhere! It's just long enough to get messy, but, still not long enough to put in a pony tail.
Owen's playing soccer two nights a week and has swim lessons two nights a week...I'm not sure who's more exhausted, him or us after dragging him around!!! We go straight from work, grab the kids, and feed them pb&js in the car on the way to practice three nights a week...the fourth night I'm home with them fortunately!!! Thankfully, soccer will be over in just two more weeks. It's kind of a long story, but, I had originally planned to drop him out of swimming when I signed him up for soccer. He was devastated, so, I agreed to let him do one more session...not super bright, we won't do this again for sure!!
Of course, Liv goes where Owen goes, so she too is up by 7 and not home again until 7ish at night. But, man is she a good sport about it!! This particular night was a game night and her dad asked her for a high-five. This video was her response...apparently, unknowingly to us, Owen had taught her the "down low, too slow" trick!! We were shocked when she threw that out there and we couldn't stop laughing.
Game nights the kids and I are typically home all day and this particular day, Owen was dying for a monster cookie. I don't even know what goes into those to be honest, but, we put mini chocolate chips and M&Ms in ours. Olivia LOVES to cook, she can run the Kitchenaid like nobody's business too!
Liv's favorite pass time these days is swinging...of course, the one thing she can't do on her own!! This particular day was reasonably warm, but, I put a coat on her to guard her from the mosquitoes!! We haven't had a particularly wet season, but, the bugs seem as bad if not worse than ever!!
So, ironically, just like her brother did, Olivia became officially potty trained over Memorial Day weekend and we haven't had an accident since. What is with that being the weekend to make the decision to do your business in the potty!! It's back fired on us a little bit with her partly because she's so much younger than he was (he was a solid 2.5 years and she was just over 2 years) and partly because she wakes up at night to go too!! Owen was 4ish before he ever did that, so, he was more than capable of going on his own where Olivia can't even get her jamies off by herself let alone her diaper down. So, it's kind of like the newborn thing all over again, we get up at least once or twice now. Everyone says to not give her liquids within two hours of bedtime, but, how do you do that when you don't get home until 7!! Anyway, we are pretty impressed regardless of our sleepless nights!! The picture below is what happens when she has to wait for you to come help her go...she puts the potty seat on her head!!! I try to keep it wiped down, but, there's not enough disinfectant to make this o.k.!!! Definitely another one to keep for black mail later!! ;O)
The shock of losing Daisy has been such an ugly reminder of the fact that there's no guarantee for tomorrow, especially when it comes to our fur babies. So, I've made an effort to get more shots of Max lately...not that we don't have a ton, he's a really fun dog to photograph with those weird blue eyes and big pointy ears, so, I already have a ton of him already! ;O)
Max has done well considering without his constant companion, but, even the babysitter noticed that he wasn't the same dog as he was before. It's like losing Daisy took the happy out of him, which, I totally can understand. Anyway, where he used to be long gone if you looked the other way, now he's always right under foot and looking for approval from us. In fact, I was out trying to take pictures of flowers and he was stalking me in the bushes...he's so funny. I wish we could fix it for him. We have mulled over getting another dog, but, he isn't super compatible with other dogs and I'm not sure we can handle a new fur baby right now. I'd rather just have Daisy back, we all really needed her here with us...
The kids have been especially uncooperative in the photo department lately, so, I turned to taking pictures of flowers to practice my focus skills (which I'm lacking...and is hard to practice with a wiggly kid!).
This little violet reminded me of Owen and the little mark under his nose, I don't know why! ;O)
