Summer Fun!

 

We had a lot of fun this summer.  Lots of time spent at grandparents pools, up at the cabin, at the lake, with cousins and friends.  We stayed busy, that's for sure.  We started with memorial day here is Boise, we swam and bbq'd at Stan and Diane's. Craig's Grandpa Moss passed away in June and we were able to make it down to Utah for the funeral.  It was a beautiful service and it was great to see so much of his family.

This summer I decided to put on a Speed and Agility camp for our kids and their friends.  I needed our kids to work on their speed over the summer and I figured they would be more likely to do it if they had other kids around.  It turned out well and I think I had more fun than the kids.  Brooklyn and I also taught swim lessons in my mom's pool.  Brooklyn wanted to start learning so I had her help me out with a couple of classes.  We made it up to Lucky Peak a few times with my mom and sisters.  The kids both did well with their water skiing and had fun tubing.  Brooklyn even tried slalom skiing and almost got up.

For our anniversary at the end of June Craig and I hiked one of the Boise Grand Slam peaks, Kepros mtn. It was about a 9.5 mile hike and now we just have one left to finish off the Grand Slam.  The kids headed up to McCall with Mark and Paige for the weekend, which was very kind of them and the kids had a blast.

4th of July was a blast, like always.  We stayed in town for the 4th and went to the parade in Star and then over to a friends house to swim and then to Stan and Diane's to swim and BBQ and then back to Star for the fireworks.  It's so fun having the kids old enough to be able to stay busy and up late with out any meltdowns.  The next morning we drove up to the cabin, but not without stopping to hike first.  We started to year off with our biggest hike, Blackmere Lake.  It was a hard one at 11.5 miles, but the kids did great of course.  Sunday we went to church and hung at the cabin and played in the backyard.  On Monday the 7th we went over to north beach and took our paddles boards and Pop's kayak.  Tuesday, it was time for another hike, this time it was to the top of Jug Mountain.  Craig and I have hiked it before, but the kids have looked at it from the back deck of the cabin for years and now was their chance to hike to the top.  It gets pretty steep at the top and you have to do quite a bit of bouldering, the kids thought it was pretty sweet.

The rest of July was filled with girls camp for Brooklyn and Craig and then high adventure for Craig and the young men.  We also bought a new car.  Craig had been looking at Jeep Wrangler's for a long time and finally found one that fit the bill.  It will eventually be the kids car but for now Craig and I can have fun driving it around.  At the end of the month we made it up to Hazard Lake to go camping with Stan and Diane.  Stan and Diane bought a little trailer that they brought up.  While we were there we hiked to hard creek lake and then to upper hazard lake and back to hazard, it was about 5 miles and Pops even came with us.  We fished and paddle boarded, at yummy food and roasted s'mores.

At the start of August Lisa's family came in town for a family reunion.  The kids had a blast together swimming and playing lots of soccer and football in the backyard.  Lots of food was eaten and lots of smiles and laughter was had all around.  We are always sad to see them leave.

We were able to get up to the cabin a couple of other times throughout the summer.  We went shooting, spent time at the lake, had fires and the kids had fun in Pop's new garage.

We finished out the summer with Labor Day weekend in Sun Valley.  Friday morning Craig and I were up early and drove to the Sawtooth's to hike into Alice and Twin Lake, which was about 11.5 gorgeous miles.  Stan and Diane then picked the kids up from school and brought them over.  We met them at dinner at Smoky Mountain.  Saturday we spent a lot of time at the car auction.  The kids also went to the parade with Pops and Mouse and then to the ice show that evening after dinner.  Sunday morning we were up early and were back in the Sawtooth's to hike to Goat Lake.  Craig and I had hiked it before but we wanted the kids to experience it.  It is a good 9 miles but worth every mile.  There are some really steep parts that don't have a trail, but the kids are like mountain goats and flew right up.  Once we finished the hike we drove back home so we could spend actual Labor Day at the pool.

At the end of the summer I started working at a new studio, teaching hot sculpt classes.  A friend of ours opened up Uplift Hot Yoga and I was more than thrilled when she invited me to join the team.  Teaching in the heat is new for me but I'm starting to get used to it. We had a great summer.  Always full of adventures and we wouldn't have it any other way.  We love creating memories with our kids and hope they look back on these adventures with fond memories.  Here are a few more random pictures from the summer...

McKay turns 9!

Our little guy turned 9 on August 15th.  He had big plans for his birthday and we were able to deliver a couple of them.  He was a little bummed that his birthday fell on a school day, but we made the most of it. He wanted a donut for breakfast so I ran over to Ridley's at 7:00 am to grab him a fresh one and of course that is the day the baker doesn't show up to work.  There were no fresh donuts to be found, so he got some mini powdered donuts instead.  After school once Craig was home we opened gifts.  He got a pair of Nike's that he had chosen, a poop emoji fart stuffy thing (from Brooklyn), some football cards, a new indoor basketball and an Ashton Jenty Raiders jersey.  We then went to Izumi hibachi grill for dinner.  I am so glad he is not a picky eater, but man does he have expensive taste.  That boy loves his salmon, steak, shrimp, etc. 

On Saturday we threw him a swim birthday party at Stan and Diane's.  He invited a few friends from school and church and then we had all the cousins over.  They had so much fun swimming, playing kickball and water balloon dodgeball.  He got loaded up with gifts and we loaded all the kids up with sugar in the form of popsicles and cupcakes.  He was living his best life, he even taught himself how to do a gainer off the diving board.  He also got a birthday dinner at Grandma's along with a BSU sweatshirt and a ticket to a BSU football game with Grandma.  He got a sweet new pocket knife and wet stone along with some sport books from Nana and Pops.  To say he was spoiled is an understatement.

He is such a fun kid.  A little sour patch kid in the sense that he is either the most fun person to be around or he is totally obnoxious, luckily the fun massively out weighs the obnoxious.  He is kind to everyone and is the best hype man ever.  He will make you laugh so hard but also give you a hug we he can tell you are feeling down.  He will make friends with everyone and is not shy at all.  He is so easy to love and we sure love him!  We feel so privileged to be able to have him as part of our family and we are so excited to watch him grow.

Back to School

 

The school year started even earlier this year, Wednesday August 13th.  The kids were not super thrilled that it cut their summer off, but I think we were all ready to get back into a routine. They set out their clothes the night before, as per tradition.

 Brooklyn was up and off first, starting her 7th grade year at Star Middle School. She wants to be a marine biologist when she grows up, she loves sports, her favorite food is pasta and her favorite book genre is fantasy.   She was ready to see her friends and take on a new school year.

McKay was then next, he was off to third grade with Mrs. Wilson at Galileo STEM. He was not as thrilled about going back to school, but was excited that some of his best buddies were in his class.  He wants to be a garbage man when he grows up, he loves playing sports, his favorite food is Salmon and his favorite books are anything that have to do with sports or athletes.

I am so glad that my kids are independent so I don't have to worry about them at school.  They are both great students and good friends and their teachers always love them.  It makes me confident that they will have a great year!

Spring is in the Air

 

Most of our spring was spent watching the kids play sports.  McKay had his first season of Flex football, where they wear the soft pads and are able to block but still use flags.  Brooklyn had her second season with the Chicas soccer club.  It was very busy with practices and games, but we managed to get everyone everywhere.  Occasionally someone had to be dropped off early or had to wait around to be picked up for a few minutes.  Dinners were eaten usually around 8:30 each night, but the kids both had great seasons and the busyness was worth it.

 McKay's team was the Steelers.  They lost most of their games, but McKay really got better as the season went on and did a really great job reading the field.  He is looking forward to playing again in the fall.

Brooklyn's Chicas team did quite well this Spring season.  They played in 3 different tournaments and got 2nd place at each tournament, including traveling to Coeur de lane. She had a lot of fun with the girls on her team and her skills definitely improved.  The girls really started playing so well together and it was so much fun to watch them grow as a team.

The kids had a great end of the school year.  Both of them did really well with their classes.  Brooklyn got a 4.0 for her 6th grade year.  She has been invited to be in both honors math and honors English next school year.  McKay's reading drastically improved this school year.  He actually enjoys reading now, to a point.  He usually gravitates towards books about sports.  He loved Mrs. Cowen and will miss her next year.

We spent most of our spring in Boise because there were games pretty much every weekend.  We went up to McCall briefly on our way to and from Coeur de lane for Brooklyn's tournament.  We stayed busy with yard work and church stuff, but it is nice to be done with sports for a little while.  We had a great spring, but now onto summer!