a little taste of summer

Let's see how vague I can be on the details. We did lots of fun stuff. This, that, and the other thing. We've sure had a fantastic summer doing everything we've done! ;-P



The most exciting part of our family's summer has been my nephew's baptism. Isaiah turned eight years old in June, and in order to get as much family at his baptism, it was held over the 4th of July weekend. That's my bro-in-law, Jesse, a.k.a. Bishop Carlson.

Isaiah on his baptism day.
This little guy was born while I was on my mission and now he's baptized?! Did I blink?

C.L.A.S.S.I.C. picture of my husband. 'nuf said.
(cousins Isaiah and Josiah reading a book on the couch, Joanna sucking her thumb, Jayden on the floor looking at a book about Cars. <----c.l.a.s.s.i.c. Jayden shot, too, I might add. He loves anything CARS!)

While Josh and the kids went to Isaiah's baptism in western WA, I went on a week-long road trip with my kid bro, Derek, back to our mother land. The place where we grew up. North Dakota. Or if you're from ND, it's pronounced, Norda Kota. Ya, sure, you betcha. ;-)

Derek was a headin' back for his 10 yr. class reunion, and I had made plans months in advance to visit a bunch of my old friends from childhood/young adulthood. In Dickinson, the real homecoming weekend is always 4th of July weekend. That's when all the class reunions are held, and TONS of people return to see old friends. The place was hoppin'!! There it's called "Roughrider Weekend" to commemorate Teddy Roosevelt and the Roughriders.
But anyway.....

I dropped the kids off at my mom's on July 2nd, and then Derek and I began our long haul across WA, ID, and the ridiculously wide state of MT. Derek and I had so much fun traveling together!

The house above is my childhood home in Dickinson, ND. My fam lived in the same town in the same house for 15 years. In my opinion the people living there now have let the yard go to crap. It used to look tons better when we lived there. My mom always had lush, colorful flower beds and no ugly, unkept bushes below the deck.

Derek and I drove there. 15 hours. Long, yes. But I gotta say, it didn't feel nearly as long as that same drive felt 3 years ago when Josh and I did it with two kids.

Derek kept the car that whole weekend to get himself around to all of his reunion events. I think I got the sweeter deal, though, because this bright orange truck was MY ride for the weekend!! My friend, Michele, bought this beauty for her 16 year old brother and she let me drive it around while I was in town!! What do you think?? It suits me a lot better than a minivan, eh?

(don't ask me what its make and model are because I'm a dumb woman like that. I don't pay attention to that kind of stuff. I can tell you it was orange and that it had 4 wheels!)

This is LowLow. And rightfully named, I might add. Just to give you some perspective, Michele is 5'2". Notice how much taller she is than the truck??
The washed out pic doesn't do this truck justice. It's paint detail is actually BRIGHT, shimmery orange. In the sunlight, Lowlow glistens like Edward in the meadow. hahahahaha

Michele, Lylie, me, Nichole

*I just realized that these pics are completely out of order. But you know what? I don't care!!*

Sooooo, we kicked off the summer with an awesome trip to a water park with Joanna's preschool class. If you haven't been to Surf n Slide in Moses Lake yet, you gotta gettcher tails there today! It's perfect for the little ankle biters. Tons of kiddie slides, fountains, pools, and playground toys.
The day was gorgeous. We couldn't have ordered a more beautifuler day. ;-)

As a family, we have consumed an exorbitant amount of Popsicles this summer. Mostly because it's summer! And it's hot! But for whatever reason I've been craving them like a madwoman. And, well, since I do the grocery shopping, guess what momma comes home with every week.

Now to bid you adieu, here's some sassy, colorful tongues sticking out at you.

Kiddy Carnival

Back in June we took the kiddos to a Saturday morning kiddy carnival. They saw all kinds of baby farm animals--baby goats, pigs, bunnies, etc. Petting was allowed...as long as you kept it G-rated. hahahahahaha

They also got to ride ponies which, of course, my little horse fanatic LOVED and couldn't get enough of. Joanna would have ridden that pony all day if we'd let her.

Jaclyn adored this little puppy.

you can tell where Jayden gets his good looks from.

They also had a carriage ride for us to ride. Joanna took this pic.

Ladies, hide your husbands!!!

My Mother's Day

Mother's Day was fun for me this year! Since 2 of the 3 kiddos were still getting over colds and primary/nursery was out of the question, we played hooky from church. At first Josh told me I should go to church by myself and he'd stay home with the kids, but what mother wants to be apart from her kids on Mother's Day?! Any other day of the year, sure. hehehehe

So Josh asked what I wanted to do and I said that I wanted to be outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. There are trillions of gorgeous places to hike in our area. You just have to find hiking trails that are kid friendly! We chose to go out to Teanaway Ridge or River or something like that.

That's my bro-in-law, Nate, with Jayden.

These pics turned out overexposed, but I think it still captures the natural beauty
of this little corner of the planet!

What is it about the sound of water as it flows down a river, spilling over rocks and down a mountain side? It is so calming. The kids enjoyed climbing around on those boulders and throwing stones into the running water.

A little piece of heaven.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves too, which made Mother's Day even better! We snacked on the trail and ate a PB&J dinner at a picnic table after the hike.

Jayden: I saw a pillar of light, [almost] exactly over my head.......

Bares and Broncos

On Saturday, May 8th, I took the girls to the rodeo. As you know, saying that Joanna adores horses is the understatement of the century. Joanna sprung from the womb loving the majestic animal. For her 3rd birthday, what did we do? Took her and her friends to see some ponies. For her 4th birthday, what did we do? Took her out to Dr. Dave's ranch to ride a horse.
Now what did Ms. Horse Lover do the entire evening at the rodeo??? See below.

That's right. Plugged her ears!!! Oh, she loved being there and watching the "bucking horses" but apparently the noise was too loud for her liking.

For some reason I didn't get any pictures of the broncos.
Here's my favorite event--barrel racing.

Jaclyn: I can say cheese and eat my m&ms at the same time!

Not sure what was going here.