Our Walk Down Memory Lane

I know, that's such a cheezy line, but I just couldn't help myself. Brett and I drove to Boise and back on Monday. He attended an alumni luncheon at BSU for the College of Engineering, and I walked around campus with my camera.

I was in heaven! I got lost on campus several times, due to the addition of new buildings where buildings shouldn't be (cause they interrupt my shortcuts!). But I eventually made it to the edge of campus and to this little church, which I've always wanted to photograph. The wind was howling like a banshee at the time, and I felt a little silly walking around by myself, so I certainly didn't do it justice. But I had fun anyway.



This fantastic old wooden door was on the back of the church, and I couldn't help myself. Jolene would LOVE to get her hands on this door. Again, I just didn't do it justice.



I found another new gem on campus (I have no idea if it's really new, or if I just never found it before). They have this outdoor ampitheater that I thought was pretty interesting (photographically speaking). But there was a dude sitting on the lower end of the ampitheater, so I snapped a shot of the upper end and the beautiful blooming trees.



Then I headed across Friendship Bridge over the Boise River to Julia Davis Park.
The bridge:



The view from the bridge:

The view of the bridge:

The park:

This was by far our favorite place to be when we lived in Boise/Nampa. It's the most beautiful park I've ever seen. Here's the Lady Davis herself:

And one of the park's occupants:

If I remembered right, this little building is the one Terrel (Brett's dad) said was his school house when he grew up in Marsing. They moved it to the park as part of this little historical walk. It's even smaller than it looks!

The park has the most amazing rose garden I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it wasn't in bloom yet, but I've seen it and it's pretty cool.

And the trees in this place! There's just no way to describe the beautiful trees here. They provide this little haven in the middle of downtown Boise, and it was definitely a sanctuary for us small-town kids when we moved there.

New Style

Aedan got a new hairstyle this week. His hair was getting SO long again, and we really didn't want to pay a ton of money for a nice trim every couple weeks. So, we figured, "Hey, it's summer. Let's just..."


Buzz it!"


Isn't it cute? It takes some getting used to, and you might have to give his fuzzy little head a rub before you decide you like it, but I think it's growing on me! It sure takes a lot more sunscreen though.

This is Aedan right before the haircut. He was not happy, and I couldn't for the life of me get a good photo quickly enough, so it's pretty blurry. But just look at all that hair!


And here's Aedan post-buzz. He was a little freaked out by the whole process, but all in all, he did well.


Kylee was fascinated and excited through the whole process. She started asking to get her own haircut. So, Brett and I looked at each other and figured, "Hey, it's summer, right? Why not?" And we....








Not!! Not ever will we buzz my little girl's hair!!!

Learning to Plant, and Easter

Spring fever has hit our family hard! Brett finally got tired of waiting for nice weather, and decided to start some of his garden seeds inside, with the kids' help of course! So they grabbed an empty egg carton and got some soil out of the garden to plant the peas. (I know, whoever heard of starting peas indoors??)

They gathered around the kitchen table, and the kids were absolutely riveted with the process. Brett helped them both put seeds in each spot, and push them under the soil with their little fingers. It was a blast to watch, and they have been dying to see some sprouts ever since.

















Yesterday was a packed day for our little family. Saturday night we decided to go out and buy Mario Kart for the Wii. It's the first game we've bought, and it's a really fun one. So Sunday morning, when I got done getting ready for church and came out to check on the progress of breakfast (which I thought would be cooking!) I found Brett and the kids on the couch, playing the Wii.





In addition to Easter, it was also my mom's birthday, and she also had to speak in her Sacrament meeting. So we decided we'd surprise her (I think it was a surprise?) and show up at their meeting to hear her speak. That meant being up, fed, dressed in our best, and on the road by 8:30. Yikes! Well, we made it out the door by 8:45, so that wasn't bad! But we ended up going to classes in Mom & Dad's ward, then went home with them for a little while. The kids got to have an Easter egg hunt at their house, since there really wasn't time at home.

















Kylee was checking out her loot at Grandma and Grandpa McB's house.


Aedan was checking out his loot too...I think it got a good rating!


Then we went to the other Grandma and Grandpa's (McD) for Easter partying and birthday celebrations. It was really a fun time. The McD family always does a big Easter egg hunt for all the kids, and Tara and Matt were in charge this time. They did a great job, and it was fun seeing the little kids steal all the older kids' eggs after they cleaned out their own area. The older kids were too busy searching for their impossibly hidden personal baskets!

It was a long, tiring, and really fun day for us all. The kids were asleep almost immediately after we put them in the car at 9:00 last night, and of course were up several times during the night. I'm blaming it on all the candy! I'll post more pics of the McD party on the family website. If you wanna see, just go to tcmcdermott.blogspot.com.

WELCOME Spring!!!!

Yes, it seems it's finally here. Check back tomorrow for the next spring switcheroo to too much snow! But for today, it's sunny, cloudless, and gorgeous.



What does this first, most beautiful day of spring make you want to do? Well, take photos, of course! My kids are always my main subjects, but they didn't seem to mind today, as they were playing in the dirt...they're absolute most favorite thing to do (rain or shine). And I certainly didn't mind walking around the yard, barefoot and coatless, with my favorite toy in hand (including my new favorite accessory, the new lens!). So here are just a couple pics of our time outside. I won't post them all, because they are all in the slideshow.







Happy Spring!

Bad Brakes, a Good Birthday, and a Spring Snowstorm!

Well, we've been really busy the last few weeks, if anyone was wondering where I've disappeared to. Spring break was last week, and we kicked it off with a trip to Island Park with my family. We had a great time, but as I've spend the last two days uploading pics for blog posts in the family blog, and my sister's blog, I'm not going to repeat it here. There are some hilarious pics though, so if you want to check it out go to our family blog at www.wsmcbridecrew.blogspot.com

The brakes on our car managed to survive the Ashton hill, though I was a bit nervous before we set out. The brakes have been growling and grinding for weeks now, and we just haven't gotten around to fixing them. Brett finally did them last Saturday, and I took a pic of the rotors to show you how bad they were. For those of you who've seen rotors before, these are bad!




Sunday was my birthday, and I got some pretty cool stuff! Brett surprised me with a telephoto lens for my camera, so I spent all day taking random pics. Most of them turned out horribly (I have a lot to learn!) but some were pretty cool. We went to Mom's for dinner (she made me pork verde!) and I got a lot of shots of the family playing the Wii.













Amy's bright idea for a candle:
















All during the day we were watching an incoming spring snowstorm. By the time we came home from Blackfoot, the roads were getting pretty ugly. Brett decided to get off the interstate at the first Idaho Falls exit, and this is what the road looked like. It was a good thing he did, because Mom called a few minutes after we got home to tell us the interstate had been closed!



And because my camera was in my lap, and the sunset was awesome, I experimented a little:



But now I'm back to school and busy once again. It was a great birthday and an awesome spring break!