Gotta Love Summer

Well, even though I don't have any new pics to post (I know, horror of horrors!!) I thought I'd give a quick update. I've been able to see straight now for 3 days in a row as I've finally gotten rid of the sinus headaches. Yeah!!! Well, they're not entirely gone, but pain reliever can get rid of them now so I'm okay with that I guess.

We are getting ready for the big 4th of July weekend, and I can't wait!! We're going camping with Jen and Boyd's families for a couple nights, then we're coming back to I.F. on Saturday morning, grabbing the boat, and heading to the lake. Ya-woo! The boat is in the shop even as we speak and we will pick it up (and pay the dreaded boat doctor bill!) on Thursday afternoon before we head out of town. Finally, we will be whole again. hahah

Also, I've started yet another blog, if anyone wants to see it (this is especially addressed to the sisters in my ward!). We decided to start a blog for our ward's R.S. so we can post photos of events and show projects that are available at future meetings and classes. I don't know how popular this will be in our ward, but we'll give it a shot.

Other than that, it's been a pretty slow summer. Must have something to do with the fact that it hasn't really been summer. Yeah, I think that's it. But now that we are no longer drowning every time we step out the door, life should be good. Have fun this weekend, stay away from the river, and Happy 4th of July!

Colton's Birthday and an Awesome Cake

My nephew celebrated his 14th birthday on the 7th of this month. Fortunately, he was able to spend the week following with family in Blackfoot, and we had dinner and cake/ice cream at Mom's for his and Aedan's birthdays. Since Aedan was getting multiple parties this year, I decided to make the cake more for Colton than for Aedan. I did an electric guitar (Colton's great hobby) and I have to say it was cool! I think Colton liked it too :-). (Thanks Betty Crocker for the great cake recipe!)

Such enthusiasm!


Black frosting...mmmm.

New Portraits

Last Saturday I spent the day with Brett's family playing with my camera and my new lighting system. I realized too late that I need one more gadget to get both lights working, so we were using only one light. It made the photos a little dark, but it also kinda gave them an interesting contrast.

Anyway, there were some really great photos from our day. I'll post a couple of my favorites here, but if you'd like to see the rest, just go here.

Happy Birthday Aedan!!

Friday was Aedan's 2nd Birthday! We spent the day in Blackfoot, waiting for the boat motor to be delivered so it could be hauled to Idaho Falls. We ended up at Grandma and Grandpa McDermott's house, and since the boys wanted to play cards, Aedan's birthday got put on hold (Sssh. Don't tell, I'm assured he won't remember).

But, Grandma was sweet enough to get Aedan his very own birthday cake.


With mini cupcakes to match for everyone not having a birthday.


Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Aedan, and he thought it was great. He got so excited he even forgot about the cupcake...for a second.


Then we gave him his Thomas the Train cake, a fork, and let him go to the happy town of Sugar City.


Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be a big deal...after all, it was his birthday, right? Unfortunately, this happy event of cake eating was occurring somewhere around 9:00 pm. hmmmm...oh well!


He did a fair amount of damage to that cute little cake.


Saturday we finally got to give him his presents. We sang to him again, and he was so excited.


Kylee's present came first. She chose a t-ball set for her gift to him.


They looked ridiculously cute when they got all bundled up (in winter coats, mind you) to go out in the rain and try out the t-ball. They just couldn't wait any longer.


And finally, Aedan's present from Mom and Dad. He was so excited, he couldn't stand it! Saturday night he woke up crying in the middle of the night, so I got him a sippy cup of milk. After he had his milk, he kept saying "bike, bike". I couldn't believe the kid wanted to ride his bike at oh-dark-thirty! Tomorrow, mini man, tomorrow.

Hiking at Hawley Gulch

These kiddos are getting to be quite the pros...

















At least we know a surefire way to wear them out!

Just Some More Pics...What Else??

It was such a warm and sunny day today, we just had to get out of the house. So we got dressed, loaded up (camera included) and headed to Freeman Park. I called a friend in our neighborhood and she came too, with her kids and daycare kids. It was a ton of fun. There were no jungle gyms to fight over, so the kids had to entertain themselves splashing in puddles, throwing sticks in the water, and playing the mud of course. It was great!







I don't know what the heck was up with these faces, but it cracked me up:


My little posers (Kylee looks like she's trying out for America's Top Model or something!):

Cress Creek

Can I just say that I am LOVING this weather?? I know it's going to end tomorrow, so I have to blog about our wonderful, sunny weekend before the mood fades. Did anyone else get itchy feet Saturday? Something about the first warm, sunny day of the summer makes it impossible to just stay at home. We had absolutely nothing to do (since cleaning the house doesn't really count on days like this) so we decided to take a last minute drive to a hiking trail we had recently found in a book. It's called Cress Creek (near Kelly Canyon) and we have never heard of it before. But it was supposed to be a short, easy hike, ideal for our little ones, and we decided to check it out.

It was already mid-afternoon when we set out, so we didn't really know what to expect, or if we'd feel comfortable actually following the trail this late in the day. We just wanted to find it, and be out of the house.

When we got to the trailhead, we found that it was actually developed more than we expected. It was a nice, wide sidewalk with stairs at different intervals, or the option of taking a round-about ramp to gain height. It had some great look-out points over the valley, and the Snake River was just across the road, so it looked really beautiful. We decided it looked easy enough we'd go ahead and give it a shot. There were benches at periodic intervals to rest if needed, and several information boards, like this one with a view of the valley we were seeing:



The photos I got of the area were far less appealing, thanks to the dull colors of Idaho spring, and our timing in arriving, late afternoon with harsh sunlight. But you know me, I had to try.




Aren't they sweet together? Kylee and Aedan had a blast...and they were tougher than their mom! Aedan loved walking with Kylee (probably because it meant he didn't have to hold our hands!) and would often put his arm around her.


This crazy looking rock was one of the sights to see, with an information board to explain it. Something to do with lava, blah blah blah. Ask Jason. It was cool-looking anyway.

It was a really great hike, though it turned out to be a bit more than I was prepared for in my flimsy flip-flops (trust me to go hiking in flip-flops). My calves are still protesting, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. These are just some random photos of us during the hike.