2nd Annual Friends Camping Trip

 Funny Story:

(not really right now especially to Cody, but one day it will be funny)

I worked Friday morning and I got a text from Jessica and Beth. I was in the OR so I only read what popped on on the screen. It basically said they were heading up to the campsite. I finished work and then never did read the rest of the message (until later). Cody got off work a few hours later and we headed up. The plan was to go to our spot where we went last year so that's where we went...but no one was there and there was no cell phone signal where we were so we decided to keep looking for them. Along the way we saw a beaver, a real one!

 

 That's it on the right of the road

 And on the left

 Then I got crazy and got out of the truck. Can you see it's head poking out in the middle?

 Look close in the middlish, slightly to the left, you can see it's tail.

We also got to watch an eagle flying over the river and then go land in a tree. 

Back to the rest of the story:

So we drove around the huge loop....for a long time....like well over an hour pulling a camper. The kids were getting restless, Cody hadn't eaten since lunch and we couldn't find anyone. We had signal down by the river so I called a few of them, no answer (because they didn't have signal, but at least I could try).  Cody was asking me what else the text said (I mentioned to Cody earlier that I had gotten it when they were heading out). It was then that I realized I didn't read all of it, so I did.....here's the "funny" part.

 After it said they were leaving it also said they found a new and better spot and to go left when the road forked (we went right) and to drive 3.7 miles. EXACT DIRECTIONS. We had just been driving around for almost 2 hours "lost" and I had EXACT DIRECTIONS in my hand the entire time. I stopped reading the text out loud midway through and couldn't help but laugh. Cody didn't think it was so funny. You should've seen the look I got from him....one day he will laugh about it...one day!

So hours after we loaded a hungry husband and restless kids into the truck we made it to our destination and I promptly started roasting hot dogs. Lucky for me our friends were there so Cody couldn't roast me! Ha ha!

 Chloe will wear only wear dresses, but I did to enough sweet talking that she put pants on underneath it.

 Avenly

 There were jumps for bikes right next to our campsite

 Chloe convinced Oliver to give her a ride on the bike.

 Gavin had to show me that he and Talmage found a "cow family" (in the background). "A father, mother and even a baby cow"

 Chloe has Oliver wrapped around her finger. She sweet talked him into a dirt bike ride after the bicycle ride.

 Ashley and Linkin

 Oliver and Liz

 Dresses and Dirt, that's what my little girl is made of

Mase

 Uhm honey, I think you're just a tad to big for that

 I had to bribe them with fruit snacks and take a lot of pictures to get them all looking!

Chloe, Teagan, Gavin, Linkin, Talmage, Avenly, Mason, Journie, Sayger, and Milo

 Ashley was run off the road by a crazy motorist while she was on her dirt bike and ended up with cuts and bruises. We all sat and giggled at the way she was bandaging herself up, but then the tables turned and I was getting harassed for not doing it since I was the nurse. I would've done it, but she seemed to have it under control : )

 It's not a real camping trip unless you catch Mason peeing on a tree.

 Over sized chocolate muffin...check

Dirty knees...check

Baseball cleats while camping...check

Love you Gavin

 One little monkey climbing up a tree

 We were on the road on the way home for less than 10 minutes when these dirty, but very happy faces fell asleep

July 11&12, 2014

The Last Supper

I invited Chelsea and her family over for dinner the night before they left for one last dinner. Desi and Travis were coming with them and I invited Liz and her family so they could spend time with the Chase's too. Then Ashley stopped by to drop something off and I made them stay and eat with us. It ended up being one big dinner party!!

 Liz, Ashely, me, Chelsea and Desi

 We put Chelsea in the middle

The gang together one last time

Travis, Desi, Ashely, Chelsea, Teri, Cody, Liz and Oliver

Life of Fry

 Gavin disappeared one day right before church. We found him so engrossed in a book that he didn't even notice I was talking to him

 "Look mommy! My first mole!" - Mason 

(I won't tell him about all the others he has!)

 My two nieces Alex and Madi asked me to take them practice driving for drivers ed. I'm pretty glad it was just practice because they ran over an old lady in a walker crossing the street, knocked a little girl off her bike, drove through a lemonade stand and almost ran over Josh Hutcherson! Alex was almost completely devastated!

(no one was actually harmed in the practice driving that took place in an empty church parking lot)

 Chloe- the girl who will only wear dresses now

(and has lots of cute new summer shirts and shorts that she refuses to wear)

 So excited to be back in her own bed with her "friends" after 5 days of camping.

 My last softball game was on July 21st and the kids celebrated by running the bases one last time when it was over

 The kids (with my help) have been collecting cans all summer. I have been making them smash them by themselves to help teach them a little more work ethic. We finally took them to the recycling center (where the man informed us we didn't need to smash them and I told them I was making sure my kids were earning their money and they HAD to smash them, he looked at them and smiled). The kids loved watching them go up the conveyor and into the huge basket.

 Their hard earned money

 We heard about Stop Light Pizza in Ririe from a friend and decided to try it out. They have HUGE 32 inch pizza's that weigh up to 22 lbs!!

 The kids couldn't believe it when they brought it out. The look on their faces were priceless! The pizza was delicious and the drinks and chocolate chip cookies at the end were FREE!!

We took Keyara (neighbor girl and Chloe's "big sister" with us and we didn't even eat half of it!)

 Gavin has been wanting to go to the skate park for a long time and I finally got him there. He was the youngest one there and most of the boys/guys had skateboards and scooters. I was a little worried about Gavin getting in their way (since it was his first time) and also that they might not be so nice to some random kid on a bike, but I was pleasantly surprised. Gavin did get in their way a few times and slowed them down a time or two, but they were are so nice to him. 

When we first got there Gavin rode/crashed his bike into the big bowl before I could stop him. The other skaters helped him up and got his bike out for him. A second time when he wrecked they helped him up again and Gavin said, "they only cared about me and that I was OK"

So my preconceived notions about skaters was all wrong. I should know better by now not to pre-judge people.

Garrett and Gavin

Garrett lives in the cul-de-sac across the street and he and Gavin play all the time. Garrett showed up in his gorilla shirt so Gavin and I found Mason's matching shirt so Gavin could wear it and be twins.