My Dad

Happy Birthday Dad! I sure wish I was home to give you a big hug, but since I am not I am sending this blog hug.

Thanks for being such a good Dad and loving me. There was never anything you did not think I could do and that gave me confidence in my abilities. Thanks for teaching me how to fish, that learning is important, about classical music, how to change the starter in a truck, how to crab off the pier, how importatnt family is...

how to say "I love you", how to be forgiving and see the good in others, how to be generous, how to work hard, to keep trying, that things are not what is most important, that speaking another language is really cool,  to enjoy the beauty of nature and science...

to serve others, to laugh, to sieze the moment (and sometimes the waterhose)...

 and that families are forever! I love you and hope you have a great birthday!

Smile!

Cody got his braces off today! He smiled all day after that, it might have had something to do with the big bag of candy the orthodontist gave him that had been off limits for 2 years!

Homecoming

Well, Cody's first date was homecoming. No, the boy does not do things the easy way! This day involved paintball games during the day, then dinner and the dance. He went with a girl he has known since he was a little kid, so that took some of the pressure off. He had fun, I have mixed emotions about this dating business.

Surprise!

We decided to give Emily a surprise birthday party! It was so fun to think about surprising her and I was nervous that her friends would not be able to keep the secret but they did great. They had so much fun finding places to hide and getting ready to jump out and say "surprise"! Check out the face!

I really was busy this week so Jenny and her friend Megan bailed me out and planned which games the girls would play! They did a great job...I think I may get them to do Emily's next birthday too!

 One of the games they played was spin the nailpolish bottle...whoever the top pointed to got one fingernail painted that color. Here is the result...

 Happy Birthday to Emily...well it's not the Cake Boss, but such a cute cake.

 After cake and ice cream the girls got silly and played a game where they made up commercials. I laughed so hard I cried. Here Emily is trying to sell one shoe! This is one creative and dramatic bunch of girls!

 They had fun watching each other...the toilet paper commercial was ridiculously funny, and the tomato paste toothpaste (which would rot your teeth completely out so you never had to worry about brushing them again) were award winners!

Emily is a beautiful daughter and such a happy part of our family. We enjoyed being able to spoil her a little for her birthday!

Welding

Cody is working on a project for his physics class, building a catapult. He needed to weld pieces together so he got a quick lesson from Dad and ...

now the boy can weld! John said Cody was a quick study!

New School Year

O.K., Emily has the drill down now. First day of school is no problem for this girl!

Jenny is off to Middle School!!! Notice her locker divider in her arms...she spray painted a dragon head on

the side!

Could this be all the stuff from last year??? Yes, since June Cody's backpack has not been cleaned out!

Now he is ready! Junior year-Wow!

Family Picture Time...Finally!

I love these pictures. It has been so long since we have had a family picture made. I wish I had been good about having this done every year. I know I will treasure these for years to come.

Hidden Treasure

Bright and early (well for a summer day I guess it was early) we headed out to hike Boise's hidden treasure...Table Rock. Since we moved here I have heard about it at various times but never knew what or where it was. I decided today was the day to find out, so with sketchy directions and determination, we headed out. We went right to it...why so difficult to get info about this? ...maybe the hike would not be "all that great"... well, that wasn't it either! The view was fabulous and well worth the hike. Here are Jenny and Emily a little over half-way up the trail.

And here's the view from the top!

So, this is Boise's hidden treasure! We are glad we took the time to find and enjoy it! Not sure why it is not more well known. Maybe finding this place is a right of passage in becoming an Idahoan?

Just off the trail Jenny found a sweet little grotto created out of overgrown trees and bushes that sheltered a spot where horses used to get watered...complete with an old trough!

This little treasure hunt was worth the effort!

Can't wait to camp!

Emily is the ultimate camper! She waits all winter for warm weather so she can get to camping. We are having trouble finding time to go this year and Emily just can't wait anymore! So the tent is up, the campfire is blazing, the marsmallows are roasting and we are camping! (In the backyard)! The rest of us wimped out right after Old Maid; Emily really slept outside.

Recital Time

It is always so fun to watch Jenny on stage. One of the best things is that she always gets flowers from Daddy after the show. We are proud of all her hard work this year.