Hunting Update

So September has been flying by at lightening speed! I haven't had my camera to take pictures of the boys and our activities because it has been at elk camp most of the month. Adam and his brothers drew a really great elk tag this year. It is down by the Idaho/Nevada border and only 15 people get tags. Needless to say, he was thrilled to have "the hunt of a lifetime"! He was able to take time off work around a lot of the weekends to be able to hunt 15 out of 30 days this month! Yeah, can you imagine how excited I was? The boys and I went with him the first weekend and camped which was fun. We were able to see some elk cows and calves and even saw a large bull. The guys really got into some big bulls and were really excited! I thought, great, this isn't gonna take long to get a bull with all the action going on! It is now the 4th weekend and still no elk! Okay, that's not completely true. No elk for Adam but his brothers both got nice 6 point elk last weekend which was really exciting. Adam has passed on a 5X6 and a small 6 point... I cried when he told me he passed up the 6 point, I want my hubby back!!! He's holding out for a trophy and I know that it's not the most important thing to pray about, but I'm truly praying that a MONSTER bull walks 5 yards in front of him this morning and he can't pass it up! Keep ya posted!

The FAIR!

We took Cole for his first night at the fair last night with my sister Jenny and her fam! He didn't really know what to expect but was excited as we pulled into the parking lot. He said, "There is the carris wheel!" when he saw the ferris wheel. It was total sensory overload for him! He wanted to go on the rides, but oh, there's the food, and over there are the animals... what to do first! We did the petting zoo first, where he actually got to milk a cow for about 10 seconds before the lady slapped an "I milked a cow" sticker on him and pulled the next kid in line. Then Cole kept asking, "But where's my milk?". He really wanted to keep the milk he got as a souvenier! Next we at some good ol' fair food. Between the three of us, we had a pronto pup, chicken pita, meatball sandwich, frozen lemonade, and an ice cream potatoe! Yummmmmmmy! Then Cole got to go on his first rides ever! He and Adam did the worm roller coaster and airplanes. Cole and I did the pirate ship (most ghetto "ride" I've ever seen in my life), and Cole did the motorcycles by himself. It was so funny to watch him from his initial scared to death look as it jolted to a start, to screaming with glee like the other kids and lifting his hand about 2 cm off the handle to wave at us, thinking he was so brave! We roved around a little bit and headed home. We had a blast but thank goodness the fair just comes once a year!

Cute kiddos!

I have to say, I adore my kids! I'm not trying to be prideful, but I think they are the greatest, cutest little boys I've ever seen! I was out in the back yard yesterday playing with them and had so much fun! They were so cute that I, of course, had to take some pictures! Cole has discovered a beach ball and has been having tons of fun playing with it. He also dug in the garden with me and found a worm. I was so proud of him that he actually held it! He loves bugs but when it comes to holding them, he is visibly grossed out! Oh well, maybe his mommy has worn off on him a little bit! Mason just cut his first tooth and is still as loveably chubby as ever! They even had a moment of actual playing together... before Cole decided Mason was "tackling" him (you can see why) and then Mason started fussing! It made me look forward to the days ahead when they actually will play together! Cole is starting to pay more attention to Mason though. He wants to help feed him every now and then, though the tortilla chip Adam found Mason choking on was not encouraged:-) He likes to help discipline too and I hear him say, "No, no Mason, you're too little for that!" quite often. Mason adores Cole and watches his every move! He laughs when Cole laughs, screams when Cole screams, and really just can't take his eyes off him. If I need a distraction to get Mason to stop crying, I'll put him by Cole and it usually does the trick. They are sweet boys and I'm so thankful for every day I get with them!

Kenyan Bounty

My mom just got back from a mission trip to Kenya a couple of weeks ago. She has gone a few times now and they are doing awsome things there. They go to a refugee camp and have a medical clinic that they have built and give the refugees medical care. They also held a Sunday school teachers conference this time, that my mom was in charge of. They had 245 pastors come and learn more about how to share Jesus with kids. They were able to give each pastor a resource bag and binder to help them in their teaching.

It was fun to hear about it when my mom got back, despite her exhaustion after their 36 hour trip home! She had some fun souveniers that she brought back for us. Each grandson got their own "safari" hat, each son/son-in-law got a hand-made knife, and the girls got baskets or purses. I had put in a special request for a produce basket if she saw one for my garden produce. The one I got was beautiful and I have used it tons! Thanks mom!!!

Dedicating our baby...

We feel it is very important to dedicate our children to God. He, after all, is the one who blessed us with such beautiful little boys! With our family by our side, we dedicated Mason at church last Sunday. It was such a special thing. Adam's family was there. My family, except my mom who was on her way home from Kenya, and my cousin Sarah, were there as well. Our pastor who is my Uncle Time and my Grandpa Johnson performed the dedication which made it even more special! We are so thankful for this little boy. He is such a joy and has taught us so much in the past 8 months. Jesus makes it so clear in the Bible how much he loves kids and we are excited to get to raise Mason to follow Him.

North Carolina

Our big summer vacation this year was going with the Bucher family to North Carolina to visit Adam's grandma and grandpa Bowman. It started off as an adventure with three little ones on the flight! We had Keith and Michelle with their 2 month old, Gage. Adam's parents and Neil, and our family. The 8 hours of planes and airports on the way there went incredibly smoothly with hardly a peep from any of the kids! Thank goodness for portable DVD players and little boys who are fascinated with airplanes!

Once we got there we settled in for a week of vegging! Adam's grandparents live on a lake which is always about 80 degrees. We swam, kayaked, and lounged on the dock a few afternoons. Cole was an absolute fish! We put his life jacket on and he could have swam all day!

The guys got a chance to go golfing a couple of days too, which was a nice break for them. We ate lots of authentic North Carolina pulled pork, dranks gallons of sweet tea, and had plenty of fried chicken from Pleasers, the restaraunt that Adam's extended family owns. It was delightful!

One night we went to Simms BBQ which is in the country in an old barn. You walk in and they have all you can eat chicken and pulled pork, corn bread, rolls, and cole slaw. There are a ton of long picnic tables that you sit at and watch an old country band and cloggers throughout the night. There is even a chance to join in a square dance during the evening! Cole joined in a kid's dance and had lots of fun!

It was great to see his grandparents who are in their 80's and doing so well! Living acrossed the country from them, we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. I want our boys to have pictures and hopefully some memories with their great grandparents. We feel so blessed to have them and to have been able to go visit!

Y-Not Tri (athalon)

On August 6th I did my very first triathalon! Okay, so in reality it was considered a "mini" triathalon and thankfully so. I don't know what kind of crazy you have to be to complete a full one! It was a 1/4 mile swim, 6 mile bike, and 2 mile run in Boise. It was actually fun, after it was over:-) It rained the whole evening and was pretty miserable for those watching, but it actually made the race itself nice and cool. I did it with my sisters, brother, sister-in-law and her friend Joanna, and my friends Tracy and Renee. I completed it in just over an hour and was very proud of myself for accomplishing my goal ... to finish!!!