Stanley Camping

Last weekend we went camping with the Huszars again, this time in Stanley. We had such a fun time! We camped in a beautiful meadow with tons of wildflowers (and bugs) and had a great view of the mountains. We did some 4-wheeling and then went into Stanley and to Redfish Lake for an afternoon. It was so gorgeous. In all my camping history I had never remembered being to Redfish Lake and it was definitely worth seeing. The lake was crystal clear and the Sawtooth Mountains behind it are breathtaking! So much fun and always nice to get out in God's great creation!
He can still hold me up, I guess that's a good thing!
Emery, Cole, and Mason playing on the beach at Redfish Lake.

Christy and I chillin' on the beach!

Cole and Mason

I love wildflowers!

Muscle men climbing the mountin

The boys on the bridge over Dagger Falls.

Adam and Jason

Dagger Falls

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Bowman

In late June Adam's grandparents made the long trek out here from North Carolina to visit us. It's probably the last time they'll fly all that way out here because it is so hard for them to get through all the airports and what-not, so it was a special trip. They stayed with Adam's parents and spent a few days up at the cabin in High Valley. Once back in town, we spent the weekend doing BBQ's at each house, ours, Keith and Michelle's, and Phil and Nancy's. It was soooooo nice to see them and for our boys to spend time with them. I think they were pretty darn worn out by the end of each day and I'm sure were happy to get home and rest after their visit. They are such special people and we are so blessed to have them in our lives. They are so kind and loving and have provided Adam with a Christian heritage that has been passed on to our boys. It is such an amazing thing to have that kind of thing go back for generations, you don't realize until you are older how incredible it is! We love them and are so happy we got to see them this summer!
Mason showing Popsie his bike.

Phil, Nancy, and Neil taking it easy at our house.

Four generations!
back: Michelle, Gage, Keith, Neil, me, Mason, Adam
front: Phil, Cole, Nancy, Grandpa, Grandma



Grandma Bowman - Nana

Grandpa Bowman - Popsie

4th of July Fun!

We headed west to the Oregon Coast for the 4th of July for the 1st of our every 5 year family reunions. Growing up we went to the beach every year over the 4th but since we've been out of our parents house, married, and with jobs/kids, etc. it's been much harder to get there. I haven't been there for the 4th for about 8 years! So we decided to make it an every 5 year gig so that people would know ahead and could try to make plans. It's fun to get to see all my aunts and uncles and cousins that I don't see very often.

We rented a house down the street from the beach house to accomodate my parents, siblings, and us which was really nice. We had the usual events: lap sit, hot dog and smores roast, games on the beach, talent show, and some free time to hit up the outlet malls. This year we added portrait painting, which was really fun to see everyone's artistic side. We also snuck in a girls night to see Eclipse... loved it:-)

The boys absolutely loved their time there, playing on the beach and getting to see all the cousins. We lit off fireworks too, hoping they were legal ones. Cole thought that was great though he is always his cautious self and kept his distance when needed. Mason on the other hand goes right ahead with whatever interests him at the moment... like grabbing the sparkling end of a sparkler and running straight for the ocean as soon as I put him down in the sand! I love going to the beach, it brings back so many fun memories from when I was young and I'm so glad I get to bring my kids so they can have those same memories as they grow up!

Grandad checking things out

As usual, my boys are all over Auntie Kim!

Aunt Kathy letting Mason say hello to Cooper.

Our rented beach house - "Annabelle"

Adam and Mason sitting out for fireworks

Cole and Papa setting off smoking snake fireworks.

New Household Pet

We have a new animal in our home. Adam finally got his elk mount back from the taxidermist and we now have an extremely large elk head mounted above our fireplace. Mason keeps saying "Elk, elk, elk" everytime he looks at it. Adam asked Cole what he thought we should name it and Cole thought Friendship was a good name. Adam was looking for something a little more "manly" so he asked Cole to think of another one. His next answer was Lover. So now we have an elk head named Friendship:-)

Summer activities

We've been enjoying the nicer weather and have been out and about. We enjoyed Dairy Days in Meridian last weekend. There was a parade and carnival that we walked around and the boys thought that was pretty fun. We've been at the splash park a few times which is always a hit too. I've been watching Gage (Keith and Michelle's little guy) about once a week while she watches my boys once a week and he is very much into the splash park. I'm sure we'll hit it up many more times!

Mason waving at the parade.

Our adventurous carnival ride rider!

Just thought this was cute of Mason reading:-)

McCall Weekend

We headed up to my parent's cabin a couple weekends ago for a bit of fun! We had a great time playing and getting to see family. Casey and Kim made it along with Kim's friend, Joanna. Jenny, Chad and their boys, and my parents were also up there. It was fun and relaxing and I can't wait to go up there again!

Our little robin family...

We have a robin that built her next on top of an exhaust vent on our patio. It's a nice sheltered place for her nest and it has allowed us an intimate look at her building her nest, laying eggs, and now taking care of her babies. It's been really cool for Cole to get to watch this whole life process and he thinks of them as our very own. He's gotten really good at being calm and fairly quiet around the next when the mommy bird is there so she can keep her babies warm. There are three babies and though they are precious, they are about the ugliest things I've ever seen! It'll be fun to keep watching them as they grow!