1st Camping Trip of 2012 - Warm Lake, ID

We had a wonderful first camping trip of the year with our friends the Huszars!  We went the first weekend in June and got surprisingly good weather, minus a few sprinkles here and there.  It was our first time camping in a organized camp ground and it was actually great.  There were not very many campers there and the boys could ride their bikes all around the roads and camp sites without getting in the way of cars. 
The first night we got there we decided to check out the swimming beach, just a quick peek.  It turned out to be such a nice night and there was no one else around so we though, what the heck, let the boys strip down to their undies and go for a swim.  Cole proceded to do this and when we turn around to look at Mason, he had gone a step further.  He decided skinny dipping was the way to go and was thoroughly enjoying himself!  They had a good time!!!  We also took their to their first real, natural hotsprings.  It was tricky crossing the log over the river to get there but very worth it.  It was relaxing and a fun experience to give to our kids.
Throughout the weekend we did some 4-wheeling, which is getting much harder now that we have 3 kids!  The kids threw out a couple fishing lines and of course, Cole was the only one who caught one with a nice rainbow trout.  We shared the cooking with Jason and Christy and had tons of fun watching our 6 boys run, play, and explore.  Next year they will have added another baby to the mix so it will get even more exciting:-)

 Smores... minus the marshmallows:-)

 I love camping!!!

 This is what happens to Kade's hair after a whole weekend of camping!

 The boys are ready for breakfast!

 Christy and Jake

 Skipping rocks

 Can't believe we got everyone to look!

 Our good friends - Jason, Christy, Emery, Owen, Jake, and soon to be baby girl!

 I'm pretty sure the manufacturers would be horrified to see a family of 5 riding their 4-wheeler:-)

We had a great time and love to get out into God's great creation and show our kids how incredible it is.  We love our good friends Jason and Christy and our kids had such a fun time playing together!  I'm sure we'll have many more fun camping memories with them in the future!

10 Years of Wedded Bliss

Our strawberry shortcake sunday for dessert!

On May 25th Adam and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary!  Even though it seems like twice that long that we've been together, it seems like 10 years has flown by since we got married!  We been together for almost half our lives, I guess that's what happens when you start dating at 16. 

Hotel room pic:-)

 To celebrate we went up to Coeur d'Alene for a long weekend.  My brother Casey and his wife Kim live up North in Potlatch, ID.  They had actually been asking us to come up and drop the boys off with them for a weekend so we thought, why on earth shouldn't we take them up on that!  They have no idea what to expect so we might just get one shot at this:-)  So we went up on a Friday and stayed the first night at their house which was so much fun to see where they live and spend time with them.  Then we left Friday morning to Coeur d'Alene and left the boys with Uncle Casey and Auntie Kim for a weekend of chaos and fun! 

Putting on the floating green.

Kade, kicking back on the trip home.  Silly boy!

Cole with his switchblade comb we brought him from our trip.

Mason, excited about his switchblade comb!

While in Coeur d'Alene we did some shopping, nice dinners out, lazy mornings (even though our parent brains are rigged to wake up at 7am), and a little golf. We found a fun little restaraunt by Hauser Lake called Chef in the Forrest where I had halibut and Adam had steak and prawns. Really good food and a beautiful setting. Another night we at at Tony's on the Lake which had great Italian food and then went to the Dockside at the Coeur d'Alene resort for a gigantic strawberry shortcake sunday for dessert! Adam golfed the Coeur d'Alene resort golf course which was gorgeous and made it onto the floating green. I rode along in the cart, took pictures, and read/watched movies on my ipad. I did wonder at times why I wasn't getting a massage or shopping but I hated to waste 4 hours of time with my hubby on our anniversary weekend!

The floating green

Adam had his own caddie while playing golf, I don't know if he'll be able to go back to normal now!

It was such a fun time and I remembered all the reasons why I married Adam and love him so much. We have so much fun together and it's nice to remember that underneath 3 kids, 2 jobs, and all the other business life give us, we have an incredible marriage! I am incredibly thankful for my husband and can't wait for the life we have ahead of us.
On Monday we went back to pick up the kids and relieve my shell-shocked brother and sister-in-law. I think they had a blast but it was definitely an eye opener for them. I reminded them that when you have kids you usually start out with 1 at a time:-) They even said they'd do it again sometime, with a decent amount of time inbetween. We are very thankful to them for watching the boys and giving us a much needed break and our boys LOVED it!

Garden 2012

Here is the start of my 2012 garden.  Adam allowed me to spread out a little more and built me a raised bed to plant an herb garden next to my rhubarb.  I had to pull out my strawberries that were going crazy in that spot and just put a few in a container.  I've got spinach, lettuce, peas, beats, and carrots coming up so far in my regular garden.  So far in my herb garden I have lavendar, cilantro, chives, rosemary, green onions, and basil.  I threw in a few pansies for color too.  I need to get the rest going soon and am excited for another summer of fresh produce!

Cole's garden

Cole started a little garden in a container and has lettuce and carrots growing so far.  He's very excited for his very own garden this year!

Hangin' with my boys

Coffee table dinner

Rainy Day hot chocolate

Goofy snack makers

Alvin and the Chipmunks : Chipwrecked is the movie of the month!

REALLY yummy snacks we made off of Pinterest:-)

I love hanging out with my fam!  I have the greatest boys ever and it's just fun to do things that are special and make them feel special!

Easter

I love Easter!  I think it is so fun to dress the boys in cute little church outfits, watch them open their Easter baskets, have a delicious ham dinner with family, search for the golden egg like I'm a kid again, and enjoy a fun Sunday with my family!  The best part though, is the opportunity it gives me to teach my kids one of the greatest lessons and stories they can learn.  The fact that God sent his only son to die on the cross is unfathomable to me.  I can't imagine letting one of my boys come to any kind of harm, no matter how many people it might help.  It is an incredible lesson in the unconditional love our Savior has for us!  And then he rose from the dead to conquer sin and death so that we can be free and live with him in heaven one day!  I am amazed that we don't have to earn this gift by doing good deeds, by being perfect, or by anything we can try to do.  It is GRACE!  Nothing I deserve, but something He was so willing to give me!  I love the fun parts of Easter but am so incredibly thankful that it is so much more than bunnies, eggs, and candy.  As my kids quote from an Easter book we have... "It's all about God's son!"
(Kade was happy about his Easter goodies, but definitely NOT about getting his picture taken)

Hobbies

When I'm in the mood to create, I love to sit down and take on a fun project. I saw this cute ruffle tote bag on Pinterest and thought I'd attempt it. I just so happened to have my friend Christy's birthday party coming up and thought it would be fun to give it to her as a gift. I loved how it turned out and might have to make another, or two!!! I even learned how to make fabric flowers to embelish with!

I was then in the mood to cook. I know Adam likes eggs benedict so I decided to give it a try this weekend. It turned out really yummy and wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! Good times!!!