The Boys

Here are just a few random pictures of "the boys".

Working hard on our box of wood that we have for our wood burning stove.

 Playing with Dad's clothes that he had left on the floor.

 

 Weston's "truck" that he rides around the house everywhere.  In the back are all of his important "Dad tools".

 I love this picture because they are playing so well together in it.  Life isn't always like this but more often then not they really enjoy spending time with one another. 

 I took pictures of the little guys back in March.  Here are just a couple of them.

 Weston just wanting to play

 Here they are "trying" to smile. =)

Catching Up (Christmas, Ashton and Hawaii Trips)

Well I think I have waited long enough to update our blog.  Since I am so... far behind I am afraid that everything is going to be short and sweet.

Last Christmas we decided to spend Christmas at our own house so that we can have our own family traditions.  We started this last year and it has sort of stuck.  The day after Christmas we drove to Ashton Idaho to see Alan's family.  After about four days of visiting his family we left the kids with Alan's parents and flew to Hawaii to spend a week with my family.  It was really bizarre to go from playing in the snow to swimming in the ocean!  The whole trip was a lot of fun!

 Alan's parent's place

 Laurie swinging on the vines (It's a lot harder than it looks!)

 My brother Luke playing in the waves for the first time.

 My Dad and Brother in law (Troy) snorkeling

 Here is where we stayed while in Hawaii (the condos were super nice!)

 Collecting sea shells

 This picture is of my parents and all of my siblings.  From left to right: Me, Mom, Dad, Amy, Mike, Katie, Laurie and Luke in the front.

I don't have any pictures of us buggy boarding but we did that a lot while we were there. It was probably my most favorite thing that we did, well that and jumping the waves. =)

Erik and Jessie's Visit

Erik and Jessie a couple of months ago stopped by for a short visit while they were on their way to Idaho for another business trip.  We met them at this place which is about an hour away from our home.  We had a barbecue lunch out there and then everyone played in the sand and water.  It was sure fun to having them here, I just wish it could of been longer!cf

 The guys playing frisbee

 The boys collecting their "Treasure" (empty beer bottles).  I don't think they knew what they were lol!

 

 The boys taking turns on their canoe

 Weston and Michael taking a mud bath!

Weston's Birthday

 For Weston's 2nd Birthday we decided to go rock climbing with the boys just 15-20 minutes from our house.  Alan made a special harness  for Weston that acted just like a normal harness but came up over his shoulders as well to help prevent  him from slamming into the rock.  Weston didn't like climbing up the rock bolder very well but he loved being hoisted up the tree later on that afternoon at the park. 

Michael on the other hand loved climbing up the rock bolders and he did very well.  I think Weston will like it more when he gets a little older.

Weston and Alan

Michael and Alan

 Weston playing with rocks while Michael is rock climbing

 

 Weston enjoyed this so much that he would relax his whole body and just dangle there.  He almost looked dead because of how relaxed he was.  He is kind of doing it in this picture.

 Michael pulling out his "TRICKS"

 Michael loved that he was taller than Dad so I had to get a picture of it.  Look at the delight that is just radiating from his face!

 Everyone had a great day!  We sure love our little Weston and we are so glad and blessed to have him as part of our little family.

In Loving Memory

June 1st of this year, my family lost a dear family member, Brett Ray. Brett was my brother in law who was married to my older sister Laurie. On their fourth wedding anniversary they were out riding dirt bikes in Alaska with my younger brother Michael. On their way home Brett decided to jump a dirt hill. It was just big enough that he did not see that someone was trying to jump it at the same time on the other side of the hill. The other guy was in a razor and ended up hitting Brett directly in the chest which killed him almost instantly. He was only 26 years old! Poor Laurie and Michael saw the whole thing. Even though I do not have a lot of memories of Brett since we lived so far apart from eachother, the memories that I do have are good ones which I hold dear. Brett was young at heart which made him a lot of fun to be around. He was always pulling funny faces and cracking jokes. His happy disposition and kind generosity made him a pleasure to be around. I find myself crying about his loss whenever the subject comes up. I can only imagine what Laurie has been going through since the loss of her best friend and husband. Alan, the Kids, and I were able to go out to his funeral. Me and the Kids stayed a couple weeks with Laurie to help keep her company and to give her love and support. I think my kids drove her batty, but hey, at least they got her mind off of things for a little while.

I think the thing that gives me the most peace and comfort is the knowledge that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is aware of each of us and is with us as we strive to pull threw our trials. We are never alone! I know that he sees the whole picture. He knows the greater purpose to why things happen and the outcome that will follow. He loves each one of us and hates to see us hurt. Laurie we sure do love you and we pray for you often. Don't forget that you are not alone.

So many things to do and so little time to do them all

 Boy does time fly by when you are busy and having fun.  As you all know I have not posted anything in a good length of time.  You only have so much free time when you have little children and so I couldn't get my self to use that time on the computer.  I figured it is probably time to at least show my little munchkins off since a lot of you haven't seen them in a long time.

I got these costumes at a stuff swap.  When I brought these babies home both of the kids insisted on trying on the costume that was either way... too big or small for them!

  

Family day trip!

 Master closet project.  Finished yesterday yay!  Now on to the bedroom. =(

First camping trip this summer.

People person or not ?

A little while ago I was really tired one morning so I decided to take a little nap while Weston was taking his morning nap. Needless to say Michael did not like this idea! He played for a little while, but eventually decided that it was more fun playing with someone else. So since he couldn't play with someone he was going to sleep with someone instead. When I woke up on the couch this is what I found next to me.