Getting around

Our little Naomi has been scooting around for almost a month now and I'm finally posting a couple of pictures of her in motion. She gets up on all fours all the time, but hasn't quite figured out the crawling yet. She's becoming pretty proficient with her scooting and has even had a few blisters on her feet from digging into the carpet. I now have to be careful where I step because she is my little shadow. I also have to be careful what's on the floor as everything goes in her mouth!

Other big news...Naomi just cut her second tooth on Sunday!

Who knew?

Who knew work could be so much fun? Yesterday Aaron spent most of the day outside trimming trees and bushes. We have a ton of trees and landscaping at our house! He started on the roof cleaning out gutters and trimming tree branches that were growing over our roof. Next it was bushes and other low-hanging tree limbs. We ended up with a huge pile of branches and leaves that needed burned. Aaron hooked up the trailer to the 4-wheeler and let the kids drive it back and forth to our burn pit.

At the end of the day we invited our neighbors over for smores. Yum-yum!

This has been a work in progress this summer - our woodpile. We have a woodburning stove in our house and used it last year. We ran out of wood the end of February so we're trying to be more prepared this year. The fireplace does a great job of warming our house and we love that it gives our kids a chore to do in the winter (bring wood in). Aaron's Dad is letting us use his old log-splitter. It's been really fun to work together this summer and split all of the wood.

First day of school

The kids started school this morning. They were so excited, even though the weather was less than cooperative. It started storming at about four in the morning and has continued off and on throughout the day. What a dreary day!

Justin is in fifth grade; Elizabeth, fourth; and Will, kindergarten. The kids have been busy talking on the phone to their friends the last week, finding out who will be in their class. Justin claims he isn't excited, but of course he was. Elizabeth couldn't wait and Will popped out of bed as soon as I went in this morning. This is a small miracle for a boy who is normally very grumpy in the mornings.

Madelyn had her shoes on and was ready to go this morning too!

Perhaps the most exciting part of the day for Will was getting to ride the bus. He has half day kindergarten so I picked him up at 11:30. He was smiling from ear to ear. He loved it and was thrilled that there are several kids he knows from pre-school in his class.

Vacation, part two

Here are a few highlights of our time in Idaho:

• going to the drive-in movie (Elizabeth enjoyed it more than she appears in the picture)
• swimming in Grandma's little pool with cousins
• riding the 4-wheeler
• Aaron laying bricks at my mom and dad's house
• camping
• lots of time on the 4-wheeler and motorcycles
• lots of good food
• the worst case ever of pink eye for Madelyn (notice the puffy eyes)
• fun memories with family
• celebrating Sage's 3rd birthday while camping

We loved spending time with Great-Grandma too. This was taken the night before we left - Elizabeth does not like good-byes!

On our way home, we stopped at Martin's Cove, Devil's Gate, Independence Rock, and the Guernsey ruts all in Wyoming and Chimney Rock in Nebraska. We loved all that we were able to see and do, but it's great to be home and rest a few days before school starts!

Summer vacation re-cap, part one

Alas! Here are some photos from our summer vacation '09. We had a wonderful time visiting family and friends. The time flew by way too fast as it always does.

On our way out, we drove through the Badlands. The kids thought they were cool the first five minutes and then wanted the DVD back on. We met some friends, the Petersen's, from Toledo in Rapid City for breakfast. They moved to South Dakota the week we went through so the timing was great. It was fun to see them and catch up.

We spent a couple of nights in Montana with my brother and his family. The kids loved floating in the creek, playing with cousins, and riding horses. A highlight for Bruce was the rope Brian gave him. Bruce is obsessed with ropes and cowboys. He now has his own and has already tried to rope his sisters. Thank you, Brian!

Another highlight was getting to see Luke who is working at the ranch for a few months until he goes on his mission. He got his mission call to the Philippines while we were on our way home. I'm so glad we got to see him again before he leaves!

Justin spent a couple of days with his good friend, Jackson Liljenquist, in Idaho Falls. As has become our tradition, we enjoyed homemade ice cream with them at Reed's Dairy. Our kids have been talking about this place since we went with them last year!

Sweetness!

I mentioned on Will's birthday post that one of his favorite people is his friend, Jillian. She was over playing with him a few weeks ago and I looked in the room to see them all cuddled up on the recliner. She was watching him play his Nintendo DS he got for his birthday. Jillian was diagnosed with Leukemia two years ago and had just had treatment two days before she came over to play with Will. She tires easily after treatment which is why they opted to relax for awhile. She is such a sweet girl and she has been an inspiration to our family the past two years as we have watched her go through so much and (almost) always maintains her sweet smile. We love the time she spends in our home because she keeps everyone entertained as she directs all the kids from one activity to another!

Chocolate fondue

I have lots of blogging to do from our vacation, but I thought until I get the time to put them on I would add a few recent photos from home. A few weeks ago we got out Justin's fondue fountain. We haven't used it in over a year so the kids were so excited. As you can see, Madelyn loved it.

Yumm-o!

Bruce has inherited Justin's old Spiderman costume he wore several years ago. He has been wearing it a lot. You can't see from the picture, but the costume has seen better days. Justin and Elizabeth think it's hilarious, but Bruce could care less that the rear of the costume has a couple of small holes in it. It just keeps him a little cooler on these hot summer days!