Ann Arbor

Rich made an unexpected trip to Ann Arbor last weekend and took some pics of our old stomping grounds. We really miss this place! Here are some of the photos for those of you who are missing Ann Arbor too!


And what is a trip to Ann Arbor without stopping by Washtenaw Dairy??
Our beloved Woodchase!!
Since Rich's return home, we have started to plan a trip back...I can't stand that I didn't go with him this time! We really miss Ann Arbor, especially all the good people who became our dearest friends there. And thanks to Shawn and Lisa for hosting him so last minute...we'll be sure to give you more notice next time! :-)

California Vacation

We had a great time in California. We ate...
We picked lemons in Grandpa and Grandma's backyard...
We built Lincoln Log houses (using every single piece in the set!)...
We played Rock Band and Guitar Hero (Rich and I played for the first time, and played several more times after that!!:-))...
We went to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley...

We saw the Berlin Wall (okay, a piece of it!)...
We went to the beach...
We boogie-boarded...

and had a perfectly WONDERFUL time! We also swam every day in the backyard, and didn't take a single picture of it....what kind of blogger am I??! By the end of the trip, Lola was jumping in and swimming across the pool all by herself. There is really nothing like seeing your children become confident in the water. Fun times...

The greatest thing of all is that while we were there, my youngest sister, Katie, got engaged! WOOHOO! She and Rich Price will be married in October. He is a perfect match, and we are so excited for them.

My latest project

Here is my latest project..finally complete. I saw a picture of this in Pottery Barn and loved it. Then I looked at the price and figured I could make it for MUCH less than that. It took longer than I thought it would, but I do like how it turned out!

Vacation Time

We're off to visit Papa and Grandma Jo in California for 10 days... Gotta love summer vacation!

Fourth of July

The fourth of July is right up there with Christmas for me...I love it! We started the day by getting dressed in red, white and blue. Thanks, Carly, for the cute hair clips!
We walked over to the church for a flag ceremony, pancake breakfast, and a bike parade. The girls had so much fun decorating their bikes and helmets, and then going on a parade through our neighborhood.
We hurried home and jumped in the car to drive to the Melba parade. This is the BEST parade ever. Melba is this tiny town, about 30 minutes southwest of Boise, and they have this little parade that feels just so very American to me. The girls loved watching the old cars, the motorcycles, the fire engines, and the horses go by. Lola especially loved the candy being thrown at her. She was all over it!
Livi especially loved the rodeo queens on their horses...
After the parade, we came home for a quick lunch, then gathered up all the rafting gear for a trip down the Boise river. Surprisingly, we had never done this before! Trenton and I dropped Rich and the girls off at Barber park and headed to a rest stop area to catch them coming down the river. There were tons of people on the river that day (it being the fourth of July and all) but it made for a very fun adventure.
A few minutes after starting down the river, Rich noticed that the boats ahead seemed to be dropping off, as if into a rapid...not what we expected on this tame little river. Sure enough, there were several little rapids along the route. Lola was not okay (and that is putting it mildly) with the first two rapids, but by the third she was asking Rich for "more bumps"!

When I met them at the rest stop, I thought for sure my Lola would be ready to come with me, and we could meet Livi and Rich at Julia Davis park. Not so. Lola wanted to stay on for the rest of the trip, so Trenton and I headed downriver in the "rafting taxi" to pick up all of our boaters at the end. Everyone had a blast...and I'm thinking I need to find a way to get in on the fun next time too! :-) We ended the day with a bbq in the backyard. Such a perfect day!