Ups and Downs

Life is full of ups and downs as I have experienced it this weekend. We had a great time watching Isaac play in his first baseball tournament. He made some great plays and got his first hit. He also made it into home a couple of times to score some points for his team. It was great to see him take all the practicing he has done the past few weeks and apply it to a game. We are also fortunate enough to have my neice Allie come to visit us. She was going to come on a plane by herself, so I was worried about getting there on time so that she wouldn't be too nervous. Well on the way I managed to turn into a parking lot and not see a spot where a rock was and my car went up and on top of the rock. (you can stop laughing now). I was panicked. Seth was near by so he came and switched cars with me and I hurried to the airport. He unfortuatley had to stay and wait for the tow truck so all the passerbys of course thought he had done this to the car. He is a great guy and I was glad he was around. I was late picking up my neice, but she waited patiently and all was well. I just need to be better with dealing with all the ups and downs that do come in life. I don't roll with the punches very well and I'm determined to be better at doing that. Did I also mention that my car's air conditioner doesn't work, my dryer is burning holes into our clothes, and our ice machine only crushes ice, and my camcorder keeps ejecting the tape. When it rains it pours. But my children are healthy and enjoying summer and we are blessed with great family and friends who have helped us out with all of our ups and downs. I don't know what I would do without them.

Rodeo

The rodeo clowns came by all the time giving out candy. The kids loved it.
Elias was always eating or asking for something to eat.

The Rodeo in Rexburge was great fun. We watched fire works after and it was a great day.

4th of July

We went up to Rexburge for the 4th, which was our second time going in the pase three years. We really enjoy it up there and always have a good time. It was really fun being able to spend time with my mom and dad and also my brother Dave's family. My kids have a lot of fun playing with their kids and I love the memories they are creating with each other. It is sad that we don't live closer to some of the cousins, but we love it when we can get together. What I love about it is that it seems like we can just pick up where we left off. It doesn't take long for them to get reaquainted and then be on their way to having fun. I just love it. To have so many cousins is such a blessing and even more so since there are so many my own children's ages. Aren't families great! I sure do love mine.

I am just going to post some things that we have done this summer. I am wanting to use this more to journal than anything else, but it is good to get some of these things written down. I spent the first six weeks of summer teaching swim lessons, which was great, but am glad that it is over and I can get back to doing the basics for the family. During that six weeks I did manage to keep running to get ready for the wasatch back relay. Here is some pictures to document the event. It was a great time and we would do it again.
Ryan was the guy to talk us into it and I don't know about Seth, but I might have cursed his name a time or two during the run. Sorry Ryan.
It was a beautiful run. Lots of sight seeing to do, not while I was running of course.

This was our team of six that we drove and ran with the whole time. The other car we didn't see too much, but they did a great job.

Bum Scoot

Just a little sample of Ella's unique way of getting around. She can really get going when she uses her arms. The background music is provided by my children who also can't get enough of the birthday card that Ella received for her birthday.

Ella had a great birthday party with our family. We started off with a BBQ that I don't think she fully appreciated, but we all enjoyed it. Pops came over (Seth's dad) and gave her a card that sang happy birthday when you opened it. She loved this card. She kept opening and closing it all night wanting to hear the song. It was the only present she really cared about. She also really enjoyed her cake. A local grocery store makes mini cakes for one year olds for free and so we all just sat back and watched her eat it. She was hesitant at first, but when she got her first bit she was all about the cake. We are glad that we got it all on tape. I hope she had a good birthday and we all had fun celebrating it with her.

Ella Mae is 1 years old today. I can hardly believe my baby is one. It makes me sad that it goes by so fast. I would like to say that she is on her way to walking, but at this point she is showing no interest. She doesn't even crawl. She does this funny bum scoot and she gets to where she needs to go, so I don't think crawling will ever happen for her. I will have to post a video of her unique style in the future. As for now I am just starting the blogging process and I hope this will get me to document our families lives a little better. It is just so hard for me to believe that my little girl is 1.