Love It!

There are some things that I love about living in a little town, and here is one of them. Having fresh milk delivered to my door (like the old days). It is really good milk and it just makes my life a little easier!

Oh and the other day at the gas station this guy ran out and pumped the gas for my mom and me, no extra charge. So cute!

Happy Father's Day

Things that make Mike a great dad:

Tells great bedtime stories to Ella that she loves.

Changes diapers, gives baths, makes bottles, and cleans poop out of the tub!

Goes to all of the kids doctor appointments.

Makes great eggs, pancakes, and other kid staples.

Takes the kids on their own special dates.

Has fun and plays with the kids.

These kids love Mike so much that whenever he leaves they get upset and whenever he comes home they run to the door and greet him. He has a very special relationship with his children and I am so grateful for that because I know that my children will be better off because of it! We love you Michael and we miss you!

Summer Days

I love summer days! Especially in Idaho because there are so many fun activities to do with the kids, and the best part is they are cheap activities. Some of our favorite's include:

Free lunch at the park

Kids days at the movies

Story time at the library

Visiting our "foster" horse

Day trips to National Parks

Splash Park

Most recently we went to the local splash park which also has the regular park. The kids get to play on the playground and then go play in the water. Plus they get to ride on the carousel and eat cotton candy all for a dollar. It was a great way to spend a summer day!

Finally summer is here!

The boys love to play

Ella and Hunter love the new stuff to play on

I love that little smile

This carousel is a historical site because it is all wood and hand painted

The kids had a great time riding around with the horses 

The best part of the splash park is the...

...The splashing!

Happy kids

Hunter wants more food and more playing (as usual) 

We topped off our afternoon with some yummy cotton candy!

Day in Yellowstone

We decided to get a season pass to the National Parks because we live so close and we want to take every advantage of what the summer months in Idaho have to offer! Last weekend we spent the day in Yellowstone and we saw so many amazing animals. 

We saw elk, bison, a bald eagle, two wolves, a bear, and some sort of antelope. We also saw crazy lightening and there was even some snow! Ella loved looking out the window and seeing all the different animals and Hunter did pretty good considering we were in the car most of the day. It was a great little day trip with the family.

Here are some pictures of our little field trip:

A female elk or deer? ( I need an animal guide book)

A wolf that was really close to our car

Antelope?

The first bear we saw in Yellowstone!

Ella got to pick out some really pretty rocks or "treasure"

Another wolf (we thought it was a fox)

Big boy was right next to us on the road

Amazing bald eagle and there was a nest with the mom and baby in it too

Ella's First Dance Recital

Ella had her first recital for dance and she was so cute! She did such a great job and she enjoyed every minute of it. It was great to have family there to support her and it was just so neat to see everything she has learned and how much she loves to dance. Ella had two performance, one at a retirement home, and one for all of the parents. 

Here are some pictures:

Memorial Day!

I have to say whenever my dad comes into town we have so much fun! Every night is filled with amazing food (my dad is a great cook) and hours of card games. We play everything from Texas Hold 'Em, Hearts, Rook, and Hand and Foot. This week was extra fun because it was memorial day and all of the parks opened for the summer season, plus the weather was great. For the actual holiday we decided to go to Yellowstone for the day and it was really fun. We decided to leave Hunter home because we did not want to torture him with day of driving and then we were off at about 7:00 am.  We saw animals, mud pots, geysers, and lots of nature. Here are some pictures from the day:

We had a pancake breakfast at this little dive in West Yellowstone. Very yummy and a great way to start off our trip.

This was the only bear we saw while we were in Yellowstone and I think Ella was in love.

Of course we had to see Old Faithful and it lived up to its name, it went off 3 minutes before its ETA!

Here is the Geyser going off right on time.

And of course we saw some animals. There was bison, elk, and a bald eagle's nest.