Off To The Races

It seems another summer has crept upon us and with summer comes the races....

Capital Classic seems to be our 1st one every summer

Allie did great and crossed the finish line with a 10:30 mile.  Out of 198 6-7 year old girls Allie was 17th.  She made her dad proud this year!

Way to go Allie!



Next race for the summer was the Main Street Mile

Some of our good friends who moved to Twin came over for the day to run the race....that was dedication

Our favorite part of this race is the Mascot Race.  The mascots run a stretch of the race course in their outfits

Allie finishing the 1/2 mile at 4:21...way to go girl!

Ultimate Urban Challenge

The racing season has begun....I am not pregnant and I can finally leave my babe for extended periods of time without feeling like he is going to starve if he doesn't take his bottle.  The Ultimate Urban Challenge is one of my absolute favorite races. We get to race around downtown Boise on bikes and get to work as a team to accomplish challenges at each pit stop.  It is all for the benefit of Make A Wish which I have a soft spot in my heart for; knowing all the good wishes they grant for the cancer kids.



 Our good friends the Coltrins joined us this year.  We were the Flying Pigs...I'm not so good with team names and costumes

Trying to play pool....an easy challenge we weren't so good at

The non-detailed members of the team, Emily and I, had to examine a cup of icecream with toppings and all.  We had to then tell the boys how to replicate it, getting the candy in the right spot and placing the right number and color of candies back on.  We were horrible at this station

The judge for this event was Dante, a kiddo I took care of  years ago when he was 3...so glad to see him healthy.  I thought he would have given me a break but he was so hard on us

The funnest challenge we had was doing a news report in the Channel 2 studio.  We were new's anchors for a brief moment in time; Emily thought about going into the business she loved it so much!

Blake about vomited when I rolled the dice and he found out he had to eat Kim Chi.  Blake did great and held it down



Our fierce competition throughout the race were the BSU football players.  Thankfully they experienced not 1, but 2 flat tires along the race which set them back.  They were literally on our tails for a good chunk of the race

Flying through the finish line....2nd place out of 50+ teams

Flying Pigs seemed to be a fitting name for us...we had a great race!

Swim Team

We had heard about the YMCA Summer Swim team but it wasn't until our neighbor asked Allie to join that it seemed like it would work for our family.  The daily 1 hour practice for 8 weeks of the summer seemed doable because carpooling was now in the picture.  The girls were very very excited about being on swim team.  I was hoping the excitement wouldn't wear off by the end of the summer.  I didn't want to be peeling Allie out of bed and fighting with her to go to practice.  We talked to Allie about making this commitment to swim and how you don't stop until it's over

The first swim meet soon came upon us

The girls were ready....swim caps, goggles, and their black suits

Allie in the water ready for the backstroke.  The first meet went well...Allie was 2nd place in the backstroke, and 1st place in breaststroke. We quickly learned the rules of swim team races; if you make a mistake at any point during your race you get disqualified.   Allie didn't 2 hand touch at the end of the breastroke and was DQ'd as they call it. We learned a lot from the 1st meet and are excited for the 4 more during the summer!  Way to go Allie!!!

Lake Powell-Dog Days

I can't believe 2 years has rolled around again and with it came one more baby to take with us to Lake Powell.  I'm not going to to lie, I was really really nervous about this trip which is not like me.  Allie knows how to swim, Will can't crawl, but Sophie had me worried sick.  I knew at times I would be caught up with Will and I knew Sophie would love to run around with the big kids.  Blake expressed he would be her buddy 24 hours a day and he hoped that would calm my nerves.  I still couldn't figure out why I was so nervous, if it was a prompting I needed to be listening to or if it was just me worrying about my crazy 2 year old.  Thank goodness for prayer and the comfort of the spirit.  After getting on my knees one night at bedtime and pondering about the trip, I woke up and felt totally at peace with our decision to go.  So 10.5 hours in the car and 3 kids later we arrived at Bullfrog!

Saturday morning the dad's got out early and started loading the boat with all of our stuff; this is a major undertaking and I am so glad I get to be on kid duty during this craziness

On the boat docks waiting for the dads

The crazy cousins on top of the boat riding down the channel...Sophie was immediately strapped into her life vest and didn't get out of it much during the trip.  Luckily she was a trooper about my analness and didn't seem to mind

One of our favorite things for the little ones is the inflatable pool we put on the top deck of the houseboat

The boys found us an awesome little cove to dock the houseboat for the week

Kid's jumped in the water and were immediately relieved of the 110 degree heat wave that set in for the first few days

Sunday morning we set out on a hike before it got to hot....we just love exploring up these little canyons



We didn't make it too far up before our little buddy needed to head back.  Will got sick on Saturday night right when we docked the boat.  He was still under the weather Sunday and continued with high fevers until Tuesday afternoon.  It was a little scary to be in the middle of no where with a sick baby.  Thank goodness for priesthood blessings and Tylenol

Sophie with mud on her face....not a fan of the muddy hike.  This little girl can't stand to have dirty hands, let alone mud in her mouth

Beating the 110 degree heat by turning on the slide

Everyone was jumping in the water to stay cool

Allie and Lucy

Monday we decided to beat the afternoon heat and work on crafts.
Boondoggles and super hero paper cups

Kindergarten Graduation

I think it's true to say that once your kids are officially in school time flies.  I can't believe we are at the end of  the year and Allie is graduating from Kindergarten.  Allie had a fantastic year and a wonderful teacher we are sad to say goodbye to.  

Mrs. Gilliam's cute afternoon Kindergarten class 2012-2013

One of the highlights of the end of the year is Field Day!  I was lucky enough to be the helper for Allie's class which meant I got to take lots of pictures

Allie and her cute friend Taylor squirting everyone with water

I was seriously dying laughing during this game of sharks and lifeguards...I love this picture of Allie getting taken under by the sharks while the lifeguards save her

Trying to avoid the water

Kindergarten Graduation Program

The kids all worked  hard on the decorations

The 3 kindergarten classes....at the beginning of the year the kindergarten classes had a tye-dying party.  Each class was a different color so that when they took field trips they could try and keep everyone where they needed to be

Allie showing off the 2 leaves she painted on the Kindergarten mural

Allie and Mrs. Gilliam.  We loved her teacher; very experienced, very loving with the kids, pushed the kids when and where they needed it.  Not gonna lie, I shed a few tears this day.  Watch out 1st grade...here comes Allie!!!