Alexis' Birthday Party ~ 10 years old

Alexis turned 10 in June. She had a 'tie-dye' party complete with tie-dye decor, shirt making and cake. It was a lot of fun to see the different girl's personalities while making their shirts. Some girls rushed through it resulting in not very much color on their shirts. Other girls were very detailed and went slowly, making sure every inch of fabric got colored (those are the shirts that turned out best). The girls finished their shirts early and ended up dancing like teenagers to music...too BIG!!









Happy Birthday Alexis!!

Maine Trip

In July we made the long drive to Maine to stay at our friend's cabin. We were gone a total of 12 days and it was wonderful! The cabin was in a very remote part of Northeastern Maine on a lake. No cell phone service, no neighbors, no mail...you get the idea. The drive took about 24 hours. We stopped one night in Connecticut and then finished off the drive the next day, making it there in 2 days. We were so excited that we got to stop at Cabela's in Scarborough, ME. As you all know, we LOVE Cabela's and Dusty helped design the stores. So we stopped in, looked at the beautiful store, bought souvenirs and went on our way.

It was nice to get away and stay at the cabin. It consisted of 2 bedrooms and living room and small kitchen. The bathroom was a hole in the ground in the outhouse. This was NOT luxurious cabin life! But we still enjoyed the cabin and hope to go back again.


We hauled our water in because the only other water was the lake water. Much to our surprise the weather was extremely hot. I had packed jackets and jeans- all the stuff you would think you would need in Northern Maine. But apparently mother nature had other ideas. We were very hot and spent most of our time in the water cooling off. Evenings were even hot too, and we used up a ton of 'D' batteries on a battery powered fan that Dusty had running all night long.

We went out on the boat and took the kids tubing and sight seeing.






We also took them out on the canoe. After the canoe, they wouldn't stay out of it. They played in the canoe for hours on end while it was tied up to the dock.




The sunsets were beautiful. I love sunsets and got some really great pictures.








And this is one of my favorite pictures!!!


And these are just some random pictures from our trip...














We left a day earlier than we planned so that we could make a stop at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. On our way we stopped at the East Hartford, Cabela's - this is the store that Dusty worked mostly on and he was very excited to see his designs in built form. It was a neat 2-story Cabela's with elevator and a cool cave aquarium.

Busch Gardens was fun, but very, very expensive. We had a great time though. Lex went on some pretty scary coasters with her Dad. We spent $50 on a lunch for the whole family (ridiculous!). The park did fireworks that night and then we headed to our hotel to crash.

On our way home the next day we got to a part in Virginia where you have to take a ferry to cross a lake. We weren't expecting that but the kids were excited to ride with our car on a boat across the water.

All in all it was a great trip. We needed the alone time and felt refreshed and ready to come back home and face life.

Jacob - Cub Scouts

Jacob has been is Cub Scouts now since February. In July he went to a week long day camp at the Fair Grounds. He earned so many belt loops and pins that the Cub Master joked he had broken the bank at the scout office.

Here he is receiving his awards




Jacob is working really hard on his 'Citizenship' beltloop this week. He came home from scouts and said he had given up playing video games for 1 week. I asked why he had given up video games and he said that his scout leader told him it needed to be something 'shocking'. The scout leader laughed when I told him that, but that is how Jacob interpreted the requirements. He also has 4 other things on his chart to work on for the week; help prepare a meal, clean up his shoes, help a sibling and make beds. I am surprised at the will power he has. Not once has he complained or tried to cheat and play video games. Good job Jacob!

Emma's Latest Knee Surgery

Emma had another knee surgery on July 22nd. This time they were removing the hardware they had previously put in. Miraculously, last time we went in for x-rays we discovered that her legs had corrected. We were very surprised and had expected to have the plates in her legs for years. The plates combined with the rapid growth of a 5-year-old did the trick! This time Emma did great. The surgery was less extensive and only took about an hour. In fact, I couldn't even get her to rest when we got home. She wanted to get up and walk around. I kept trying to explain that she still had some of the anesthesia in her and that she could fall, but she still kept trying to get up. She rested for one day and then she was up and going.

These are the plates and screws that were in her knees

I had a few videos that I couldn't get to upload of Emma after they had given her the "silly" medicine. She was so silly and funny! But I can't get them to upload, so you will have to use your imagination.

Just after surgery


Emma's wounds


And now she is running around, sitting cross-legged, climbing and doing everything an active kid does. We are truly blessed by our Heavenly Father and know that it was only through Him that she was healed so quickly.

We are alive

We are alive. I know I haven't posted in forever, but I will. Life is busy and honestly I needed a break from the computer world. I decided that I DO NOT like facebook. And that instead of blogging about our memories I just wanted to focus on making memories with my family.

So, I promise I will post soon about what has been going on...surgeries, job, school, house, etc.

For now we are having a huge thunder storm and I am going to enjoy my kids pretending that the "Lightening Thief" is here.

A Good Day

We had a good day today!

We went swimming all day at the pool. It was the first day for the outdoor pool to be open and I was so excited to go. The weather was beautiful. The kids were happy. Dusty and I were happy. The water felt wonderful.

I love good days!!!

P.S. Sorry no pictures today. They don't let you take pictures at our gym's pool. And, I am pretty sure you don't want to see any pictures of me in my bathing suit anyway.

Riding Bikes

We finally purchased the last of our gear needed to go riding bikes as a family; bikes for Dusty and I, a bike trailer for Emma (there is no way she will get on a bike right now with her knees), a rack for the van, helmets, etc. So we went riding on the American Tobacco Trail this morning. We rode about 4 miles - pretty good for Dusty and I seeing as neither of us have been on a bike for about 10 years. The kids kicked our butts...don't know where they get all that energy! Then we finished off our outing with snow cones from Pelican's...yum, yum.

We saw a water moccasin snake

The beautiful view from the bridge

Me and the kids

Dusty, Jake, & Lex

Emma in her sweet ride

2 kids with way more energy than their parents!!