State!

This is a picture from our local newspaper of Caleb and Hudson running the 2 mile at the State Track Meet in May.

Finding the Heat (part 4)

(remember we went to California back in May while we were still getting snow here?)
After spending the morning at the Aquarium we were off to...
THE BEACH!
The Pacific Ocean...
Sunset Beach
Ahhh.
All 9 making the trek through hot sand with the final destination...

hitting the waves!

Oh what fun for us country mountain people

Coop enjoyed his "beach time" resting in his carseat 

while tanning his toe-sies.

L.O.V.E. this pic
(seaweed and all)

Dolphins! Dolphins!

They swam up close and personal.

AND gave us mountain people a "little show" as they passed by.

My toes in the sand.

Loving every minute of it!

Tess burying herself.

Elizabeth digging for shells

Maggie

Hudson

Abbi

Dani Rae

Weston

This was a big highlight for all of us.
We had a great afternoon at the beach!

Yummi-ness!

Our smiley boy...

Cute hat crocheted by a friend.
Thanks Jennifer!

His "please push me" look.
Enough pictures!

Peek-a-boo!

Oh, those big, baby blues

and the drool...

melt my heart!

Fun Father!

And a fun evening!

(Cooper's priorities were a bit messed up. He chose to sleep and missed out on the eating of s'mores. I am sure next year he will make a better choice :-)

Brian was busy with campers all weekend.

They left Sunday afternoon and that is when Brian got horizontal and CRASHED!

We gave him his quiet...

For a short time.

Then we celebrated him with a yummy dinner:

Fresh Alaska Salmon

Green Salad

Bread

AND...

S'mores at the "marshmellow" pit!!

Earlier that day Hudson, Abbi and I went to the hospital to give MY dad a gift and lots of hugs.

It was also good to visit with mom, hold her hand and squeeze her feet.  Please continue to pray for her. Thank you. Thank you!!

Mom Update

My Mom called this morning as she was sitting outside.

Loving the fresh air.

Enjoying the rose garden.

Still at the hospital.

Doing EXCELLENT!

Feeling soooo much better.

Should be going home this weekend.

YIPPEE!

"I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: 

with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations."

Psalm 89:1

Rambo-ette

Good guesses!

 But, there were no soft pellets or paint involved.
And no orange tips.

This was the "real deal"!

AR .223

 Holy Cow!

This thing was fun to shoot.

Especially from the hip and like a machine gun.

(not to worry, no one got hurt while I was shooting :-)

Perfect aim.

Bullseye! 

My nephew taking a turn 

(after he ripped it out of my possession)

Caleb

Hudson 

My nephew's shirt.

I can relate...

just pacing myself.

hee hee

Wordless Wednesday

Gotchya guessin'?

(more later)

Prayer Updates

Thanks for your continued prayers for Brian.

The Dr. said his foot is 80% "heel"ed.

The last 20% will take the next 2 years for it to completely heal and for him to feel no pain.

He has a bit of a limp when he walks but he is free from crutches, knee brace, and knee walker.

Freedom!

Just pain at the end of the day.

That's ok. 

(easy for ME to say)

We are thankful he is on the mend and back to, somewhat, normal activity again.

My MOM

What was suppose to be an in and out colonoscopy has turned into a 2 week stay at the luxurious Salt Lake  Hospital.  She has had a few post-op issues that are getting better each day.

Pray for a quick resolve of these issues so she can go home.

She came to our house the day before her appt to "love on" Cooper (and the others),

to eat "Make-your-own-taco Night",

to help the girls finish a sewing project,

and to help celebrate Abbi's birthday.

We Love You, Mom!!

Thanks again SO MUCH for your prayers.

Greatly appreciated!

"He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion."

Psalm 111:4

                               

Monkey in the Middle

AND we love the one in the middle!

Finding the Heat (part 3)

About mid-week into our vacation, we traveled a few hours west.
Anaheim.
We hit the Aquarium of the Pacific for our morning activity.

Watching the sharkies!

Petting the Tiger Sharks.

Watching the seals and sea lions get fed and do tricks.

On the beach

:-)

These crabs fascinated all of us. 

For one, they did not move and just swayed with the waves.

For two, they were huge!

Cute little Clown Fish

More learning and observing...

Tessa and the "love of her life" - Daddy!

The whole crew (- me).

(someone had to take the pic)

Afterwards, we found a shady place near the ocean and palm trees to have a picnic lunch.

It was a fun morning at the Aquarium and then we were off to...

(stay tuned)