Our fun 4th

Jamie and Kyle came for the extended 4th of July weekend. As always when they are here, we had so much fun. We made red, white and blue tye dye shirts and festive hair ties. We had a campfire, and roasted giant marshmallows. We hiked up the ridge-when it was really hot-and forgot all the water in the car! But my Sage made it pretty much the whole way up on her own (a hundred yards or so courtesy of Uncle Kyle). What an amazing kid! Marlee prefered the route up the hill on her daddy's shoulders. Great view from the top though.

There were some Pop-its and sparklers in addition to the spectacular fireworks over the river. We met up with the Barth family for the big show. We also checked out a really cool park just down the street that despite living here for over 7 years had no idea about. But best of all, before they left Monday afternoon, we got Kyle to help Heath hang all the window wells in the basement. So Great! Thanks Kyle, you saved me!!! Neighbor Ted was pretty instrumental in the process as well.

dirty job

Boy, there is a whole lot of dusty dirt at our new house. We bring mounds of it back to our old house after every visit. I have to scrub the ring of dirt out of the bathtub after every use. It is a full time job to keep up with the laundry!
Marlee, right before she slid down and got completely coated in dirt. She loves dirt!!!

making trails in the mounds of dirt.

The good news is that within that giant hole, much progress is being made. After the hole was dug, the footings were poured. Then came the walls. Plumbing went in, back filling the inside, putting down the vapor barrier, and the slab was poured on friday. The rock chucker and concrete pumper have been the most exciting pieces of equipment. The compactor, on the other hand, which is a tiny little thing, was heavily feared by the kids.

footings

walls
forms for walls set to go
Forman Hayden and his trusty sidekick, Emma. Hayden checks progress daily.

Since building things is what Heath does, he is pretty cool about each step, but for me its all new and exciting. I feel like a big dummy when i talk to the various subs, but luckily Heath has good friends that are patient and take good care of me. pumping the concrete into the forms

walls revealed

the Stone Slinger-even sounds cool!

choices, choices choices... yikes, I have only just started makeing choices, but there are so many things to think about. I hope I don't pick something aweful and ruin the whole place. faucets are on my mind right now. The plumber took me to the showroom and I got to look at all the possibilities. Marlee thought it was heaven with all the toilets!

I had never given any thought to the height of a toilet until recently. Hand washing is a whole new experience now that I have to check out every sink in town.

Heath hard at work

Marlee checking out exactly where stuff goes when you flush
Hayden is making sure everything is up to code
me and Heath getting the vapor barrier down before the slab is poured
a good fit!

Hayden's Baptism

Hayden got baptized on Saturday, June 5th. What a beautiful day it was! Grandma and Grandpa G were here for the occasion. Hayden was baptized by his dad, Grandma gave a great talk about baptism, and Mom cried. There were three other kids from our stake that got baptized, one other boy from our ward. Hayden was a bit relieved to have his friend there as he was feeling a little nervous. He knew he wanted to be baptised, but not sure about having someone dunk him under water.

Hayden is eight! How did that happen? He is becoming a very independant young man. Very energetic about life! I hope that he continues to work on making good choices and be an good example to his sisters who watch his every move. He takes such good care of them. I am very proud of him.

He chose to go to Granny's Buffet afterward to celebrate. He also played his final baseball game of the season and because he was feeling so great after baptism, he was able to turn a triple play all on his own. It was a very special day.

The Miracle Shoes

Fact: Hayden is rough on shoes. Luckily, we have found some tough shoes. Seriously, these are some energizer bunny shoes.

They have got him through the last half of school, basketball and several baseball practices (because he was too lazy to find his cleats) even an occasional appearance at church. The laces have had to be replaced because he doesn't usually tie his shoes. They flop off when he kicks a soccer ball or runs too fast. "Tie your shoe Hayden!" I am like a broken record.

Anyhow, when we were camping at La Wis Wis with Jamie and Kyle, Hayden and the girls and I were tossing rocks into the river. It was a cold and soggy weekend; in between rainshowers we ventured out from under the tarps. In a moment of sheer brilliance, Hayden decided it was a good idea to kick rocks...yeah, the shoe went out into the middle of the rushing, frigid river! I thought I could catch it if I ran down the banks a few hundred yards to a really rocky part. The big rocks made it possible for me to get nearly to the middle of the river. Yet, it still was too far out for me to fetch it. Just as I was thinking all hope was lost, out into the river charges Heath! Fully clothed-jeans, boots, sweatshirt, raincoat! he snatched that tattered old stinky shoe from the waist deep icy water. It was one of the funniest sights I have seen in ages. He was steaming mad. Heath stood next to the camp fire for about 2 hours until the numbness in his legs wore off and the cramping stopped. But he saved the shoe. Hayden's only pair for the weekend.

Well, since the shoe was wet, Hayden sat next to his angry dad at the fire with his feet propped up on the fire pit...yeah, he melted the bottoms of the shoes!

Did I hurry home to buy him new shoes? No way! Instead, a few days later, at our dirt pile, he managed to bury it. It fell off when his feet sank into the soft dirt. We spent forever digging around trying to find it. Heath was not letting us go home until it was unearthed. Talk about needle in a haystack! The neighbor boy had lost his flip flop in the same spot. Hayden was actually seeking out the lost flip flop when he lost his shoe. Well, as the sun set and it started getting dark, I finally found the thing. Talk about miracle.
So now, we wait see what is next in the shoe saga.

Here is Hayden in the miracle shoes cheating at mini golf. FYI, they are Addidas.

Movin some dirt!

We broke ground today on our new house!!! We have been planning this forever it seems and finally we see some progress. The excavator was brought over to our lot yesterday and the digging started first thing this am. Me and the kids had to check it out even if it meant being a bit late to work. By the time I got home from work, they were done digging and we were left with a huge hole that is to become our basement. It was a very exciting day!

Christmas

Christmas was pretty fabulous this year. We stayed home and had a quiet little Christmas Eve. We made waffles, opened up a few presents, and tracked Santa on the internet. Christmas morning we opened gifts then headed to Seattle for a few days. It seemed to be more relaxing than the past few years.

The kids and I do a gingerbread house every year. Why? I don't know. It makes a huge mess and it takes up all kind of space in an all ready cluttered kitchen. But we have a good time and it is festive so we do it.

Santa at the Boise Mall on our way home from Thanksgiving. Sage was mesmerised. She is always amazed at our good fortune of being at the same mall as him, sometimes in Seattle, sometimes in Idaho and sometimes at home. Crazy how that happens.

Naughty or nice??? Hayden had a lot of explaining to do. Marlee is just banking on the fact that she is so cute, the old guy wouldn't be able to resist bringing her everything she wants.

Hayden loves just about all fruit. Instead of an orange in the toe of his stocking, he found a pomegranate. He was so excited, said it was one of his favorite gifts...yeah, that is a bike in the background, he was more excited about the dumb fruit.

Favorite Gifts:

Dad-Double griddle and Guitar hero

Mom-Wii Fit and a massage

Hayden-Bike, Pomegranate, maybe Shaun White snowboarding game

Sage-Bathrobe and BFC Inc Doll Kaitlin

Marlee-Dress up dress box, monkey slippers

Sage turns 5

To celebrate 5 years, Sage wanted to have a rockstar party. Jamie and Kyle brought Avery over for the weekend and several of Sage's friends joined the fun. Hannah Montana and Taylor Swift belted out the tunes as the girls made microphones, dressed up and destroyed a guitar pinata. This was one party that rocked!

Football

Hayden decided to give football a try. Not flag like previous years. This was the real thing, pads, helmet, tackling and all. He wasn't a huge fan of tackling, even less of a fan of getting tackled. He makes a great kicker or running back. Not sure he will want to do it again, but it was an intense experience. The three 2 1/2 hr practices a week plus games every Saturday really seemed to be more than all of us were ready for. We had great weather just about every game, and the games were pretty fun to watch. Still, football is really serious business. Not to mention that some football parents are a bit overwhelming.

That is Hayden, all the way to the right, number 11.

He got to be one of the team captains this game

Hayden's team was the Eagles. He pretty much drowned in his enormous jersey. But dang, was he cute!