Trek to Utah Part 1 - Idaho and Cousins

The kids and I all drove to Boise Idaho on our way to Utah for Aunt Rachel's wedding. My brother JT and sister-in-law Tiffaney and their kids all live in Caldwell, so we spent a couple days with them and found this great water park the kids loved playing it.

I could never get a picture with all 5 of the cousins at once. . .

Here is Brent sporting some of Andrew's sunglasses. . .

Carolyn on the slide. . .

Anna chillin on the playground. . .

Lilia beautiful and bright eyed. . .

Cute Elijah soked and loving it. . .

The other group picture I could get. They were were having so much fun and there was so much to do that they could not stay in one place very long! :)

It was a great visit. . .we liked it soo much we stopped off at their house on the way back from Utah! ;)

Anna's 5th Birthday

For Ann's 5th Birthday she couldn't quite decide on one theme for her friend party, so we made it an Anna's favorite things party. We had ballons, flowers, butterflies, Tangled, Hello Kity, and most everything was pink or purple.

She also wanted to have her party at the park. . .because that is another favorite thing. Below is a picture of the decorations for the party. Pretty much the party consisted on playing at the park, cupcakes and opening presents. The set-up was the most stressful part!
These are the cupcakes I made with either a flower, butterfly or Hello Kitty on them. I think it turned out better then I planned.

Anna is a little sensitive when it comes to singing to her. I am not sure she completely loves having all the attention on her. . .

Here is part of the group that came to Anna's party.

Josh gave Anna a prince game set, which she already loves to play!

Sophia gave her a SUPER cute Hello Kity outfit and a coloring book and markers. (Anna's favorite past time is coloring)

Bella gave her a Hello Kity coloring book and a Tangled cup, that Anna has been asking me to buy for months!

Keagen got Anna a Hello Kity purse. She LOVES purses!

The Wi's got her stickers, coloring books, and markers and crayons, which Anna stayed up until midnight coloring with. She LOVES to color!

Madison gave Anna a Sleeping Beauty bath Barbie that she had to take a bath with as soon as we got home and every day since!

Anna had a great time with her friends and it truly encompassed all of Anna's favorite things and people! It was great party!

Earlier in the week we had a family party for Anna with grandma and grandpa Harris before they went back home.

Brent got Anna a Tangled and Sleeping Beauty dolls.

Mom got her a Hello Kitty Mega Blocks doll house.

Daddy got her a butterfly tea set.

Grandma and grandpa Wahlquist gave her some Hello Kitty shirts and other cloths that are perfect and some more coloring books which she loves!

Grandma and grandpa Harris bought Anna some new school clothes and a backpack for when she starts Kindergarten in the fall. (I can't believe my baby is starting Kindergarten!) They also got Anna a matching water gun to Brent's.

I am so greatful to my little girl and the amazing person she is becoming. I just wish is wasn't all happening so fast!

Brent's 7th Birthday

For Brent's birthday this year he wanted a Lego themed "friend" party. So I found how to make this cake online. . .and I am pretty proud of how it turned out. This was the first cake I have ever made that did not remain in the pan with just frosting on the top. I even put pudding in the middle. Brent loved it and that was the most important part!

Here is the group of boys at the party. There were only 5 boys but it seemed like sooooo much more! :) We had Pizza Hut and soda for dinner, per Brent's request. We put paper down on the table so the boys could color on it if they wanted.

We played a Lego game called Creationary. . .much like pictionary but you have to build it with Lego's. A really fun game, but 7 year old boys can't sit still for too long. . .

Brent's friend Jaz got him a Lego's. . .

His friend Luke got him Legos. . .

And Brenner got him Star Wars Legos. . .Brent was in heaven!

Lorenzo got him a huge frisbee and ball. . .which ended up being the most fun at the party, because it was different and HUGE! :)

Brent had a great time at his party and has already told me he wants to do the same thing next year!

We also had a small family party on Brent's actual birthday and he was lucky enough to have his Grandma and Grandpa Harris there for it. That made it extra special!

Brent got these cool PJ's from Grandma and Grandpa Wahlquist, as well as some other clothes and books. He was excited about all of the gifts. . .but these PJ's glow in the dark so he had to put them on immediately!
Anna got him Lego's. . .

Mom and Dad got him Lego's. . .

And grandma and grandpa Harris got him Lego's. . .and a watergun!

Brent couldn't have been happier, as you can see from the huge smile in EVERY picture.

I can't believe my little boy is getting so big! They really do grow up so fast!

Horses

About a month ago my dad's cousin Jennie Mellor, who lives in our ward in Bellevue, took Brent and Anna out to ride a horse and to teach them a little about it. I really was worried that neither one would want to ride it.

Here is Jennie showing them how to give the horse Callie a carrot. It was a little scary to be that close to the horses mouth and Brent and Anna just couldn't do it.


Very soon after getting on the horse they both fell in LOVE with the horse and riding her. Brent actually got to go the fastest of the two. Anna was very upset she did not get to go as fast.

These next two pictures are of Brent and Anna's first ride by-them-selves without Jennie leading the horse. Though she was always very close by!

Brent and Anna also got a lot of time to ride the horse together which was always nice since it was the only time they were not fighting over who got to ride her!

I thought I got a video of both Brent and Anna at one point, but I guess I only got Anna. Here she is doing a little trick Jennie showed her on the horse.

It was an amazing time and I am so glad Jennie took the time out to take us! It even made such an impression on Anna, that without being told to do it by her parents, she went up to Jennie at church on Sunday and thanked her again for taking her to ride the horse. Both of the kids can't wait until we can go again!

Fort Spokane/Lake Roosevelt Camping

We went camping this week at Fort Spokane on Lake Roosevelt. Unfortunately the water was too low at the lake to do any kayaking, swimming or fishing in the area we were at. But there were plenty of other things for us to do and see. . .I don't think we had any free time to think about not being able to swim, fish or go on the kayak. I didn't have my camera with me most of the time so there are not many pictures.

This is Lake Roosevelt, right by where we camped.

This is a picture of Fort Spokane. It was a fort during the time of the Indians and the white settlers, then it became an Indian boarding house and then an Indian sanitarium. It was a fascinating museum and place to visit.

Having a picnic in at the park on a beautiful sunny day! Don't get many of those in western Washington!

This sidewalk is the only thing left of a town called Old Kettle Falls that was washed away by a flood. . .Andrew loves visiting stuff like this.

Car ride home. . .Toby being used as a pillow. :)

Kayaking

Andrew is in charge of the Venture Scouts in our ward and also the High Adventure activity. So he is having all the boys make their own kayaks and then in August they are going to go on a 3 or 4 day kayak trip on Lake Roosevelt in eastern Washington.

Here is what Andrew's 12 foot kayak looks like that he made. It is made completely from plywood and canvas and is collapsible. . .and as you can see it actually works!! I have been very impressed!

The kids LOVE riding on in with dad! Today they both decided to hope on an end and get a ride.