Our Secret Hideout

...that's what the boys call their bunk room at Bear Lake. It's awesome. They set up all their toys in there, grab their snacks, and set up their show. The last thing they do is close the door to keep destructo-Chloe out. They think they are in heaven to have their own little oasis just for them. Little do they know that we really go up there for us! :)
We had an amazing Labor Day weekend. It was a last minute plan and we are so grateful that we have the ability to do that. With Seth now in his MBA program we have found that we are learning to use our time a lot more wisely and we really enjoy our free time much more now.
We relaxed, slept, ate great, enjoyed some shakes, played outside in the perfect weather, chased the geese, seagulls and deer, built castles, swam, read, watched movies, played games (even invented a new one, "grass tag"), had picnics, and played at the park. I even had time to have a little photo shoot with the boys that turned out pretty well.
The water is finally back up to our beach and it makes it so much more enjoyable. Now one is in front of our view now and it is beautiful and peaceful even if there are a lot of people there.
I love my family!!!

Our Day with the Birds

We got some passes to the Tracey Aviary and decided we needed to use them before they expired (today!). I am so glad we did. The reason we waited and kept debating about it was because we went there two years ago and I thought it was pretty ghetto, but WOW! have they done a lot to improve it. It was so nice.
The kids had a blast looking at all the birds. The trees were beautiful, big, and shady, which helped make our visit pleasant.
We even stayed for the bird show and it was great. Sam was a little disappointed that they never chose him to help, but he soon got over it and enjoyed watching and the tricks the birds did and hearing all the fun facts about them.
By far, their favorite thing was "Owl Forest". It was so cute and fun. We had to go the library and get an owl book to learn more they were so sucked in.
I am so glad we went and actually can't wait until we can go back, since I know there is more we didn't even get to see.

Grandma T's Birthday

We had fun putting together a great shin-dig for Grandma T. She is always putting on great parties, cakes, and surprises for all of us, so we decided to go all out for her.
The had a great meal, potato bar, on her beautiful china that I get to use while she is in Spain, a fun cake I made of her family tree....it took 59 gumballs to get us all on there! :), and great cards for her made by all the grand kids.
The kids had a great time eating the cake. They kept claiming who they wanted to eat. Most of them wanted to eat their parents. It was fun to hear them barder the people/gumballs. I heard, "I don't want to eat John"-"Oh, I will!" It was fun.
It was a great Sunday evening to just sit back, eat, relax, and enjoy family.
We had a great time and hope that she had fun just sitting back and enjoying her day.







(This card/poem was made by Megan. I love the Wal-mart plug!) :)

Some of Our Favorite Things

I just had to stop and collect together some shots of some of our favorite things. Sometimes I feel like we get caught up in the "special" events/things we do that we forget to account for a lot of what we do on a regular basis.
We love going to our Grandma's houses. At Grandma Miller's house there is so much to do. We love to play trains with Grandpa and we love all the fun toys Grandma gets our for us depending on the season.

We love to go to Dad's hockey games and cheer him on. We love to play in the stands and drive everyone else crazy with our noise and energy. We always have a great time.

We love to go to our cousin's house and play. We get to run around crazy with them, play with their great toys, and eat all the good things that Joy is always making from scratch.

And we LOVE to go to movies. That is probably one of our favorite things to do. We have the best and most comfy movie theater just down the hill from us so it makes it very convenient. Seth goes to movies a lot, Seth and I got quite frequently. And occasionally when there is a good movie for the whole family we go out together. The kids love the treats, seats, and sights of the big screen.

A Day Out With Haley

The kids got to go and play at Haley's house this morning so I could go to the doctor, so we decided to return the favor and have her join us for a fun night at Discovery Gateway.
The kids had a blast just being kids. Haley has older siblings and does a lot of big kid things, so it was fun for her to just come with us and be 4.
The best thing about our outing was that each kid was able to do what they wanted to at their level. It was nice to just sit back, not interfere, and let them place and discover. I love observe how they play, what they like to do, what they learn, and how they react. I am so glad I get to stay home with my kids and see every minute of it.









They didn't want to leave, but time finaly came, especially after having such a long, fun, tiring day! We came home and cuddled up to watch a show after having some yummy soup!

Superhero Blankies

I have always wanted them to love their blankies (which they do) and to want to wear them like capes. Well, they finally did it! It is just to cute. These are one of those times when I am a sappy mom who just can stop starring and looking and gooing over my kids. They are so cute!