Happy 4th of July!

These are not pictures from the 4th of July but it has been boring around here with all of the kids gone. I guess we celebrated all last week so I just had my 4th a little early. Rainee and the boys came and we had a lot of fun at Idaho days.

Evan is so fun to watch, I think because he is so animated he loved the bouncy house and because I was in charge of him there are a few more pictures of his cute little face.

Even more than the bouncy house he loved the train, I guess you would call it a train, maybe a country train, I wouldn't want to call it a redneck train but maybe that is what it is. He could go as many times as he wanted and he, Layne, Bryce, and Carson definitely got their money's worth.

Bryce liked catching the ducks in the pond and all of them loved, loved, finding the candy in the haystack. They weren't hungry for the rest of the day because they filled their pockets and munched on it as much as they could. I think the Idaho Days royalty was getting tired of seeing them at her booth.
They checked out the Tee Pee and acted like the little Indians that they are.
It was a hot day so of course when we made it home we had to try out all of the water acitivities. It was a great day and hope all of you had a Happy 4th holiday!

So you think you can dance?

It is fun to watch when the music comes on at our house or I guess I should say Nate and Rachel's house, because you can't help but start dancing. Rainee and her boys were here this last week and Kace was so glad that his cousins were here to visit and play with. We made a visit to his house and you may remember a video that I posted at Christmas time when the music was playing, well here is the next episode of "So you think you can dance". I think they have a chance at the grand prize what do you think?

It's Dad's Day!

It is Dad's day and I want to wish all of those Dad's out there a very happy day. Of course I want to wish my Dad the best because hands down he is the best Dad out there. He has always been there for me and for my children and of course for all of his grand kids and now great grand kids. We have a lot of great stories about Grandpa and we love him so much.

He has always loved each and every one of them and there is always a beard snuggle for each little beaner that sits on his lap.

Of course Ryan is not my Dad but he is the Father of my children and I can't tell you how much he means to me. He has always been willing to do what ever my desire, vision or project may be and he will even stand in the millions of pictures that I take. The older I get the more I begin to understand men and of course him and I know that men and women do not think a like so I am thankful for his patience and understanding as he has made me realize that we indeed have different thoughts.

I am thankful for his Dad as well even though he is no longer here with us on this earth but what a great Dad he was and I will be eternally grateful to him for raising such a great son.

We love Dad and all of the adventures that he has taken us on we have definetly seen parts of the world that we would have not seen if it wasn't for him trudging us all up the mountains.

Sorry, Mel this is you and we just had blue the day this picture was taken. This is Melanie with Dad, maybe he had secret desires that you would be a great baseball player someday. He is a great Dad to my children and have taught them so many life lessons that have resulted in some pretty fantastic kids. Ryan we love you and are so glad that you are such a wonderful Dad and husband, have a great day!!

It wouldn't be Dad's day without some hunting and fishing pictures.

And lastly, the best Father of all, I am most grateful for a Father in Heaven who has made this life possible without the sacrifice of our brother and Savior Jesus Christ we would be in an impossible state. Because of Him we can stumble our way through this life of trials and return to Him some day. I love Him and what a differnce He has made in my life.

Happy Father's Day.

Dad

You can't help but smile when you see this guy!

Dad, we love you! You have been such an example, teacher, coach, and friend to us all. We couldn't have asked for a better Dad and Father! You are always there to help support us through whatever it is we are doing. Thank you for everything.

Happy Father's Day!

I love the rain

We have had a lot of rain lately and I am loving it, everything is so green and beautiful. Yes, it may be difficult to mow the lawn but just do it like they do in Pennsylvania where they get this kind of rain all the time, when it is time to mow the lawn they just mow whether it is raining or not. I have been walking to the top of Giraffe hill a couple of times a week and one day I took my camera because the views from a top the hill are breath taking and totally make the walk worth it. What a beautiful world we live in!!!

Creating...

I was excited to give this to the newest member of the Larson family, her name is Marley and she is the 10Th child of Jennifer and Troy Larson. I decided I am going to have to make some more onesies to match the little shoes, it is so much more fun to have something to wear with the little Mary Jane's.

Graduation!

Yesterday I watched Tydon while Kace and Nate went fishing and Kace came up the stairs and presented me with this note and flower.(If you can see the flower was poked through a hole on the note.) I love these kind of notes and I will decipher the words if you can't read them it says,
Dear Grandma and Grandpa,
You Guys are the Best. and I Love You. The Best part is the Games. Im so excited so Is Tydon.
Love Kace
Look at my Teeth
He was so excited because he lost another tooth and he wanted to make sure that we didn't miss it. Now he has, I think 4 missing teeth, it is a right of passage, he is growing up!
He graduated from kindergarten this week and we went to his program and listened to the cute songs that they sang. He also received his diploma and was able to wear the hat that he had made.

CHEESE!

Here is his diploma.

CHEESE again!

The excited parents, next year he will get to go all day!! Congratulations Kace, we love you.

Our Trip to Yellowstone

This last week we were able to take a trip to Yellowstone (well I should say that it started out as a fishing trip but I think we will call it a trip to Yellowstone.) Isaac and Mac couldn't remember ever going and Mary had never been so we took a trip through the park and saw the beautiful creations and phenomenons that God has made.

I wonder how all of these springs, geysers, and hot thermal areas were formed and it is amazing that they are still functioning year after year.

We loved the walks, the free facials, and the perfect weather.

I wish I would have been able to take this picture in the bottom right corner about 1 second later because Isaac almost did fall inn at the Old Faithful Inn.

The geysers were phenomenal and the first day that we were there we were walking out past Old Faithful after watching it erupt and we noticed another geyser going off and as we watched it just kept getting bigger and bigger. It was right next to the boardwalk and the wind was blowing and the people below it were getting drenched by the spray. It lasted over 5 minutes and we were amazed how high it was, even higher than Old Faithful. When it was finished we walked by the plaque that talked about it and we found out that the name of the geyser was the Beehive Geyser and that it only went off every 10 hours to 5 days and was the highest geyser in the park. Wow, were we ever fortunate to be there at the right moment. The other funny thing that happened (besides watching the people get drenched,) was that when we got to the boardwalk where it was all wet, there was a little knot hole in the boardwalk where water was puddled and Tydon bent down and started lapping it up like a dog. I think we needed to get him a drink. Is geyser water okay to drink?

While we were driving to Old Faithful I asked Kace if he knew what a geyser was and his answer, "It is hot steam that comes from the earth." I thought that was pretty impressive answer for a kindergarten student. He then was silent for a while and he then asked the question, "Is Old Faithful a religion?" we laughed and thought that was funny but I thought, "this boy is a thinker!"

It is spring and it is time for babies and I think my favorite part was seeing all of the cute little buffalo babies. When we were coming out of the park it was in the afternoon and the babies were in the meadow playing and jumping with each other. Then we got to see them jump in the river and swim across with their little heads just above water, Some of them had just been born and still had the cord attached to their little bellies.

We stayed in West Yellowstone because the plan was for the women to stay there while the men went fishing at Henry's Lake. If you remember the men went last year right after Mac came home from his mission and this year they thought if they stayed in a motel that maybe the women would come too. We thought OK that would be fun and so we all went. (We missed Jessica though because she had to work and of course those who are far away, the Bassetts on the East coast and the Cannons on the West Coast .)

We went fishing the first night and only got one bite and Rachel and I thought that we had brought the bad luck. But the fishing wasn't any good the next morning, the next day, the next afternoon, and the next morning. Needless to say the fishing was lousy and only Mac and Nate caught one. so we turned the fishing trip into a trip to Yellowstone.
I had to put these pictures in so the men wouldn't feel bad because Last Year the fishing was great!!!! Well, maybe next year.....

Jumping through Yellowstone

Happy Birthday Rainee

Well today is Rainee's birthday and because she isn't 29 any more, I won't tell you how old she is. This is an old picture of Nate and Rainee but she reminded me of the Gerber baby when she was little. She has these beautiful blue eyes and has the cutest smile.

She has always been a smart kid and excelled in school in everything, her goals were to become an international business lawyer and she graduated with her Bachelors degree in economics in 3 years. In the meantime she met Doug and he wanted to study law and they thought about having 2 attorneys in the family but then when the boys started coming they decided that one lawyer in the family was enough.

She is a great Mom to 4 very lively cute little boys and she has been running at full speed since becoming a Mom. She loves her little boys and is always making life so fun for them. She is a great cook and has made some pretty spectacular cakes for their birthdays.(Who is going to make your spectacular cake?)

We love Rainee and her enthusiasm for life she is a great example to those around her and we are glad that she decided on becoming a Mom instead of her international career. Have a very Happy Day! and hopefully a little rest on your special day!!!

Singing Sunday

Tydon and Kace came up to visit and we were able to hear Tydon sing "I am a child of God." We also were presented a great rendition of " I am your sunshine" from Kace, he also sang, I think the name is "Rinky Dink". Here they are for your listening pleasure.

Happy Birthday DAD!!

Today is my Dad's birthday believe it or not he is 76 years old! I just want to tell you a little about what a great man he is. He is kind of a quiet fellow but will let you know the important things in life. He is the father of 6 kids, 5 daughters and 1 son. I grew up in the gym with him as he was a coach for many years. He taught school and then retired when he was 45 years old and bought a herd of sheep and never worked harder in his life. He is a great example to us all and we love him dearly. This was a picture of him and Mom walking down our canyon a few weeks ago at the egg hunt. What a great example of a husband he is.

He loves family events and we enjoy his stories and he has always made everything fun for his grandchildren.

I have always loved this picture, we were on a camping trip in Wyoming with all of us and as you can see the babies were not having a great day but look at his face, that's my Dad! By the way the 2 babies are Mac and Colter.

He loves his grandchildren and his grandchildren love him! a ride on the horse was a great treat and I think he has had a horse for almost as long as any of the grandchildren can remember. Caitlin and Morgan are having a ride in this picture.

He loves to fish and hunt and he is usually the winner of the big fish contest and who can't visit grandpa without visiting his fish pond.

I had to put these 2 pictures in because he has always had sheep or helped my Grandpa Marriott with his. To let you know what great shape he is in, he has sheared the sheep that he has at the house until this year. He decided maybe he would hire someone to do it for him this year and even with the help he was still down there bagging all of the wool for the shearer.

Another picture of fish, I think all of us have at least one picture of us with grandpa and fish. Ryan had his picture taken with him this day.

We love to visit Grandpa! Here is Nate, Isaac, Erik, Mel, and Bennett at Grandpa's House.

Remember the pet contest with the Great Pyrenees puppies, of course Caitlin and Karli were the able to show them and win a blue ribbon. I think those two could start a shelter for animals and love every animal they took in.

Here is a picture of him with Carolyn, Donene, and Frank. Isn't he just the most handsome man!

A picture of him in high school, no wonder so many girls had crushes on him.

He is a great athlete, I say is because he not only was a great athlete as a youth but has been for his whole life. He still coached the young men in basketball this year and had a phenomenal season.

Here is the heart breaker again. Dad, Grandpa we love you and you have been such a great part of our lives and every memory we have of you has been so great. You have shared your strong testimony with us and love the Lord, you served your country, you have served your fellowman, served 2 missions and you have served all of us. We can't ask for a better Dad and we want to honor you this day. Happy Birthday DAD! We love you!!