You can take the girl out of the country, but....

 ....you can't take the country out of the girl.

My parents' have pretty much the coolest place to visit...well, besides the beach or Disneyland... so we always have fun going back home to the farm.

 Grandma Marie Bramwell- 89 years old!

 Double Rainbow!

Sunset over the Snake River

 The only reason he is wearing a helmet is because he had to for his scouting belt loop.  We had to fudge a little bit- it's his bike helmet.

 Billy has learned a thing or two from me :)

Brooklyn Birthday part I

Brooklyn got to celebrate her 5th birthday 3 times.  Lucky girl!

Birthday number 1 was at my parent's house.

 I think we could have let these candles burn a long time, but it might have dripped on the cake.  Grandma always has cool things like that.

with her "gangsta" cousins

On our way to eastern Idaho we stopped in Twin Falls to see the falls since the water was running so high.  It was an impressive sight.  

 We had a picnic in the park and let the kids run around.  Here you can see Billy trying to get Brooklyn to eat her PB&J sandwich.  After having a few tests done, we found out she had outgrown her nut allergy and is actually supposed to eat nuts to help her body keep her tolerance to it.  However, that is easier said than done, as she can smell a peanut a mile away and does NOT like them. :)

Father's Day 2011

Happy Father's Day!

My lucky kids have a great dad!

Cherry Festival

Every year we go to the Emmett Cherry Festival.  This year it was pouring down rain, so we skipped the carnival and figured we'd watch the parade from the comfort of our car.  Billy's brother and sister and their families braved the rain and joined us.  We stopped at RoeAnn's (our favorite local burger place there) and by the time we got our food the rain had stopped!  Of course, the candy didn't fare too well in the rainy gutters, but we had a great time.

 Aunt Tess and cousin Graham

Darn those loud fire trucks!

Thank you craigslist...

The kids had been wanting to try golfing since they know their daddy loves it so much.  Enter craigslist.... and two sets later, we are at the driving range.  We won't mention that one of the "sets" had half leftie clubs.  Oh well.  

Mini-Marathon

Brayden's school does a "mini-marathon" each year.  During recess, some of the kids choose to run.  For each lap they do, they earn a punch on their cards.  Brayden ran 27.2 miles!!!!  He earned a cool medal and certificate. We were so proud of him.

I forgot how long his hair was!  He decided last spring that he wanted to grow it out until school let out.  

2nd Grade Production

Other than saying how awesome Brayden's 2nd grade program was, I'll just let these pictures speak for themselves.

 He's in the 2nd row in the middle.  

June 2011

33? Say what?

It feels really weird posting about my birthday in the winter..but I.will.get.caught.up!  

So, I turned 33.  

Spent the day with my kids.

Got to wear a crown.

Perfect day.

Brooklyn's Preschool Graduation May 2011

Brooklyn loved Mrs. B's preschool.  Mrs. Broadhead was wonderful.  She has been a friend of mine for many years, so I was so excited when she told me she was going to start an in-home preschool.  Brooklyn had some friends from church when she started, but quickly made friends with all the rest of the kids.  She is a very loving and happy girl.  She was so excited to come home and tell me about her day, unlike her brother when he was her age.  She learned a lot and was so ready for kindergarten.

Pinewood derby

With scouts comes the delightful pinewood derby.  I was really excited for it. I remember going to my brother's when I was little and being so jealous that I didn't get to make a car.  This time around, I was more than happy to let Billy take the reins and help Brayden.  Brayden gave it an "interesting" paint job.  It was a little thick :)  They had a lot of fun despite the fact that the pre-cut axle slot things were less than strait.  I think they came in 3rd place (or something close to that).  

 Brayden's request for it to be a lightning bolt.

 They ended up having to add a ton of weights to it!

Spring Soccer

Last spring, we decided to try out a different soccer league that is really close to our house.  Besides a bumpy start with our team not having a coach.... it was a good season.  Brayden did great and really made a lot of progress.  He is getting more aggresive on the field.  He was really excited when tax season was over and he got to have his dad as the assistant coach.  

 With Billy coaching, sometimes I have to get creative to keep the kids entertained.  This game, we took lots of silly pictures.  The kids really enjoyed being behind the camera as well as in front!  

We are so proud of you Brayden for working hard and being such a good kid on and off the field!