Summer Fun Here And There!

When we got back from the trailer I decided to still keep the fun rolling. So we did a lot of little things here and there! The first is we met our friend, Tiffany Seely, with her kids at the Coaldale Tot Lot. I packed up some lunch and we picked up a friend, Mia, and away we went to Coaldale.

We got there and the kids had a blast running through the spray park. Then they'd run over to the wading pool. It was perfect. The weather was hot, but we found some shade to sit in. There was this water station by the pool that all the kids loved to play with. We played for a bit then sat down and everyone ate some lunch. Then the kids were off again. I had fun chatting with Tiffany and her sister. It was a good afternoon. That is until Mia, the girl that came with us, got stung by a wasp. It was right above her eye too. The poor thing just started screaming. I was holding her and trying to calm her down. There were a lot of wasps flying everywhere. It kept freaking her out. I ran her to the pharmacy (her eye was really swelling up) and got some Benadryl. After a quick phone call to her dad, we went ahead and gave her some. It took the swelling right down. But she wasn't even interested in playing anymore. Which I really don't blame her at all. So we packed up and headed home. She slept on the way home. She woke up just before we got to Magrath. I was taking her home, but she wanted to come play out our house. Which was fine by me! So she did. They were running outside when these huge clouds came in and we got a really bad storm. So we came inside, while it poured buckets. We really got a lot of freak storms this summer.

All the girls sitting on the flower sprinklers!

DJ loved playing in this wading pool.

The cool water tables that the kids had a blast at!

This summer we planted a garden in the spring time. I don't know why I did. We weren't here enough to really take good care of it. The only things that really grew were the peas, zucchini and carrots. The kids were in heaven though. They loved it. I'd catch them out there pulling some carrots, cleaning them and eating them! We picked the peas one day and they all helped me shell them, then they all ate the peas! I'll know to plant more peas next year, that was a huge hit. We've gotten a lot of zucchini and I've loved cooking and baking with them. So yummy! Even though it wasn't a huge success, we still loved eating some fresh veggies from the garden.

Richard on his new motorbike. He decided to go for a little drive in his jammies!!

I thought it was cute that Cadence and Abbi set up their little beach! They were even putting sand on the grass, till I put a stop to that! They had fun swimming and then relaxing in the chairs. Funny thing is I came out and they were both sitting in their chairs with a book. They looked at me and said, "Look mom, were just like you." Ha ha!

Our big yard of nice soft grass. DJ rolling around in it!

They were so excited to pick a carrot! Too funny!

We went to the park alot this summer too. The kids favorite park is the "tire park" at Echo Lake. DJ would ask me to go to the "tire park", even when were at home. He'd be so sad when I told him we can't. But I'd take him to the school park. One morning we met up with Renee, Keaton and Lincoln. I walked with her and the kids all rode their bikes. DJ needed some practice on his own bike! We rode over to the school play ground. But the kids were more interested in playing on the ramps at the skate board park. So that's what we did. Then we rode our bikes to Roosters and got everyone a treat. They all had a juice box and Popsicle. It was a fun morning!

Love this picture of the trail of kids crossing the crosswalk with their bikes. Notice they are all off their bikes and pushing them across! I must of pounded it into their heads enough times!

Playing at the skate board park. Brianna was helping Keaton and DJ up, it was so cute!

Cute Lincoln in the swing! Love his smile!

Our group of kids ready to go!

On the way to the store we ran into Richard! So the kids all stood there to say hi to their dad!

Sitting in front of Rooster's and eating their Popsicles and drinking their juice! It was a fun morning!

The kids loved jumping on the tramp with the sprinkler under neath it this summer. It was so nice that we could actually do that this year and not worry about making a big mud hole! I love having our grass in the whole yard. We went through all our clothes and toys this week too. I was able to sell a lot of things on Facebook. I told the kids that I'd save the money we earned and go to the zoo or something fun like that. They loved that idea. So they were all big helpers. I feel like DJ has exploded with words this summer. He is talking so much now and we can understand most of what he says. Some of the things he says is so funny sometimes! One morning he was being all sad because Brianna wouldn't play cars with him. Brianna was cuddling on the couch and DJ came and sat beside me with his arms folded and lips sticking out (his pouty face!). I asked him what was wrong and this is what he said, "Me wove (love) my nana, but nana (Brianna) no wove me." He said it so sad, that it was kind of comical. Cadence thought it was hilarious. Brianna jumped up and told him she's ready to play. Then he was all happy. It was super cute! I love hearing my little boy say, "Mom me want ____" That's his favorite saying, he wants something! He also loves to say, "Me wove blue (etc)." Any sentence with me love. So fun to hear him experiment with words. Yeah!

Boating and A Little Getaway!!

The Monday after we got back from camping I got a call from my family saying they were going boating. It was at night time, but Cadence and Abbi were dying to show their Grandparents what they can do. So I just took those two. DJ was beyond tired and Brianna didn't want to go, so Richard happily stayed home with them!

So away we went. Oh, I went and bought a Ezee Ski for the kids. It makes it so much easier for them to ski. It looks like a tube, but there are skis on the bottom that they stand on. My kids love it. So Abbi did that right away. She stood up and away we went. I hang onto the rope in the boat and let go when she's done. She did awesome. Cadence did it after her. I told Cadence to try to stand up, just to see. She did then sat back down and then she stood up and stayed up the whole time. Yeah!! They did so good!

Abbi up on the Ezee Ski!

She wouldn't look at me, the sun was way too bright!

There goes Cadence on the Ezee Ski! Her legs look so skinny!

She was a happy camper, that she stood up! Way to go Cadence!

I then tried my new ski out for the first time. So much fun! I love it! Can't wait to do more skiing on it next year. That ski was my early birthday present. I had to be careful, because when I went to cut the first time, it cut super deep and I almost did a face plant. But I caught myself. I had a fun time!

Me on my new ski. Don't mind my crazy expressions, I make them in all the pictures!!

I loved this picture with the round bales as back ground. It looks kind of cool!

After I went Cam and Megan both went wake boarding. The water was super calm, and Cadence was trying to dip her toe in the water. Grandpa Paxman told her he'd dip her toes in. He picked her up and put her over the side. Then he slipped and Cadence went splashing into the water. But he didn't let go of her. I looked over and there's mom hanging onto dad's pants, while it looks like dad is going head first into the water. HILARIOUS!!! I went and pulled him up and told him to let go of Cadence. She was freaking out because it felt like she was going under the boat (at the bow). We were laughing pretty hard. Cadence swam to the back of the boat and climbed in. Then cuddled up in a towel. Too funny!

Cadence all cuddled up and relaxed!

Abbi really wanted to knee board back to the dock. So she did. She did it all by herself. She got in the water and got on the knee board on her tummy. I threw her the rope and told her to keep the nose out of the water. We went and she submarine the first time. She tried a second time and got up. My parents were shocked that she was doing it! She even got up on her knees and went forever. I finally yelled at her to let go if she was tired. She finally let go and we came around and picked her up. She had one big smile on her face! Her arms were shaking so bad though, she was tired! She did awesome!!! So fun to watch my kids having fun behind the boat. Love it! Abbi joined Cadence, all cuddled up in a towel! It was a fun night skiing. Thanks mom and dad!

Abbi just getting going on the knee board.

Then she got up on her knees! She looks so tiny!! So cute!

Picture of the sun setting. The girls were excited about that. They kept saying, "Mom we've never seen the sun go to bed before!" ha ha!!

Abbi swimming towards the boat, little pro!

My cute girls all cuddled up and getting warm!

My kids so wanted to have a sleep over with their Grandma Spencer. So we decided to take them on Wednesday after lunch. I got them all packed up and DJ told me he wanted to go. So I packed up his stuff too, thinking he wouldn't stay. But away we went. Richard came with us and we dropped the kids off. Seth and Jasmine were there so DJ was so happy to stay! So we left without any of our kids. We drove out to Hill Spring to put in a new toilet for my Aunt Maureen. It didn't take very long. By then it was around 4pm. Richard suggested that we drive to Waterton, just the two of us. So we did! It was so much fun. We drove up to Red Rock Canyon and just did a little hike up the Canyon and then to Blakiston Falls. It was so much fun, just the two of us! Afterwards we went into Waterton and ate at Zum's. Then we had to have an ice cream cone from Big Scoop. As we ate that we just wandered around the town site. It was a really fun afternoon and evening. Loved it!

Picture at Red Rock Canyon!

Richard and I on our hike! Love him!

Love looking at the mountains they are so beautiful!

I went and picked my kids up later on Thursday. They had a blast at their Grandparents. Thanks for watching them, it was fun to have a little break.

August Long Weekend!

A few weeks before the long weekend Richard found a motorbike on Kijiji for a really good deal. We got a babysitter and went to go take a look at it. Richard took it for a little drive. He ended up buying it. Too say he was excited is an understatement even though he won't admit too it!! ha ha ha! He's used it a few times to come down to the trailer when we were already there.

We decided to take off on Friday. We were able to get down there in the early afternoon. We stopped at Walmart and got our groceries and a few other things. We ended up getting Cadence a new bike because her old one was so small. The prices of bikes down there are so cheap compared to here. We got her a super cute one for only $50. We also bought a beach comber bike for a friend. It was a very girly bike and Richard rode it behind me in the store the whole time. Sheesh, a little bit embarrassing! He got a lot of comments, it was pretty funny. I should of taken a picture of him, but didn't.

We got to the trailer and set everything up and unpacked things. The kids are always so excited when we get there. They play on the swing set and ride their bikes around. It was a little chilly that day, but they still wanted to go down to the water. So we did.

On Saturday we woke up and it was a beautiful day. We just hung around the trailer and played down at the dock. We first went down and Abbi yelled that she caught something in her net. She kept saying, "I caught a crab". So I went over and sure enough she caught a crayfish. Yuck, it was so gross and big. She showed everyone and it totally freaked DJ right out. He scrambled off the dock and stood up on the hill. He kept saying, "NO" when we told him to come down. He didn't like the "crab", because it goes SNAP!! Richard ended up throwing it at me, while I was swimming in the water. So it probably didn't help DJ, when he saw mom screaming about the "crab"! So that was an exciting way to start the day!

The Robinson's really wanted Richard to try something behind the boat. But there was no way he was going to. They went and got a 4' round piece of plywood that they wanted me to try behind the boat. So I did. It was a little crazy. I would start on my tummy and get to my knees and then stand up on this plywood. Then I could turn it around. I always just got half way and then I'd biff it. I got up twice. It was kind of fun!

Then later that day we all got in the boat and they took us to their swimming place. We swam around for a long time. DJ fell asleep on the way there and slept under the dash all curled up on the tarps. It was super cute. I took a picture, but my SD card broke, so I lost all those pictures. Crazy camera!

After supper we took the kids over to the cause way. They really wanted to go. DJ was super grumpy and mad at us for some reason. We finally got him to get out of the suburban and join us. He kept going into the water but refused to put on his life jacket. I kept telling him that it was deep and to be careful (I was sitting right there watching him). Well sure enough he ended up stepping off and went too deep. I watched him as he kicked like crazy and kept his face above water. Then I jumped in and grabbed him. It scared him so bad that he just sat on my lap. After it was all over I could laugh about it. Because he looked hilarious kicking like crazy. He learned his lesson. He always put on his life jacket when we were near the water.

We went back and got them all showered and cleaned and into their jammies, ready for bed. That's when my parents and Megan and David showed up. Of course, my kids were super excited to see them. We helped them set up their tents and get things ready. Then my kids went off to bed. Us adults played "Ticket to Ride" together. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday we had to hurry and get ready for church. We got there about 15mins early but it was PACKED! We sat in the YW's room, where we watched Sacrament Meeting on tv. It was amazing how many people were there. The majority of us in Big Fork, MT that Sunday were Canadian! After the meeting they told everyone that the rest of church was cancelled because they don't have enough classrooms for everyone. So we all went home. We had a yummy Sunday dinner and then decided to go for a walk. We took them to the causeway where we walked across the flooded road. It was really hot that day too! We ended up in the water with the kids for a little bit! After that we just hung around the trailer. Nothing too exciting!

Luckily Megan took some pictures of our Sunday walk! Here we are walking across the "cause way"!

DJ loved to pick up rocks off the road!

The kids had a water fight going with their Uncle David, who had the water hose out!! They all had a blast!

On Tuesday we hung around the trailer and played. There were some kids staying at the cabin and my kids had fun playing with them. They did an Olympics which they invited my kids to participate in. So that was fun to watch. I took a bunch of pictures with my camera and this is when it broke:(...so sad! I fed my kids lunch and DJ zonked at the table. I tucked him in on the bench and he had a good nap. The girls were dying to go down to the dock to swim. But it's far enough down that I can't see if from the trailer and I don't feel comfortable to send them down by themselves or leave DJ by himself sleeping! Luckily, Rachel Robinson (it's her grandparents cabin), was there. She's in our ward and babysits for us once in a while. She agreed to watch the girls. So my girls happily went swimming. I woke up DJ around 4pm, he probably would of slept forever, and we headed down to the dock. The problem was talking him into going onto the dock. Ever since Abbi caught that crayfish it really freaked DJ out. So I brought his cars and he played by the boat house while we swam. He eventually came down and swam with us too (it was super hot out)!

On Wednesday the Robinson's were getting ready to leave the cabin. But they really wanted to take the kids out on the boat. Abbi and Cadence really wanted to try the knee boards. So Rachel worked with them in the water and got them both up on the knee boards. It was exciting to watch from the boat. They were both so excited. Then they wanted to try the super ski. Which was 2 skis all in one. Anyways, they both skied behind the boat and again were so excited that they did. It was fun to watch. I'm so glad Rachel was there to help them. They were so much more willing to do it with her help compared to mom helping them! I got a ski in too. I slalomed around the lake and was able to make it back. Loved it! We finished it off with all 4 of my kids going on the tube together. I was shocked that DJ wanted to go on the tube without me holding him! They had fun! Thanks to the Robinson's for sharing their boat with us. It made it so fun!

Here is Ross Robinson showing us he can still ski on the "plywood"! This is what I tried too! Lots of fun!

Abbi and Rachel ready to go on the knee boards together.

Here they are. Rachel was a great teacher to the girls. Loved it!

Rachel and Cadence going on the knee boards together.

Abbi, Brianna and DJ watching Cadence from the boat.

Abbi skiing on the Super Ski! She did awesome!

Cadence's big SMILE after she finished knee boarding.

Cadence went on the Super Ski but decided to just go on her knees! She did great too!

Cadence and Abbi going on the knee boards together. You can see how hi the water was by the flooded garage behind the girls.

I went for a slalom ski!

All the kids ready for a tube ride. I think the tube was loaded! DJ sat with Rachel.

They had a fun ride!

After lunch we just had fun playing in the water. It was so hot that day. Then I gathered all our towels and dirty clothes and we went into Big Fork and I put all my clothes into the washer. Then we ran over to DQ's for supper. It was perfect. We ate supper and I got them all a DQ treat that we took back to the laundromat to put the clothes into the dryers. We all sat and ate our treats and by then the clothes were done. It was perfect timing. We were driving back to the trailer when I got a text from Richard saying he just got there. So we pulled up about 5mins after he got there. Again, perfect timing!! The kids were excited to see their dad!

On Thursday we decided to go into Kalispell and do some shopping for DJ. I already had all the girls' shopping finished, but didn't get anything for DJ. So we did that. We shopped all morning and then we went to Sizzlers for lunch. The kids were excited to go to a "fancy" restaurant! They all ate so much. It was awesome! Lunch was delicious! We got some funny pictures of the goof balls after eating their ice cream. They were all saying that they were frozen!

Here are Abbi, Brianna and Cadence's frozen faces!! Too funny!

DJ had to show me his frozen face!

After lunch we went to the water park in Kalispell. It's just a small one, but perfect for our family. We stayed for the afternoon. All the kids loved going on the lazy river. We had a scare at one point. I lost sight of Abbi and thought she was up with Richard. I finally caught up with Richard and he didn't have her. We waited for a while thinking she'd be coming around the lazy river. I was starting to get to the point of panic, when she finally came around the corner. Sheesh, it got my heart going. Afterwards we headed back to the trailer for supper. DJ got a spiderman costume from Costco and wanted to try it on. So the girls were laughing at him all the way back to the trailer. It was pretty funny!

Here is our Spiderman!!!

On Friday we just had a relaxing morning. The kids have fun riding their bikes and exploring everywhere. Richard bought some new handle grips for his motor bike and put them on that morning. After lunch we packed up some stuff and went to a near by State Park on the Flathead Lake. The kids played in there for a couple of hours. It was a fun afternoon.

Saturday we packed up and took off. We stopped at a Sports Store so I could buy a new slalom ski. It's my early birthday present. I was super excited. So we got my ski then stopped at Costco for a few things then we were off. Richard just followed behind us on his bike. We went over Logan's Pass. It was so pretty. We stopped a did a tiny little hike with the kids to stretch our legs out. It was a perfect ride home. The kids did great. We came into Cardston around 2pm. We stopped at Richard's parents house and had some lunch. Then we went and found my family, who were cheering on Brent playing softball. We got to watch him play and visit with some family. Then we took off for home. It was a FUN time away from home, but I was excited to get back!

Here is Richard and the kids by the really fast moving creek. The water was freezing cold!

Looking over the wall at the little water fall.

My four cute kids! It was the perfect little hike on Logan's Pass!

Here's Uncle Brent's little cheering squad! You can see him swinging the bat!

This post took me forever to write but now I'm finished. All the pictures on here (except the 3 from Megan) were all taken on my phone. Not too bad for phone pictures! At least I was able to get some pictures. I did get my camera fixed after this trip! Crazy camera!