Wild Waves

After our trip to Ruby Beach, we headed to Seattle and went to Wild Waves. This was Paige's and Austin's first visit to an amusement park...Paige loved it, Austin, not so much! ;0)

Paige's first ride ever was the Frog Hopper. She LOVED it! She had a huge smile the whole time. I'm so glad she was able to ride because she was right at the height that it was the "operator's discretion" on whether to let her ride or not!

Here's the Wagon Wheel ride! I loved being able to go on some rides with Paige, seeing how excited she got on each one. So fun!!

Paige and her cousin, Lauralee, rode in the caboose of the Choo Choo train ride. Once again...LOVED IT!!
The operator of this airplane ride said Paige could ride only if she was with someone else, so here she is with one of her favorite people, Cousin Natalie!

Sand, Sand and more Sand

Here are some more pictures from Ruby Beach. Paige LOVED the beach and being able to build sand castles with her cousins! I just felt bad that I forgot to get her swimsuit out before we packed it all in the car and couldn't get to it! She still had a lot of fun, though, ocean-filled Pull-Up and all! :0)

Ruby Beach

We spent most of the day following the Blackham reunion at Ruby Beach. It was beautiful! The ocean wasn't AS cold as I thought it was going to be and as you can tell, the sky couldn't have been any bluer!

Brian's brother, John, and his wife, Bethany, just got back from Ghana. They were there for almost 2 months. Bethany was showing us how the African women and girls carry their babies/siblings. Paige wasn't sure if she liked it our not, but I thought it was a great way to carry a child! Who needs a Baby Bjorn, Snugli, or backpack?!?! :0)
There was a fresh water river that ran into the ocean. Little logs were floating all along it, so we brought one close to shore and the girls found a new toy! They had so much fun trying to stay on it and not fall into the water!
The whole gang, minus Brian...he had to go back and work. (The joys of buying your own business!) It's amazing how much our families have and are growing!!!

Forks, Washington

To all you Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse fans out there...Before you is a sign welcoming us all to Forks, Washington. I was so excited when I found out we were going to drive through Forks to get to our next destination for our family reunion. I was wanting to look for Edward, but it was too sunny the day we drove through, so there was no chance of seeing him! :0)

Lake Sutherland

Brian's uncle lives on Lake Sutherland, close to Lake Crescent, so we spent a couple days on the lake wakeboarding, tubing, swimming, etc. It was a blast! Paige was so excited because she was able to wear her life vest (it was actually one of the rules that all children had to have one on while on the dock... I loved that rule!) Doesn't she look so cute in it?!? :0)

Can you tell where Paige's favorite place to be was? The floating dock, of course!! :0)

Brian getting his wakeboarding legs back!

It had been 4 years since Brian and I have wakeboarded. It was so fun to do it again! By the end of the reunion I was able to jump pretty well, which I was very excited about!

Brian and his brothers had to take part in the back flip contest. I loved this picture of Brian's backflip! :0)

Blackham Reunion 2007

We went to the Olympic National Park in Washington for our Blackham reunion this year. Let me tell you...it was GORGEOUS up there!! The weather was perfect the entire time we were there, which was amazing in itself. I was so excited because Brian was able to go this year, for a few days at least!

This is a picture from our room looking out. You're looking at the glacier-fed lake, Lake Crescent. Evergreen trees completely surrounded the lake, the water was as clear (and cold) as could be. It was just breath-taking!

Austin absolutely LOVES his cousins. In this picture, he's completely taken with his cousin, Sydney. She was so happy to be able to hold him, too!

All the Blackham men got up during the talent show and sung some of Grandpa Blackham's favorite hymns. If you look closely, you can see Paige in the front "leading" the music. :0) (She's actually dancing, but I caught it just at the right moment!!) ;0)

Mama Natalie

We went to Rexburg/Sugar City for Labor Day weekend and when we pulled up to Grandma and Grandpa's house, Paige got so excited because she thought her cousins were going to be there also. It reminded me of the last time Natalie, Lauralee and Ava were there and I decided to post a couple more pictures from that visit. Paige and Natalie get along sooooo well, as you can see from these pictures. These were taken after a long day at the water park and they were so tired all they could do was sit and watch a movie. Aren't they so sweet?!?!

Families are Forever

I just found out a couple hours ago that one of my aunts passed away from cancer. I really don't know how to explain my feelings about it all yet, but I do know that I am thankful for the knowledge that I have of eternal families. I can't even imagine what my uncle and cousins are going through right now. My aunt was so full of life, happy, loving and creative (I think the most creative person I've ever known). She was so strong spiritually and she fought her battle with cancer with everything she had. I find it so amazing that she was able to hold on long enough to see two of her beautiful grandbabies who were just born within the last month. That's how important her family was to her. Brian, the kids and I were able to stop by my uncle and aunt's house on our way to Washington for a family reunion. We weren't able to see my aunt, but we were able to have a great visit with my uncle and most of my cousins and were able to feel of her spirit in their home. I am so grateful we were able to go. I know this has to be one of the most difficult things my uncle and cousins have to go through, but there is one thing that will make it a little more bearable...the gospel of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal families. I feel like my thoughts are very scattered and I'm just rambling, but I just felt like I needed to write something.

Why do I blog?!?

I was just tagged by my beautiful cousin, Tammy, and she wants to know why I am a bloggin addict! It's just so darn fun!! I love that I'm able to share pictures and stories with my friends and family who are far away and can't see us very often. I love that I can still feel in touch with those same dear friends and family members. I love that I can sort of count this as my journal entries! :0) I could go on and on. Thanks, Tammy, for tagging me and now I tag, Krissy, Kara and Nan. :0)

Austin and Ava

Splash Park

While we were at Grandma and Grandpa Adair's house this last week, we decided to beat the heat by going to the Splash park in Rexburg. So much fun!

I'm glad we decided to take this picture before we went because Austin and Ava ended up pooping in their swim diapers and couldn't play in the water. :0) I love how this picture turned out. One of the few where the majority of the kids were looking at the camera at the same time!
The water was a little chilly, so the girls would warm up on the concrete before going back into the water fountains and down the slides!
After we were done playing in the water, we decided to let the kids ride the carousel there at the park. Paige was so excited! She's being quite the cheeseball lately! ;0)

Bathing Beauties

Cougar Cubs, aka Paige, Natalie and Lauralee

We went to Brian's parents' house this last week because his little brother came home from his mission in Ukraine. Paige was so excited to see some of her cousins again. Julie, Brian's sister, and I decided to take the girls to the park...and, boy, did they have fun!!

Can you tell the girls were a little excited to go to the park?!?

The 3 Cougar Cubs with their pink BYU hats on!!
Paige and Natalie loved to climb on the jungle gym. I couldn't believe the courage Paige had! She almost made it to the very top all by herself.
This was Paige's favorite toy at the park. She called it the "horsie ride". It was fun because I got to join in! :0)
Underdog galore!! We couldn't get the girls high enough!

Cousins, cousins, we love our cousins

Julie, Brian's sister, stopped by with her three little girls on their way to Grandma and Grandpa Adair's house. We had such a good visit with them. We were able to see Baby Ava for the first time in person. She is such a sweet baby! I have also never seen so many rolls on a baby!!! I love it!!

It was so hard to get Austin and Ava to look at the camera at the same time. This is the closest I got!

I LOVE this picture! Austin and Ava were born only 10 days apart from each other. They are going to be such good friends!!

Ava's not too happy in this picture and Austin's not sure what to think about another baby crying. He soon joined in.

Paige, Natalie and Lauralee LOVED playing together. Here they are having a tea party. So fun!!

When Julie and the girls got to the house, we gave them a special treat...Pudding Pops!!! The girls loved to eat them while swinging. I can't imagine a more perfect thing to do with cousins on a hot summer day, can you?!?

Pioneer Day Parade

We went to our first Stake activity on the 21st of July. The Stake put on a big Pioneer Day parade and afterwards provided food for everyone. It was so much fun! Paige loved being allowed to step into the street to get the candy. :0)

Brian and the kids getting ready for the parade to start. As you can see, Paige looks a little excited for the parade. She kept saying, "Mommy, it starting now!" every time a car would pass by.

We ended up with so much candy! We forgot to bring a bag so we started putting the candy into Austin's hat. Once that was full, we dumped the candy into the back of the stroller. That's what Paige is doing in this picture...all the while eating an otter pop without her hands. Now that takes talent! :0)

Gifford Reunion

We were able to go to the Gifford Reunion (my mom's side of the family) this year. It was so fun seeing so many family members, especially my cousins that I haven't seen for awhile...it's been years for some. We ate some really good food and had fun playing games. Brian and I won the "couples potato sack" race. (Sorry, my mind just went blank and I can't think of the actual name for the sacks we used. Is that bad, or what?!?!?) Oh well! :0) If any of you can think of the name, let me know!!! :0) Anyway, Brian also won the Disc Golf tournament AND the longest drive, so we have 4 new discs to use when we play at the disc golf course here in A.F. (Yes, they do have a course here!! Can you believe it?) Paige loved playing with all the kids there but her favorite thing was her Great-great-Aunt Tiny's dog. She played with that dog for hours!!! :0)

Here are the three March babies and they're beautiful moms!! :0) Kelsie was born on March 1st, Austin on the 8th, and Tyler (on the left) on the 23rd.

The proud grandmas with they're March grandbabies!

Here are all of the Nebeker grandkids from left to right: Austin, Challis, Paige, Preston with Kelsie on his lap, and Wyatt. We're so excited because there will be 2 more coming. My sister, Kandra is due on the 16th of August and my sister-in-law, Julie, is due the first part of October. I can't wait!!! ;0)

All of the kids were able to make a little animal with pom-poms, googly-eyes, pipe cleaners, etc. Paige decided to make a caterpillar. She was so proud of it. She actually put almost the entire thing together herself. (I put the little antenna and the glue on for her.) She was very proud of it as you can tell and she still gets it out and plays with it.

Pudding Pops

Paige and I decided that we needed a cold treat since it's been in the high 90s and even in the 100s the past few weeks. So, I looked in some of my cookbooks and found a recipe for homemade pudding pops. They are sooooo yummy!! As you can tell, Paige loved them, also! :0)

Paige thought she'd be funny and try to spray me with the sprinkler. She's quite the jokester now! I never know what she's going to say or do next. (That can be both good or bad!!)
Austin was outside with us and was being so funny. He loves to be outside when it's not too hot. I love this picture of him!! :0)