Hoodies!

It was a little chilly the beginning of the week, so I pulled out the jackets. Actually, just Austin's, but when Paige saw it, we had to get her's out too. Don't they look so cute with their hoods on?!?

Big Girl Bed!!!

Paige is finally in her big girl bed! She is so excited to sleep in it...at night anyway. (Naps are a different story!) I was so excited to get her bed all put together because I could finally put the quilt that I made for her on it! Paige LOVES it and has to make sure that she is completely covered by it when she goes to sleep. Now if we can get her to make her own bed... :0)

Sweet little boy!

Such a Funny Girl!

We never know what Paige is going to do next! She loves to dress up, do things that Austin does, helps wash cars and water flowers (a little unconventionally, but hey!). She's an all-around cheeseball most of the time, but we love it! :0)

Sticks and the rules that come with them!

Yesterday, the kids and I went out to the backyard and had a nice little PB&J picnic. Daddy came home for lunch and joined us and we had a great time enjoying our sandwiches and the sunshine. Brian decided to pick up some of the limbs that had fallen down during our last wind/rain storm. Paige, of course, had to "help". As she was picking up her share of sticks, she turned to me and said, "Mommy, do you remember the rules?"

Hummm, where is this going to lead, I wondered. "What are the rules, Paige?"

"No touching the sticks, Mommy, because they are dirty and we don't touch dirty sticks."

"Oh, OK. I won't touch dirty sticks," was my reply.

"I will give you clean sticks to hold, Mommy. You can touch clean sticks." And as she gave me "clean" sticks to hold, Paige then asked again, "You remember the rules, Mommy?"

"Yes, Paige. I remember the rules. Don't touch dirty sticks, only clean ones."

"Very good, Mommy!"

Quite the interesting dialouge with a 2-year old, isn't it?!? :0) I just never know what she's going to say next!!

Go Beavers!!

The reason why it's taken me so long to update my blog is because Volleyball season is in full swing. I am now the American Falls JV Volleyball coach! Yes, we are now Beavers! :0) Paige and Austin are quickly becoming gym rats and are learning to love the game of volleyball. We're even teaching Paige how to swing to hit the ball. It's so cute watching her getting her elbow high and following through! :0) Our lives are pretty crazy with our schedules, but we're getting very involved in the community and that's a huge plus! Wish us luck this '07 season!! Go Lady Beavers!!! :0)

Almost crawling!!

This was taken about 1 1/2 weeks ago and he's even closer now. He will actually move anywhere he wants now by getting on his hands and knees and launching himself as far as he can go and then do it all over again until he gets to his destination. It's really quite comical! I guess he thinks that's easier than actually moving his arms in sync with his legs! :0)

Baby Sydnee Jaid

Our new niece is here!! (Actually she's 3 1/2 weeks old now but I'm just now able to post these pictures!) :0) Sydnee Jaid is a beautiful, healthy little girl! Kandra and Brandon are such cute parents and we're so happy for them!

Paige and Austin are so excited to have another cousin to play with!!

Three generation picture!!

Rejected

This was one ride that Paige was wanting to go on so badly with her Grandpa and she couldn't. One of the operators let her cousin (about the same size) go on earlier, but there was a new operator when we tried to go on and he said Paige was just too little. She was so sad! I had to take some pictures of her moping back to me and the face she gave me when she said she couldn't ride the Pirate ship!

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)