TOOBABALOOZA!!!!!

Lori gathered a group of us together to do an extreme race, the Toobabalooza.  The race started with a 72 foot inflatable obstacle course.  Then we had to toob in the river with our 5 toobs tied together.  All of us had to be hanging on to the toobs the whole time.  The race also included a little running, mud pits, mud hills, wooden ladders, a rolling of the toobs and more toobing in a lake.  The race was very fun but not quite as easy as I was expecting!  The obstacles like the mud pits and the hills were where we did the best.  We struggled the most in the water with our not-so-muscular arms!  We had a great day and are looking forward to April when they do it again!

Me, Robyn, Audrey, Michelle, and Lori

Matt totally surprised me and showed up right before the race started.  He brought all the kids and I couldn't believe it!  He followed us through the course and took all the pictures.  I am so glad he came!

Can you spot the turtle?

Finish...we were tired...and wet!  The rain started on us when we were in the lake and it was pouring.  The day was perfect for a race.  It wasn't too hot and the water wasn't freezing.

Mother/Daughter Campout

 Each year our church has a campout for only girls.  We have attended several times and it gets more and more fun as the kids get older and we gain more friends.  The spot we camped in had about 10 tents all squished together.  We wanted to squeeze in as many people as we could!  And we had an awsome time.  I left Noelle at home with Matt and while we missed her, it was nice not to have to worry about a little tiny one toddling into the river or wandering off somewhere.

Friday night we arrived about 5 and set up our tent (with much help) and then helped with other tents.  We unloaded the van and then headed down to the river for a little swimming.  Paradise Canyon is a beautiful place with great access to the river.  The water was FREEZING but it didn't seem to affect Kylie and Megan.  We stayed at the river until it got dark and then went back to the campsite for some S'mores...well, we tried to have s'mores!  Robyn and I attempted to start a fire with charcoal but we just couldn't get it to light!  We spent an hour working on this fire and every time we would get a small flare the kids would thrust their marshmallows in to share the tiny flame!  It was rather funny.  So, we abandoned the fire just enjoyed talking with each other under the stars.  The temperature dropped to about 60 so it was very comfortable and we weren't sweating while we slept.  Not that we got much sleep!  In bed after 1 and up by 7.

Saturday morning we fixed breakfast (thanks to Robyn and her victory at starting a fire!) and tore down camp.  Then we headed back to the river for more frigid swimming.  We had a great time with so many friends and can't wait until next year.

Here the girls were fishing for tadpoles...with a plastic cup on a string.

Kylie caught one and kept it captive in this water bottle.

Sam and Megan

Molly had crackers with easy cheese for breakfast.  Don't judge people!  She also was running down the hill from the bathroom that morning, got going to fast, tripped and scraped her head.  Thank goodness Robyn had a band-aid to fix the bloodless wound.

A bunch of the girls camping with us. Such fun friends!

This was the funniest thing.  This dog must belong to the people that run Paradise Canyon.  Megan and Lydia were playing with him.  They would throw rocks in the air and the dog would jump up and catch them in his mouth.  Then he would spit them out and wait for the next one.  Sounds painful to me but the dog and the kids loved it!

Cup stacking

Each year in PE the girls get to do cup stacking.  They race to see who can build it the fastest as well as who can build the tallest stacks.  Although they haven't quite reached this unit, Kylie and Megan found some plastic cups in the pantry and began a little cup stacking practice.  They had so much fun giggling and laughing over these cups.  Best toy they have...and only $1.50.

So Sleepy

Noelle wasn't feeling very good last week and one morning I was busy picking up things and saw Noelle lying here on the floor.  I thought she had just laid down but she had fallen asleep.  It was only 9 am but her little body needed a nap already!  After I snapped these pics I took her up to sleep in her bed.  Sweet baby.

First Day of School

First and second grade?  I am not sure how that happened!!  My girls are getting so big and responsible!  We decided to let the girls walk this year to and from school.  I took them the first week and picked them up but I am gradually meeting them closer and closer to home with the goal of them walking all the way by themselves.  They are walking with 3 friends so that makes me feel a little more comfortable with the idea and so far so good!  Even with the terribly hot weather there is limited complaining.  We are off to a great start and can't wait to see how the girls change as the year progresses!

And then we come to the all important first day of school outfit!  The girls have full drawers and closets thanks to Grandma Sherry, the Attic (a resale shop in my home town) and some hand-me-downs, so they didn't need much school shopping.  I took them out to pick out one brand new outift to wear on the first day of school.  It only took about 2 hours but they love what they picked!  Even the shoes were a gift from Grandma.  Thanks!

Crazy Fun Summer

The summer of 2011 was awesome!  We went to Montana for a month to see my sister graduate, another sister get married and to see old friends.  Then we came back and had almost 2 months to play before school started back up.  We had so much fun but the girls were ready for school to start.  A great summer with a great start to the school year.

 My kids are addicted to the Holland kids.  We LOVE them!  And how can you go wrong when you add a bit of whipped cream!

After the water problem saga we have had since living in this house, we finally solved the problem!  HOORAY!!!!!!  That means we were finally able to use a slip-n-slide.  Before there wasn't even enough water pressure to force out the water.  Celebrating our water pressure!

We had a late night (a sleepover without the sleeping over) with a bunch of the girls' friends and what fun they had.  Sorry to all the moms for the sugar overload from the mass amounts of sprinkles these girls used!  I think some of them frosted their cupcakes, added sprinkles, licked it off and then started over with more frosting...YUM!

Matt's parents recently got a couple of jet skiis.  Soooooo much fun!  This was our first time out at the lake.  Noelle wasn't digging the rocks so she spent most of her time in the pack-n-play...but she looks like she was having a good time!

Megan with Dad

 Kylie with Grandma

 That's Noelle...she even went for a slow ride.

Okay, one day at Hobby Lobby the girls saw these scarecrows set up and had to take a picture with them.  I agreed and the girls got into it.

Meg's new boyfriend...

 ...but Molly is making the moves...

 ...and Kylie just wants to swipe the pumpkin!  Silly girls!

I love my friends!  I hosted a baby shower with Lori's help for my friend Claudia (the pregnant one in black).  We had so much fun together.  I love to host parties and spend time with good friends.  Thanks for having a baby, Claudia!  Pictured here:  Kethy, Tracy, Claudia, Me, Lori L, Lori H, and Aili.

 Sad note about that super cute black sweater thing I am wearing...I washed it and accidentally dried it...it fits Kylie now...I am soooo sad.

Noelle climbs on everything!!!!!  I find her playing on the computer, standing on the table, bouncing on the couch...this child has no fear, until I am about to put her into her crib.

We had a family picnic with Matt's extended family and the pool was super great.  The girls had a blast swimming and hanging out with cousins.

MINI TOWN!

Lori gave us some tickets to see The Jungle Book at the Magik Theatre (FABULOUS PLACE!!!).  The girls had so much fun watching the play and then getting autographs of the characters...after I explained what an autograph was.  Molly was slightly terrified of all the animal masks at first but she gradually relaxed and enjoyed the silliness...as long as that tiger stayed off stage!

Their favorite, silly Balloo.

Here's to a great summer with my silly girls!