Last weekend of summer break

The last weekend of summer was supposed to be the fathers and sons camp out. Kent didn't make it. The sweet dad that he is improvised with a tent in the backyard. Jake didn't care one bit. He was beside himself with excitement!!! Kent found a head lamp that fit his little head and Jake was sold!

On Saturday we spent time as a family up in the mountains riding our motorcycles and quads. The kids love it. Jake was in heaven! It was a perfect ending to a fun filled summer!

Kate taking Kaylee for a spin

Jake is hooked!

Kent taught Abbie to ride a motorcycle this trip. She was nervous at first but soon got the hang of it. I wish I had gotten a picture. He was one proud daddy!

Trying to be like Papa!

I love these two guys!! Jake is working on getting Papa's famous "duck call"... so dang cute!

Shark Attack Triathlon

My sister Carrie and I did a sprint triathlon together in Utah. We had so much fun together! Hopefully we have started a new tradition and can do one together every year.

Yikes, we are getting old!

our devoted fans

I love you Carrie! What a fun day!

The most exciting part of the day was watching the kids triathlon. I am so dang proud of my daughters, nieces, and nephews. What awesome kids they are. I would never have tried doing a triathlon at their age. It was a 100m swim, 5 mile bike, and a 1.2 mile run. What an inspiration they are to me! I was teary eyed watching them cross the finish line. So much fun!!!! Great job Abbie, Hannah, Courtney, Drake, Kate, Sadie, and Carson!

Abbie and Hannah finishing the swim

Abbie coming in on the bike

Abbie finishing up with a smile on her face!

Drake and Hannah finishing up!

Kate finishing up her swim. Kate, Sadie, and Carson did a relay with each of them doing one leg of the race. They were awesome!!!

Kate passing off to Sadie who did the bike. Carson did an awesome job on the run. (For some reason I am missing his picture)

Courtney finished second in her age group!

Kate's baptism weekend

Kate was baptised on June 6th by her dad. My dad (Papa) and Dan were the witnesses. It was a wonderful weekend. We had so much family come into town. We felt very loved! Kate was showered with gifts and so much love. Thank you to everyone who made the effort to be there. We sure did appreciate it! It was a beautiful day. One that we will remember forever!

Kate's 8th Birthday Celebrations

This was a big birthday for Kate and we did a lot of celebrating. This year she was able to have a "friend" party and we decided to have it at a nail salon. She was able to invite 2 friends along with her sisters. We were able to bring a movie that they watched while being pampered and ate popcorn and juice. Kate was also able to pick out a bracelet as a present. After fun at the salon we headed to McDonald's for some Happy Meals and ice cream. Kate had a great day!

On her actual birthday we surprised Kate by waking her up early and taking her out to breakfast in her p.j's. That evening we had more cake and opened presents.

Kate got to celebrate again when all her family arrived for her baptism. (I'll do that one in a separate post) What a fantastic week of celebrating!

Jake watching the movie and waiting patiently while the girls got pampered.

Kaylee, Kate, and Ashley

Happy Birthday to our sweet Kate!

We sure love our Kate-o. She brightens the day of anyone she is around. Here are my top 10 favorite things about Kate.

10. She is a smarty pants in school. She is a really good reader (almost a whole grade level ahead)

9. She is a loyal and sweet friend.

8. She is always so concerned about making good choices and ALWAYS wants to do whats right

7. She is the sweetest sister to her siblings

6. She's okay with trying new things...right now she is on a rugby team!

5. Her laugh is seriously contagious (it's not really a laugh...more like a giggle!)

4. She always goes the extra mile. It's not unusual for Kate to come up to me and ask me if there is anything she can do for me.

3. She is really good at sharing. What's hers can be yours if you just ask!

2. She is the perfect middle child for our family. So sweet and helpful with Claire and Jake and such a good companion for Abbie

1. I love the dimple that shows up on her nose when she smiles really big. Seeing it makes my day!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATE!!!

BolderBoulder

What a fun Memorial weekend we had. We spent it up in Boulder. What a fun college town with so much to do. I ran the BolderBoulder 10k on Memorial day with 53,000 other runners. It was just a fun little family vacation. The kids love the excitement of staying in a hotel, eating the continental breakfast, and swimming in the pool.

I do have to say that I am not much of a runner but had so much fun running this race. The excitement of running it with so many other people was a thrill. There were bands, an Elvis impersonator, and lots of belly dancers along the route to keep us entertained. The finish line is inside the CU stadium and it was such a thrill running through the finish line with the stands full and your face on the jumbo tron.

Following the race we had a good time walking around downtown, checking out all the booths at the fair, and letting the kids get harnessed up to jump on the trampolines. I LOVE spending time with my family!!!

The finish line inside the stadium