Birding

we have all taken up birding (causally) its been fun to go on walks and see birds and notice them when we are out and about. Eli is very good at spotting them. We all enjoy it.

The Garden Party!

My sister Rebecca and I decided to have a Anne of Green Gables inspired Garden party with her sister in laws and a few friends. It was so much fun to plan and set up and decorate! She and my mom did an amazing job on the food!
We all talked and laughed and admired all the cute babies that where there! I took like 5 hundred pictures of all the little ones which I will put into a different post. I am hoping to borrow my sisters Photoshop to make sure all the kiddos look the best they can!

the "chandelier" is a wreath that i covered in flowers and draped strands of pearls on. I had a more elaborate "chandelier" planned but time and $$$ where against me and in the end this worked great and was easy.

Aside from the food ingredients, we didn't buy anything for this party we just used old scraps of fabric to cover the chairs and napkins we already had on hand. 

the silhouette place cards are just old book pages that i hand painted the silhouettes onto, i just free handed them. 

oh he is SO my son, taking pictures for fun the whole time! Just like his mama!

Note to self

http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/2013/08/back-to-school-feast-2013-14.html
This is a link to one of my favorite bloggers ever! She does this amazing back to school celebration every single year-the note to self is that I should do this! In two years when Eli starts school someone call and remind me!!!!

TABLE ROCK

Table rock is place right above Boise, a lot of rich people with fabulous houses live up by table rock, but its also a short and fairly simple hike and we took the kids this weekend. I wanted them to see the view from the top of a mountain (if you can call it that- which actually your really cant its more like a cliff hill edge ,but hey...) I love the reward of a good view after hiking and i wanted my kids to have that big first! We also took a ton of fun pictures but i am going to Photoshop them before I post them on the blog. Unfortunately none of the family pictures turned out because the little mini hiking tripod thing kept wobbling and the camera would lose focus on us and focus on random bits of sage brush instead.
We had a great time talking about future things and what i call "lifestyle goals" which for me are things like this "I want us to be the kind of family that goes hiking all the time" and then we discuss and elaborate on that plan/goal/desire so it can become a routine part of our lives/lifestyle.
We also bought the kids baseball hats-that happened because we are suckers for our kids please faces AND because Eli is doing so well potty training! If this keeps up i don't think i will be buying anymore eli size diapers-oh what a great thing that would be to only have to change one kids diapers instead of two.....
Also a  note on something i found out that is totally awesome and amazing! My aunt who is admittedly always been incredibly cool who is about the same age as my mom (pushing 50) hiked a 50 miler! Yep, i know i was way impressed too-i think i now have a goal to be able to do that at that age because wow.!

Camping and other very exciting things! (psst this is a long long post-really)

This exciting weekend brought:
Camping.
Great excitement over tents. Sleeping and changing in a tents so fun! The kids loved seeing the the tents be put up and almost cried when they got taken down.
Swimming and all the excitement that followed-I got a swim lesson from my husband and my mom. The guys played  PIG.
First fishing my boys have ever done!!! Eli liked fishing best (that's what he told me just now)
Smores -the first these kids ever had!. I think it was the first big campfire they have ever seen either.
The best camping meal i can remember.
frisbee. (that was actually a ton of fun for everyone.
Mitchell got sick (sad day) -he got the cold i had the last 2 weeks.
AtlAtl's -you will have to see the pictures, and in a day or sometime i will post movies.This was really fun a cool! I think anyone who visits us this summer i will take there because i have not had that much fun with targets and straw bales since i learned archery in 7th grade.
Hiking, which was fun and pretty.The kids got carried the way back, mostly, kayden is a trooper all weekend his love for the outdoors and physical activity was showing. I am so proud of him for his appreciation for the beautiful world God created, and his wonderful body.
Learning about the history of celebration park.
swinging on an old swing set.
trying o catch lizards (kayden kept spotting them when no one else could and chasing them down.
Eli and Mitch saw a huge snake.
We all saw a mouse and other small critters.
Stargazing with the kids around a campfire.
Bouquets of wild flowers from my little gentlemen.
Gratitude
Taking pictures by the covered wagon and taking about pioneers with the kids.
I got to take lots of pictures and wear my moms sun hat (which is similar to my rather romantic hat)
I love being outside in nature.
Going camping got us all excited for the big trip with everyone in august.
We all did a little hike (or nature walk if you prefer) to the big bridge to show the kids.
When we got back to the cars we had a picnic and enjoyed some candy (provided by grandma and grandpa (mom and dad)) before heading home for nap-time.
I tried a new recipe
We had SO much fun thank you mom and dad (grandma and grandpa) for taking us, thank you thank you thank you for covering the costs (SO NICE). We had a wonderful time and hope you did too. We all really look forward to the big camping trip in august.
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Do you have a "Bucket list" You know like in the movie. a selective master list of all the things you want to do before you "kick the bucket"?
I do, for me its different then my yearly goals because it is not on a time line really they are just things i would love to do and whenever i do one i get excited. This year for example when i donated blood for the first time. That was a bucket list thing, believe it or not. Many of my bucket list things are rather simple, but things i have never done and want to do.
Or the time last summer when i tried to climb Mt Borah, that was on the bucket list, not to fail, it was an attempt so i still have to do that one but it was motivation.
I also want to run a half marathon
Master Yoga
write a book (perhaps gluten free recipes)
hike in the grand canyon
Go cross country skiing
go snowshoeing
Join a book club
Ride a donkey
Master Photography
Go Backpacking with my boys
See Yellowstone
Camp on the beach
see a lighthouse in person
Host an elaborate party
hike a mountain and let balloons go from the top of it
learn to dance
Travel to lots of parts of the world-My husband an i share this one, he wants to see China and Jerusalem and the Alps, i wan tot see the tropics and the french countryside and Switzerland, and Prince Edward Island, we both want to see Alaska.....
Paint
.... My list is really much longer too but the reason i listed so many was so you could understand the excitement i feel  when i tell you this year is going good so far.
I donated blood, i am going to run a 1/2 marathon is September (i really need to start heavy training for that), i finally saw Yellowstone, I am planning an elaborate party with my sister and her mother-in-law.I have been working on a painting, WE are planning some other things too, And i went to my first book club night on Saturday, we discussed the Blue Castle by LM Montgomery. The big question was "what would you do if you only had a year to live?"
It really makes you think.
I decided i would just want to intentionally enjoy my family and make as many memories as possible, and i would want to take as many great pictures of all of us together as possible. I would finish the journals i write to them /for them.  Also i decided i would make each of my kids a quilt from me, they could have me "tucked them in" each night, i think making them quilts needs to become my next big sewing project, because, why not now.
PS I had the worst most embarrassing Sunday at church ever with the kids by myself. (Mitch was home sick).
Happy Monday!!!!!

This is a bad pic, but poor Mitchell didn't feel well and so spent most of Friday night resting in the tent.

When Eli looked the other way kayden ate his marshmellow

Not the best picture but it shows the shirt we got him for fathers day

He was lounging and looked so content i had to take a picture. 

What a great uncle!

Atl Atl lessons

Mom was pretty good!

fish watching

I know the hair is so not done, that is what happens to me when i am out and about my hair always goes crazy

At this point he told me "no more pictures mom"

The new Chicken recipe, lemon and asparagus, delish

The boys got me flowers