Ramona makes history!

We are so proud of Ramona and all her hard work! In April she won 1st place in Idaho State History Day. She had just 2 months to raise the money she needed to go to the National Competition in Washington DC. She wrote letters to companies, friends, and family. She hosted kids camps to earn money, and she babysat up a storm! In the end she earned enough to go and to take along her grandpa as well! What an experience!

Representing our state!

After making sure that the exhibit was broken down and packed in a box that the airlines wouldn't charge us an extra $100 for, it took about 6 hours for Ramona and her grandpa to reassemble it! She said it wasn't quite as nice as it had been originally, but there wasn't much she could do about it, so she just went with it!

Touring DC.


Doing some family history....we're pretty sure that Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz is a relative, since her last name is Gale.

Waiting to present to the judges!

The Awards Ceremony...she didn't win, but she didn't care! The trip was worth the effort!

A picture with the president....maybe not!

Great views!

The view from the Lincoln Memorial.

My Garden in Bloom

This mild Boise summer is doing wonders for our garden! It has been a bumper crop of veggies and flowers and we are just starting to harvest after all our hard work! Wish it was like this every summer!

JUNKYARD BOAT RACE!

About a week ago Isaiah challenged some of our friends and neighbors to make a boat out of 100% recycled material and race it down our canal. He was so excited. We had a few people accept the challenge and fun was to be had by all!

Eli's 5th grade graduation!

I can't believe that Eli is off to middle school already.

What happened to this little guy? Eli...you are a great kid and we are so proud of you!

End of year fieldtrip to the ranch!

This was a great fieldtrip! Lot's of hands-on fun with all the animals!...we even saw pigs and didn't get swine-flu! I think the smile on Isaiah's face says it all!

Preschool Graduate!

A NEW SPORT?!

ISAIAH at 5 is the king of extreme sports. From Scooter jumping on the trampoline, to camp mat stair sliding, he is not afraid to try anything! Today he got innovative and went for the ultimate rollerblade cycling! He wouldn't let me capture his tricks which involved getting up speed taking his hands off the handlebars and putting his feet out so they rolled with the bike while shouting "wahoooooo!" We wish he could stay this age forever!

Metal Mouths!

We had to capture this moment! Ramona got her braces today and Alex gets hers off in the next couple of weeks! Alex is very happy to pass this on to her sister...while Ramona is not so excited to take it on! We're just glad that we can pay for one at a time. Hopefully Eli's can wait till Mona is done! I think they both look great! Her friends have been bringing her icecream and treats all day! She isn't complaining about that part!

Our Sweet Old Girl!

Just had to post a few pictures of our Lucy! She is going on "very old". We don't know how old she really is, but somewhere around 13 or 14. She is pretty much totally deaf and spends most of the time laying in one of a few varying spots....this one being under a tree in the front yard! Sometimes I wish I could spend as much time as she does just laying around!

Shoes: Friend or Foe?

I have to admit that I really do love shoes. I love to look at them on Zappos, try them on in stores (and since I am a size 6 1/2, the display shoes usually fit me making it that much easier), I even at times will wear my kids shoes. Sometimes I ignore all sense of practicality and actually buy the shoes I love. But, with two teenage daughters and a couple of growing boys, they are quickly becoming the bane of my sanity and sense of order in my home. At least 3 times a day, I will walk by the front door to be greeted with a pile of shoes in all varieties. I give Isaiah the chore of collecting and putting away shoes. When Ramona asked me if she could play Lacrosse, my first question was whether she had to buy some special kind of shoe. Shoes are driving me crazy!!

I bought a big basket for the front door hoping to stop this affront to my attempts at order! But nothing has worked! One day at a friends house I noticed her darling shoe bench and went out the next day and bought one. No go! The shoes still find themselves in haphazard piles all around the house! Now that summer is drawing closer I am actually looking forward to putting away all the winter shoes. At least when there are 20 pairs of flipflops laying around they take up a lot less space! If anyone has any great ideas, I am all ears!

How many pairs of shoes does a family of six need??

Hopefully back in action!

Okay...so now that I've had about 6 months off....I think I'm ready to start this up again! I've learned that sometimes some things have to give and for a while the blog was it! Now that summer is almost here, my daughter informs me that there are just 30 more days of school left, I think I can commit. In the meantime, here are couple pics I should have posted ages ago!

Isaiah's 5th birthday at the bowling alley. I love that he doesn't have high expectations for his birthday. Just some fun with friends! They all were thrilled with the whole event!

A little Catch-up!

Sorry that I have pretty much ignored the blog for the past few months. There was just so much to do and so little time. In August we took a trip to Sun River with my family in celebration of my mom's 60th birthday and had a fantastic time. We did a lot of bike riding, some exploring, watched the Olympics every night, swam most days, and just enjoyed the cousins and relaxing. Here are some of the pictures!

Family Picture at a waterfall

The falls were beautiful and Jon managed to climb all the way up behind them at one point.

Isaiah and his cousin Eleanor spent the majority of time playing in the dirt behind the house. There were plenty of deer and the sunshine made it a nice spot to relax!

Cousin Olive playing with a statue at the High Desert Museum.

Isaiah riding the pony "Blueberry".

Isaiah after a day of bike riding.


Eleanor enjoying having tween cousins to do her hair.

Brothers working together to throw a "Big" rock in a quiet serene mountain lake....does it get any better than throwing things at that age?!