dishes

How many Shoemakers does it take to do dishes?

cove palisades 2012

Wednesday:
We ventured up to Oregon to go camping with our dear friends- the Koch's and the Hartenstein's. Bryan's parents let us borrow their trailer, and it made the adventure so much more fun for me! We left, anticipating a 8-9 hour drive. After a slight detour on Bryan's "short cut" and a closed road, we ended up driving over 12 hours that day. We called it quits after midnight, and slept in a Bi-Mart parking lot.

We're off!

We always have "quiet time" in the car when we go on trips.

We won't let the kids make a sound or talk at all.

And thankfully, this is usually the result of that.

Which translates to heaven for Bryan and I!

My handsome hubs taking us on our 12 hour "adventure"

A little walking while we stretch & have dinner at a park

 A blurry picture of a very tired couple after a very long day. 

We can still smile after being in the car THAT LONG.

Thursday:
Raelynn woke us bright and early around 6:30, so we got her a bottle and hit the road. We stopped for gas and coffee and ate muffins in the car, and drove the hour and a half to the campground. We had a great day full of boat rides (not for me, I had enough driving and bumping the day before), conversations with friends, and playing in the water (the water was FREEZING).

Friday:
Bryan's dad, Wendy, and Lanson came to camp with us, and the boys were SO excited. They could not wait for them to show up! The kiddos rode on the boat again. We played in the water again. I'm pretty sure the best part of the day for me is sitting around the campfire talking with friends. I just love it!

Saturday:
The boys went out on the boat again, and Bryan even got Elias on the surf board. Lanson brought his paddle board, and took the boys for a  ride. Bryan even got on to try it out. I would have if I wasn't so large - I figured I would make a spectacle of myself, so I refrained. But it looked like so much fun!

Elias looks terrified, but he asked many times after this if he could go again

Sunday:
We packed up and headed home. It was such a fun weekend, and I'm happy to say that our drive home was only 8 hours!

splashing away

We took a walk the other night, and it was so stinking hot. When we got home, the kids were covered in dirt from the trail by the canals near our house. So, they all jumped in the pool to cool off and clean up a bit before going into the house. I think those 10 minutes were the highlight of their week!

 See how dirty that water is?

Rae is waiting for the boys to jump in and splash her

The boys jumped in, and Rae held on for dear life

 I love Rae's face here

Splashing chaos

a 4 wheeler

Bryan's dad left the 4 wheeler with us, so it could get a little tune up here in Idaho. The boys begged Bryan every night we had it to go for a ride. Even little Miss Rae took a ride.

cuteness

 My crazy & cute kiddos

Out of the blue, Raelynn took 4 steps. We tried to get her to try again, but she just smiled and crawled away.

Raelynn has also become quite the climber. She is always kicking her leg up to climb up anything she can reach. I found her on top of the cooler attempting to climb up a shelf the other day. Oh my goodness, she is a busy girl.
Her new favorite place of residence is in the drawer under the stove. She pulls it out, and climbs in and out.

Isaiah came up to me and smiled and said, "I just wuv your tummy." Then he patted my belly, and ran to take a bath.

Elias is telling Spot stories like crazy. Anytime someone asks about his day, it always starts with something Spot did. Or if someone tells him a story, he makes up a story about Spot.

Isaiah and Elias are big on "making tents" in their room these days. They love to put blankets everywhere, and they beg to sleep in their "tent" every night. They sleep on the floor way more than their beds.

This is the first tent

This is the second night. Elias is sleeping in a box (aka dog house)

Isaiah had all his animals and dolls tucked in neatly

daddy does hair now

The boys have had their hair cut by Auntie Wendy since they were babies. I didn't mind taking them to get their hair cut because I got to visit with Wendy while she worked! Ever since we moved to Idaho, I've dreaded taking them to get their hair cut. I'm not sure why - it just was not a highlight of my month. So, Bryan decided he'd save that money, and start cutting the boys hair! Hallelujah! No more barber shops for me!