Oh What a Feeling....

Remember those old Toyota commercials..."Oh what a Feeling...Toyota!"? Well, here's Jake with his new baby. Jake has been eyeing this truck at a car lot for about 9 months...it's sort of like Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future and his big black truck...well, finally the stars aligned so that we could fulfill all of Jake's truck dreams. He says he was never worried the truck would sell before we could get it because it was meant for him...and to be honest, I actually think they look alike. Anyways, he is giddy over this truck and I love to see him so happy...oh, and Spencer is pretty stoked about it too!

Speaking of "Oh what a feeling"...I had to post this picture to go with this story. Jake has been teaching Spencer the fine art of "peeing like a man" recently. We haven't been too concerned about this...even when he openly peed at the beach, we just laughed it off...there weren't many people around. So, the other day we took the kids to Seven Peaks for the evening. The kids were running around the kiddie pool going down slides and swimming around in their life jackets...Jake and I were just sitting on the side chatting away. Suddenly, we heard snickers and laughter all around us...Jake turned and said, "Oh wow, Ash...look at that!"...and there he was...our little guy...standing in the center of the kiddie pool, on a platform, all by himself. Pants around his ankles, life jacket secured, back arched hard and shooting for the moon. Yep, he was peeing a stream about 3 feet in front of him, right into the pool. The men around the pool were laughing hysterically and the life guard said, "I thought it was a watergun at first!" Jake ran over and helped him pull his pants back up (I was too embarrassed to go over). Jake said,
"Spencer, we don't pee in the pool, dude...just trees." to which Spencer replied, "Dad, I didn't pee in the pool...I got out." Jake swears the whole incident was one of his proudest moments. Priceless.

California Sun and Fun

We just returned home from a FABULOUS trip to California. My parents rented a beach house and let us come hang out with them for 3 days...we were on the beach about 8 hours everyday! We had a weinie roast with s'mores on the beach one night and Jake caught his first wave and stood up on the surfboard! We all had some sweet tatoos to wear and enjoyed choosing our style and body part to decorate! Jake turned the girls into sandy mermaids and there were plenty of sandcastles. It really was completely relaxing.






When it was time to leave the beachhouse we headed straight to Sea World! Mom and Dad came with us and we all enjoyed the shows and touching the manta rays (well, Audree and Spencer didn't exactly enjoy that part). We got soaked on the river ride and Karlee and Rylee were a little freaked out by the big roller coaster. It was gorgeous weather and not crowded at all...fun, fun, fun!




Back at my parents house we heated the pool to 80 degrees and swam for 2 days straight! Mackenzie, Garrett, Shanna, Mackenzie, Bristol and Travis all joined us from time to time in the pool and we all had a blast.





One of the nights Jake and I went to a shooting range with Blair and Shanna. It was me and Jake's first time shooting a hand gun...it made my heart pound, but by the end I had a pretty good shot! We had a great time and now Jake is ready to get a gun of his own! Thanks for a great evening guys!



We also went to see Toy Story 3 with Blair and Shanna and the kids. Garrett and Spencer sat by eachother and were hilarious! We ate tons of yummy food (including some incredibly large pork chops!), enjoyed some great company, and feel rejuvenated. I love vacations!

Surgery

Today I performed surgery on a bunny, elephant, kitty and 2 pillows. Everyone is recovering well and seems fluffier than ever. Even I am impressed with how well-disguised the scars are. Here's hoping they will all sleep well tonight!

Audree is 5 years old!

I have been a slacker of a mom...Audree's birthday was on the 5th and I am finally getting around to posting these pics! Audree has been SO excited about turning 5 and being ready for kindergarten. For her birthday she requested that we go to Seven Peaks as a family and then go home for cake and presents. Seriously, how easy is that??? I was willing to do something more exciting...but this is what she wanted...wish granted! We had a blast at Seven Peaks and then came home for chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (Audree's request) and then she opened presents (a doll house with accessories...she was in heaven!). I love this girl!! Audree loves snuggles, playing pretend (especially playing kitty with Spencer) and she is an incredibly picky eater. She is quite the singer, in fact, today she followed me around the house all day singing songs (most of which were not even in English) and keeping me company. I just love this kid! Happy Birthday, Audree!!

Summer has Arrived!

Summer has been very slow to arrive this year...school got out 2 days after a huge snow storm! We have tried to be patient, but we REALLY want some warm weather to enjoy. Finally today we hit 80 degrees and the kids thought it was time to ACT like summer! So here is how we celebrated!