I'm sure every mother says this...

It's the night before Ethan's birthday and I can't help thinking about the night before he came into this world. I was nervous, the impending doom a first baby brings. You spend 9 months getting excited for this baby to come into your life (and out of the space he's currently renting). But then the moment of truth comes and then it starts coming like a freight train and then you're looking right down the barrel and it can be a little frightening. At least that's how it was for me anyway. Add to that, moving 4 days before you give birth, that was a lot to say the least.

The delivery was less than ideal, but the end result was amazing. Ethan has always held a special place in my heart, not just because he was the first baby I ever had, but because he's always had such an amazing spirit about him. He's just good to the core, he never wants to hurt anyone and he defends people even to the point of me worrying that one day he'll get beat up for it. He loves to have a good time and is always so cheerful. He's just a delightful kid to have around.

So, cheers Ethan, I love you.

The River

Earlier this summer, there was some serious flooding in my town and around all of northern UT. Every time we would drive past the Ogden River on our way downtown, we would look at how much it had risen and watch the efforts that were made to block it from flooding the street, sandbags and huge mounds of dirt. Well, Mother Nature cranked up the heat these last couple of weeks and the river has dried up a bit. We live near an awesome place called the Ogden Botanical Gardens and the River Parkway, and the Ogden River flows right alongside it.

We decided to explore the river the other day and found a great spot to go swimming! It's shallow and the current is slow. We took our Davenport cousins down there and had a great time. Incidentally, they did find a submerged push lawn mower in there, but that's fun for the kids to explore. :)

We went back again for a second time with Bucky's parents and his aunt and uncle's family. We stayed down there for 3 hours, just sitting on the bank while the kids played in the water. It was great.

Ellis had a great time putting rocks in his mouth and causing all sorts of mischief.

Girls Camp

This last week was the first time I've been to Girls Camp since I was 17. Let me tell you, it's a lot easier being the girl. :) I was the camp director, which meant, along with the Youth Camp Leaders (ages 17 and 18), I planned everything. I should intro also by saying that I have a hard time delegating things. I feel like if I do everything than I'll know it's getting done right? Wrong. The leaders did a great job executing the things that I asked them to do and so did the YCL's. We went to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho and it was great. The weather was good, not too much girl drama, and the food was decent. :) The only hiccup was our hike. I looked it up online and it looked great, but when we got there, no trail. As in the middle of someone's field with no trespassing signs everywhere. Yeah, so we visited the Sunken Gardens. They were awesome. We also visited the Olympic Pool and went tubing on the river.

Northern Idaho

We made for the hills and went to northern Idaho this weekend. It was a bit of a struggle for Ellis to be in the car for 10+ hours, but he managed alright. :) Bucky's parents were a huge help with the kids, trading back and forth between cars and helping us keep our cool when the kids were having melt downs. We went up to ID because Bucky's grandparents, Guy and Maryellen Cash, were being honored in the Grangeville parade. Guy's dad, Guy Sr. was a world champion bronc rider and even won the Calgary Stampede. We got to do some sight seeing up in Harpster where Maryellen's mother lived and heard many stories about life in the 20's and 30's in northern Idaho. It was great. We had a good time and the kids had a blast running around the RV park where we were camping. We also took a day trip up to Moscow to see some of our friends from college. It was great to be back in that small town and see how things have changed and what has stayed the same. It really is beautiful up there, with the rolling hills and farm land.

It's always fun when Lissy comes, when Lissy comes, Hooray! Truly we do like it. I've said it before, but she's one of the most pleasant teenagers to be around.
Buck and Ethan finished up their season with a second place finish and had a great time. Both of them learned a lot too.
The weather is starting to really warm up here and I have to say, I'm not that excited about it. We've been having some rain and overcast and it made me start missing the ole AK. But, I do like getting some sun on my skin and going to the pool, so it's not all bad, right? M'kay. Have a good week everyone!

Lil Ev and the Sleeping Giant

It seems that lately all we've been doing is baseball and softball. Not that I'm complaining, between the mad dash to get to games and find their gear, I've grown to appreciate the times that my mom shuttled us all around to our various sports. And I also wonder how she didn't go a little crazy managing it all. :) Here's a picture of Evie playing and Ellis the "turkey butt" sleeping. Sometimes I have to remind myself that he does sleep. He does. He does. He does.

Ogden Nature Center

I found a Groupon deal for a family membership for three months for $12 and swooped it up. It was definitely a good idea. We had never been there and were pleasantly surprised. The kids used phrases like, "This is the best day ever!" and "Can we come back tonight?" and other things they rarely say. :)

Most of the trails were flooded so we stuck around the visitor's center, checked out the birds they've rescued and ate a picnic lunch. It wasn't too hot and a little overcast. I think it was one of the best days this summer for me too. :)