Air Show

The weekend of July 24th, we went to the Blue Angels air show. We actually bought tickets and went. We left the house around 10:30 a.m. and got there around 12:00 p.m. Brian was thinking he might drop off me and the kids, but when we saw how crowded the highway was, there was no way that was happening. So, we went to one of the designated parking lots and waited in a very, very long line for a shuttle to pick us up. The kids actually did quite well considering how long we waited. When we got there, we found a place to sit and watch. It was pretty fun, but the kids got tired of it pretty quick. They were all ready to go but we hadn't seen the blue angels yet. We decided that we had time to take the shuttle back and watch the Blue Angels from University Place (this was right by the river with the airport right on the other side). There was a really good view from University Place. We decided that maybe that is what we should have done in the first place. Oh well . . . maybe next time. Here are some pictures that we took at University Place.

Helping Grandpa Durtschi

Lillian is one month old

My, how time does fly . . .

Independance day weekend

We began our 4th of July weekend with a hike in Teton Canyon. Jake, Angie, Julie and Jeff and their children all came with us. It was really fun and short. Toddlers only have so much endurance. They were really cute though, and they did quite well. Of course, I only got a picture at the end of the hike. Here we are . . .
















After we came back from the hike, we spent the afternoon at Grandpa Grant and Grandma Beth's house. The kids all took a nap so they could stay up late for the fireworks. Here are Grant and Sasha, all dressed up warm since it can get pretty cool at night.

Many thanks to Rachel for getting the boys nice and warm to watch the fireworks. They were well taken care of and did look quite cute in their somewhat oversized clothes. We spent that night at Grandpa Grant and Grandma Beth's house (Thanks!!!). It was pretty cute, these guys had their chairs out in the afternoon, and we weren't able to do the fireworks until about 10:00 that night. They were sooooooo excited!

The fireworks were so much fun to watch. And it's not the 4th of July unless you have sparklers, right? Apparently, I only got Grant doing the sparklers, but they all enjoyed it. I loved the way the boys looked. I think Grant looks a little bit like Dopey, especially with the hat and the big slippers.

The next day, we went to the parade in Victor, ID. It is always a great parade and Grandma Beth picked out a great spot to watch it. It was so much fun! Thanks Beth! Rachel made that big bag that she has in her hands, and the kids all picked up the candy and put it in that bag. They ended up getting so much candy, it was like halloween all over again! They even got popsicles, as you can see. This was one of the highlights for the kids and will be something that we will probably do every year.

Happy 5th Birthday Grant!

Grant turned 5 years old on June 30. We didn't have a big party for him. Jake and Angie did come over to celebrate with us and we had a good time. He was pretty excited and I think he had a pretty fun day.

















One of his gifts was this 3-D coloring thing. He does love to draw and color, so this was perfect! I didn't get any pictures with his other gifts, but he did seem to like them all.






















I like how he looks in his 3-D glasses. Isn't he a cutie?





















I looked over at Sasha, and she was sitting in between the babies taking care of them. Jax and Lilly didn't seem to mind.

Welcome baby girl Lillian June!!!

We had our baby girl, Lillian June, on Tuesday, June 8 at 11:32 am. She was 7 lbs 8 oz and of course, we think she is beautiful!

Here she is . . .
















Jake and Angie were so so so nice to watch Ethan, Grant and Sasha for us while I was having Lillian. Jake even got up early to come over so the kids didn't have to wake up so early. Thanks a ton Jake!!!! They took the kids to the zoo and then came over to visit. Here are all of our beautiful children.
















We were able to get Kai and Jax in the picture also. As you can see, it was a trick getting all of the children to look at the camera at the same time. But it is fun to have the picture.


















Here is our first family picture with Lillian.

For those who want to know the whole story, this is it. My labor started at 2:00 am on Tuesday. The contractions were about 10 min apart and not too bad. I couldn't sleep though, so I got up and got things ready. Of course, the contractions progressively got closer together and stronger. At about 6:00 am, we called Jake and asked him to come over. He came over very quick and we were able to leave by about 6:20. We got to the hospital at about 6:45 am and I was dialated about 4 cm. I was actually a bit surprised at this point, because the previous two appointments that I had, I just wasn't progressing very much or fast at all. So 4 cm was good news. They set me up on the IV and gave me some saline, and then I was able to get an epidural. I was not anxious at all to go through the pain this time. I was amazed at how little of the pain I felt. Brian and I had a wonderful experience because I wasn't in horrible pain and mad at him. I am now feeling more of the after effects of the epidural, but all in all it was a very good experience. Anyway, my water broke right after they gave me the epidural, although it wasn't extremely obvious. The Dr came to break my water, and that's when they figured that my water did definitely break before. I labored there pain free until around 11:30, then they thought I was ready. The nurse had me push a little bit to make sure I was ready so they could call the Dr. I pushed and then they had to hold the babys head in until the Dr came. I had her at 11:32 am and she was amazing. We brought her home yesterday around noon, and Brian has been so wonderful! I've been able to nap a bit and I actually think I will go take a nap after I feed Lillian. We hope you are all doing well! And if this story feels pretty random, it's some of the sleep deprivation talking . . .

I love my children!

There are many days when all three of our children run around and play with each other. When they were doing that one time, I realized how great it was. Even though they can be noisy, it is wonderful to see and hear them enjoying each others company. I love it how the boys also include Sasha and how she just jumps in to play, even though it can be a little dangerous for her.

When we have the warm days in between the cooler days, we try to work on our yard. Ethan is holding up a fish flag that he made. We were really excited because we finally have flowers this year.

















We put in a fence a few weeks ago. It was a lot of work, but is finally in so we are thrilled. Now our garden and other plants are protected a bit from the fierce winds that can come in the spring. We also have a little bit more privacy in the back yard, which is pretty nice.
















Here Brian and the kids are spreading a bit more bark. Brian is working right around our blueberry bushes that we planted earlier in the spring. Our grass is starting to look pretty good this year too. We still have a few bare patches, but those should fill in by the end of the summer and we are working on getting rid of the weeds that have infested some of our grass. Oh, the joys of yardwork!
















I had to post this picture of an alien that Ethan made at school. He told me that it has three heads and four arms. I love it! I love it when he comes home with something that is truely his, and not just a sheet of paper that he has colored.