Hawaii or Bust!

THANKS to all who voted for this silly competition...thanks to you he's #1 and now in the top twenty. So if you have a second, vote one more time and see if he can win this thing already!

Viva Montana!

Mike & I were invited to go spend a few days in Montana with a bunch of couples. It was glorious. My mom came to watch P & S and we took Avery. A big thanks to my mom who took such good care and even got Payton through his first week of Kindergarten. The trip was so relaxing and nice. The atmosphere was just beautiful and so comfortable. And the views out our door were breathtaking. Avery was such a good girl. She loved riding on the boat, it put her right to sleep (we did that a lot ;) and the company was very fun and entertaining. The food was out of this world, really. A big thanks to the Tanner family...
HIGHLIGHTS:
Allegient airlines and the entertaining (though expensive) raffle & dollar game
Our lake suite
Cherry orchards and delicious "ranier" cherries
Taking the boat to dinner & the awesome sunsets
Francis the masseuse
Pizzas in the outdoor oven, delicious pizza sauce & Pizookies with homemade ice cream.
The olympics
The name game
The soda fountain with the best DP ever!
Brannon's entertaining stories and just plain funny self
Watching Mike chase the chickens
Waterslide down the mountain and water that comes from the "earth"...it was freezing!
Spending one on one time with my sweet Aves
Ben & Jerry's
Meeting new people

Hope you enjoy the pics. It really is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

Here's to..

here's to my sweet Payton on his first day of Kindergarten. Oh, he looked so handsome this morning and he was so excited as he tore the last link from his paper chain! Mike and I took him over this morning and pulling past the junior high, he could see lots of cars and kids and parents and he said "wow, this looks kinda scary." But he was fine, didn't even bat an eye when we left him at the classroom. We are so proud of our little, well sort of getting big, guy. He will do so great. LOVE YOU!

Home Sweet Home

Well, back to reality. AZ actually is a nice place to be and there's nothing like your own bed. It was hard to want to leave our wonderful time in Idaho. And lucky lucky me, I got to stay in Utah for 5 days with Avery and just hang out with my family. It was awesome. Kate & I tended babies and hung out with mom and dad. I just loved that time. AND to top it all off, my husband wins an award. He took Payt, Sis and Max to California for the week...even took them to Disneyland. What a trooper! And he even had a good attitude about it. I don't know where I got him, but I sure like him :) I miss my Kate & Arleigh that's for sure. I never knew how much fun it would be to have babies together, me and my sis. She sure is the best friend a girl could have. We got the girls pictures together, we'll see how they turn out. Officially, I do not want twins! It was hard to get them to cooperate...one was either bawling or sleeping or hungry at all times. Oh, and also got to go have lunch with all the Larsen cousins, so fun. These pics are just random shots...the family pic is at Mike's lame 30th birthday party, one of "Aves & Arls" as Sydney calls them, and my girls in their pink tutus that my mom and I made them. hope you enjoy.

Avery & Arleigh Blessing Day

July 6th was a special day around here. We had so much family here to support us as we blessed our sweet babies. Mike and Andy both did a beautiful job and it was such a pleasure to share this day together. I was so thrilled to have all of my living grandparents there and several aunts, uncles, cousins, friends. Though we missed our Andrew, Jenna & Jared! It was just a beautiful day and I hope one that these little peas will look back on and know how special they are. Kate is such a sweet little mom, she loves that girl to pieces and Andy is equally as head over heals. I am just grateful for my many blessings...and so thankful to have Avery in our family.

4th of July

The fourth was a blast this year. Not your typical BBQ stuff...we all flew to Boise, got picked up in a H2 Limo, and watched Jared's horse win his race at the track! It really was awesome, minus the little mishap of losing our 3 year old. Thank you to Steve, our "manny", for finding her. And thanks to Uncle Jared for a wonderful trip. We even made it back that night for the fireworks in Idaho Falls, which are pretty awesome. Hope you enjoy the pictures. The kids were great and Payton is still talking about how we need to get a limo because there's "just one big window and you don't have to wear seatbelts!"

Cowboy Payt

I have many things to blog about and tons of pics to post, but I am sleep deprived so I'll just share a favorite of my Payt for tonight...enjoy.

fun times...

Riding the jet skis on "pop's river"...we saw dead beavers (thrilling), a moose, a bald eagle and lots of birds and ducks. It is such a fun place to spend time together.

Sydney found Pop's glasses...too funny!

Some of the old gang...I have never seen Josh happier than he was that night. It was hilarious!

My high school reunion was such a fun time. I swear, it was the funnest thing I've done in ten years! Ok, maybe not the funnest, but it sure was crazy fun to see some of the old friends from high school. I dare say my Mike even had a good time, minus a little run in with an old boyfriend! Who are we kidding, he probably liked that best of all. I laughed and laughed and Angie and I even sang a song for old times sake. Hope I don't sound too dorky for liking it so much, but I really did!

My three kiddos. It was such fun staying at Andy & Kate's house for a few days.

All four kids together...crazy that three of them are mine :)

TWENTY baby toes! Love it!

Two "A"s are better than one, that's for sure. It has been so much fun to have our little girlies together. Arleigh is sure a sweet heart and we can't get enough of our sweet Avery!

Avery & her favorite brother Payton. He is such a good helper with her and just loves her so much.