A Little Bit of Respite

Posted by Jaicee

Just want to say thanks to Grandma Merrie for taking Naivie and Norah for a few days. I woke up this morning, not because two little girls were standing by my bed and breathing on me, but because I just woke up!  And it was quiet... well Daphne fussed a little, but then after I fed her morning bottle, it was so nice!! Yea!!

And I want to put up some pictures of a little excursion we took into the canyon behind Richmond... It's a pretty little canyon with perfect camping spots next to a beautiful rocky creek, especially this time of year!  Definitely camping there next summer!

Daphne's first time in her "pouch". She really liked it, even though I couldn't get it to fit quite right... She's so funny looking!

And my favorite picture... delicious golden light!

ENCORE!!!

Posted by Jordan

INDIAN SUMMER, I LOVE YOU!!!.  I really didn't think we'd get any more warm weather after Labor Day this year... not 90 degrees, anyway.  But just when I thought the show was over, the sun and the heat came back onto the stage for an encore performance that allowed us to play in the water one more time.  HOORAH!!

We took the girls to the splash pad in Providence, which I hear was packed with swarming swimming children and moms this summer.  But this weekend, it was empty.  It was pretty sweet.

Naivie absolutely loved it.  She and I ran around in it for hours.  Norah wouldn't have anything to do with it and stayed on the playground.  Oh well.  We all got a little more color in our cheeks and enjoyed ourselves.

We even put Li'l Daphne in the water.  She kicked and kicked and seemed to enjoy it.  I wish I had it on video.

A little later on we met up with our friends Jake and Kate Neeley who live right across the street from the splash pad.  They held us at gunpoint and made us stay for dinner, which was delicious (THANKS KATE!).  You guys are awesome.

Saturday, we went to First Dam to feed the ducks with McLain and Sheri and the kids.  They all very much enjoyed throwing bread to the ducks.  The big geese were a little more intimidating (as geese can be).  I couldn't get a good picture of this one old goose that looked like it must have been the grandpa goose of the whole dam.  He was huge and had a giant flapping dewlap under his knobby head.  His lumbering body almost drug on the ground when he came out of the water.  He was awesome.

It was really funny watching my niece Brooklyn wait until she thought nobody was watching then make a break for the water.  Silly kiddos.

We had a rotisserie chicken picnic there in the park.  We tried to "tether" Brooklyn to a tree with a tow rope from McLain's car...

...she didn't like it.

"Here, duck,duck duck..."

 "...and goose!"

 Sometimes the best times are spent doing absolutely nothing with your family.  Just watching the fish jump and throwing bread to the ducks.

I love this time of year.  Love it!  I caught this couple lying by the water and snapped a shot of them as we walked by.  I wish I knew who they were so that I could give the picture to them...

Also of note, Broski and Ben both had birthdays in the last two weeks.  Whereas Ben got a regular birthday cake with frosting...

Broski got a meat cake made of barbecued, bacon-wrapped shrimp, grilled by yours truly.  Delicious just doesn't describe it.

HAPPY BRITHDAY BEN AND BROSKI!!!

Winding down...

Posted by Jordan

Summer is winding down.  For all intents and purposes, in my book at least, Labor Day weekend is the end of Summer.  And I feel like this one passed me by.  I worked so much, and I almost didn't get out at all to do anything fun or enjoy the warm weather.  Sadness.  It's hard to feel the closure that I need in order to move on to the next season when I feel like I missed the last one.

But it's okay.  Despite losing the Summer to an ever hastening clock, I can't help getting excited for fall. And yesterday I did get out with the kids to enjoy one last warm summer day.

We took a short drive up to Treasureton to visit with the Idaho Knuts, then we went back down to Mack Park in Smithfield to have a picnic and splash around in the park.  It's a rare moment when Dad steps out from behind the camera to just have some fun... I love my girls...

The cold water made Naivie suddenly have to pee, and so she just let 'er rip right there in the creek. I had to rinse out her pants... Am I a mean daddy?

The coolest thing happened while we were wading around:  I suddenly see this glimmer of gold down the creek, at the bottom of a little waterfall, and I say to Naivie, "Let's go check it out and see what is so shiny over there!"  When I got close enough to see what it was, I was surprised and excited to find a "golden" opportunity to have some fun with my little Naivie's imagination.  It was a "gold" bead bracelet that somebody had apparently thrown there and left. But to us, it was...

LOST TREASURE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WATERFALL!!!  

Naivie was so excited about finding treasure in the creek that she wore it to church today.

So, the weather has already turned today.  It's supposed to be cold for a while. I'm glad we sent Summer out properly yesterday.  I love the changing seasons, and though I'll have to wait for another year to take advantage of more warm-weather summer swimming, I'm excited as heck for Fall.