It's a date

Cambelle had her first Daddy Daughter Date the other night.  She was so excited, they were going to have an etiquette dinner and then dancing.  She got all dressed up and asked me to fix her hair in the bun that "grandma always put Crystal's hair in".  She was set and had a very handsome date, if I do say so myself.  When they got home Troy and Cambelle showed me the dance they learned.  I love that she had the opportunity to be with her dad, she loves him so much and she had stars in her eyes at the idea of having a whole night with him. 

LOVE!!

"Is my tie straight?"  "Yeah, I think so."

Honestly could there be a sweeter picture?

Summer Camps and new talents

Every summer the local high school sponsors all kinds of camps that act as fund raisers for them and introduce younger students to the many opportunities that are available in high school.  This year all the kids did drama camp.  Sadly we didn't get to see the final performance because we went to see Bill Cosby.  But the kids had fun, putting on puppet shows, playing improv games and in general being with friends.  Then Sara, and J.T. participated in the voice camp.  They put on a concert at the end of the week, and both did a great job.  I've told J.T. chicks dig a guy that can sing and play the piano, we'll see if that is enough to motivate him.  Finally, J.T. played basketball for a week with the Varsity basketball team and was pretty much in Heaven.  I wish I would have been able to get more pictures, but the concert will have to do.  It's fun to see the kids do these different activities I love it when they find new things that they didn't know they would like to do.  

miles update

75?  Seriously 75? Yep, and I have a feeling this is going to be a VERY active summer and I love it.  We hiked a little trail the other day and added to the cause. 

So the reward for 75 miles was going to the movies in your pajamas.  Cambelle kept saying "this is the best day" so apparently she was totally on board with it.  Sara and J.T. were a little slower to warm up to the idea but in the end I think it was hopefully a memory that will stay.  

An essay to make you smile

In March J.T. was assigned to write an essay on Idaho's agriculture, it wasn't an assignment for a grade but more of a contest that they could enter if they wanted to.  Well his eyes were glistening with hopes of the prize money and all the ways he could spend it.  We talked about what an essay is and the basic structure.  Then we talked aout why he liked the things produced here.  He worked so hard on it, rewrote it at least five times, and really tried his very best.  He turned it in and then found out that he would have to wait for the results until the end of May.  At that point we pretty much forgot about the whole thing.  The day before school got out I picked J.T. up and you could have lit a stadium with his smile.  He told me that he not only won the district competition but they sent his essay to the state level and he won the state competition as well.  They published the essay in a local magazine and the local paper.  It has been a great experience for him, and fun for us to see him succeed at something he put so much effort in.  Great Job J.T.!!

This is the article that was in the paper.

Cosby comes to town

Living in a small town like we do, we don't have many opportunities to see concerts or shows with big names.  So when we heard that Bill Cosby was coming to town we were all super excited.  The stars definitely aligned when I got on line to buy the tickets because we ended up with 4th row seats.  We splurged and took the kids with us.  They wouldn't let us take pics during the show so the lead up and his empty chair will have to do.  We had a great night, even if half way through Cambelle leaned over and said, "I don't get it."  It was so much fun to see a man that graced my television every Thursday night when I was growing up. I loved every minute of it.

My Birthday Cake Season

All my cute kids are born in the last months of the year and so for three months I get to play with one of my favorite hobbies, CAKE!!  I love it, sometimes my kids have a definite idea of what they want and other times they let me do what I want, which is a lot of fun.

Sara let me choose this last year, so I took the colors that she painted her room an ran with it.

J.T. had DEFINITE ideas this year, he has been a huge fan since he spent time in Utah with his cousins.

Cambelle let me surprise her for her 8th birthday, the ballet slippers were made out of gumpaste, and it was it was a lot of fun to make.  I think she liked it.

I got to do an extra cake this year for my cute niece, she told me her favorite colors were green, blue, and yellow.  She wanted grass and flowers.  I love doing cakes because I learn something new all the time.   

....until next birthday season

"R" mountain

This has been on our summer goal list for about three years now.  Things always seem to get in the way, so this year I was determined to make it happen.  I figured that if we planned it early in the summer we would have a better shot.  So we woke up on Saturday and I made a lunch and then it started to rain.  We were determined, so we checked the weather and it reported that the rain would be short lived.  So we went ahead with the plan.  There was not a single complaint going up or coming down, that has to be some kind of a record.  It was so windy that we didn't walk the ridge so we weren't up there long enough to eat lunch.  When we came down we went to a nearby park and ate.  Cambelle said, "this was so much fun, this has been a great day!"  I have to agree.  It's one of the things I love about summer, we seem to make a little more of an effort to spend time together, and it makes me smile.

Memorial Day

We spent Memorial day in Montana.  We drove up to Ennis because Troy said there was a cafe that had "the best breakfast", and since I am always up for good food, (I know you are surprised) we jumped in the car and went for a drive.  Troy and I love to drive, it's nice just to be together and the scenery tops it off.  We drove just a little further to Nevada City and Virginia City, explored the old trains, stopped at a couple of Antique shops and had some really good ice cream.  The day was just about perfect.

I actually didn't order anything but totally benefited from every one's choice, they were all nice enough to share, (they were definitely coerced with a smile :)