Bowman Pool

In Bowman there is a city pool. The first year I went to ND, the pool was just a pool. But every year they add something to it. This year they had a huge water slide, a tube slide and a little slide for the kiddie pool. The only pool in Jackson is the gym, and 2 weeks after they fill it it's to hot to swim in. So swimming is a treat for them. Yes, that is my parents. They came out a surprised the boys! It was GREAT to see them. They were good sports. They let us drag them all over for a couple of days. Logan and my Maymee. He thinks splashing is fun.

Logan wasn't as excited at his slide.

Sam talked Grandpa Jerr into going down the slide with him. Dad shot off the end and went a ways. It was funny to hear Sam say "good job papa Jerr". Sam ran up this slide forever. Dave gave up running after him and just waited at the bottom. He only had one problem when he flipped around in the middle some where and got a good bump on his head, but it didn't seem to stop him.

I was mad while I was taking this picture. Yes, it's the HIGH DIVE!!! And that is my 4 year old jumping off it!!! Notice Dave just watching from the side. Sam was going off the regular one until his saw an older boy going up the big ladder. My Mom said, 'Don't get mad just grab the camera and get ready'. When I turned around I saw Sam walking toward the edge. Dave made Adam get in the water to 'catch' him. As he was about to chicken out an older boy told him 'Don't be scared just run and jump off, its fun'. That was all it took. My babies are FEARLESS!! The kiddie pool is blocked off by a fence from the rest of the pool and Logan was trying to crawl under it to get in on the action. He was very upset that Sam was jumping and not him.

Holy Vacation Part 2

As we were driving on the Freeway we saw this giant goose thing. It was the Enchanted Highway. This Farmer has used scrap metal to build these gigantic animal statues. They were really cool to see. The boys enjoyed stopping and checking everything out.

When Logan saw the 'SHISH', Dave couldn't drive fast enough. We had to catch him to get back into the car.

The cowboy one was really awesome. The boys played in the stage coach. Behind them was a giant cowboy. We took a few pics before we realized the place was SWARMING with leaf cutter bees. I ran the boys to the car, but not before they got Sam. His legs were COVERED in bits. Poor kid! When Sam gets bit by anything he swells like crazy, so within a few miles he was all swollen and complaining they hurt. That was the last one we stopped at. They were cool to see though.

We made it to Grandma and Gramps by late afternoon. My favorite part of being there is sitting on the front porch and watching the cars on the highway. Its right there! I am always nervous about going with kids, but we only had a 2 runaways! Logan just wanted to sweep the road. The boys are waiting for Grandma Linda. I love how Sam is such a big boy. He sits with his legs crossed in his car seat too. And Logan has to be just like him.

Logan is very shy when seeing new people. Gramps got to Logan early with some food. Now they are best friends!

Logan found this truck and played with it ALL the time. He loaded rocks and hauled them around. He wanted to ride in it but couldn't figure out how to sit in it and make it go so he settled for the rocks.

Gramps has a couple horses. Hailey and P.O.S. (really), Sam named her Spot. He thought they would like some flowers so he pick wild sunflowers for them. But not the whole thing just the pedals.

Aren't my boys SO cute. I love the Dave has his arm on Logan's leg and Logan has his arm around Dave. Logan LOVES Hailey. He yelled out the window ' NAYNEE'. That's all he wanted to do the whole 2 weeks was see Hailey.

After we had been there a week, we decided to take the boys so Rapid to a cool park and on the way we wanted to drive through and check out Strugis. We so every year, but BIKE WEEK was going so we went. It was SO FOGGY! Sturgis is a pretty small town. The main street through town is maybe 4 miles. I took our over a hour to drive through. It was nuts! There were bikers everywhere. We went to the Buffalo Chip. (above) Its so big but we couldn't see how far back it went. It is set out of town about a mile and there is only a small 2 lane road that gets you there. We went down that road! MISTAKE!! We sat in a line forever trying to get there; then when we realized what we had done we had to wait in the line to get out. Poor boys, they were so sick of the car.

There were bars everywhere! After a hour on that road we needed one!!

Full Throttle Saloon

There were shops everywhere! Just in tents and trucks. After a lunch FIASCO, we made it to STORYBOOK ISLAND. Its a free park with all of the classic storybooks represented. It was AWESOME!! We were there for several hours. The entrance was a castle and a mote. Off to the side was the ogre and the 3 goats that tried to pass.

Sam was so excited to help so Humpty Dumpty didn't fall

Old school Fire truck. Logan barked and barked at the dog. It took us a few minutes before he would get close enough to touch him. I don't think he got the dog was fake.

'NAYNEE'

The only thing you paid for in the whole thing was a train ride. They loved it. They had the thing to themselves, Sam kept telling Logan to drive and turn. What a good big brother. Dave walked beside the train; I was worried Logan would be done and get out in the middle of the ride.

YOGI and BOO BOO!

THAT FACE!!!! It about sums up the day. Logan fell in a mud lake so is all nasty. But how cute is he! I asked him who that was and that was his reply. I love it!

HOLY VACATION part 1

We are back from Chicago and North Dakota! We had such a great time. It was great to see family and friends! We left on the Friday, July 31 to Oswego, Il (near Chicago) to see Matt and Melissa Sides. We had a AWESOME food and a great time. On Saturday we all went to Legoland there; all of the kids loved it. Thanks for hanging out with us for a couple days guys! We miss you more now! I have to add the picture above for Sam. He loves Alastair and misses him.

Logan kept petting this guy.

Their faces are so funny, but they were standing together so its a keeper.

When Sam saw Batman, he ran up to him and posed like this luckily I had the camera ready because that is a great shot!

This was a ride like, It's a small world. It was really slow and went through a castle. It was really cool all of the Lego things built inside. Sam got scared a couple of times. Someone let the Dragon out and the was not fun for him. Logan on the other hand did NOT enjoy any of it. Dave said he was whimpering the whole time.

Sam was the 'Professor's' helper to make Legos. He went through a mini system and showed us how they make Legos. This was probably my favorite part! I wanted Dave and Matt to take their picture with him but they wouldn't! BUTTS!

Matt and Sam with President Ovoma (as Sam says)

All of us a Buca's. Awesome Food! Good choice Matt. You order giant bowls of food and everyone shares. But they don't tell you how GIANT the bowls are. We could have eaten for days on the food we got! But SO GOOD!!

After we ate lunch we took off. Our plan was to drive to Minneapolis and stay the night which was about 6 hours away. At 8 the boys were getting tired so we stopped at this rest area to get jammies on and we noticed a scenic plaque that said their was a waterfall. I didn't read it I just told Dave we should go and wear the boys the rest of the way out. We walked and then ran up a trail which turned into this board walk. It was raised of the ground. It was really pretty. But we seriously walked over a mile and then came to the end of the board walk. Yeah and guess what. NO WATERFALL! It was a good walk and the boys were happy to get out of the car for a while. We got back in the car and drove to Minneapolis. As we were getting closer about 10:30 Dave called Marriott to make a reservation. Now I will tell you that we not snobs or anything and its not that we have a problem with other hotels it just when Dave is in Japan he stays at the Marriott so he gets points and we don't have to pay for the hotel if we stay there. So anyway, The lady tells us there is a vacancy in one down by the Mall of America so we go downtown Minneapolis at night and try to find this hotel. Well we find out that the Hotel the lady found was Burrlington (suburb) but not in Minnesota but Indiana. Excellent! Dave was on the phone and driving so I was trying to read the map to get us out of that town. No we don't have GPS. The freeway turned and we went into a tunnel at night remember, and as I am trying not to freak we hear a DEAFENING siren! There were firetrucks coming up behind us in the tunnel that wanted to pass. There is NO room for pulling over in the tunnel so Dave decides to speed up for them. Dave is a great driver, but I thought WE was going to die!!! The boys slept through all it. We finally made it out of that town and ended up driving to Fagro, which is 4 hours more. The Sturgis Rally was starting in a few days so all the hotels were booked. But we found one there and rolled in about 2:30 am. It made the drive the next day lots more pleasant because we only had 6 hours left.

LIFE!!

This last week has been UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Last Friday Sam threw Ben an Un-Birthday Party. He has been telling me he wants to give Ben a surprise party for a while now. Ben and Sam's birthday are within a week of each others in November and December so there was no waiting until then. Since Ben is starting school on a few weeks I figured now was the time. We got a few things to decorate the house and made cupcakes for them to frost, got presents for them and had ourselves a party. It was fun for them. Then Saturday, Dave got to go Canoeing down the Buffalo River which is about an hour from here. They left super early so he got up at 6:00 and as he was leaving, he kicked the naughty chair and broke a toe. He was gone all day, so I mowed the edge of the grass and weed whacked so he could just go fast with the riding mower when he got home. When he got home He showed me his toe which was all black and blue! It was gross but not nearly as bad as the sunburn he had on the inside of his calves!! It was SO BURNED! We put some aloe on it and he went to mow the grass. By the time he was done his legs hurt so bad he could hardly move. Later that evening we had to pick the garden before it rained so we put the kids to bed and went outside. It took over 3 hours! Of course the mosquitoes ATE ME!!! So I had bites EVERYWHERE!! This all leads up to SUNDAY! The Stake President called while Dave was canoeing and asked if we would meet with him at 8:00 Sunday morning. I said yes before I realized that 8 is WAY TO EARLY!!! As I am writing this I'm laughing but it was SO NOT FUNNY!!!!! Dave is the ward clerk so his meetings start at 7:00 so he left before me but not much. He was trying so hard to not let his pant legs touch his sunburn and limping because he toe hurt so bad. Do you have a mental picture, it was funny! And I look like I have chickenpoxs. So we show but to the church and Dave gets a new calling. The BISHOPRIC!!!!!! Are you kidding me he is 27! Of course he says yes and when they announced it in church and had he walk to the front, he walked bowlegged with a limp!! I was still in shock and VERY mad so I didn't laugh at his walking, but it WAS funny! He was a little teary eyed while he was speaking but I think most of it was the PAIN. So I sat alone with the boys (which will be my life story for a WHILE) and it was okay until Logan got his face stuck in between the bench and the wall. I couldn't wiggle him out so I had to lift him out while he was screaming bloody murder. I rushed out with him and Sam behind saying, "Whats wrong with 'Lodan'?" not quietly! There was blood running out from behind his pacifier. It was an awful day!! I'm so glad its over. Anyway that was my weekend! I NEED A VACATION!!! Here are some pictures of the un-birthday party. Above is picture from what we picked on Saturday night. The whole table was covered but we took some to a few people.

NOTE: Dave is feeling better. His legs are not as swollen now and his toe looks better.

Decorating cupcakes (mainly eating frosting)

We made these foam pirate ships. They were a killer to make and didn't look all that great but the boys sure loved them. Sam still plays with it all the time.

Logan was good at pin the tail on the donkey. He thought it was so funny. We spun the boys around to make them dizzy, so Logan spun himself. It was GREAT!!!

Sam and Ben both were little cheaters!! It was amazing they got it right every time. I ended up tying a dish towel around their head so they would play right. Then they complained it was to dark and they couldn't see! Funny boys.

HAPPY UN-BIRTHDAY BOYS!!!!! They love each other!!! We will miss Ben when he starts Kindergarten and Sam is still in Preschool.

I LOVE Baby Einsteins!!

I put on 'Baby Da Vinci' while I was cleaning the bathroom yesterday before playgroup and and this is what I found a few minutes later. I started him out on the couch, but Sam got him a chair from the closet, set it up and gave it to him!! Sam is such a great big brother!

These last couple weeks have been pretty uneventful. We found out that Logan is allergic to Omnicef. So we had to change to something different and he is feeling much better now. Sam really wants to go back to school and is 'losing his patience' about waiting. We have been trying to keep a handle on our garden but it has exploded and is so big we cant hardly get in there to pick any of it. Dave is a good sport, and climbs around in there to get the tomatoes and peppers. I don't know what I would do without him!! We love summer when we can eat fresh veggies. Here are a few random pictures. Enjoy!!

Logan plays with my shoes while I get ready in the morning. I can only lock him out for a little while before he is kicking my door and screaming. So he sits in my closet and tries on my shoes. He loves them. Sam insists on wearing them too, they think its funny to pretend they are going to wear them to the store. I do draw the line there. I'm not sure why my boys love them so much, but it keeps them busy so I cant complain.

My poor couch! The boys have figured out the cushions come off and that's what they play with now. This is snack time, nothing like raisins on the couch! At least they are courteous enough to eat on the back of the cushions. I'm lucky because they don't play with all their other toys and that makes clean-up for me LOADS easier. But we have nowhere to sit!

Logan is an READER! He wants to read more stories than Sam at night. Of course they don't like the same books so I end up reading several books to each one. Now, I love reading to my kids but by 7:30 or 8:00 I am SO DONE!! So they both find time to look at books to stall their bedtime. Logan runs away from me as soon as bath is over and reads naked!! He thinks he's cute! I do too!!

Logan loves to color. This is all he wants to do! It's really cute and I let him color but he always ends up coloring on himself and he thinks its SO FUNNY. I blame Dave for watching all of the Tattooing shows out there! I secretly like them too, its awesome what they come up with!

Water Balloons & Pneumonia

Our 4th was exciting! We spent the evening with some friends eating and playing games. Sam and Ben loved the water balloons and the pinata!! Our smore making was cut short by the storm but they were still excellent!

Poor Logan on there other hand had no fun at all! My poor, sad little baby has pneumonia AGAIN! Who knew you could even get pneumonia in the summer! Logan and I spent most of the 4th at urgent care getting blood work and xrays done. I was so worried and sad for him; he was hardly responsive at all. They took blood from his finger and squeezed it out like they do and he didnt even move. He opened his eyes a little but didnt cry or anything. He was breathing so fast while unresponsive that the Doctor spent quite a while just watching him. The doctor gave him a shot of Rosefin, a REALLY thick and painful shot in his thigh. That did get his attention. He screamed for 10 minutes straight! I felt so bad but I was glad at that he was more awake if only for a few minutes. The above picture is really cute but is NOT normal Logan. He is a wild and crazy boy and NEVER sits still. However all night was spent like this, next to his Dad just staring off. I tried to rouse him with a cupcake and he didnt want anything to do with it! Thankfully the Rosefin seems to be helping and he is getting back to himself. Although the antibiotics make him every mean and snotty, we are glad to have Logan back!