Lakeview Park Water Park

That's Jake in the hat and Kate in the green swimsuit.

Okay, here's a great place we can take any visitors this summer. For the bargain price of $1.00 for kids and $2.50 for adults, you can get in to this awesome small water park. It is just the right size for keeping an eye on everyone and they have TONS of stuff for the kids to do.

Kennedy's favorite part was running and jumping into the water off of this island they had in the kid area. On the way home she said, "Maybe when dad gets home from work he can build me this big, big, big, big island made out of wood so I can jump into the water!" Maybe.

Once Jake got used to the water getting in his swim diaper, he was having a great time! The water isn't too cold, so this was the first time he actually got IN the water. He just loved crawling in and out of the water. He would crawl out onto the cement then wave his arm at me (because I kept waving him over and saying, "come here Jake!") so he thought he was pretty funny copying my waving at him. He also liked getting up on his hands and feet and then pushing the water through his legs. I had to laugh when I caught him sneaking up behind a lady who was sitting in the water. He looked around and then proceeded to splash water on her back!

Last night we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory in Boise. YUM!!! Afterward we walked downtown a little and stopped at the fountains to play. I love how Kennedy hiked her skirt way up so it wouldn't get in the water. Jake thought we were going swimming again!

This morning right after waking up Jake hit the jackpot by finding my purse on the floor unattended. He immediately grabbed the camera out and unzipped the case. This is the first time he's actually gotten it undone enough to get the camera out. Boy was he excited! I'll just let you see how he felt about me taking it away from him. Mean old mom.

Luckily later on he was happy to just have his picture taken.

Park Trip

I took my neighbor Corinn's kids with us to the park in Meridian the other day while she and her hubby went to their first prenatal appt. for their new addition that will be arriving in January! The kids had so much fun, even though the playground was packed. We even had a celebrity sighting, Mr. Scott Dorvall, the Channel 6 weatherman (flashback to the Festival of Trees and my weatherman sighting of Len Randolph from Channel 5 in SLC). Anyway....Kennedy is feeling so proud because she is brave enough to go down the huge blue bumpy slide. She went down this same slide when she was 2, but had no idea how fast and bumpy it was! Needless to say, she's avoided it ever since. But the day before this trip we had stopped at this park with dad to play and she did it! All that is left to conquer is the dark and twisty tunnel slide!

Jake, on the other hand, loves everything at the park. His favorite right now is climbing up the stairs and walking along the bridges, back and forth. During a break in the shade, he cooly at pretzles WHILE stading up all by himself. He is looking bigger each day.

Here's a picture of Kennedy in the balls we recently bought for Jake's sensory therapies. She loves them!

What a Great Weekend!

We just had a fun weekend with Amy's family, who stayed with us while they did the family reunion rounds in Emmett. Kennedy was in heaven having her best friend here, and once again I wish I had a transporter machine so that Kennedy & Emily could play together more often!

Amy & Michael arrived Friday and we had a good time just hanging out in the backyard and having a barbeque. It didn't take long for Kennedy and Emily to find the freshly tilled dirt in the garden....add a little water and voila!

Saturday Amy's clan headed to Emmett for family reuinion festivities. I did the Bob LeBow Bike Tour again this year, but only the 10 mile ride this time (let's just say I'm not in the shape I was last year!) instead of the 36-miler. It was a beautiful ride out to Lake Lowell and back, with a fun BBQ lunch afterward. Kennedy was cute, cheering me on and telling me I did a great job. Actually, when I saw her right after I finished, she said, "you won, right mom?" I look forward to the day when she'll be doing these rides with me. After the bike ride we went to the Nampa airport for their "Thunder over Nampa" air show. We only watched a couple planes, but it was a lot of fun.

We all came home and had a nap, then headed out to Emmett to watch their Cherry Days Parade with Amy's family. The kids had a blast catching candy and just being together. Parades and festivals are some of my favorite things about summer.

Sleepy Allie

After the parade we headed over to Michael's family's farm for their BBQ dinner. They actually BBQ'd an entire pig in a big barrell. They are a really nice family and welcomed us warmly. Kennedy and Emily had fun walking around the farm to see all the animals.

At the chicken coop.

Best friends.

Kennedy on the tractor.

Sunday the kids just played and played. Jessica had us do the erupting volcano trick she did at home with Amy, and all the kids loved that.

Now it's way past time for bed and I need to go tuck my busy kids in! What a weekend!

Kennedy's Nursery School Graduation

Kennedy "graduated" from Nursery School this past week and had a ball at her school's water day and graduation party. (Her nursery school is part of a larger private school, so they do a lot of the same things as the older kids). Next year Kennedy will be in their Preschool program and she already can't wait! Part of the obstacle course they got to do on their graduation day.
She did great on the long balance beam-all by herself!
The big 4-year-old.
Water Day-the day before graduation day.
Kennedy and her friend from her class, Paul.
Kennedy's best school friend, Niyah. They've already had a playdate at the pool since school has been out, and I think they'll have lots more before the summer is over! (Coincidentially, Niyah's grandma is Jake's Service Coordinator-the one who helps me keep my head on straight when it comes to all of Jake's appointments, therapies, services, etc.)

Camping Trip-Sawtooth National Forest

Last weekend we spent camping with some neighbors and their kids in the Sawtooth National Forest, just above the Anderson Dam area (near Featherville, ID-yes, I had no idea where that was either, but it's about 2 hours East from our house in Nampa). It was so beautiful. One of the Forks of the Boise River ran right next to camp. The water was very high and fast, so I was glad it was on the other side of the road! But the kids had fun throwing rocks in it. It was still pretty cool and definitely windy, so we stuck by the fire a good amount of time, which was nice. It was great to get away and just be with good friends. Kennedy and Jake had a good time with their friends. This was the "big rock" next to our camp that the kids played on most of the time we were there. It was their "secret" hiding place. Here is most of the gang around the campfire! Yes, the campfire was on the pavement, which was kind of weird, but practical I guess for wildfires. I guess that's what you get in a big camping area.

We went on a small hike just north of camp near the hot springs. They fill a pool with the hot spring water each morning. There was also a small play area at the hot springs and the kids had a great time on the log teeter-totter and swing! Jake liked climbing the rocks and digging in the dirt!

We got to test out our new "family size" tent this trip and it was great! It's huge, but somehow we still managed to fill it up with all our stuff! We'd like to go back to this area, but next time camp down the road a ways where there are fewer campsites and it's closer to the shallower part of the river.
The kids all piled into the back of our truck while we packed up camp-Jake sure felt like one of the big kids!

When it got real windy we put Jake in the truck, which happens to be his favorite place in the world right now. He is just sure that he's ready to drive!

On the drive out we stopped at a little outlet in the reservoir to see if the guys (and kids) could catch a fish. Well, Brian had just put his line in the water and said, "we probably won't catch anything right here, the water is too fast," when all of the sudden he got a tug on his line and voila! He caught a fish! Turns out that was the one and only fish caught, but the kids did find a big snake to look at (I missed that and only saw a picture on Heirani's camera). The drive home was beautiful too. Everything was so green, and there were a lot of blooming wildflowers along the road.
We even saw some wildlife on the ride home! (Okay, so it was an archery shoot gathering, but we can pretend, right?)

What a beautiful place and a fun trip! We are so grateful to have such good friends here in Idaho, and hope there will be many more camping trips this summer!

Yes, we're still here

Okay, so I haven't been that great at keeping up this blog thing. Usually when I'm online I'm checking email, looking up an address or phone number, or just scanning the headlines on MSN. Anyway, I thought I'd better post a few photos of our latest happenings.

We took a trip down to Utah over Memorial Day and had a great time visiting everyone. There never seems to be enough time to see everyone we want to see as much as we want to see, but we try our best! Kennedy was sooo excited to be heading south again. We weren't 20 minutes out of Boise when she said, "mom, do you see the 'Welcome to Utah' sign?" She asked that about every half-hour or so for the entire trip down.

Sara and Natalie slept at Grandma's house the first night we were there and this was the first time Kennedy actually stayed with the girls all night instead of coming to our bed! Even Jake enjoyed the sleepover (well, at least the movie part!).

We had a great time riding the Frontrunner, the new commuter rail, from Layton to SLC with Kaylyn, Sara, Natalie & Camille, Grandma & Grandpa, and Aunt Michelle. We rode TRAX to the Gateway and got an ice cream cone there and then rode back!
Up at Grandpa Preece's house Jake had fun riding the "big" bike and just crawling all around playing with everyone. He really liked their wood floor in the kitchen because he could slide around on it. Kennedy had a great time with her cousins, especially their visit to the farm down the road. She held a new kitten and thought she was so big. She and Emily are hams and just say things to make each other laugh! They are so much fun to watch together.