Family Fun in Idaho

 Luke had two weeks off of work to play. We started our long trek with a trip to Idaho. Luke's brother Zach and his family moved down from Alaska and we met in Idaho to play for a few days. It was so hot so everybody decided we had to play in water. Meridian has a splash pad and the boys had a great time getting wet.

 We finally got to meet our new niece Hayden. She is super cute!

 I love these two cute boys, especially James' cheese face.

These two boys are as different as can be. James is a mellow teddy bear and Jax is a little wild man. They had a mostly fun time playing together. We are happy Zach and Jayme moved closer so these guys can be great friends.

 Cindy wanted to take a picture while we were all together so we set up the tripod. It turned out really great. We had a fun time together!

Luke rode with his dad to help Zach and Jayme move to Colorado so Jax and I went to hang out with my parents for a few days. My aunt won us this sweet tractor and Jax could ride it all day long. 

 Jax also had his first experience with sparklers. He wasn't sure he liked them at all. 

 Jax loves the kitties but they do NOT love him. He would meow at them maniacally and chase them all over the place, including under the deck.

4th of July

Happy 4th of July! July has been a really busy month. Lots of traveling and family time. We started off by heading to Jackson Hole for the 4th with my family. The parade was the longest parade I have ever been to. You get a lot more candy thrown at you when your holding a toddler! One float was even tossing out corn on the cob. It was delicious. 

 After the parade we stopped and got some ice cream while Jax slept off the parade.

Lindsey's birthday was a week later so we helped her celebrate a little early. She really loved our Happy Birthday singing (read with a sarcastic tone).

 It was so fun playing outside and not getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. We went on a bike ride every evening after it cooled off a little (Jax rode in the trailer, not on the handlebars). 

 The fireworks were awesome. We were right beneath them. Jax kept saying "Ooo. Wow." over and over. So cute.

 Eric brought us a table from my Uncle Bruce and we gave Eric our old table so we had to do a table swap. It was like a giant game of tetris but we love our new to us table. 

World Cup

The World Cup has been going on and it seems everyone is going soccer crazy. So I am really not into soccer. It wasn't really big in the area I lived when I was little. Lots of running, can't use your hands, and can end in a tie? What kind of a sport ends in a tie? Anyways, Luke loves soccer. We don't have cable so he haven't been able to watch any. A co-worker of Luke's invited us over to watch the US take on Belgium and he was pretty excited so we dressed for the occasion. Jax was wearing his soccer jersey that is way too big and Luke and I wore some red, white, and blue.  We enjoyed good company, caramel popcorn, and a disappointing tie. As we were driving home there was a crazy rain/hail storm. Jax loved it!





Adoption Profile Book

We are starting the adoption process again. Everything is done except for the home study that I am impatiently waiting for. While waiting, we have been working hard on our adoption profile book. This is basically your first impression. It lets someone get to know a little about your family, who you are, and what you have to offer a child that may come into your home. If you have never gone through this, it is an exhausting, emotional, labor of love. How do you sum up how great you think your family is? How to make your personality come through? What about your family might catch the eye of a potential birth mother all the while being completely genuine? We went through so many drafts and had our families edit it over and over. Things like this just affirm that I am not a writer.  I finally feel like our personality comes through which was the hardest thing. I'm pretty happy with the finished product. Now back to more waiting!

Pocatello

This weekend we made an impromptu trip to Idaho. Thursday Luke's brother Jesse invited us to a BBQ with some of his cousins that we don't get to see very often. So why not? We packed up and headed out. Driving to Idaho we always get to see beautiful scenery and if we're lucky, wildlife. Luke is the bear whisperer. He can usually spot a bear on our trips in the spring. If you see cars pulled off the road in Wyoming it's for a bear, moose, or elk with a big rack. This is what we saw. We kept trying to point it out to Jax. "Jax do you see the bear?" He wouldn't look out the window but he was growling like a bear. Our baby is the cutest!

 Pocatello is where Luke and I went to college. There is a pool with a lazy river that I went to a lot with my roommates in the summer. Wyoming only has indoor pools and I miss swimming in the sunshine so even though it was not the warmest day, I convinced everyone to go to the pool. Here are my cute boys in the kiddie pool. 

 Jax, our niece Leah, and I in the lazy river.

 Family time. 

 The BBQ. Luke's cousin Calvin, his wife Mattie, and their new baby Merrick. Merrick and I were matchy matchy teal so we had to get a picture. 

 This is cousin Ginger's baby Sadie who was born one week after Jax. He was loving all the new kids to play with. These two show the difference between boys and girls. They were both playing with a stuffed bear. Sweet Sadie was giving it hugs and kisses and wild man Jax was tackling it and wrestling it and trying to ride it like a horse. It was so funny. 

It was a fun weekend with family and we always love to see everyone. 

Again the beautiful Tetons on the way home.