blue ribbon winner at the fair

well, i didn’t actually win a blue ribbon, but i most definitely deserved one.  in what category you ask?  motherhood.  mom of the year.  mama del año. that. is. me.  why?  it’s a little bit of a story, but to sum it up i (falsely) assumed eli was not tall enough to go on upside-down rides.  we had just arrived at the fair when i saw a ride.  he was tall enough. we boarded. we smiled. we got ready. i snap a cute picture of Eli…

the ride starts. 

fun is had. 

height is gained.

“this is fun” he says.

more height gained…

"are we UPSIDE DOWN???"

oops.

i was videoing but turned off the camera when he started getting sketched out.  just so you know, he is not (horribly) permanently scarred.  he laughed about it right after we got off and no tears were lost.

after that, we tamed it down a bit…

lyla and the flying pink elephant…

us on the farris wheel

adam found jen’s entry…

we love baby goats!

eli really likes viper…what a blast

yes, more camping:)

sometimes i wonder if it’s all worth it.  the packing. the preparing. the dirt.  the shopping.  the drive. the dirt. the lack of showers.  the patchy sleep. the cold. the heat. the dirt. the bugs. the realization for necessities forgotten.  and last but not least: the. dirt.  is it worth it? yep.it.is.  because you get to sleep in a tent. you get to wake in a tent (that’s my favorite part).  you get to experience quiet even among  ruckus childhood laughter.  you get to enjoy smores. you get to sit fireside and chat with friends.   you get to eat off paper plates, thus eliminating dishes (yes!).  you get to have your husband do most of the cooking (double yes!).  you get to take in sights like this…

and this…

you get to see how much, in fact, your children love muffins…

how happy they look!

you get to enjoy top ramen at 10pm by headlamp…

you get to enjoy a game of apples to apples in the forest…

you get to gather pounds and pounds of pond weeds…for hours…and hours.

you get to hurl mud and friends, and still be friends afterwards…

so yep, it’s worth it all. even. the. dirt.

and just one more to make you laugh…

campout

we headed up to lowman last weekend for the first annual church campout.  it was a good time…a GREAT time for the kids.  they had tons of fun running around with their friends.  lyla and chloe were instant camping buds.  here lyla demonstrates her karate moves…

…and her talent for archery…eli and jeremiah had a great time together.  their fondness of talking, adventuring and story telling makes them perfect for each other.

me and my girl

eli thoroughly enjoying the whipped cream shaving contest…

lyla thinking it was thoroughly disgusting…

jeff took us to some awesome hot springs.  the cliff on the right had hot water streaming down into pools people had built with rocks and sand.  the main river on the left mixed with the hot springs to make nice, warmish water to sit in…

the kiddos soakin’  it up…

lyla and i stacked some rocks…

eli and adam explored the hot spring cliffs…

back at camp scott and adam led us in some worship…

us at the creek…thanks fosters, for planning such a fun weekend!

zoo!

i really love zoos…even as an adult.  maybe it’s because my mom used to take me there just to get an ice cream and ride the skyfiri. or possibly because my dad watched so much national geographic television while i was growing up that a love for animals was quite impossible to evade.  or maybe it’s because animals are just that cool.  we got to visit the san diego zoo while we were there.  that place is awesome:) we had all these monkeys following us everywhere…

hailey and lyla getting up close and personal with the baby hippo…

i had to tackle eli to get a picture with him…

grandpa scott also came with us…

my favorite part…the skyfari…i know, i'm a dork…but it’s just so fun!

eli, clark and shane…cute little guys

hailey and lyla spent most of their time looking at the map…it was difficult to get them out of the stroller to actually look at a live animal. silly girls.

navigators

the newlyweds even joined us…a good way to spend our last day of vacation.

mr. and mrs. scholar!

happy to announce (though a little late) mr. and mrs. scholar:)  what a beautiful day!

the little cousins in their wedding best…

the reception was at one of my favorite places…la jolla

me with my partner in crime dancing…aka, molly

my baby and me…

grandma with her daughters, my mom and aunt twylla (mother of the bride)…

my grandma and grandpa hobb…

the beautiful bride!

the older cousins…

my dad and grandpa taking in the setting sun on a very good day…