i think the white beard threw him off...

we're not the traditional "santa" family. we've told eli about the real St. Nicolas and how he gave gifts to the needy and helped the poor. And how the guy dressed in red with a white beard at Christmas time is a representation of the real St. Nicolas.

then there's Noah. the arc. the animals. the white beard.

the other day eli saw a toy he wanted. he said, "i'm gong to ask Noah and the reindeer to get me that..."

it's about that time of year again, i think we need to reteach that lesson. poor Noah, going from captain of a boat that held the worlds offspring - to commanding a sleigh of flying reindeer.

the mighty boise

we took two rafts down the boise the other day. the kids loved to switch rafts, pretending to be invaders.

grandma, lyla and papa enjoying the ride

i think it was a class 5...

pontoon

we hit lucky peak on a pontoon boat last week. it was a beautiful day on the lake. under the boat is always a hit...and a little creepy.

these two shots crack me up. lyla had a smashing time with haily this visit.

i find myself taking pictures of the back of his head a lot. i must like it.

we got a tube this time to pull behind the boat. the boys loved it. haily went with jesse, but closed her eyes the whole time. but i think i see a smile...

shane on the move...

happy eli

airborne eli

truning seven

shane turned 7 while vising us. i really can't believe he's seven. i so vividly remember flying to texas to see him for the first time. oh, the anticipation! he was so cute. and still is, just a bit bigger with more hair:)

happy birthday shane!!!!

the fair

we went to the fair yesterday with the fam. the kids had a blast on the rides. this girl behind eli cracks me up.

the wild and crazy kangaroo ride.

the very sad lyla when the ride stopped and she had to get off...

the round in circle car ride...

lyla enjoying the wind in her hair

very sad lyla at the conclusion of the car ride being comforted by daddy

peek...i love his little eyes

we were "bomber jets" and "fighter jets"

how cute is he...holding on for dear life with a squinted smile...

talk about holding on for dear life, lyla would not put this slushie down even to feed the animals. eventually, when her little brain was frozen solid, she gave it up to feed a goat...then immediately asked for it back.

eli and lyla checking out the baby quail...this makes me laugh.

and i don't know, do you think we should see a doctor for this?

the depot

the so-cal camps arrived yesterday for a fun filled week. we went to the train depot today for a ride up the bell tower and to feed the koi.

the final four...

eli has been waiting all summer for his "favorite person in california" to visit. yesterday before they got here he said, "when shane gets here i'm just gonna cry."

pizza night

with our husbands working late and out of town, suz and i were both flying solo for the evening. so she came over for dinner and a play date. we ate pizza and ice cream and played in the kiddy pool. i'm so thankful for good friends:)

if you can't tell, eli is in that "must-make-a-silly-face-in-every-picture-that-i'm-not-frowning-in" phase.

more "fun things"

we visited the capitol building with chelsea, clark and isabelle the other day. the kids had fun ringing the bell, romping the (mostly) empty halls, riding the elevators and playing on the cannon.

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that's my shirt!!!

eli was quite perturbed when he saw that calrk was wearing "his" shirt. funny enough, they DO make more than one of each shirt...so they wanted to match. clark even got his camo pants on to complete the twinsyness.

rollin' in the river...

on our float last week lyla came with us for the last twenty minutes and loved it. she jumped in raft, danced around and asked if she could "scoop" (paddle with the oars). so we thought, "great! now we can take her with us on our next trip!" so we did. mistake. after much crying, daddy came to the rescue and picked us up at park center bridge.

the rest of the crew went on and had a successful trip...

you never can be too safe...

so much fun

my cousin, chelsea, and her kids, isabelle and clark, are visiting from california. we've been doing "fun stuff" daily. this morning when clark woke up he said, "what fun thing are we doing today?!?" a few days ago we went to ann morrison with the porterfield ladies.

clark and eli admiring the fountain

lyla, isabelle, eli and clark

lyla and zoe were being so funny...they were travel sitting. they would go from place to place, sitting down for a second, then moving on to the next spot. here they are in a few of there of their locations...

suz and the girls enjoying some snacks...

warming up after a shower in the fountain...