"Waterfall"

One thing that we enjoyed doing in Montana was getting out into nature.  We've done a few midsized hikes (4-5 miles) with the kids (including a 4 mile one when I was 5 days overdue with Griffin), but tend to keep them a little shorter.  This last Sunday we did a 1/2 mile hike to a local "waterfall" about 30 minutes from our house.  I have waterfall in parentheses because it was more like a trickle this time of year.  Even though the waterfall wasn't that grand we still enjoyed being outside in the trees and on the trail.  

On the way up to the waterfall

  

Staying Out of the Gutter

Over the past month or so Nathan has been asking to go bowling.  So this last Saturday we decided to go.  Because we decided to go on a Saturday evening the bowling alley was having their "Thunder Alley" event where they have black lights, disco balls, and louder music.  We weren't sure how the boys would react, but they loved it.  Both of them really got into it.  They have a ramp for younger kids to use, as well as the bumpers so they are always sure to at least get a few pins down.  Sometimes I'm not sure about the bumpers though...it seems like a right of passage to get a certain amount of gutter balls before you learn how to really bowl.  I suppose for a one and three year old though bumpers are fair.  (They also helped mom to break 100!)  Jerry didn't bowl because he recently tore a muscle in his shoulder.  It was really cute to see the boys cheering for one another.  Each time Griffin would push the ball down the ramp he would wait for it to hit the pins and then run back to wait for the ball to return.  We only had him try to run down the lane one time, and thankfully nobody slipped when retrieving him!  We are enjoying the variety of things we can do with the boys as they get older.

Pink, pink, and more pink

Recently I had the pleasure of creating another cake.  This time one of my friends asked me to make a Princess Castle cake for her daughter's 3rd birthday.  It is funny how this hobby of mine can also cause me so much stress.  I have learned that I still have a lot to learn!  Although I was mostly satisfied with the results of this cake, I have decided that I need to take a few steps back in my cake creations and learn more about technique.  That way I can hopefully avoid so much stress in the future when creating new cakes.  I am happy to report though that the cake was a hit with the birthday girl.

My little helper

4th of July Weekend

To start off the 4th of July weekend (early) we headed to San Diego to help my brother and his family move there.  My brother is now an Air Force recruiter in that area.  Of course we couldn't go to San Diego without taking advantage of some local attractions.  We had lunch on Coronado with my brother's family and also toured the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier.  The tight quarters made me thankful to live on land!  That night my 3 boys and I headed to a Padres baseball game; the first major league game for our little guys.  What made that event even better for Jerry was that they were playing his favorite team- the Astros.  We didn't stay for the finish though because the game went into overtime.  We are happy to report that the Astros won 6-3 in the 10th!  (Even though I am an Angels fan)      

Me and my big brother

On Coronado

Nathan "enjoying" The Midway

The next day we headed to Sea World.  I will admit that this day was a little more stressful than enjoyable.  This day was the end of a very long week for the boys, so needless to say they were tired and nerves were a little shot.  We had a few rough 3 year old moments, but we were also able to have some fun and enjoyed a couple shows. 

After Sea World we went to my dad's house for a couple days.  This may have been the best part of the whole weekend because we were able to slow down and relax.  The boys played in the water, ate apricots off the same tree that I ate them off of at their age, and enjoyed time with their Papa and Nonna.  It was nice to have some down time to unwind!

All in all our July got off to a busy start with some fun as well...