fAVORITES....fROM oUR tRIP TO mY pARENTS

sHAWNI WAS ATTACHED AT THE HIP TO gRANDPA. sHE ALWAYS WANTED HIM TO HOLD HER AND CUDDLE. dOESN'T SHE LOOK HAPPY? :)

hE EVEN TAUGHT HER TO RIDE A BIKE .... (OR AT LEAST SIT ON ONE WHILE HE PUSHED HER AROUND).

tHERE WERE MANY HOURS SPENT IN THE KIDDIE POOL.

(nICE GRASS MUSTACHE EH?) lOTS OF TRACTOR RIDING... (aND POSING) tOO MUCH CANDY EATING..... gUN SHOOTING.

iM NOT A GUN FAN....BUT WHEN MY DAD BROUGHT HOME A NEW BEBE GUN.......THE KIDS WERE STOKED.

(jAISA WAS A LITTLE GIDDY WHILE SHOOTING)

tYSON WAS A PRO. iT WAS A GREAT TRIP. tHOUGH THE KIDS WERE SAD TO LEAVE gRANDPA, wE GOT TO BRING MY MOM HOME WITH US FOR A WEEK, ALONG WITH MY LITTLE SISTER lARA.

I have fallen behind in a major way with my blogging. These pictures and posts are still from when I was at my parents last month....however I just got back from there again, and want to add those pictures.

A family friend invited us to "help" him with his cattle drive.

Twice a year, he and his family take their cows from the valley up the canyon 11 miles for the Summer. The kids had fun riding horses and 4 wheelers, which turned out to last more than 4 hours! This is where the cows will rest and reside for the Summer.......then in the Fall......they will head back down the canyon. Isn't it beautiful?? The neighbors just behind my parents have a new herd of sheep that were born a month prior to us being there. The kids made their way over to them almost daily to feed....and ride them. I never knew my kids were soooo into animals....when I am soooo not. We got to spend a couple days with my brother and his kids. Tyson and Isaac were the closest of cousins when we lived in Vegas. They hadn't seen eachother in over a year....so it was fun to watch the reconnect and have a blast making eachother laugh. And of course....Jaisa got a lot of bike riding in. She is in love with her new (ugly) Barbie helmet and likes to wear it whenever she can.... Still more to come.......

In a land far.....FAR.....FAR away........ (or so it seems driving over 8 hours with 3 kids by myself)......we had ourselves a good time. The kids and I stayed with my parents for 9 days at their "vacation" home learning, along with them, how things in a small town work.

Where lawn mowing isn't just a chore......it's a fun ride on the tractor.

Where gardening isn't just a waste of hours a day, weeding and watering...... but a great place to dig up an afternoon snack.

Where neighbors aren't just neighbors.....but they are expert scarecrow builders, who place scarecrows in your backyard while you're away to keep the animals from intruding, **UGLY.....but so far it has worked :)**

Where a peice of wood, isn't just a peice of wood.....but a fun "floating boat" that you can run along the stream in the backyard and watch travel for miles.

**We don't know where the USS Tyson and USS Jaisa made it to, but the kids sure had fun watching them**

And this was all in the first 2 days..............more to follow!

Who knew............. that a 'hand - me - down' nightgown from her big sister would make this 17 month old soooo happy?? But then again.....it doesn't take much for this girl to smile.