Bradley - [9 Months]

Our sweet Bradley is 9 months old.

• He finally broke through his first couple of teeth (bottom middle). After just a few days of grumpiness, he was back to his happy self.

• He just keeps growing! He weighs in at 21.5 pounds - just a few pounds shy of Tyler!
  

• He is still a champion eater, and doesn't like me to feed him... but he hasn't yet mastered the spoon :-)

• He is a speedy crawler and has mastered going up the stairs, but doesn't know how to go down yet.

• He pulls himself up on everything.

• He makes me so so so happy. I just love being this kid's mom.

Summer Break 2016 - Week 3

Here are this week's highlights.

We had our first of two weeks of swimming lessons! Kylee has done awesome and is already getting so much better. Tyler and I are doing mommy and me and I have been so proud of him and how brave he has been.

Tuesday
We had another Passport to Boise stop at Boise at its Best Flowers. Talk about fun! We got a tour of the flower shop, got to learn about some of the different kinds of flowers, and Kylee even got to make her very own "ice cream sundae" arrangement!

Thursday

Beki and I spent the morning picking raspberries! A friend of mine was out of town so invited me to pick berries and I was SO grateful. Beki and I had a lovely time.

Friday

I made the MOST delicious jam - raspberry peach. I seriously think this is my new favorite.

Saturday

Believe it or not, we had a garage sale! I have always said I didn't want to do garage sales because they are SO much work, but after reading the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and going through and purging stuff out of my house, I decided it was worth it. My mom and dad, Matt's mom and dad, Beki, and Mandi all brought stuff over to contribute, so we had a pretty good setup! Matt and I made close to $400, so it was definitely worth the time!

Summer Break 2016 - Week 2

We are loving our summer! Here are this week's highlights.

Tuesday

We had our first Passport to Boise stop - The Egyptian Theater! We learned all about the history of the theater (it opened its doors in 1927!), got to watch a silent black and white film, and got to tour the theater. Kylee's favorite part was all the gold leafing.

Wednesday

Our second Passport to Boise stop was at the ReUseum. Kylee and I got to make little "bristle bots" out of old cell phone vibrators, toothbrushes, and a little battery :-) SO fun!

We also went to the Library where the kiddos and I made no-sew t-shirt bags out of old t-shirts.

Saturday

We met up with the Hudsons for a family reunion... lunch in the park and roasting smores at Matt's parents house in the evening. It was nice seeing and catching up with grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, etc.

Summer Break 2016 - Week 1

Phew, what a week! I can already tell that I am going to be exhausted at the end of summer break :-) It is quite a bit different than my ordinary, structured days during the school year. I feel like especially on the days we have Kylee that I want to do at least one "fun" thing each day. It doesn't have to be something big - even just going swimming or to the library will work... just something outside of doing chores, playing in the play room, reading, or watching television :-) Here is what our week looked like this week!

Monday
We picked up Kylee's Summer Passport to Boise book downtown and then grabbed some breakfast at Flying M Coffeehouse. We also stopped by the Library to get details on the Summer Reading Programs and pick up some new books!

Tuesday
Matt took Kylee to Roaring Springs :-) They took advantage of the free ticket Kylee had earned for completing the "Roaring Readers" program at school.

Wednesday
Tyler, Bradley, and I enjoyed a morning at the pool and some time at my mom's house. Even though Bradley wasn't a big fan of swimming, I think it's safe to say he loved his first time on a swing!

Thursday
We went for a walk/scooter ride on the greenbelt at lunch and then had TONS of fun at the Meridian Public Works Expo that evening! Getting to ride in the excavator made Tyler's week!

Friday
101 Places You Gotta See Before You're 12
#6 A Working Farm

06/10/2016
Jackson Family Farm - Meridian, Idaho
Mom, Tyler, Bradley

We went to the Jackson Family Dairy Farm for a free Dairy Tour (June is Dairy Month!). We went on a hay ride around the dairy and got to learn about what the cows eat (corn, including the cob and husk), how much they drink (about a bathtub full of water each day), how often they have babies (about one calf a year), and more. We got to pet some calves (and see a baby calf that was only a couple hours old!), sit on a tractor, and get free ice cream and chocolate milk :-)

#31 A Cemetery

101 Places You Gotta See Before You're 12
#31 A Cemetery

05/30/2016
Boise, Idaho - Dry Creek Cemetery
Mom, Kylee, Tyler, Bradley

On Memorial Day, I took the kiddos up to Dry Creek Cemetery to visit the graves of my Great Grandma and Grandpa Rich. Kylee filled the vase with water and they tenderly added their flowers to the beautiful flowers that already decorated the grave site.

I have such fond memories of Grandma and Grandpa growing up. I shared with them a few tidbits: When I was little, Grandma and Grandpa lived across the street from Meridian High School, just w few houses down from the guy who always had a ton of firewood for sale. It seemed like Grandma always had a treat when we visited - some kind of candy or even homemade peanut brittle for us. My favorite was playing out back. I loved eating grapes right off the vines - they had seeds, but I didn't mind. I also loved when we got to help harvest the potatoes. What kid wouldn't like digging in the dirt? Another one of my favorite things was sitting on the metal rocking chairs out under the carport.