Memorial Day

I had been looking forward to Memorial day coming up for a while.  With Andrew's work schedule (off on Monday and Thursday) and Keagan being in school.  There aren't very many days when we have a day to spend together as a family.  So, with the rare day upon us, we decided to just have a fun day.  We started off by going out to breakfast as a family.  After that, we came home, patched some bike tires, loaded up our bikes and bike trailer, made a picnic lunch and headed downtown.

For my family and friends that aren't from Boise, here is a little info.  The Boise River runs through Boise, pretty much from one end to the other.  On both sides of the river there are paved pathways called the Greenbelt that go right along the river.  It is such a popular place to ride your bike and walk or run, that there is a yellow line down the middle and you stay on your side of the pathway unless you need to pass someone.  There is even mileage markers showing how far you have gone. 

We got on our bikes by an old firestation, and rode for a few miles.  We then stopped and ate our picnic lunch.  We then rode some more, crossed the river and rode back on the opposite side, rode for a while, then stopped at a playgroud.  Then rode back to our van.  In all, we rode about 7 miles, but it sure didn't seem that far. 

Here is me, Keagan and Deker enjoying our lunch.

Andrew and Bauer.

One of the bridges we rode across, we stopped to see the water. 

A close up of Bauer at the bridge.

Bauer fell asleep at the very end of the ride. 

I think we all are excited to do this again soon.

Andrew's Work Party

A couple of weeks ago, Andrew's work hosted a party for all the employees.  We all had so much fun and we were really glad that we were able to go.  First up for the day was a Forklift Rodeo.  Deker and Bauer were a little nervous at first, but as soon as they realized what was going on, they LOVED watching the people drive the forklifts through the obstacle course. 

There was also a Balloon Maker guy there to make a balloon animal for each of the kids.  Keagan got this really cool fishing hat with a fish on the end.  I didn't get pictures of the others one, but Deker got a sword with a belt for the sword to go in and Bauer got a dog. 

After the forklift rodeo, we had a yummy lunch of Hamburgers, gourmet hot dogs, salads, fruit, etc.  There were also nachos, yummy drinks and ice cream.

Then there was prize drawings.  There were enough prizes that each employee got one and about 1/2 of the employees got a second prize.  We came away with a candy dispenser and a nice jacket. 

They also gave each employee a nice cooler filled with Boise State stuff (t-shirt, bobble head, 2 pairs of sunglasses, etc).  They also each a goodie bags filled with candy for each of the kids to take home.

After that was the Truck rodeo.  Each driver took a semi through an obstacle course which included doing a "jack knife" turn, cones and pallets that they had to drive between without touching, backing up to the dock and parallel parking.  You can't tell, but this is Andrew taking his turn.

There were also a couple of bounce houses for the kids to play in.  Keagan and Deker spent a lot of time playing on these.  Here is Deker climbing up one bounce house.

And Keagan sliding down another bounce house. 

That evening, the company hosted a very nice dinner at a local golf club for the adults, where they gave away the prizes for the people that got 1st and 2nd place in the truck rodeo.  Andrew got 3rd place, missing second place by just 9 points.  We all had such a fun day and we are hoping they do it again next year.

Misc. Stuff

One Saturday while enjoying a beatiful evening out on our back porch, Andrew decided to rub my feet.  Soon, ALL of my boys decided to help him rub my meet.  I sure felt like a Princess then!

All winter long I had Keagan keep his hat and gloves that he would wear to School each day in his backpack.  One afternoon, Bauer found the backpack, got out the hat and gloves and put them all on by himself. 

Bauer's 2nd Birthday

Bauer turned 2 yesterday.  It sure can be crazy having two boys two different ages being born on the same day. 

Here is Bauer with his birthday pancake. 

Showing off his birthday shirt.

Bauer and his Winnie the Pooh Cake.  I used this tutorial for the winnie the pooh.  It was so easy and turned out great.

Because Keagan was having a friend party earlier in the day, I didn't want to have Bauer feel left out (I keep forgetting that he is only two and probably wouldn't have noticed, but it made me feel better), we had a few family friends come over for cake and ice cream.  Somebody gave Bauer a couple of books and of course, they had to be read right away.

He also couldn't wait to try out the new trucks. 

Happy 2nd birthday Bauer.  We sure do love you lots!

Keagan's Birthday Party

Keagan turned 6 years old yesterday and he was so very excited.  We started the morning off with a number 6 pancake.  Here are the festivities of the day. 

 The birthday boy in his Birthday shirt.

This year he was able to have a friend party.  Much to my dismay, he wanted to have a Semi Truck party.  Did you know that there is no semi truck decoration, party favors, etc?  So I did the best I could.  My Silhouette (a craft cutter) was my huge friend throughout it all.  Here is the invitation to his party.  Notice his little face in the cab of the truck.

Our first party game was a "semi-truck" obstacle course.  Deker's trike with the wagon hooked on served as the Semi.  Each kid started at the starting line, rode to the end of the driveway, picked up 6 blocks of wood, put them in the trailer and then rode back to the starting line (they ended up making a big loop around the driveway).  It seemed like each kid had fun cheering each other on and taking their turn.  Here is Keagan taking the first turn around.

Andrew pulled into town from his two-day route about 20 minutes before the party was to start, so he brought his truck to our house so he could be back in time for the party.  Keagan asked Andrew if he could show the truck to his friends, so we walked down the street and Andrew opened the trailer and pulled the ramp down so they could climb up into the trailer.  Andrew then let them each climb into the cab and see the cab (which is a sleeper cab).  They were pretty surprised to see a bed in the back and were even more surprised when they found out that Andrew slept there the night before. 

The kids all enjoyed pizza for lunch.  We opted for the indoor picnic for lunch.

Because you can't buy a Semi truck pinata, with my input, Andrew fashioned and decorated this wonderful pinata.  Good job Andrew!

The pinata in action.

Keagan's Semi-truck cake, courtesy of Andrew and I.

For party favors, I found a Semi-truck mold and gave each child one chocolate and one white chocolate semi along with a Semi-truck pez dispenser.  We also purchased some water bottles and using my silhouette, personalized a bottle for each kid. 

It was fun to plan and we all had a fun time. Happy Birthday, Keagan, We LOVE you!

Bunk Beds

I have always wanted to get bunk beds for one of the rooms in our house.  With my brother, Neal, moving in with us, I figured this would be the perfect time to get those bunkbeds.  Then, after seeing the wonderful bunk beds that Neal help my brother-in-law, Joe, make, I was sold, we would build bunk beds.  So two days after Neal got here, I put him and Andrew to work. 

Cutting the wood.

The happy carpenders (they really didn't want to take this picture, but I made them!)

Painting the bunk beds. 

Getting the bunk beds installed.  Why is Andrew laying down on the job?

The finished product installed in the room and the room arranged.  I really love how they turned out. 

Keagan's First T-Ball Game

After our Soccer fiasco of two years ago with Keagan (he wouldn't play and would just cry every game, thank goodness it was only 6 weeks and just on Saturday) I have been wanting to find a sport that I thought Keagan would enjoy.  Andrew and I decided to try signing him up for T-Ball.  He has been having team and group practices for the past few weeks and yesterday was his very first game.  I was a little apprehensive of how he would do, but he did wonderful.  I was so proud of him for going out there and doing it.  He seemed to have fun and I think he will continue to enjoy his T-Ball season.  Here are a few pictures of him at his first game.

Just got to First Base.

Waiting on Second.

Running Home.

At Bat.

Keagan even got the chance to play Catcher on their second inning.  He (and all those little kids) look way too cute all dressed in the catcher gear.