It's the most wonderful time of the year...

I have two favorite months of the year...July and December.  Hands-down.  This July did not disappoint and December will have to be pretty amazing if it wants to stay in the running.  And just in case you were wondering, there are just about 4 months til Christmas...I can't believe it!  We have really enjoyed our summer and are sad to see that we only have ONE week until it is over and we have to deal with the dreaded first day of school.  My blogging record hasn't been too great this past year, so I will try and remember some of our July/August highlights.  At this point, I feel like my blog has become just an event archive, something we can eventually look back on and remember some of the fun things we were able to do.  I remember the days when I would blog once or twice a week.  Those days are long gone.  I used to think that once my kids were older, I'd have more time to get these kinds of things done.  Well...that has been far from true.  Their messes just get bigger, their demands require more time, there is no more nap time, bed time is later, the weekly sports and activities multiply, and the play dates are much more often and time consuming. I have been babysitting my friend's kids a couple times a week, and I will start substitute teaching in a few weeks, so I have a feeling my updates will continue to be few and far between.

I'm thinking of adopting a 'Month in Review' type plan that would go over the highlights of each month.  That might help me to keep on track a little better.  We shall see! 

 Dinner is just about an hour or so away from being done, let's see how much I can cram in!  When I think back at our July and August, the moments that stick out the most to me are all water related!  You could usually find us by the river, in some sort of pool, at the lake, or at Roaring Springs (a local water park we had season passes to this year).  I have water bugs for children.  We are all happiest when we are in the sunshine and water!

July always starts off with a Bang, thanks to my birthday!  I am thirty-two!  Yowsers!  Happy to be one year older and hopefully wiser!  I am really enjoying my thirties so far!  Ask me again when I am 39!  

We combined my birthday dinner and party with the fourth of july festivities!  It was a really great day! I was spoiled rotten and thoroughly enjoyed my day!

And...speaking of birthdays...my Nana Raine turned 71 and as per the norm, we went water skiing! Can you believe she still slalom skis?  Man...I hope I still have those skills when I grow up! 

We had sweet Evelyn's baby blessing.  It was such a special day for such a special little girl.  She sure has captured all of our hearts and we just love her to pieces!  

Here is one of our MANY trips to the river.  This is in the top 5 favorite places for my kids to waste away a summer day.  This is our dog, Doug's, number 1.  :) 

The public pool is another favorite.  It is small and there is nothing fancy about it, but my kids just love the high dive.  There is pure joy on their faces every time they jump!  I am glad I don't have wimps for kids.  They aren't scared of much and are just about up for trying anything.  

*Except for bees, Jack just can't handle bees.  We are working on that one!* 

We (sadly) only took the kayaks out once this year.  I am itching to get it in some white water soon!  It's been two summers since we've taken them to Riggins for our annual kayaking and camping adventures.  Somehow our summer filled up so quickly.  Plus Jesse, my brother, will be back next summer, and he will make it happen for sure.  :)  I love this picture of my boys.  Brothers. 

 Dan's dental office had a float in the Eagle Fun Days Parade.  It was a fun day!  The kids loved being hosed down by the firefighters.  Olivia rode along with Dan, helped pass out toothbrushes, and had a great time!  She has perfected her princess wave.  

Another day at the lake...we ALL got the chance to ski this day.  Jack and Olivia were total rock stars for their first time up on skis.  They were so proud of themselves.  One day, I'd like a boat of my own. But for now, we will take advantage of all our family's boats.  

Eleven....Eleven...straight from heaven.  This perfectly describes my sweet KJ.  He can no longer hold up how many fingers he is.  That simple fact is just so strangely sad to me!  We didn't have an 'official' party for him this year, he chose to go up to CDA instead of a party.  We did take him to the rodeo and had family over for his birthday dinner and presents.  He got lots of fun stuff, and some money for the dirt bike he is saving for. Thanks everyone! He still has some kid left in him and I hope that he always will.  He would kill me for saying this, but he still sleeps with the Curious George he got as a newborn.  And...every now and then, I still get to read him his favorite bedtime story. He may pretend that he's all 'grown up', but I love that he still needs me every now and then.  :)
This kid made me the happiest and luckiest lady on earth when he was born 11 years ago.  I couldn't get enough of him as a newborn and would find myself just staring at him ALL day and even during the night.  I would carefully pick him up when he would be sound asleep, just so I could smell him. I was so in love.  A new and deep love that I hadn't ever felt before.  I finally felt like my life was complete.  It sounds weird, but I have a feeling most moms can totally relate.  Then as a toddler, he was very independent, very young.  I couldn't help feed him.  I couldn't get him dressed.  He would even attempt to change his own diapers.  There are so many times I'd find that he had crawled out of his crib (did I mention he was a little monkey?), got a new diaper and wipes and although he thought he was helping me, it usually caused a mess ten fold.  But he was always sure to put the dirty diaper away in the diaper genie. Ha! I couldn't buckle his car seat for him.  These were all things he wanted to master on his own, even though it took 12 times as long as it would have taken me.  Which was always frustrating when we were running late anywhere!  He taught himself to read when he was 3.  He would get out his alphabet blocks and make words all on his own.  He has always been a good sleeper!  He would still sleep 12-14 hours if I let him.  He used to make me laugh because his eyebrows were connected to his hairline and I wondered what he would grow up to look like!  He had the softest peach fuzz and the squishiest cheeks!  He just gets more and more handsome the older he gets.  He will most likely be getting contacts and braces this year.  He is getting big, but he'll always be my baby.  He and I have a special bond, I hope that we can continue that forever.  He is quick to know when I need an "I love you, mom".  He is very aware of the needs of those around him.  He loves to swim, bike, skateboard, and run and play Minecraft. He is passionate about his interests.  He will read and study and learn everything about what he is interested in at the moment.  He is ONE SMART COOKIE!  I swear he is smarter than I am. Not kidding. He knows more about random things than I ever will.  He is a book lover and a computer lover.  I find him reading much past his bedtime, and I wake up to hear the keyboard very early some mornings.  He wants to be a computer/software developer when he grows up.  I know he will be a success at whatever he decides to do! He is not the 'perfect' child, but he's pretty dang close.  I am glad he was born to me first...he made me want more kids ASAP!

This kid has completely captured my heart and I hope he always knows how much I adore him.  

*stats from his 11 year old doctor's visit*

Weight... 79 pounds ... 49%

Height... 57 1/2" ... 65%

BMI... 16.9 ... 45%

Shoe size... mens 7-8.  Last year he was a woman's 7 1/2 .  

This kid is growing like a weed.

 Ahhh...Coeur d'Alene...my favorite part about our July.  

Of course, the annual trip to Silverwood!  My kids all rode the roller coasters this year! They are all finally tall enough to ride on the big, exciting stuff!!  It was fun to get to ride with them on everything.  Usually I am waiting at the exit with Jack or Olivia because they aren't quite tall enough.  These are the very few moments when I enjoy them getting bigger.  We had a great day.  We stayed til closing. Completely worn out!

And, of course, you cannot visit CDA and not make a trip to Hudsons for a famous hamburger. It doesn't get much better.  Yummm-O!

My old friend from High School was married in Seattle so I made a day trip over there with Shawna and we got to witness Kelli's beautiful wedding and reception!  Beautiful day, beautiful venue, most beautiful bride!  I love that I have a handful of girlfriends I have been able to keep close to after all these years.  CONGRATS KELLI O! 

Brianna is leaving on her mission to Brazil next month, so we had a sad goodbye.  She's one of my favorite people on earth.  Love her to death...Brazil is lucky to have her! GOOD LUCK BRAWNA!

Liv was able to have one of her dreams come true!  She went horseback riding!!!  She's been begging me all year to be able to do this!  CDA is the perfect place to go because my Aunt Sherene has a few horses and some breathtaking land to ride them on.  She was in heaven and loved every second of it!  I think she will be a cowgirl one day.  

Visiting my Nana and Pops is always a treat and we will be back again next summer for sure!!  Thanks for making it so special.  We always get the VIP treatment when we visit.

 One of my friends has a connection to a sweet pool that we crashed!
Fun for the kids, fun for the moms! Did I mention that I've made fabulous friends here!?!

We did the dirty dash!!!  Remember all those times you wanted to swim thru mud puddles as a kid.  Well, we got our chance!!  We did the 5 miles with the grown ups and then I did a one mile Piglet Plunge with the kids.  Great, dirty, squishy fun time!  I would do it again in a heart beat! There was mud in places mud doesn't belong.  A hot shower never felt so good!

My super awesome kids also did a kids triathlon this summer.  They have the racing bug and want to sign up for another one real soon.  KJ came in first for the whole thing.  He was pretty proud of himself.  He was in the older/longer distance race.  Jack and Liv were in the shorter distance race.  They were total studs and I was so proud of them!  We will sign up for another one in September or October.  Maybe this is their 'thing'.  I love that they love to be active.

And....the timer is done for dinner!!!  Phew...I was able to cram in more than I thought I would.  Thanks for putting up with my marathon posts and avalanche of pictures!

Time to go enjoy our last week of summer!

Cheesy Macaroni...

HOLY SMOKES....I just looked at my calendar and realized that my birthday is in less than one week.  Really?  JUNE is almost over?  This summer is already flying by.  Dang.  

Looking back on the past month and a half since I've blogged, I realized one thing...I Really REALLY love my kids.  They are the cheese to my macaroni, the apple of my eye, the spring in my step, and the loves of my life.  Anyway, you get the point.  So, it should come as no surprise to you that I want to start off this post by bragging about them for a little bit.  

The school year ended and I am so proud of all that each of them accomplished this year. They have each really stretched themselves academically as well as physically! Next year all three of them will be  at school full time.  Yikes.  I don't really want to think about that quite yet.  

Olivia graduated Kindergarten and I couldn't be more proud of her.  She is simply amazing.  She's a friend to everyone she meets.  She is very aware of those who are in need of a helping hand and is always quick to make sure she is there to help.  She is independent, driven, and very determined, or in other words, stubborn.  This has proven to be both very good, and at times, not so good.  Half the time, she walks out of the house looking like this...

because heaven forbid I help her with her wardrobe or hair. 

 I have a feeling she will keep me on my toes when she becomes a teenager!  

She passed Kindergarten with flying colors and is definitely ready to conquer 1st grade!  

Jack also passed 1st grade with flying colors!  He has far surpassed my expectations and this year he really thrived!  

He had a handful of his closest classroom friends come over for an end-of-the-year play-date.  What a difference a year makes.  This year, to my surprise, he is quite the social butterfly.  Especially with the ladies.  He was sure lucky to be in the class he was in.  The kids, especially the girls, really took him under their wings and helped him break out of his shell.  He is an above grade level reader.  Math on the other hand....let's just say, we will have to work extra hard on that subject.  He is ready to be a big second grader!  I hope his next teacher will let me help out in the classroom as much as I was able to this year.  His teacher and I became great friends.  It's nice when you are comfortable enough with a teacher to text them multiple times a day, just to check in.  Or to make sure he ate his lunch.  :)

This is my little muscle man.  Watch out ladies! 

Keaton, as expected, excelled in his 4th grade classes as well.  Well, all but his Music class.  Grrrr.  I hope one day he will appreciate music as much as I do.  I threatened to sign him up to be in the school choir. Hehehe, he did NOT find that funny.  He promised me he would play some kind of instrument next year.  He will be the Big Man On Campus next year as a big 5th grader.  I can't even think about middle school, it gives me anxiety.  Middle school is a nightmare.  Yikes.  

He is really in to swimming this year.  He is actually very good, I attribute it to his huge feet.  It's like he has built in flippers.  At the end of his first swim team season, he brought home four 1st place ribbons and one 3rd place ribbon.  We were so proud of him.  He is quite the little fish and can far out swim me in the lap pool.  He has also been running a lot this summer, he wants to try a triathlon soon.  He wants me to do one with him.  I guess I better start hitting the pavement again...

Can't forget about the baby of the family.  Doug is growing like a weed too! 

WE ALL LOVE HIM!

Even if he does 'think' he's a lap dog.

Field day fun!

In other news over the past 6 weeks...

Olivia definitely has a checkerboard smile.  She just lost #6.  It's hard for her to eat corn on the cob. 

She also decided to make a little of her own $ by doing a lemonade and cookie stand. Who could say no to that cutie pie!?

We had a wonderful Mother's Day!  My kids each made me a beautiful necklace, cards, school projects, brought me breakfast in bed and showered me with love.  

I love being a mom more than anything in the world.  

Nothing compares.  Nothing. 

I was able to take a few snapshots of my newest niece Evelyn.  She is a doll.  

My sister and her adorable kids also came to visit!!!  She let the boys stay an extra few days and it was so nice to have all the 'Smidt' grandsons together.  I think we made some great new memories!  

I wish they didn't live so far away. 

We had a great Father's Day as well!  These kids are lucky to have the Dad they do!  We sure love him.  

 Nana and Pops came to visit!!  We were the last stop on their extra long road trip.  They were able to see all their grandkids in one trip.  Well, all but Jesse, who is living in Brazil.  They drove to California, to Nevada, to Arizona, to New Mexico, to Colorado, to Utah, to Rexburg, and then to Boise!  Sheesh, they are troopers.  I think they said they went 6,000 miles or so.  Amazing.  It was so nice to have them here.  We love them so much. 

And last, but certainly not least....I finally got to meet my little Piper!!  It only took 6 months for that to happen.  Ohhh, she is too sweet and I am so glad I will have the chance to snuggle her now that Britt and Shawn are back in Boise.  Just an FYI...they are back in Boise while Shawn is doing some job hunting.  They just came in to town yesterday.  Although it isn't the best of circumstances that they are here, it is sure nice to have them back.  We sure love their family.  We hope and pray that they will be able to find a good job for Shawn soon.  

That should do it for now!  It's 1:00 am. I'm beat...my super comfy bed is calling.

May Day...May Day...

It's just about the middle of May, which means it's the tail end of the school year, which means life is extra jam-packed full of school functions, volunteering, musical programs, swim team, scouts, field days, tennis lessons, class parties, Mother's day teas, play dates, etc. etc. etc, which makes me extra grateful that I have the opportunity to be a 'stay-at-home-mom' and able to attend all the kids 'stuff'.  I am one busy mama, and I am thoroughly exhausted when I plop in to bed at night....which has been MUCH later than it should be.  BIG props to all those working mama's out there.  I really do not know how you do it.  I applaud your efforts!  I am on a 'night owl' streak and I regret that decision each and every morning when the dreaded alarm goes off.  I have a love-hate relationship with my snooze button.  I think I have made a habit of pressing it three times every morning, three, there's always some justification going on inside my head.  All I can say is, summer vacation can't come soon enough!  I am definitely not an early morning person.  Never have been, never will be.  Believe me, I've tried.  I struggle to pull my covers off EVERY morning.  And I struggle to get the kids out the door, fully dressed (you'd be surprised) and looking somewhat decent, lunches made, homework in backpacks, glasses on the boys (one of them misplaces glasses more than humanly possible), WITH a smile on my face, most of the time.  Right now both boys are wanting to grow their hair out long (against my better judgment) and half the time they end up walking out the door looking like they are either orphan children or in the band, Flock Of Seagulls, they literally have wings on the sides of their heads.  ALL boys should have buzz cuts in my humble opinion.  Boys shouldn't have to worry about 'doing' their hair.  That's a girl worry.  Can you tell I'm all about the low maintenance mornings?  

Enough chit-chat...without further ado, here is what the Howard Clan has been up to the past few weeks:

FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANTLY....I HAVE A NEW NIECE!!!  She is so deliciously sweet, I could just eat her up!  All 6 lbs. of her.  Other than my nephew, Spencer, who is now 11, I haven't been fortunate enough to be at the hospital for any of my nieces or nephews births.  *Sniff, sniff*  I finally got to be the doting aunt and concerned sister and be right there at the hospital on this special day.  Coley had a C-Section, so I technically wasn't in the room, but I was able to be in the waiting room and would occasionally get updates on mom and baby.  Shortly after baby E was born she was taken to the NICU for some breathing/oxygen problems.  She is a tough cookie and is home now and doing well.  Tomorrow the little lady will be 2 weeks old! I fell in love with her the minute I laid my eyes on her, breathing tubes, heat lamps, IV's, breathing bubbles, beeping machines and all.  She is so precious!  Coley is a trooper too!  She is such a fabulous and caring mother!  A double bonus is that I've been able to watch Russell a few times too!  I love that kid.  He'll be a great older brother!

One day old. 

2 days old.

3 days old.

 

4 days old.

My little stud muffin Russ.  He and I have so much fun together!

KJ's highlight of the month would definitely be the trip that he and Dan were able to take together!  KJ earned a trip to Orlando to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  A trip he has been planning and saving for, for at least 2 years!  I sent an extra camera and reminded them daily to be sure to snap a bunch of pictures for me to see.  Well, they are typical boys and only snapped a few.  Oh, well. Better than nothing.  I will say, that usually KJ is very quiet and doesn't have much to say on the phone, but every time I called him during that trip, he was suddenly a chatterbox, full of exciting stories and I could just feel his happiness busting thru the phone.  The boys had passes for the weekend to both Universal Studios parks and also to Wet and Wild and they took full advantage and spent almost every waking hour at either one or the other. I've been meaning to have KJ help me with this part of my post for 2 weeks now, and it's just not happening, but believe me, he had a blast.  I think having a one-on-one trip with his Dad is a memory he'll never forget.  He's such a cool kid.  I'm glad he had that opportunity!

The airplane, ready for take off!

Hahaha!  This is my favorite, their faces...I can't even take it!   

KJ wanted his portrait drawn by a caricature artist.  I think it looks just like him!  We will have to frame this one!  Such a cute kid. 

 KJ has been waiting to try the official ButterBeer and he said it was delicious! 

While Dad and KJ were away, I took the other kids to play!  We spent the WHOLE day at Wahooz.  A family fun center type of place.  The kids had unlimited passes to whatever they wanted and they did it all.  multiple times.  It was exhausting and I was done after a couple of hours, but they were having a grand old time.  We fit in miniature golfing, bumper cars, bumper boats, laser tag, virtual rollercoasters, 4 games of bowling, go karts, arcade games, indoor play centers, slick tracks, etc.  It was fun and Olivia and Jack thought it was just as good as Orlando. ;)

KJ had his Pinewoord derby race.  He made a flying pickle car.  :)  Let's just say, it wasn't the most aeorodynamic design.  He didn't come in first, but he didn't come in last either.  Next year he has big plans for a super cool car.  Next year will be his last race and Jack's first race. 

The kids are all in swimming right now.  Between all three kids, there are seven, yes SEVEN lessons/practices a week.  We basically live at the Y right now.  But KJ is doing great on the swim team.  They are called the Blue Marlins.  He has his first official swim meet tomorrow! 

Dan had his official ribbon cutting ceremony for his new office with the Chamber of Commerce.  It was exciting to have so many people there!  I love his office and his staff!  

Poor baby Doug had his 'man parts' removed.  He was NOT a happy camper wearing this stupid cone around his head.  He's doing well now!  He is just the best dog.  We all love him and he's a great addition to our family!

My cousin Bradley left last week for Basic Training.  He has joined the Army and we had a little going away party for him.  It was an exciting night because he proposed to his girlfriend in front of all of us!  We are so proud of him!  Be safe Bradley!

Our new favorite activity is exploring the river.  If the weather is nice, we go after school on Fridays.  The kids and Doug just love it.  We are all happiest when we are in the great outdoors.

Olivia's Kindergarten class had a nice Mother's Day Tea Party for all the moms.  They sang some cute songs for us and served us 'tea' and cookies and fruit.  I just love this little cupcake of mine.  I am sure lucky to be her mom.  

That should do it for now!  

XOXO

Also, a shout out to my cute niece...today is her 14th birthday!!  Happy Birthday Shey!  Man, I'm getting old, I remember the first time I met you, you were just a tiny little toddler running around, now you're a beautiful young lady!  

Love you lots and lots!