summer trip to Idaho

I never finished blogging about our trip to visit my family in Idaho, so here it is in pictures:

Craters of the Moon:

swimming with cousins:

and being gymnasts:

Shane enjoying lunch with Grandma (and wishing she would share her Cheetos):

 visiting my Grandparents at their nursing home:

It's always fun to see family!

preschool girl

Allison started preschool last week.  She loves it, and I love having a little break in the morning a couple days a week.  Shane naps while she is gone, so I have a couple of hours of quiet.  Yes, I admit, I am loving it!

Here she is on her first day:

When Allison was getting ready that morning,  I tried to motivate her by telling her to hurry so she could surprise Daddy before he went to work.  She kept saying, "Don't look at me Dad!" until she was finally all ready.  So when she was dressed and had her hair done, she pranced up to Tyson.  He said, "Whoa! You look so pretty!"  Allison firmly replied, "Dad, don't say whoa.  That's what you say when you're falling down a hole."   She was very matter of fact about it, and we laughed about it all week.  Crazy girl.

first day of school

Corinne and Matthew started school a few weeks ago.  They both have great teachers and good friends in their classes. 

Walking to the bus stop:

Corinne 6th grade, Matthew 3rd grade:

First day of school pictures always make me laugh because my kids look so sleepy-eyed.  It is 7:15 am in these pictures!   I think this is going to be a good year for Corinne and Matthew.

Brace Face

Corinne got braces a few weeks ago!  She was nervous and excited.  She did great and was only sore for a few days.

Here she is before:

And after:

Sometimes I can't believe I have a sixth grader in braces.  Crazy!

summer recap

Summer is pretty much over and I haven't blogged much about what we have done.  This summer went by SO FAST, I can't believe it.  Having a sick kid through most of the summer didn't help either.  I feel like we lost a whole month to colds, coughs, sinus infections, etc.

But, we did manage to have some fun too.  Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera with us on all the swimming trips and other outings, but here are some highlights:

Allison played some soccer:

I got to attend my cousin's bridal shower and wedding and hang with some of my favorite people:

Took a trip to the aquarium:

Went to Boise for my nephew's baptism and got to spend time with my family:

Had a neighborhood patriotic breakfast and bike parade:

Went to Twin Falls to see more cousins and visit Craters of the Moon:

And did a ton of other stuff, but I didn't take pictures!  We did some swimming at the public pool, slip-n-slides in our backyard, played with friends (a lot), picnics, trips to the park, gymnastics, and a lot of watching the Olympics.  I wish we had a few more weeks before school starts.  I am not ready for early mornings and homework!

Mister Shane

Shane is 15 months old now.  Have I mentioned how much I adore this kid?  Like, seriously over the moon, crazy about him?  He is so sweet and cuddly it kills me.

He is still not walking on his own, although he does take a couple of baby steps here and there.  And he walks well if he holds our hands.

He has finally learned how to come down the stairs, which means we don't have to have the baby gate up 24/7.  He doesn't talk much yet, just repeats sounds and says "uh-oh" a lot.

Shane is still such a little guy and so babyish in a lot of ways, but he is slowly taking on toddler characteristics.

He loves it when we leave the pantry door open, and he can climb on the stool and get into everything:

He is good at climbing into the dishwasher:

And, he is just good at being cute!

At 15 months:
weight: 19 lbs. 11 oz (2 %)
height:  29 in. (3%)
head circumference:  (90%)
(No wonder he can't walk, he can't balance that huge head!)

He is still a sweet little guy and is very laid back and easy most of the time.  We love Mister Shane!