Youth Day Camp

It has been a very long time since we have updated the blog. We were going to do one for Joce's sweet 16. It didn't work out, so i guess not!

Well this past Saturday, Nath, Hayden, and Joce, went to a ward youth day camp. They had a blast! It was so great to get to know all the youth better and bond with everyone! We had some talks about not judging others, and peer pressure, and just all the regular stuff teenagers need to work on. :)

Hayden said he had fun, but he was super tired from hunting for a whole week then waking up at 6 the next day he got home, especially on a Saturday. He got along so well with everybody. There was also a dead cow out in the field and they just had to go explore that!

It seemed like everyone just loved Joce. She was happy about that. The youth did a skit in their group, here is Joce's group. It seems like they didn't even plan it?? No i don't think they did.

All the groups did a great job. They were all very funny! We had a volleyball net set up, and a bunch of other activities we did. It was a really great experience!

Nath & Joce's New York Trip

Nath and Joce went to The Big Apple last week to see Syd and get the personal tour. They had an absolute blast!! As you can see Joce is a little apprehensive about her first time in an airplane. I think after the first hour or so she settled down and did just fine.

We arrived in New York at 11:00 pm on Thursday so our adventures began on Friday. We mainly hit the hot spots around Connecticut where Syd lives. One of our main stops was the Waffle House! JK!! We went to Cosi's and a place that served Gelato. We couldn't get enough of it.

Then our tours took us to the Beach. The day started out nice but just after this picture was taken, we decided to cruise home and get our swimsuits so we could take advantage of this beautiful weather. Well wouldn't you know as soon as we got back to the beach, the clouds rolled in and it started raining cats and dogs. We had a blast non the less.

Saturday was our big day in the City. Here we are waiting for the train. I don't think they have these for everyday transit in Idaho. It was fun and the best way to get around.

Here we are at Grand Central Station. This is the whispering corners where if you whisper in this corner the sound will carry over to the other side and they can hear you whispering. It is so cool!!

Oh the people!! They are everywhere, but it creates a lot of energy and it is fun being in the hustle and bustle of everything.

Here is our first peak at the city. This is the Hyatt where Syd stayed the first year she went to New York and there behind it is the Chrysler building. (It may not be named the Chrysler building for long)

This is a sculpture that was salvaged from the inside of the Twin Towers on 9/11.

Here we are eating the famous street side New York hot dog. You would think a hot dog is a hot dog, but wait till you have one in New York. Its a life changing experience!!

Here we caught a couple of tourists jumping off the lamp post foundation by the harbor, looking out at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Do you think the people ever get tired of watching the tourists act so crazy?!!!

Here is a photo of Ground Zero. It was an awesome experience just being there and reflecting back on that day and all that happened here. May We Never Forget!!

Here it was time for Dinner so we went to Bubba Gump's Shrimp House. Oh the food!! Its all over the place.

Here we are shopping on Canal Street. Yes, we got our share of Coach and Dulce bags!! Nathlie even managed to find her a Prada. Oh a woman's shopping dream. So much high end (fake) articles at such a low price. Of course you have to barter the heck out of them. But it was soooo fun!!

Oh--Oh here's the food again. I told you it was everywhere. I think Syd talked us into sampling every single mini on the menu. I will be working out for 2 weeks to get all of these off my hips.

Here we are in Time Square. What a busy happening place. People everywhere! They had the streets blocked off so people could move around more freely and safely, so we just walked down the streets. (with everyone else)

Joce could not believe that you could have so many colors of M&M's. I guess she is only used to the basic Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Brown. It just goes to show what you can learn when you get out into the world a little bit.

Old Yeller was looking a bit down and lonely, so the girls stopped into say Hi and cheer him up.

Here we are doing the touristy thing. Sydney was saying just a few hours before how "This is my town and I am not a tourist, so we will do the things locals do". I guess you have to live there more than 6 months before all of the tourist blood is filtered out.

And of course we could not leave until we all had some of the famous New York cheesecake. Oh what a wonderful way to finish off the trip!!

This all took place on Saturday and Monday and then on Tuesday we got up and Syd took us to the airport for our trip home. We had a wonderful time as you can see, and hope to go back one day. Thanks Syd!!!

Catch up Blog

We haven't written on the blog for a while.  It seems like we have been going a lot of different directions at about a 100 miles per hour.  This blog will catch everybody up with what has been happening in our lives.  

On Saturday of Memorial weekend, went to Julia Davis Park down on the Boise River.  It is in the downtown area of Boise and has a zoo and paddle boats and a greenbelt along the river.  We played various games and the boys rode their bikes along the river and everyone went on the paddle boats.  It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun.

Joce also learned how to change the oil today.  As you can see she is now a pro.  She didn't even get any oil in her hair.  What a feat.  That is unusual for a girl!!

On Monday which was Memorial Day, we had a bar-b-que in the back yard with some friends and Troy and KayLynne's family.  We had plenty of food and lots of fun.  Earlier in the day we were invited to go boating at Black Canyon resevoir with the Ririe's.  The kids had a blast on the tubes.  So did Shawn, even though he can't ride them as long as he used to.  He must be getting old or something.  It was a warm sunny day and perfect for water activities.

Then of course on Wednesday we went to Preston and spent the weekend there for Sydney's Graduation from High School.  I will only post one picture depicting her true feelings, and if you want to see the other hundred or so pictures from her graduation, you can go to her blog.

On Saturday we ended up in Salt Lake City for Shawn's cousins wedding and afterwards went for a drive and ended up at Leatherby's Ice Cream parlor.  

Here is the face of two young lovers waiting for their ice cream.

Here is the face of uncertainty!!!

This is the face of joyful bliss!

This is one of anticipation.

This is a face of victory!!

And one of defeat!!

and these are just some pretty faces!!

After we dropped off Syd at the airport on Sunday morning, we drove back home to Boise, and resumed life as usual again.  Shawn was on the road for the week and the kids were finishing up school.  Wednesday, June 3rd was their last day.   

This week, Shawn and Hayden went to Northern Idaho and decided to do a little fishing while Shawn was "working".  They finally had some success going after the big fish and a wonderful time doing it.  Shawn finally caught his big fish.  It was a 20 lb salmon that measured 36" inches in length.  Hayden topped off the day with a 5 lb salmon that measured 18" inches long.  As you can see, they are all smiles.

Haydens Bear Hunt

On Monday, Shawn and Hayden went bear hunting up north a couple of hours away.  They took along a friend that knew the area and said there were lots of bears around.  They left about 4 pm and got home about 11:30 pm.  They actually got something this time.  They drove up in the mountains and then got on the Rhino and 4 wheelers and drove the roads stopping and glassing the hillsides as they went.  Hayden spotted this bear across the canyon laying in the shade kinda on top of a rock.  They were about 400 yards away.  They knew the bear was not aware they were there, so they snuck down the hill and tried to get a closer shot.  

When they were about 300 yards away they set up for the shot.  Shawn was looking through the spotting scope as Hayden was shooting.  His first shot hit the rock underneath the bear.  The bear was looking around trying to figure out what was going on.  Shawn told Hayden to get another shot off when it was right.  Hayden popped off another shot and the bear dropped like a rock.  It was an awesome shot!!

I think he is still grinning and its almost been a week.  The bear was about 5 ft, and had a white blaze on its chest.  The left front paw had been chewed off from where he had it caught in a trap or something.  They had lots of fun and are now wanting to go to Alaska for the big ones.

Dylan's 10th Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN!!

Well today was Dylan's Birthday. He turned 10! wooo. The Big 1-0!

He got a bike for his present.  On Thursday evening, he got to go with Mom and Dad to the musical "Brigadoon".  3 hours of a musical that you dont understand is almost too much, but he is still singing the songs today.  We asked him after the play if he understood what "Brigadoon" was or was about, and he said "No, but it was good."  

Today, during the day we decided to go to the neighbors and do some zip lining!! Thanks to Kevans assortment of construction equipment, we can make a 150 ft zip line starting at 40 ft in the air.  It was a blast and everyone loved it!  We will post a video of Nathlie soon.  When they pushed her off, it was all over but the screaming..   Here is a video of Dylan on his big day.  

  

After an afternoon of zip lining, Dylans family and friends came over and we had dinner and an Ice Cream Cake.  It was a great day!!