Today

Today was a great day. Our friend Jane went out fossil hunting with the kids and I. It was only about 50 miles away in a forest. The fossils we got were amazing! Here are a few examples. We thought of the Petersons on this trip.

  

The fossil bed was off of a logging road where big logging trucks would roar by and stir up lots of dust. We were all pretty dusty when we got home. I gave the kids the choice of either taking a bath or playing in the sprinkler. Zack chose playing in the sprinkler. (on the trampoline) I wish summer could last forever…

(Zack told me that this was his “yellow swimsuit”

 

Also today, we got out second egg from our chicks that we hatched in the spring. Clara was pretty jazzed.

Heaven

So one of the best things that we have done is to get our trailer and get the kids out camping. It’s almost up there with getting our lot fenced and buying the trampoline. This last weekend we went to my favorite spot in Idaho. The campground is first come, first serve, and was full when we arrived. But there is forest land next to it that you can camp on anywhere. That is what we ended up doing. At night we were out in the forest with just our campfire and a bunch of little tiki torches. It was so magical! It looked like a fairy land.

 

During the day we played in the river that ran along where we camped and caught a crawdad, and lots of different little fish. They were little babies. Here’s a pic of the littlest in a cup.

  

I had a floatie with a cup holder in it, and Clara put a fish about 2 inches long in the cup holder, so I was floating around with a fish in my cup holder. This is typical of life with Clara. We all agreed that this was the best campsite all summer.

Summer Days

Well, we finally got out summer heat. This was the sight of the boys mowing the yard recently. Zack was thrilled to know that it is okay for guys to go shirtless every now and then. We find shirts that have been cast off all over now.

 

This was the first year that our gooseberries grew well. The girls and I celebrated by making a fantastic looking gooseberry pie. It looked great, but was pretty gross. I tried to cut down on the sugar and learned that is something that you don’t want to do with gooseberries that aren’t overripe. Oh well, it looks pretty in the picture.

 

Hayley has quite the charm with animals. Phoebe the dog LOVES her. Of course Phoebe loves everyone, but especially Hayley.

Family Pics in Utah

So Grandma wanted family pics done while all of the cousins were together. Here’s some Laurel took while the photos were being taken.

         

Matt’s face pretty much sums it up. :)

FUN in Utah

We had a great time with all the Nickels in Utah. The cousins had a ball. Baby Oakley was the cutest! Clara and Canyon went everywhere holding hands. Hayley loved playing video games with Alex and Jacob. Max and Sophie and Miles ran around and played with Zack. It was a great trip. We had so much fun that we forgot to take very many pics. But the one of Uncle Daniel and Alex and Zack is priceless.

 

Hanging out at Grandma’s

 

Dressing up at the Air Force Flight Museum. (Thanks Devin!)

  

Hiking the “G” on the mountain that stands for Grandma with Aunt Lindsey

Wisconsin

Jeremy recently went to Wisconsin for his Grandpa Bob’s funeral. He used to go to his grandparents’ home every summer as a kid and hadn’t been back in a really long time. Even though it was a somber occasion, he had a great time with all the family that came. The best part was that his grandparents’ house on the lake was exactly as he remembered it, even down to the clock wall hanging on the wall.

 

The view from the house.

 

Jeremy with his dad and uncle.

 

The Dunes

So one thing that we have discovered this summer is a bunch of sand dunes on the river that go out into a giant sand bar. In the first picture, Jeremy is out really far but the water is only up to his knees. So it is like a giant wading pool.

 

Near the dunes is a dam. Before the dam, there is an area where all this drift wood piles up along the river. I had Jeremy stop because I knew that I needed some but I didn’t know why.   

Today the kids and I made sculptures in our side yard.

 

The end. :)