Great Grandma & Grandpa Pasley's House

Our next stop on our vacation was to Grandma and Grandpa Pasley's. They live in the mountains of Idaho in a beautiful house that was built by both Roy and Norma. They have been building and working on this house for a long time and it shows. It really is a beautiful house and even better is the view surrounding them. This first picture was taken from their back porch. Tell me you wouldn't want to wake up to that every morning!


Here is the house itself. Sorry about the rain drop right in the middle of the picture. The rain didn't want to let up that last day that we were there. So much so that I didn't' get a chance to take a picture of the turkeys. You heard me right I said turkeys! If you look close in this picture you can see on the road in front of the house that there is a little bit of yellow there. That isn't rock, it's feed for the turkeys that come every day to the Pasley home.
That's not the only thing the Pasley's feed. Every day they fill up their bird feeders and humming bird feeders so that they get to see all the beautiful birds that live in their area. This particular bird I had to get a picture of but as soon as you walk out the door or make to sudden of a movement it flys away. So I had to take it's picture through the window. It is one of Norma's favorites and I have to say I really like it too.

They have some squirrels that come and eat the seeds as well. There were two of them at one point and we were all laughing because they were being very silly chasing each other all around the tree.

The first night we were at their house the kids needed a bath and the bath tub that they have is fit for about 5 people. (; The kids of course were so excited to take a bath in there so I had to take pictures. (If you can even find them in there.)This was on our last day with Norma and Roy. We had such a great few days with them. We ate and played and did I mention we ate. Norma is a great cook and she made some of her wonderful homemade candies. I don't think I stopped eating sweets they whole time I was there. Not only did she make them for us while we where there but then she sent some with us on our trip. Lets just say I may have gained a few pounds on this trip. The kids loved being with their Grandma and Grandpa. They thought the house, animals and land was like a huge camping ground for them. I didn't take as many pictures as I would have like but here are some really good ones that I got of the kids and their Grandparents.

This first one is of Eli and Keith. Eli had been playing outside and since it was raining he looked like he was showering with his clothes on.

Eli sitting with his Great Grandpa Pasley. Don't they look like a couple of handsome boys!

This picture is one of my favorites. Mckenna just wanted to sit in her Great Grandma's lap and then when Eli came over I got this great picture of all of them together.

Here we were all sitting together eating our breakfast. Yum!

This is a picture of the kitchen of my dreams! I loved everything about it from the wood to all the drawers. I think I have a little drawer envy. There was just space to put everything and best of all to cook.

We had a great time and can't wait to go back. Thanks Norma and Roy for letting us come and stay and most of all play.

On The Road Again...

For our road trip we tried to pack as much stuff as we could to keep our kids entertained. We knew we would be taking them to a lot of new places and that they would be in the car for several hours some days. With all the toys and things that we pack our plan seemed to work. They at least acted as though they were well entertained. The kids were really good for us while we drove to each new state and place, and the pictures that I took of them in the back seat was a scene that we saw often as we traveled.

Here is Eli reading a book, but after we left his cousin Merritt's house he was very inspired by his art work and would draw lots of pictures on his doodle board as well.

Mckenna would take her sandals off the second we got into the car. She also would grab her baby into her lap and read her all her books.

Aquarium

On our vacation we were able to go to the Aquarium in Utah with Heather and my Mom. I really didn't know what to expect since I hadn't ever heard of this aquarium but it was great and best of all the kids had a really good time. Inside they had all kinds of cool fish, jellyfish, sea turtles, sea horses and so much more. Eli loved the stingrays because you could pet them. We showed him what to do and at first he was kind of worried but after he touched one he wanted to do it again and again. Mckenna on the other hand didn't really want to touch the stingrays but gave in after we had stood there for over 15 to 20 minutes in awe over the whole thing. What was crazy about the stingrays was it was as though they wanted to be pet. They would bring their wings up over the side of the tank so you could reach down with two fingers and touch them. They felt a little slimy but it was so neat to think that you had just touched a live stingray. Mckenna liked seeing the fish and looked as though she was having a good time but when she saw the penguins that was all it took. She loved watching them jump in and out of the water. It was such a great day and both the kids still talk about how much fun they had. It helps that Heather bought Eli a little stuffed sting ray and Mckenna a little penguin that they sleep with to this day.

They even had frogs there at the aquarium and the kids liked the colorful ones, and of course riding on the big one for kids.

Here are some jellyfish that were really cool. They had the longest tentacles I had ever seen.

In this picture you can see the jellyfish behind Eli and Mckenna but we had the flash on the camera so that our kids wouldn't be fuzzy looking. The next picture is without the flash and it was really cool to see them a neon green color. You could really see them more clearly that way.

Eli and I touching the sting rays.

Mckenna with Heather and Grandma. She didn't want to get much closer then that at first but did touch one in the end.

Mckenna watching the penguins in the water. She loved it and would laugh when they would jump and splash in the water.

Our two kids as penguins. Mckenna is the same size of a Gentoo penguin and Eli is the size of an Emperor penguin.

Memorial Day

My sister Joanna and her husband Chad are such great people! I have proof to show you just one of the many things that they do that makes them awesome in every way. Every Memorial Day they take their family and clean all the headstones of all our loved ones that have been buried in Utah. Since we were there on vacation with them we got the opportunity to clean my Grandma and Grandpa Petersen's headstone with them. I have not been to their grave site for years and it was really nice to be able to reminisce about all the great times that were spent with my Grandparents. The other really neat part was watching my kids get to help and not only that but really wanting to take part in showing respect for my loved ones.

Here is Eli cleaning and Mckenna waiting for her turn.

Left to right: Eli, Grant, Grace, Mckenna and Merritt around Grandma and Grandpa Petersen's headstone after it had been cleaned.

Vacation / Birthday

Our little family went on a vacation at the end of May where we got to see a lot of our family. It was so much fun and of course I have so many pictures that it will take a few blogs to show all of them. I thought the most important day of our vacation was having the chance to celebrate Mckenna's birthday! That's right I said BIRTHDAY! She is 2 years old now and it was so nice to have my family close enough this year to be there for the festivities.
We showed up late to my sister Joanna's house on Friday and the next day was her birthday. Joanna was such a big help that day because to start off Keith and I were up early running our 30 miles that was required for our training. So when my kids woke up, Joanna fed them breakfast got them dressed and watched them while we were off being crazy runners. My kids had so much fun playing with her kids, that when we did get home, Eli and Mckenna barely acknowledged we were there. To summarize, let's just say that all of us had a great time!

Ok, back to the birthday party. Joanna and Chad were so great to let us have a party in their house. Joanna and Mom made pizza, Heather made salad and went shopping with me, which is not an easy thing to do. Also Andrea when she asked what she could do to help got all kinds of balloons and butterflies to decorate the living room just for Mckenna. Everything was a little crazy that day because Keith and I knew what we wanted to get Mckenna, but we wanted to get it in Utah thinking they would have more of a selection. So we had to do all our shopping and we kept forgetting this and that and so it was kind of hectic but in the end it all worked out. Thanks again everyone for all your help in making Mckenna's birthday such a great one!

Here are all the kids from left to right; Grant, Eli, Merritt, Grace and Mckenna eating popcorn on Joanna's swing outside.

Andrea got Mckenna a tu-tu and a butterfly wand for her special day. She looks so cute!
Joanna had a crown for her and Grace also had her own outfit and so together they were dancing around waving their wands and having so much fun.
After we had yummy pizza she opened presents. This one was from Grandma and Grandpa Metcalfe.
She got a little dog house with some cute little dogs. She also got two really cute dresses. Here she is with the sandals we got her. Of course they are pink and they have flowers on them.
Here is Andrea, Mom, Heather, Kirsten, and Dad's head. (;
This gift is from Heather and she got some really cute church shoes, clothes and a book. Thanks again everyone for all the great loot!
Here is the butterfly cake that was cute in the end but gave us quite a headache to make! I have to tell you everyone was helping to make this cake. We had Mom doing frosting, Andrea and Kirsten helped frost at one point. Heather did the cute design and Jo let me use all her sprinkles to make it look so cute.
Blowing out the candles! By the time we got the cake to everyone they were more then ready for it and so it was gone really fast!
Dad eating cake. I think he likes it!
Mom eating cake.
Crazy Sandra dishing out ice cream!
Merritt being the good cousin that he is let all the little kids eat at the table outside. So here he is eating at the play set instead.
Happy 2nd Birthday Mckenna! WE LOVE YOU!

Little Racers

Most of you know that Keith and I have been training for the 50k race that is coming up THIS SATURDAY! After all this time and after so many miles of running it is coming to an end. Any way the people I think who have been my best supporters have been the kids. Ok maybe not all the time, but for the most part the kids have been great. With only the occasional "Mom don't go running again!" Yet even though they may not always like when we leave I have noticed how much the kids are paying attention to what Keith and I are doing. They will ask us how far we are going and usually to Mckenna it is always 3 miles but no matter what the mileage is they always want to come with us. So for fun Keith has taken them over to the park a few times and let them run around the pathway. Eli can usually run around it two times and Mckenna can too but only if she takes a lot of short cuts along the way. Then after every time I'm done running Eli will tell me I have done a good job. Mckenna will come up to me holding her hands out to touch my checks to see if they are hot or cold from running outside. It is a good feeling knowing that I am setting a good example for them on being active and if they get nothing else out of it but that I will be happy!
So on to the pictures...the other day I was in the kitchen and both Eli and Mckenna came out with our running shoes. So I grabbed my camera as fast as I could and caught them putting them on. When I asked Eli what he was doing he said, "Running like Mom and Dad."

Here they are putting on our shoes.


Ok Mom we are ready for our 3 miles.


Eli was running really well for having over sized shoes on.

My shoes were so big on Mckenna that she could hardly get around, but somehow she still managed it.

Last but not least I got this great picture of Eli stretching with Keith. At the time Mckenna didn't want her picture taken but it is so funny to see both the kids stretching or at least trying to stretch with us.

More Preschool FUN!

For a week of preschool the kids got to learn about animals on the farm. Eli came home with some really great pictures that he had done of some animals and a barn. Then one of the teachers in our little group, (Sarah Murray) who has also been doing music for another preschool here in Casper got us a chance to tag along to an actual farm. So here are the pictures of the kids getting to be at the farm!


One really great thing about this experience was not only did Eli get to be apart of the fun but so did Mckenna. Here they are getting a chance to feed the baby goats. It was so funny because those goats were hungry and almost knocked the kids over trying to get the milk from the bottles.


Eli really did like petting the goats but he sure doesn't look like it in this picture.

Climbing the fence to see the cows.

The kids got to pet the sheep and in the first picture it is Eli and his school friend Josh and in the next one it's more school friends, Even and Naomi. I wanted to get a picture of Mckenna petting the sheep but I wasn't fast enough. She was really nervous and inched her way over to the sheep really slowly and as fast as she could took one quick pet and was out the gate. That was one time I wish I would have had my video camera.

Looking at the pigs.

Last but not least the kids got to ride on a pony. I didn't know if Eli would do it or not but Sarah said she would walk next to him and once he was told that he went right with her. Here he is being told how to hold on tight.


And he's off walking down the small trail with Sarah at his side.

Coming back Sarah said he told the pony to, "Giddy up!"

After the pony ride we were all frozen farm popsicles. So we decided to go back to Sarah's house and have our picnic lunch indoors. I know I've shown you lots of pictures but I wish I would have taken more. I didn't get any of the cute baby chicks, the funny talking ducks, the lamas or Mckenna petting the cat. The kids had so much fun and when asked what they liked the best Eli said the ponies and Mckenna said she like the ducks.