party time!

My mom's church did a "potato fest" fundraiser that we went too. We had a huge potato bar and there were lots of little "potato" games for Rhone.

We also planned a surprise 50th birthday party for my mom (she's not 50 yet, but we wanted to do it while I was home). She was getting pretty suspicious and in the end it was Rhone who gave it away. We had a great meal and dessert and just visited with friends. We played a "How old is she game" were we posted pictures of her from the past and everyone had to guess how old she was in each one. It was really fun. Plus Brock and I found some pretty funny pictures from the past too. It was pretty tricky to execute the party in a barn with no electricity, but we pulled it off. I wish I would have gotten more pictures of the decorations.

Rhone had to dig up all of Mr. Potato head's parts.





White chicken chilli in bread bowls were dinner at the party
My mom and dad
My whole family
We had home-made German chocolate cake and cheesecake bites for dessert.

Hunting

It is always so nice to get outside and enjoy the amazing scenery of Idaho. It was tough for me to wake up early for opening morning of sharptail hunting, but I managed to pull it off and make the hike even though I wasn't feeling well. Rhone loves going out with us. He likes being perched on Papa's back, bossing the dogs around.

Ben was a diligent deer hunter. He woke up early every morning and logged some serious miles hiking. He got a nice 4x4 buck and he didn't even have to drag it too far. A big thanks goes my dad who finished packaging up the deer for Ben.

Idaho plus the Boise get-a-way

I am so glad we decided to head to Idaho. Having the help with Rhone and being able to rest was definitely worth the hassle of getting their and the price to change our tickets. My parents were an amazing help! We thought by the time I was 14 weeks along I would be feeling better. The medicine was helping a lot, but I still was pretty exhausted. Rhone spent a lot of time outside with Papa. He loves helping my dad! Rhone and I were able to meet up with some of our Air Force friends and my cousin Tiff and her girls at the Ogden Eccles Dinosaur museum. It was pretty interesting and fun to catch up with friends.

After I had been home for a few weeks, my mom, Rhone, and I also headed to Boise for the weekend with some family friends for the St. Luke's Hospital Women's Walk. I barely held up on the 5k, but we had a great time and Rhone kept asking to go on another "trip". Apparently we were pretty rowdy because the front desk had to call and ask us to be quiet (we think it was the little boys jumping on the bed). Rhone was dancing up a storm waiting for our turn to start, it was pretty awesome-I'll have to try and get a video of it on here.

Helping Papa feed the birds wheat.

Cookout with Oli

Being a good example for Olin ;)

Dinosaur museum with Landen.


Rhone and Cannon jumping on the bed in Boise


My mom and I heading to the starting line.

The whole crew after the race.

a game and a hurricane

Being pregnant (and extremely sick) has put me months behind on the blog. But we were living in survival mode, and well, the blog doesn't make the cut. So hopefully soon there will be a few back dated posts coming.

At the end of August we squeezed in a minor league base ball game before hurricane Irene showed up and Ben left of Prague. Ben was accepted into a language program with the Air Force that offered him a month long trip to attend a Czech language school. He flew out the day the hurricane came it. It was pretty crazy and stressful. Rhone and I hunkered down in the basement and outlasted the storm. We had fun "camping" and only a little water damage to the house.

Rhone and I spent a week and a half in Dover after Ben left. We took one of Rhone's friends to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday, celebrated Labor Day with some friends, and just generally tried to survive until we headed for Idaho. Thank goodness for good friends!

At the Blue Rocks baseball game.

Camping in the basement

Checking things out after the storm

Rhone and Aidan on a ride

Movie night with Wyatt and Tyson- pretty adorable huh.

Catching up

I know I am months behind on the blog. Here's a little video to catch you up (at least a little).