Happy Birthday.

To an All American Hero.

this was mikey's "costume"
(doesn't he pull off white trash well?
and fyi...those are ROOTbeer bottles)

for the send off of a lifetime,
(took place 2 days before our st. g exit)

water fight of the century
(yes, that is a fire hydrant hose he is holding)

and best ever
'annual jim & jim memorial day neighborhood water party'
(the jims cruised the streets soaking
and then gathering 40 of the local yocals
who then converged on our house for the funnest water fight known to man.
it involved over 2000 water balloons)


I love this guy.
He's pretty much my favorite.
Happy 40th My Dearest.

Abode.

All righty, time for the long awaited pictures of the new abode.
I just KNOW you have all been on pins and needles, hardly been able to sleep at night waiting for this.

Couple things....
1* I am NOT a photog (in case you hadn't noticed before)
2* These were taken after my morning run so I know they are a little strange with the sunlight issues....oh well.
3* I think the outside of our house is pretty deceiving. It's actually quite roomy inside.

The front.
Penny, making a cameo.
She is loving her new found freedom, BTW.

Another of the front. This is the weird light one....
or maybe I have moved to the celestial kingdom
and my house is glowing.
One of the two.

The back.
I really like the walk out basement.
And while we're on the subject, let me just say
I love having a basement.
L.O.V.E - I.T.

And now, it's time for a few of my favorite things....

Our mailbox.
We've worked a lot in the yard.
Did I say a lot? Because I meant A LOT.
This yard was in sorry shape.
We found this old trash can and decided it would make a great mailbox stand.
We dug out the falling apart blue plastic thing it was in, buried the trash can a bit
and Ta-Da!!
So far no letters to Oscar the Grouch have been delivered.

This is an older home.
Complete with all the older home charm I love.
Like....

Sweet built in cabinets and drawers.
Love them.


Cool, cool windows.
My favorite is the little one above our bed.

Awesome doors.
I LOVE this door in the office.

And my view from my back door.

Yup.
I'm in a good place.

07-04

Began with a little 5K Boarder Run.

This is a fun little race that goes from the center of Lewiston, Utah to....wait for it.....the boarder of Utah and Idaho then back to the center of Lewiston. Hence the name the Boarder Run. That boarder also just happens to be part of my parents farm, so we runners have quite a cheering crowd at the turn around during the race. Lots and lots of high fives given out by lots of cute kiddos.

This years family participants included:

Adam, Natalie, Me, Audrey and Amanda.

Natalie had left after the race before we remembered to take pictures, so you don't get to see her in all her running glory. But here's some of the rest of us...

Remember I told you that if you do a race with Amanda you WILL be doing jumping pictures?
Here's the attempt (s):

Adam refused to take part in such silliness. He did agree to stand there.

Clearly, jumping pictures are not my forte'.

I would like to let the record show that I was not aware
that the picture was being taken in this last one.
This concludes our jumping picture attempts for the 4th.
Moving on...

After the race (and some quick showers) we all headed to the big Lewiston City parade. It goes right past my brother, Howard's, place so we parked ourselves on his front lawn.

Have I ever mentioned that we are a big group?

The cousin trio. Grace, Charlotte & Lucy.

This picture is for posterity's sake.
Proof the Dear Old Dad was around for SOME of the summer 2011.

I took no pictures of the rest of the day. Well, except one...Mike and Grant went on a little hike that afternoon and brought me back a beautiful little surprise from the mountains:

Thanks Boys.

We enjoyed a lovely cookout at my mom's house with lots of just good old hangin' around involved. And treats. I don't know who else but the Nelson's plan a day with 1st dessert and 2nd dessert. With no meal in between. First dessert was served shortly after a late lunch of dutch oven potatoes and BBQ's. Second dessert was served before the fireworks.
We enjoyed the fireworks from the comfort of Howard's backyard this year. We usually enjoy them from the comfort of the haystack.

True red blooded American children love S'mores.

Even the big children.

Some are a little messier with their mallows than others.

I would also like the record (since there is no picture) to show that 2nd dessert also consisted of three
very delicious cobblers. Peach, blueberry and cherry chocolate.
MmmMMm.
Too bad your not a Nelson, cuz we do the sweets up right.

The cousin duo. Emma & Audrey.

It was a full, full fun filled day from sun up to WELL past sun down.
And a good time was had by all.
:o)

You should know...

• We are alive.
• We are happy.
• We are loving our new abode, location and life.
• It is beyond crazy busy around here. Think crazy busy, then think way beyond it. That's us.
• My life feels vastly different. In a really good way.
  
• I really am going to give a grand virtual tour.
• I think next week might be blogging break through week for me.
  

Until then...my question to you is this:
Exactly how long do you think children can survive on hard work, cold cereal and love?