A nice weather weekend

A nice weekend and week of weather we've had. Its reached 70 a few days this week and the girls were able to get out and play outside, all day...till dark. The turtle was out and about in the front yard, we made a fence for it so it won't get away. The kids enjoy picking dandelions for the turtle, her favorite food.

Graycie was able to use her new Rollerblades. She loves them and is really getting good on them in such a short time. We had to tell her no more rollerblading for a few days because she had them on so much the last few days that her legs are swore.

The wind was blowing pretty good for a couple days and the kids wanted to get out the kite. We walked down to the school and were able to get the kites pretty high in the sky. The girls walked down with their neighbor friends Gretta and Mandy. Both girls did great and Pinot had a blast chasing them around.


Photo Slide show

Just photos of the last week at home

Just a normal weekend with some nasty weather. It snowed, hailed, rained, wind blew, and a little sun and clouds. The girls are both over their colds so this was a good week in that regards. Amber and I have been trying to catch a cold but I don't think we'll get the full blown cold some of our friends and co-workers have had. We got Mia a new scooter, just like Graycie's. Now she has a "big girl" scooter. Graycie needed a new helmet, her's was hammered so she got a new helmet and now they're both happy.

Frank took the girls shooting last weekend to the lava flows just 6 miles or so West of Idaho Falls. Steve was over there hunting with some family and we got their just as they were returning from the hunt. The wind was a little nippy and the girls were anxious to get out. Graycie plugged off a few rounds and did pretty good. She hit the target that we just made earlier in the day out of 2x4's and targets they drew. Mia decided it was too chilly so she didn't shoot. Steve busted out the SKS and squeezed off a few clips. The girls didn't know what to think when they heard the SKS blast off. Pretty rifle!

Graycie and Mia both had great weeks at school, no sick days finally. Frank and Amber spent a day at Graycie's school helping out with the classes "tech bus". Its a normal school bus stripped of seats. In place of the seats are 5 or so "science" centers. We had to each take 5 kids in the class and help them with various science and technical things to build. Pretty cool idea. I was ready to get back to the quiet office at work after spending an hour in that bus... with all the kids, with all that noise!

Snow is just about gone. The girls helped me get some wood today, then stopped by Steve's to hang out for a while and let the kids play with each other. It is supposed to snow for the next three days, a little windy also. So, we're all stocked up on wood and have been burning ever since. The turtle is good, Pinot is still a coward, and the cats just need to go away :) I think Steve and I are going up the the Heise area or Twin Bridges tomorrow in the snow and fish, build a fire, cook our fish on the banks and just enjoy the snowy weather on the Snake River.

VIDEO of the girls practicing casting in the backyard


VIDEO of Amber sweeping outside and the kids


VIDEO of outside and yard

Mia's Birthday Party... she's 5!!!

Had a great time, Mia had such a blast with her family and friends. The party started around 2 and didn't really end till the next morning. She had a few of her school friends over, and Grandpa, Seth, Jessica, Steve & Christi and their kids Acacia and Kyler. Acacia ended up spending the night for Mia and Graycie's first sleep over.





Mia had a Nemo cake, something she picked out herself. We drove around most of the late afternoon trying to find a cake for her but ended up going to Fred Meyers where she found one she liked.

Her party was a Tea Party. We even had actual tea, no caffeine and its made for little ones. We brought the table upstairs for the girls and decorated it. They all played games and ran around like wild animals with their heads cut off... but they had fun. The house was a mess.


She got lots of fun toys, probably her favorite was the moon sand and the kids vacuum cleaner. She's been wanting one for a while now. They also loved the dart blow guns that Seth and Grandpa got her. They have been terrorizing the cats and dogs, I've had a blast with the blow guns also... chasing the animals around.

All in all... a great day for Mia. We are exhausted and quite happy all went down as planned, and glad that it's over :) Next party will be Graycie's in a few months. Not sure what she wants to do, hopefully the weather will be nicer. The day of Mia's party, the low was -14 degrees. We went shooting the day before and froze our asses off!

Target shooting with the girls

Took the girls shooting about 12 minutes West of Idaho Falls. It was Mia's first time shooting the .22 caliber rifle and Graycie's 5th time. Graycie absolutely loves shooting the rifle and after Mia saw her shoot a few times, she wanted a turn.

Graycie didn't want to give up the rifle, she really enjoys looking through the high-powered scope and lining up the X. She'll always tell me "daddy, its on the X"... and I always say... "we'll what are you wait'n for girl, shoot that thang!" She loves it. Pretty good shot too. She is just about nailing a 2 litre bottle about 60 or so yards away.

We went with our neighbors Dave and Sara. Dave brought a few nice rifles including a .17 rim fire. Graycie shot this once and seemed to like it. Was was nice... when Dave busted out his muzzle loader, what a nice weapon! My .22 is a Savage, all black stock, with a 12x9 on top. At the time I bought it, the Savage .22 caliber long rifle was the straightest shooter out there.

Here's a video of Graycie shooting away at a target about 50 yards away