Riding Solo

Sierra has put away the training wheels. We are so proud of her! Now I'll NEVER be able to keep up with her on the way to the park.

Where were you 12 years ago?

I was in Montana ... on my honeymoon.

Showing off my new piece of jewelry in our little cabin in Stanley, ID on the day after our wedding.

Entering "Big Sky Country" after many hours in the car.

Yes, we were real honeymoon nerds with matching Glacier National Park t-shirts.

The view of Lake McDonald from our hotel room.

(The guy in front isn't too bad either!)

At the outlet of Avalanche Lake.


As I was sitting in church on Sunday morning (May 23rd), I was thinking about how cool it was that exactly twelve years before Marc and I were saying our vows to each other in that very building. Then, a dear lady at church began playing the offertory. I smiled to myself at God's timing. She was playing Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us, which "just happens" to be Marc's favorite hymn and one of the congregational songs that we chose for our wedding ceremony. I love how God arranges the details of our life - like the choice of music on a particular Sunday morning - to remind us of His sovereignty and to draw our attention back to Him.

Little Man

Here's a recent picture of Riley ... without Valerie standing around ready to bop the top of his head or poke him in the eye. It's pure love, mind you - but it does get a little overwhelming for the poor guy. Isn't he cute?! I can't believe that he's almost six months old.

(This is Susie and Benjy's little boy, for those who don't already know.)

Little House on the Prairie

When I figured that Sierra and Ally were ready to start listening to chapter books I knew that I had to start with the best of the best, so I asked for this last Christmas:

(We are already half way through book four.)

Then, we ordered this DVD set from Amazon a couple of months ago and have enjoyed watching an episode now and then:

Little did we know that we were creating an alternate universe for our daughters!

Meet Mary Ingalls:


Meet "Half-Pint" Laura:


My Mom and Dad brought back two sun bonnets from a recent trip to Washington D.C.. The girls haven't taken them off since then! Seriously. They eat, sleep, drink, play, fight, breathe, etc. Little House on the Prairie. What's really funny is that they are more like these characters than they even realize, both in looks and personality. AND - we even have a baby Carrie. She just isn't aware of it yet!

Butterfly Birthday (Pictures)

May 11, 2010

Valerie's First Birthday Party

Happy Birthday, Valerie Joy!

Our baby girl is ONE YEAR OLD today!

What a blessing she has been to our family.

(We're busy unpacking from a fun weekend at the cabin and getting ready for a small celebration tonight, but I'll be back soon with more pictures of this sweet little munchkin.)

Speed Flying

This afternoon we drove out on Warm Springs Ave. past Barber Park to watch Chuck do his speed flying thing. We have watched him sky dive a couple of times, but this was a first for us. Here's a 40 second clip of what we saw. (Pardon my squawking!)

If you think that this is crazy, you should see his videos from earlier this week when he was BASE jumping from the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls. (The only bridge in the U.S. which is open for jumping all year without a permit!)

He's insane!