August Memories

Happy Labor Day and start of September! This is our last weekend of summer before school starts this week so we are squeezing in all the last minute summery things ... fun on the water slides at Roaring Springs, a bbq, and swimming! Looking back on some of these August memories is a testament to what a fun summer we had this year!

I'm still dealing with headaches and not knowing the source so I ordered a pair of blue light glasses to try but this cutie got to them first! Makes me smile that they're upside down and she's eating cheez its at her kiddie table in the toy closet. ;) 

I've had many a quiet time spoiled lately because of flies who have found their way into my house! I even got Liam a bug catching kit and helped him catch so many different things to show him they are harmless and teach him that he doesn't have to be afraid but those pesky flies really get him going. He made Nic use his tiny bug net to try and catch this fly in our bedroom. haha

The bug loving queen!

They built another new park in Meridian and it is so good! They have a giant sandbox with water pumps for kids to play in. The cutest little guy on the right is my friend Lauren's baby, Griffin.

While she has gotten better at naps, Lyla still boycotts them occasionally and then will crash so hard in the early evening that she doesn't even wake up as I change her diaper and get her into her pajamas. haha My two crazies outside of Target ...

Liam has been choosing his big boy bike more often and Lyla has been bringing along her baby doll wherever she goes!

After not watching where he was going and knocking his sister down with his bike, he had a heart to heart with dad and the hug at the end was my favorite part. Nic is an incredibly patient dad, I admire him so much.

Lyla finding more "ross" (rocks) ... You should see our garage! They have a collection going. ;)

My friend Sidnee lives out in Eagle right on the Boise River so play dates at her house are an adventure!

I took the kids to play at a park in Eagle one day and when we got there we found it was completely ripped out and fenced off with caution tape. We'd been there a month before and had no idea it was being taken down! Luckily the green belt is right next to it so we went on a long walk and found a patch of sand ... 

I love when they hold hands .... SHE loves when they hold hands!

Liam was having a great time making things with sticks and twigs ... I was busy fielding ya ya from tearing it all down!

I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM

"Hey you, I see you picking that nose!" 

giggle giggle giggle

Splash pads with her little best friend, Roey!

A big water bucket dumped right next to the two of them and this was their reaction ... haha

Sunday best!

Their reunions are my favorite! One of these days I'll remember to catch it on video. We tried Stella's Ice Cream with Hadley and her family while they were in town.

I've always wanted to stop into a shop in town called Pi Baby Boutique. They carry name brand baby and kids clothes, accessories, toys, etc. Lyla adored trying on rain boots to figure out her size!

Last week Liam's new teacher asked if she could come to our house and get to know him better before school starts. I thought it was so incredibly sweet of her and such a great idea. She patiently listened as he told her about his toys and showed her his room. 

Then a couple days later she hosted a play group at his preschool for the parents and kids in his class this next year. We got to meet each other and get to know a little bit about each other's families. It was great! Liam's school is on a farm so there is tons of space to play outside and a cow named Betsy who is having a baby in November! Even chickens and dogs!

6 of the 8 kids that will be in his class this year! Waving "bye" to summer!

The Fair 2019

Oh the fair! haha I joked on Instagram about what an experience it was this year when someone flicked their cigarette ash on my arm and burned it, or when the lady at the ticket booth was clearly upset and fired up about something and proceeded to use the f-bomb no less than 20 times in front of my children, or the absolute nightmare it was getting in and out of that place when the entire state came on the same day as us to witness a free REO Speedwagon concert we knew nothing about ahead of time. Those aren't the memories I'm going to remember though!

Instead I'll think of the petting zoo and watching Lyla literally run from animal to animal squealing with glee at each new one she found. I could hardly keep up with her until we found this cow that they could brush ... they were both so sweet and gentle with it.

We also loved the adorable baby pigs from the petting zoo tent. We caught them nursing on our way in and then snuggling their momma in a big heap asleep on our way out. So sweet! The baby chicks were cute too!

Liam only had a few major panic attacks over the flies at the fair! haha We sat down to eat our dinner ... Pronto Pups for us and pizza for the kids and the flies were just swarming around us. Liam screamed through the meal no matter how many times we'd reach out our hands toward them to show him they can land on us and be completely harmless. So then Nic thought it would be funny to show him those fly sticks ...

Time is such a crazy thing ... just last year Lyla had barely learned how to walk when we were at the fair and this year she was tall enough for a couple of the rides. 

Her first ride ever and her face said it all!! Witnessing their firsts brings me so much joy as a parent!!!

She stuck out her tongue and squealed with glee like she was having the time of her life!

Liam loved every minute of it too! I thought he would be so excited though to have his sister be old enough to ride with him but he just kept looking for ones he could only go on by himself. haha 

Lyla was a trooper though and watched him go on a few with a promise that she would get a treat afterward. ;)

"Mom, this is my favorite ride EVER!"

Fulfilling his need for speed ...

Liam got the giggles on this ride and it was so cute to watch! His laugh is contagious. 

She may be my big girl this year but she still can tuck her knees into my chest and snuggle up like my baby too.

These are the memories I'll always remember for the fair. <3 p="">

Roaring Springs with Sita

We are making the most out of the last few days that the water park is open for the season. They've already closed on the weekdays and are open through mid-September on weekends only, weather permitting. Thankfully it is still so beautiful and sunny outside. We've been wanting to bring Sita (my mom) with us all summer and finally got to go together a couple weekends ago!

That hug!!! Melt my heart!

Liam went on the mat ride with Sita and then she did the lazy river with ya ya and I while Liam and dad rode a few more big rides!

We played in the wave pool for a while until lunch time. I'm so thankful they have life jackets my two dare devils can wear! Liam always wants to go waaaaay out in the deep end while the waves are going and Lyla doesn't mind them crashing over her head either. ;) I was thankful to have so many helping hands and it was a reminder to me why I never took them by myself this summer.

We had a picnic lunch in the parking lot (Subway sandwiches) and spent most of the rest of the day at the kiddie pool watching Liam and Lyla go down slide after slide! Lyla loves the little ones but always works up the courage at least once to go on the "yellow slide", even if she looks terrified doing it! haha

Surf's up, DUDE!

We stayed well past Lyla's nap time and she fell right asleep on her daddy's shoulder when it was time to go home. 

Thanks so much for spending the day with us, Sita! 

new exhibits at the Boise zoo

A trip to the zoo is always on our summer bucket list. Especially after hearing that they added new exhibits this summer, we couldn't wait to go! We got there right as the zoo opened in the morning and it was the best time of day I've ever gone because it wasn't too hot yet and a lot of the animals were up walking around or eating! They are so much more fun to watch when they get up close to the windows of their enclosures.

We went with my friend Sidnee and her kids ... Bear, Charlee, and Monroe. While we waited for them to arrive, Liam and Lyla begged to ride on the merry-go-round. Who could say no to these cute faces, especially when it was Lyla's first time ...

They loved it and I thought it was so hilarious that Liam wanted to ride the chicken out of all the animals to choose from. I think we even got an extra long turn because we were the only ones on it. ;)

The second thing we saw was this ocelot. The crazy part about it ... it was eating its breakfast. We watched it shred apart an egg carton and find a big white rat inside. It literally ripped it apart and pulled out its intestines like spaghetti noodles. I think we were all in a little bit of shock after witnessing that. haha A very quick lesson on the circle of life, that's for sure!

After our friends got there, her kids wanted to ride the merry-go-round too so we went on it a second time and felt a little ill afterwards. haha Note to self, my stomach can only handle one go on that thing.

Probably one of my favorite animals to see because they are so entertaining ... the monkeys! One was lounging on his back on the ground while the other one swung from the netting above, howling at the top of its lungs!

Checking out a wolf ...

Another favorite, the prairie dogs! This was the first time in our last several trips to the zoo where they were actually out of their holes and eating! The kids crawled through the tunnels to see them up close ...

There was a fairly new tiger to see after the last one had injured its leg and needed to be put down. 

The cutest baby birds in the world! These two little best friends were so cute together!

The butterfly exhibit is unreal! Every single one is so incredibly beautiful and they fly all around you as you walk around. Poor Liam, the only one who was afraid of bugs got a stage five clinger that latched onto his shirt and didn't want to let go. It was so hard to keep it together as I tried coaxing it off his shirt several times while he was having a panic attack, clinging to Sidnee's leg for dear life. 

Their favorite part of the zoo, sharing their snacks. ;)

We took our time taking everything in until I realized nearly 3 hours had gone by and I was already late for a lunch date I had planned with my mom when I realized we hadn't seen ANY of the new exhibits at the zoo except for the new outdoor monkey enclosure. Face palm! I ran to the gift shop and asked where they were and it turns out we had just barely missed them after going right to see the giraffes instead of left. We hightailed it back there for only a few minutes ... enough time to see the new crocodile I had promised Liam he would see and passed the new vulture along the way. It was worth the quick trip, Liam loved seeing the crocodile up close. It even sauntered along in front of us and then opened its jaw and showed us its teeth!

We definitely will be going back this fall to see the rest of the new exhibits at the Boise Zoo! Next time we better bring daddy so he can see them too.