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.

Bear Lake 2019

Bear Lake and the family cabin is one of our favorite places to visit during the summer time! We weren't there longer than 5 minutes and everyone had their swimming suits and life jackets on and were ready to hit the water. The weather the first day was in the 80's but the water was still pretty chilly so rather than swimming we tried out the paddle boat! Cruising away with daddy ...

I bought this seal from Walmart with my best friend when I was a senior in high school and we planned to take it up to Lucky Peak to float on that summer. I'm not sure it ever came out of the box because clearly the size was made for children. haha I decided to bring it with us to Bear Lake for the kids and blew it up when we got there. They had fun packing it around but it never made it in the water for floating on. 

Lyla loving her first time at Bear Lake!

Both sides of grandparents gave the kids brand new sets of buckets and shovels to build sand castles with which was so nice. Liam loved filling one of his buckets with water to pour into holes he dug.

Lyla loved the sunscreen as usual ... she makes sure everyone reapplies every 2 minutes. ;) No sunburns around here!

Papa brought out the binoculars to look at boats on the water and I don't think he got to use them more than once after Liam discovered them. Our little explorer, he adventured with those things scoping out any bug he could find (mostly ants). It was adorable to watch! The best part ... he was wearing Grandma Dee's sandals. haha

We spent a lot of our time there building sand castles! 

Liam and I made this one together ...

Then he'd feel frustrated when Lyla wanted to help too. haha She'd dump sand on top of whatever he was creating thinking she was being helpful but instead just ticking him off! Siblings! haha

Of course we had to bury his feet in the sand ... a sandbox right of passage. ;)

There are always TONS of tiny shells washed up on the shore. While we were gathering treasures to take home with us we found a crab claw! Maybe freshwater crabs in Bear Lake?! I also had to make a mermaid ... something my mom and I used to do together when we'd go to the beach when I was a kid. 

Being silly on the stairs; the safest place to play! Lyla's shirt makes me smile ... it was Liam's when he was her age. <3 nbsp="" p="">

Then there is Liam's bandaid ... I think both kids fell on the boat ramp at least 3 times each skinning up their knees. Good thing I brought those super hero and puppy bandaids. 

The morning after what we'll call "the night of no sleep", we didn't want to wake anyone so we took the kids out for a walk. The sunrise on the water was so beautiful and the view of it from our hike was even better!

Right above the cabin we found this grove of beautiful flowers! I had to get a picture of the cutest baby bear at Bear Lake in front of them ...

Along our walk we found the biggest dandelions the kids had ever seen and made a million wishes!

Spending time with Grandma Dee ...

Having the best raspberry shakes at La Beau's ...

She loves her Papa's beard!

Liam was sleeping in a different room than us so when Nic went to check on him that morning he heard Liam awake and talking to himself ... "Okay .... today's the day ... the day I get to ride ... the jet ski!! LET'S DO THIS!" and he hopped out of bed and opened the door. haha How cute is that?! He was beyond excited and had been talking about it ever since the first year he rode on one!! He patiently waited at the end of the boat dock for Nic to ride it to the cabin from the marina. 

Then he was the first one to hop on and ride away!

He kindly let his sister have her first turn and I about died seeing her scrunched up cheeks in that life jacket!!

When her turn was over she shook her head because she didn't want to get off. haha And then Liam goes, "Um dad, I think I'm ready to ride the jet ski again now!" Hint taken, Liam. Then when I took him for a ride, 2 minutes in he goes, "Mom, I think we should go back now. I want to ride with dad." Apparently I'm too timid of a driver for his ever loving donut ways! 

SO much fun in the most beautiful place! Until next year, Bear Lake! 

p.s. Past Bear Lake trips ... 2016, 2017