Horseback riding!

This s by far Marlee's favorite activity!!! She asks at least twice a day if she can go horseback riding. Luckily we have some great friends who love (at least they say they love) having us up to ride their two horses Raz and Buck. Marlee is on Buck and Rhaegan is riding Raz.

Instead of riding horses Harper decided to play with some chickens. She is obsessed with animals so when the chicken came close she immediately stood up and walked right over to it. When she tried to hod the chicken though it didn't really like that too much:)

Our great friends Kirk and Emalee were able to join our horse riding fun!!! Our girls always seem to have more fun when Emalee and her sister kaylee are there too.

Cascade

This past weekend we were able to spend a couple days with some great friends up in Cascade, ID. We had a great time! However, I don't think anyone had as much fun as Rhaegan did. She was able to drive the Rhino all by herself which made her feel big and special.

I of course wanted a turn driving. I'm still a kid at heart:) so all the kids piled in and off we went. The cabin was beautiful and the views from all the windows were amazing. After all the kids were in bed each night the adults got to play games and laugh until our stomachs hurt. This mini vacation was just what I needed. Thanks Castletons and Tingey's for a great weekend!

My three little ladies!

Rhaegan and Marlee got these cowboy hats from the rodeo and decided to wear them everywhere. Here they are at lunch in the park and of course they have them on.

Harper is walking now! She has been standing and moving along the furniture for months now. One day she just decided to push off of the couch and walk to another nearby chair. Now she is walking everywhere. She especially loves holding someone's hand while walking so when Rhaegan and Marlee both grabbed each of her hands and started walking with her she was thrilled!

Welcome to the 50's

Our wonderful neighbors have the best 50's style diner in their basement and always treat our kids to some homemade malt shakes, old arcade games and 50's music. We decided to spend part of our family home evening at their place last night and of course we had the best time.

The usual shake flavor is raspberry and chocolate which my kids love. However, last night s new flavor estate introduced...coconut butterfingers. Yes I know what you're thinking...gross. To my surprise it was one of the best shakes I have ever had! 

This is a better look at the diner. To the left is a booth straight out of the movies and the telephone booth to the right made me feel like I was back in London. Thank you Phillip and Diane for a great dessert night!!

Canyon county fair...

We decided that even though it was 100 degrees outside we would take the kids to the fair. I mean it's all about the kids, right? We actually had a great time. We were able to share the extremely hot fun with some of our best friends Kirk an Janelle which was great!

Harper of course was too small for the rides but never missed a moment of watching from the sidelines.

Marlee prefers this type of rides. I think she subconsciously remembers kings island and the car rides there so that's all she ever really wants to do.

Rhaegan of course did the big, fast rides but I wasn't able to get any decent pictures of her on one of them. When she realized she only had three tickets left and all the "fun" rides were four tickets, she had to settle for the lame carousel. Marlee and her bff Emalee had a great time on the planes even though their plane was broken and didn't go up and down like all the other ones. All in all it was a fun trip to the county fair!

Birthday trip to the zoo...

For Harper's birthday grandma Taylor decided to take us to the Boise zoo. The girls loved it! 

There were several play areas which the girls thought were wonderful. This little tiger statue was a huge hit.

There were a few animals who decided to stand (or sleep) right next to the fences in their enclosures which made it so easy to get close up pictures. This wallaby confused the girls a little because they thought it was a kangaroo and therefore should be a whole lot bigger.

This leopard was beautiful! It just laid there while we talked to it and took pictures of it.

It was a great outing but Harper only lasted about an hour before crashing.

Harper's 1st Birthday!!

I can't believe this day actually arrived. I much as I enjoyed watching Harper today playing with her new toys or watching her smile as we sang to her, I was also sad that she is no longer my little baby. It's really not fair that babies have to grow up. 

We decided to throw her an Under the Sea party because she is constantly sleeping with her stuffed octopus Oscar. It was fun not having the usual pink, princessy party. I loved making the cake and cupcakes.

I also love having a child with a summer birthday because now I can finally have pool/beach themes. We had two pools, a slip n slide and beach balls to complete our backyard pool party.

Harper got so many fun things. She of course didn't get to open any of her present because she had plenty of little helpers sitting right next to her. She didn't mind one bit though. 

This was one of her favorite presents. It plays music at the push of a button and whenever those tunes start playing her little body starts dancing. 

It was 103 degrees outside so we were all completely covered in sweat but I needed to have a picture with my little lady.

The party wouldn't be complete without her famous stink face.

It didn't take her long to realize how fun it is to completely destroy the cake. I hate that she's getting older but she is always going to be my little baby.