Only Child

Well, little sister is an only child for a while. Big sister is in Utah with cousins, and you'd think Gwen would miss her. She does ask for her first thing when I get her up from bed, 'Where sister at?' But she does like ruling the roost without objection. She also likes free reign in sister room. She does however, miss poking her sister and grabbing things from her. You see, Gwen loves to get a reaction from her sister.

Who? This sweet thing? All smiles for me today? Saying cheese herself without me even shouting something silly and then trying to get her to look at me while there is still a smile on her face?
No, not her. She looks too innocent for anything like that.

Cress Creek

Sometimes it's hard being a farmers wife, because said farmer is hot and tired and wants to be INSIDE when he gets home or doesn't have to work (Sunday). Well, after watching some of his home videos on Sunday, I was determined to go out and go on a hike. NBA playoffs or not. (Well, not really. Thank you T-Vo.)
I remember going to Cress Creek quite a few times with my family growing up and it was very pleasant and an easy hike for the little ones.
There is a few areas to poke around in the water. I thought I was brave enough to catch a water skipper and show the girls how to do it. Once it got close I decided they can teach themselves.
Another pretty area with dad.

Gwen is a sly fox, I just love her making this face.

On the way down, everything looked so beautiful. Who knew Ririe could look so good?

She figured out this walking stick thing out on her own. It was cute.

Mesa Falls

We decided to take the scenic route to Island Park over Memorial Day weekend. It was wonderful. I never knew that driving with kids could be so pleasant. All the stars seemed to align for the girls to be happy and pleasant, and Derek and I could talk to each other (crazy, right?). We checked out the flooding in Rigby and then stopped at Mesa Falls. It was really fun. Not only do they have the mini falls and the actual falls, but there is a little gift shop place there that has a lot of interesting animal skins that the kids can touch and look at.

Here is proof of the happy girls in the car. Gwen thought she was pretty funny putting her blanket on her head as her 'hat'.
Yes, it was COLD and WINDY there. There was a little trail that the girls hiked up. Here they are at the summit. About 15 feet up.

Ya know, every now and then that camera timer comes in handy. Here we are at the falls. Right before out camera case fell off the platform, down into the ravine. Never to be seen again. RIP

Cousins

I always think it's so fun to look back at pictures of me and my sibling or cousins all lined up. Over Memorial Day Weekend in Island Park we got the girls together with Bethany and Abby before bed time for a picture. This picture is funny because it looks like the afternoon, but it really is about 8 pm and the white that you see outside is the snow. It was a blizzard all of Sunday. It was crazy.

If You Want Your Sunglasses Broken

Yes, they're broken. I now realize why my sunglasses are broken, because I've been letting my little ones play with them. That's a lesson I've learned the hard way about 5 or 10 times. Although it is only a $5 lesson.
These were actually taken on Mothers Day. Derek dressed the girls and fixed their hair. They looked fabulous, as you can see. On the drive home from church Evelyn flipped my sunglasses on and she looked so cute we snapped a few.

Rosy Cheeked Easter

I'm so happy to blog about these pictures and not because I love these two faces, it's because I love the ROSY cheeks they have. We DID have some really nice warm days a few weeks ago and it was great. Anyhow, I love to take and share a happy pic of my two cuties. Enjoy:

Walking With Pama

If you're not a current resident of Idaho Falls you may not be aware of the warm days we've been having. Above freezing. Talk about some great weather. Don't worry, the sarcasm is free. My little ones LOVE going on walks and especially love them if Pama(Grandma) comes and brings the dog. Pretty much all they need is no wind and dry-ish sidewalks. Is that too much to ask? Here is little sister walking with Pama, holding her hand. Gwen can walk with the best of them. Here she is walking the dog. She is so proud when it's her turn.

Here is #1 walking the dog like a professional.

What?! A smile for the camera? These must all be carefully documented.

And after a nice walk around the block, we must sit on the swing and freeze a little longer. This little one seems totally unaffected by the weather, in fact, I think she loves it.