Baseball Boy

There is just something about little boys and baseball that makes them All American cuties!

This summer Cade played his first season of coach pitch t-ball.

He did so great, and we were so proud of him.

He only had to hit off the tee ONCE the whole season!

Our Ump, Gavin, also happens to be our boys' babysitter for the last 4 years. :)

Jay made friends with a fellow little brother, and they passed game times racing each other...

Tyce, already a ladies man, walked around seeking attention and clapping when the crowd did. :)

I love having boys!

Couple's Retreat Version 3.0

We love the Bastedos and Holdings. :)

This was our annual getaway with them without kids. We went to Priest Lake and boated all our stuff into an exclusive campsite right on the lake, and hit the water at dawn and dusk right when it was PERFECT glass. I wish I had my camera, but these are the only ones our friend snapped on his phone.

 These were taken at amazing natural rock slides we hiked into. You put on plastic sacks and you fly down the granite in the creek!

 There were water falls all over the place!

Tim, a literal chef, made us gourmet meals every meal!

Great 3 days!!

Coeur d'Alene Triathlon

I did the Cda Olympic Tri (1 mile swim, 26 mile bike, 6.2 mile run)  this year all by my lonesome! Nobody else did it with me (except for my cousin and his wife who happened to be there). 

They call it the scenic challenge for a reason! It kicked my butt after being on priest Lake the three days prior wakeboarding, waterskiing, and hiking my butt off! It's a tough course.

Finished in 3:02. Missed my PR by 4 minutes, but I'll take it! 

Do It Yourself!

I have been pretty freaking crafty lately.

Thanks to my new-found-love of pinterest, it got me back into the crafty/decorating mood.

I go in spurts... and here's my latest.

Cade recently upgraded to his own room, and these were leftovers for the guest room of our old house.

I wanted to transform it into a cute little boy room.

BEFORE:

 My idea scheme:

 First step, refinish the side table:

 Add new textiles and a palm and voila! 

 I have a friend who is making me the cute white and aqua "surboards" sign on the idea palette above. :)

Next project: Frame my mirrors!

BEFORE:

(kinda boring, huh?)

I had little tabs holding this smaller mirror, so I had to remove the tabs and used liquid nails to glue it to the wall:

 Next I hit home depot and bought some cute floor boards...borrowed my friend's skill saw and measured and cut 45* angles (I was bad at math, but I DO know two 45's makes 90! ;))

Then I glued and L bracketed them together.

Next, I used liquid nails to glue the frames to the mirror (this mirror didn't have tabs)

 Then I sanded, painted, and here is

AFTER:

I am really happy with the results! I'm proud of my not-so-crafty self!

Burley Spudman and Stanley!

We are making this an annual trip!

Burley Spudman 

(our first tri we've done...reunited!)

Let the race begin!!

 This was the first race I've ever beaten Jon... by a measley 20 minutes or so. ;) We are still waiting for official results...so these are approximate.

Brynne 2:38

Jon 2:55

I got 4th in athena, and my awesome athena friend, Sarah Wood, got 2nd and we were two minutes apart... dang! Had I known. ;)

After the race, we headed up to Sun Valley to our friends' cabin. Scott and Colette Brady, Trevor and Sarah Wood, Ben and Becca Anderson and us! 

It was a dream weekend.

Runs, hikes, mountain biking, hot springs, glacier lakes, water falls, no kids (except baby PoPo and Steely) and great company.

Salmon River

Each year, at the end of July, we go whitewater rafting on the Salmon River near Riggins, ID.

This is my FAVORITE trip every year. It's always a smaller group.

We hit holes in the teeth, we flip, we float through the "schwarzeneggar" rapids training rapids on steroids), we catch baby toads, and we play beach sports.

 

Thanks, Pops, for working hard to prepare each year of your whole life to establish these traditions. :)