A Little More Cake, but not on the Lake

For David's birthday this year, we went camping at Blue Ridge Reservoir.
(It was also for Aaron's birthday, so Crissi and Aaron came along,
and we met Nat, Roland and crew there too.)

The boys loved hiking down to the beautiful lake.

Josh found a new stick.

The whole family

Another shot of the boys

Sam & his new pocketknife. (Josh got one too.)

Lexi enjoyed her first camping trip.

Do you like her pinecone hat?

When we got back home, we had a birthday cake.
Not something I can cook over the open fire.

Happy Birthday David!

A Teeny Tiny Curl

If you look really closely, you can see a tiny little curl on this cute little girl. We're hoping for Daddy's genetics when it comes to hair, and not Mommy's.

Tupperware Party

Lexi has figured out that she can open every cupboard in her mommy's kitchen. The tupperware cupboard is by far her favorite. She dumps out enough plastic containers that she can climb in there and then she plays for quite a while. Sam and Josh also loved to play with these containers when they were this size, but I think Lexi loves them the most. Unfortunately, she's a lot faster than Mommy, and can dump those cupboards in record time. When Lexi is missing, we know where to look for her.

4th of July Fun

We had so much fun this Independence Day. We had a swimming and BBQ party at our house and then went to RAWHIDE, a "western town" near our home, that evening to watch fireworks.

We've gone here many times before, but this was Lexi's first trip.


Sam loves to pose for pictures.


Josh does not.



Sam visited the jail house.


Was it Sheriff Josh who made the arrest?

Then, Sam learned roping skills from a real live cowboy.

Josh tried his hand at being a cowboy as well.

He's very serious about his work.



The highlight of the evening was the buffalo show. We even saw the buffalo (and the rider) jump through a ring of fire. Sorry we didn't get a picture of that.


Then we enjoyed the fireworks show as a grand finale to a fabulous day. We had so much fun with Lori, Matt & Shayla hanging out all day. We are grateful for all those who've gone before us to ensure a land where we are free and those who continue to fight for our freedom today. Happy Independence Day!