Brady's Triatholon

Brady competed in the Riverside Splash & Dash Triatholon which was a huge hit.  The kids were split into different age groups to compete-Brady's age group 4-5 yr olds had to swim the length of the pool (with assistance if needed), jump out and put their shoes on in the transition area, run a big loop between the 18th fairway & practice green, then hit a 1-ft putt.  It was one of the most entertaining things I've seen & Brady absolutely loved it.  Pretty funny to see his competive juices start to flow and he was pretty proud of himself when he ended up 2nd! :)

Pretty proud of his numbers!

Kiddos listening to directions

On your marks!

Final stretch!!

He was very proud of his ribbon!  So excited about it that he took it everywhere...literally...it ended up in the toilet because he wouldn't put it down even when he went to the bathroom!  It took a little bit of washing but we got it back to it's original state. :)  Pretty funny.

Fun in Cody!

As I mentioned before, Jeff & I took an amazing SF trip to Bermuda & NYC for 10 days in July.  The kids (& us!) were so fortunate to have a "village" of family that helped take care of them while we were gone!  My folks had them 2 nights, Dusty & Gina had them 2 nights, Lez & Bryce & Jane had them 2 nights & Grammy & Grampy had them for 5 nights!  As I said, it truly took a Village! :) We are so very thankful for everybody's help & the kids had an unbelievably fun time with everyone.  Grammy & Grampy were very sweet & sent us lots of phone pictures of their fun!  It was the longest we've ever been away & we were so appreciative of the updates.  Here are their pictures!

Swimming at the Rec Center!

A fun trip to the museum!

I thought this was such a fun idea-they let Brady use a strainer to catch minnows in the creek-he loved it & the kids still talk about that!

 Grammy helping out a bit!

Livvy liked to watch

A teepee at the museum

Smooches at the rodeo

I love this picture

How amazing is this?!  They went rafting down the river!!  Time in Cody with Grammy & Grampy is AWESOME.

Even grocery shopping is more fun! 

Thanks again to our families for all the help--we are so very appreciative!

Summer 2012 = Whirlwind!

This summer absolutely flew by for us!  Brady starts Kindergarten in 2 weeks & while we are so excited for this next phase, I am sad the summer is almost over!  We had a few fairly major milestones happen this summer which included moving into our new home on the same day Jeff & I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary!  The 10 days prior to the move Jeff & I went on a fabulous vacation to NYC & Bermuda (photos to follow.)  To say July was a whirlwind would be a major understatement but it was all very exciting & we are so glad to be in our home & (almost) settled. :)  Here are a few pictures of our summer fun!

We have tons of biking trails close to the new house, so we have tried to go on bike rides every day.  We are a pretty short bike ride away from the duck ponds at MSU which has been really fun!  Here are some pictures when we met up with Nana.

Good form, Liv!  Pretty serious stuff!

There is an awesome neighborhood park across the street from our house so we have had lots of fun playing with friends over there!  Here are the kids with our buddies, Joseph & Beau!

My folks took the kiddos up to the cabin for a little lake fun while we had Lez & Bryce come visit & here are some fun pictures of their weekend

Brady's elementary school is just a couple blocks away from our house & this is the trail that goes right to school.  We have been practicing riding our bikes to school so we are ready in a couple weeks! :)

Our little peanut still fits in her seat with me & we have lots of fun on our rides!

Brady & Daddy following us & maneuvering the runners!

The trail goes all the way to the Museum of the Rockies-it's about a 5 minute ride to school from our house & about 10 minutes to the museum...oh and about 20 minutes to Moberry frozen yogurt...pretty fun! :)

On our way back home!

Daddy (with the help of a neighbor buddy) put together a hoop for our driveway.  Both Jeff & I have so many memories of shooting hoops in the driveway with our families growing up that this was a priority to put up when we moved in!  We have already had countless games of PIG & Brady still has a pretty smooth shot.  Livvy obviously has some pretty amazing moves as well.

We had my folks over one night for dinner & headed over to the park to show them around.  If it looks a little hazy that's because we have had terrible smoke for the last several weeks from surrounding forest fires...pretty bad!

Papa putting the swingset to the test! Our house is the blue one in the background.

There is a fun, shallow little creek that flows through the park...little miss was not too pleased to have slipped in & gotten all dirty!  I felt terrible about taking this picture but it still cracks me up...luckily she was over it pretty quickly...sadly the white skort never fully recovered. :)

Brady showing Nana around!

Lots of fun to be had here!  Jeff & I are looking forward to the day we can sit on our back deck while the kids play on their own!  That day is not here yet. :)

Nana & Papa tried it all out!

Headed home!

Some of our very favorite visitors, The Cox family came for a quick visit early August.  Sadly, Logan & Harper stayed in Iowa but we had a blast with Spence & Steph & Kennedy & Tatum.  Already looking forward to next summer's visit!

Just one picture of our last weekend at the lake--Liv helping Nana make pastries for breakfast!

Liv is Swimming!!

We took swimming lessons for the first couple of weeks in August at Riverside & our little Livvy girl learned to swim on her own!  We were so proud of her & it was great timing because the day it "clicked" Daddy was out swimming with us on his lunch break.  She is very proud of herself & gets better & better each day!  Here is a video of one of her first solo swims! :)