Wesley All-star basketball.

These boys had a rough season. They are all working at learning the basics, while most other teams they played against had been playing with one another in numerous tournaments. The boys learned what it meant to compete, how to really guard their man, and how to run plays. Wesley really learned a lot and kept a great attitude the entire season. We are really proud of him and excited to watch him continue to improve. He truly loves basketball!

I watched most of the games from the hallways, while trying to entertain these two goobers. I believe that it is extremely important to chase the kids around, even when I sometimes I feel I’d rather sit in the bleachers and anxiously cheer on Wesley. I try to remember to keep a positive prospective because I’m certain that one day, I will wish I would have done less whining and more fully embraced these moments of my children being so naughty young. lol.

Great Grandpa’s Bday.

Turning 92 never looked so fun!!! Seriously this man is amazing! He is still in his wood shop making stools, stick horses, cars, etc… He still drives. He still cracks the best jokes. He loves our family with all of his heart. He has the best hugs and looks the cutest in suspenders. He is always donating to charities and giving unto others. My kids have enough notepads and stickers from his mailbox than we ever know what to do with. Happy birthday Grandpa! We ♡ you so very much!!!!

Grandpa Fishy’s bday.

We had a great time celebrating Grandpa’s birthday this year! My Dad has been and will always be one of my bestest friends ever. He has always been a good listener and has a heart of gold. He truly is the greatest. His heart is made of Gold. He is an organizer, like me. He enjoys his grandkids and loves them very much. Just a few days ago, he watched our two youngest boys for 5 hours for me, while I went and got a pedicure with my sister (which was awesome by the way) and while I did my grocery shopping. I truly know that he loves me and would do absolutely anything for me. He has a love for Stephen that will definitely last into the eternities. I am so glad that our son was able to get his name from such a special man in our lives. I am grateful for the sincerity of his words, his efforts to be a part of my life, and the many sacrifices that he has made for ME his entire life. I have a special bond with him that nobody and nothing could break. I love you Dad, ohhhh so very much, Happy Birthday ♡

Grandparents day program.

Emma had a program that was teaching the parents and grandparents about the 7 habits of the leader in me program that the school was implementing to help the kids to acquire important skills. Emma got selected to write a speech and speak about Habit 5 — Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. She did an excellent job. Grandma took both the kids to the book fair and then ate lunch with them in the cafeteria for Grandparents day! Emma was excited to adopt her best friend Nyah for the day!

Horse rides and antler adventures.

On our beautiful three hour horse ride one afternoon, Aaron found an elk drop and I found a nice deer antler. Even Josh was super jealous of my find, lol. Aaron and I decided to go back and find the matching antlers! So the next day we rode in on horses and hiked around for about another 3 hours. Guess what? I found the match to my other antler. It is an awesome set and I all the hiking paid off! It was absolutely beautiful! I could have stayed out there forever ♡

The kids sure have a blast playing at Grandpa and Grandma Bowman’s house. They are spoiled rotten having horses to ride, lizards to catch, lawn mower rides, pond swims, fishing, etc…

All smiles, that’s for sure.

Boise- Josh goes to state!

We loaded up on a Friday morning and took off to State Basketball to cheer for our favorite #3- Josh! We were able to watch all of his games and enjoy some fun stops with the kids!!!

We always have to make time to stop at Cabelas! The kids love seeing the animals.

The kids LOVED eating at Applebees. They got to play video games while waiting for food and the manager brought out free dessert! They were excited because Mom and Dad were on a special eating plan that didn’t allow to share any of it with them. So they got two plates all to themselves! 

One of the kids’ favorite things about traveling is staying in hotels. They LOVE to swim and to play in the hotel room. It’s always fun to see them enjoy some time away together.

I was so proud of Aaron and I. We took our workouts with us to the hotel and exercised late every night that we were there. It wasn’t easy, but it was definitely worth it!

Getting this kid to sleep in a hotel room is a nightmare! He likes his crib and his own space. So I had to take a picture of him sleeping soundly because it was such a blessing.

Probably our favorite place that we visited during this trip was the Boise Aquarium. They had so many hands on activities that the we were able to participate in! We were able to feed fish, pet the large iguana, feed stingrays, touch sea anemones, and hold/feed some beautiful little birds!!

We didn’t want to pay the price for photo booth, so the kids got creative and had me take their photos with my phone while they sat in the photo booth!!! We were excited that cousin Olivia was able to enjoy the aquarium with us!

Josh is so fun to watch play basketball! We had such a blast watching and cheering for him to take 1st in state. The team played awesome and ended up taking second place. I think that is a HUGE accomplishment and we were very proud of him! We are sad that this was his last season and that Josh was the last of Aaron’s siblings still young enough to play high school sports. We love you Josh! You have some serious talent and my kids hope to have your basketball skills and grow up to be as amazing as you are!