Where has the summer gone?

Mary--she's our little monkey bar queen!
Sailboats on Lake Payette
Mary LOVES ice cream
Every little boy should have a wonderful grandpa!
These were beautiful flowers outside The Pancake House restaurant
Grandma and Grandpa King
Sam, Sarah, & Mary - downtown McCall
They loved this pool at the KOA
I love this picture of Sarah
Sam and Sarah digging in the sand
Grandpa giving kisses to the horse
I LOVE chickens
Collecting the eggs
At the Blackhawk Ranch
Wow, I haven't blogged for awhile because we have been so busy.

I was out of town for a weekend to go to Arizona to see my sister and Serena wanted to check out what it would be like to live there. (WOW, I knew it was going to be HOT but not that HOT!) I had a blast playing with Rosie and Jack. He has a lot more words in his vocab and he kept calling me Mom, Jenny. It was so cute!

Then when I got home from AZ, the kids and I and my parents went to visit McCall, Idaho. It was so beautiful, relaxing and fun. I will post a few of the pictures from our trip. I definitely recommend this little town and the lake to those of you with young families. Ponderosa Park is wonderful with it's huge trees and beaches. We spent a lot of time there just hanging out on the beach so the kids and I could play in the water. It was also fun to have Grandma and Grandpa's undivided attention. Sam rode with Grandpa in the truck all the way up to McCall and he loved that. He was sad that he had to ride home with just me and the girls because Grandma and Grandpa were going on to Spokane and further north. I had some good talks and quiet time with my kids while we camped at the KOA. Good memories. (Serena's little guy Carston said one time, 'mom, i'm having to forget some of my memories so that I can make room for the new ones.') I hope I don't forget going to the lake with my kids. It was a great trip.

One short story from our trip:

We got to visit a ranch that had horses and chickens. The kids got to feed the chickens, gather the eggs, ride the old gray grandpa horse. They loved it and so did I. The lady that runs the ranch is fascinating and very mellow. She was so nice to show us around the ranch.

Well before we left, the kids started making up a story about the animals and how they were going to church. Mary was talking about the horses and how they had church clothes on and dresses and shoes and such, then she started talking about the animals taking the sacrament. Well this made my mom and I a little nervous, so we explained to her that the sacrament is something that is very special and we don't make light of it. I think she understood because when we were driving home on Sunday, she saw some birds and cows and started again to make up a story about the animals going to church. But then she said, 'but they don't have sacrament, they just have plain bread and plain water.' Then I got to thinking about it. I'm almost positive that the animals on the earth are grateful for our Savior too. I love Mary's heart and her little stories and her meekness when it comes to learning about our Savior. I'm so grateful for my little ones.

School starts soon, August 20th. The kids are really excited to start back which I am happy about. I'm proud they love their school. Go Hillcrest Hawks!