Potpourri- meaning an assortment: a collection containing a variety of sorts of things

Well it has been a while since I have blogged so this blog is a random catch up of the day to day boring stuff. So here it goes in no particular order...We have been doing lots of chillin' with friends. Alex and Elsie really are the greatest little friends. I found them laying on the floor practically cuddling with each other until I took the camera out and they turned to look at me. They are super cute.

All the girls hanging out in Aydens little house tent.

While we are chillin' at home, Brad is on his bike. This was a photo taken at the top of bogus basin road during a recent evening ride.

Most of our free time has been consumed with boating. There really isn't anything better. We all have a ton of fun even though it doesn't look like Ayden is in this picture.

Ayden, Max and Nik on a little hike.

Brad and Alex taking a cat nap while we are docked for a little bit. (I promise mom, all of the kids wear their life jackets when we are on the go and most of the other times too)

Ayden and Nik playing in the water.

Alex and I (Alex doesn't usually have her pacifier anymore except at night time but on this long boating day I was hoping she would fall asleep)

Relaxin' on the boat. I seriously don't enjoy anything more then this except...

TUBING!!!! I love tubing. I really, really do. So Max (who is 7), Whitney (who is 2) and I (who acts like a 12 year old when on a tube) get along really well because I think they might love it as much as I do. My girls are a little too woosie to really enjoy it with me. I think I got a 1-1/2 hour ride this day. Whitney is the greatest on a tube because she giggles the whole time even though I have had to catch her numerous times before she flies out.
Alex fell asleep on the boat! It is a miracle, really. (the result of me being on the tube for so long)
You can also see Max and I out on another ride in the background with Elizabeth. This ride was a little more thrilling since we didn't have a 2 year old to worry about and I really love listening to Elizabeth's cries of worry the whole time.
I should also mention that this particular day was very exciting during a series of events that included a huge wind/thunderstorm that came on very quickly, Brad getting his head hit really hard resulting in him getting knocked out, and 5 kids while riding on the tube being picked up into the air about 6 feet by the wind and getting thrown off into the choppy, wavy, cold water all within about 3 minutes. It was all very exciting, I just wish I had pictures and video to show you all but we were too busy trying to survive without more injuries!


Now on to the Meridian Dairy Days Parade. It was kind of quiet since it was only Elizabeth, two of her girls, Alex and I watching since Brad, Wade and the rest of the kids were in the parade but it was fun non the less.Whitney and Alex enjoying some cheez-it's.

Wade, Brad and Ayden riding in a customized golf cart in the parade.


New Hair For All!

Brad shaved all of his pretty locks off. But I really like the new doo and I think he is really enjoying it with all the riding and swimming he is doing this summer.

I died mine red. It is fun to have a change. People seem to like it. I learned tonight however that it makes me really un-photogenic. All the pictures we were trying to get tonight turned out really awful so I decided to go with a really goofy one. Brad thinks it a good one because he thinks I look angry and I guess anger goes with the red hair. The creepy red eye kind of helps too.

Ayden got a little hair cut too. It is her first one ever. I cut off about an inch and it is amazing how much healthier it looks.

Of course while we had the camera out we couldn't get away with out taking a couple silly face pictures. Alex, of course, likes to copy everything her big sis does.

In other news, we are doing a little rearranging in our house. We are going to turn our office into a guest room so we can get more visitors so we moved the desk into our room. It really makes our room look a lot better because it isn't so empty anymore. I have some fun idea's for the guest room and I am really excited for a project. (don't ask me what the girls are doing, I don't know)

I also want to give a little birthday shout out to my nephew Spencer, Happy Birthday Buddie! We hope you had a great day!

To Scott and Annie

Just want you guys to know we have been missing you lately. It seems the summer time is really bringing up a lot of fun memories with you guys and we wish you were here. The parades, smores in the Matthew's back yard, swimming, playing the park and just hanging out are just not the same with out all of you. But I want to thank you for at least not leaving us empty handed. These yummy strawberries sure help sweeten the blow. Miss you guys and can't wait to see you soon.

"Daddy, You're the Best dad ever!"

Today was spent playing on the water with my family and at one point my daughter said something to me that made me one of the happiest dad's in the world. I had just gotten done surfing and wake skating and I was standing on the deck and my sweet daughter ran up to me and hugged my leg. She then looked up at me and with the biggest smile said, "Daddy, your the best dad ever!" At times she can be the best compliment giver but this one really made me happy. I am so fortunate to be surrounded by three fun, adventurous, sweet, dramatic, funny, smart girls. They keep my life very interesting and give me more love than I could possibly deserve. I would do anything for them and who could resist someone so photogenic?

Happy Fathers Day!

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Isn't he a cool daddy!

Happy Fathers Day Brad! Our girls are so lucky to have a Dad like you. I know they will always love you for being fun and adventurous, for playing the guitar for them, reading with them, always making sure they know how much you love them, wrestling with them, playing "find daddy" and for always thinking of fun activities to do as a family. I am especially grateful for what a hands on dad you are and for always helping me with the parenting. I feel like we are a team and you are always willing to do your share. We love you!

My first Criterium race

I witnessed my first Criterium race last night and it was certainly quite the experience. For those of who who don't know, a criterium is a road bike race on a short course usually held on closed off city center streets. There is a really big one in boise later in the year called the twilight criterium that Brad has been able to attend the past couple of years but it is late at night so I have always stayed home with the girls. Last night there was one in Eagle called the tour de Eagle. They closed off the streets downtown and the bikers had to race between 25-45 minutes around two blocks and then they finished it off with 5 more laps. Criteriums are a very dangerous event since there is a mass of bikers taking very tight corners at really high speeds. A good criterium racer knows how to take corners very tightly and then take off quickly at a high speed to try and gain on other riders. My feelings of the whole event morphed over the course of the evening. The first group to ride were the junior riders. It was a group of about 15 girls and boys between the ages of about 10 and 15. I kind of got choked up seeing these little kids competing out there. I just think it is so good when kids get involved in something that will teach them so many important life lessons of discipline, team work, good sportsman ship and that they have something to work for. The race was pretty mild since they were not going too fast and they were very spread out and to top it off a girl won! I kept having visions of my girls when they got older competing in a race like this. Then the Womens division went and it was a good race. Not too exciting, one women lead most of the time and ended up winning. Then the Cat 5/4 men raced (this is anyone who can keep up and wants to race). The speeds picked up and it became more exciting to pay attention to the particular racers and the position changes. I told Brad that I think he should do it next year. He kind of agreed but I could see a lot of unsurety on his face and I would later find out why. The next group was Masters 35+ and Cat 3 which are riders who had to qualify for that division. This was my favorite race of the night. One particular rider was very fast and strong and it was fun to watch the progression as he lapped the main group of riders and then sat in their group for a while as he drafted and then slowly picked off most of the riders again until his finish. The rest of the riders had one more lap and you could tell as he finished some other riders were confused not knowing he had lapped them and wondered if they were finished also. The last race is the one that is sticking in my mind this morning. It was the Pro 1/2 race. These were the best riders and there was even a women among them, (since there is not a pro womens only race) a mother of 4 who had just picked up riding and out of no where won the whole thing last year. I was really excited to watch her this year and see how she would do. Little did I know that she and many others would crash out of this race. From what I could seem it was a race that began with over 35 bikers and finished with less then 20. We were sitting on a corner which is the most exciting place to watch a criterium because it really is unbelievable to watch them take the hard corner and survive the other side. Unfortunately for this race we watched three crashes and we knew of others that happened on other portions of the course. I will be honest it can be kind of exhilarating to watch a crash but also so scary and nerve racking at the same time. The first crash was right after the start and three riders collided and slid out on their bikes. Amazingly the rest of the riders were able to avoid them. I cried and felt so bad for them that they had just begun their race and they already fell. Brad then explained that they can go back to the start line and get a free lap and get back in with the riders. That made me feel better but it was really scary to watch them fall and hit each other at such a high speed. In the middle of the race we witnessed another crash involving about 6 riders. This one was far worse, I really cannot describe to someone how bad it looks. People and bikes flying everywhere, loud clanging and skidding noises and then watching, praying that they will all get up. I could just picture it being Brad in the crash and once again started getting teary. It is so scary. I was amazed that most of them got back up with road rash and all, checked their bikes over and then took off to rejoin the race. One rider kind of crawled to the side next to us when someone came and checked him out but even after a few minutes he got up and walked away. Unbelievable. Their luck didn't last. The third crash was the worst of all. From what I had gathered they were down to three laps left when on the same corner two riders tires locked and they went down. Then we watched as about 6 other riders all ran into them and each other. You could hear the skidding noise, metal clanging and then a tire pop and then all you could do was watch as a rider ran right into the side of the head of one of the first ones down and then flew over him landing on the sidewalk. I watched the man who was hit as I said move, move, move in my head praying that he was okay. The rest of the riders were slowly but as quickly as they could getting up checking themselves over and trying to find their own bikes in the tangle. By the time the main group had come back around the one guy still down was still not moving. With only one lap to go I believe they called the race since that corner was dangerous with the man lying in the middle of it. Then finally we saw him move his arms. A paramedic was checking him over asking him to move certain places and talking to him to keep him there. It took a very long time for an ambulance to come but finally it arrived. I don't know how he is doing but hopefully he doesn't have any lasting damage. I was really in shock after seeing something like that. My mind had totally changed after seeing the very real dangers in criterium racing and the hesitation on Brads face from earlier made sense to me. I think I will find another hobby for the girls and I think Brad should stick with the less intense races and rides he does now but right now as he is on a 60 mile race as I am writing this I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about him with the image of the men falling vivid in my mind.

PC Hill Hike

My parents live right by the PC hill and it is always a fun activity to climb to the top of it.

Brad is telling me to point to the PC to show where we are going. I guess I was concentrating so hard on where I was pointing I forgot to smile.

So my mom and I did it again and we remembered to smile.

Brad with Alex on his shoulders and Grandpa with Ayden on his shoulders on their way up.

Alex taking a break to throw a fit in the flowers.

My Mom and Ayden who decided to get grumpy and turn her head the last minute.

up, up, up!

We made it!

The view from the top.

On our way back Brad and Alex took their time and stopped at this canal and threw dandelions in it for quite a while.

I just thought this picture was cute because she wanted her sweatshirt tied around her waist like brads was. She is just too cute.

This is the Place Monument

One of the days we were in Park City my Mom, Dad, the girls and I went to This is thePlace Monument. I had been there before when I was younger and I didn't remember it being very cool but they have really improved it. We had a really great time and it is an awesome place. The girls had fun petting animals, riding a train, riding in a covered wagon, riding in a hand cart, walking through old pioneer houses, doing a craft and enjoying time with Grandma and Grandpa. Ayden and the Llamas.

There were a bazillion little chicks running around everywhere. I guess they were adolescent chickens but it was fun to have them run all around you. Grandpa caught a couple so the girls could pet them. Ayden was having a hard time being afraid of most of the animals but Alex was in heaven.

See, Ayden is afraid of the cute little goat.

But not Alex.

Some of the animals kinda got snuggly with me. I know it looks like I have this poor little sheep in a head lock but he really is nuzzleing me. Probably trying to eat my sweatshirt.
This horse would also put his head right up to mine. He did it a bunch and then wouldn't do it again once we got the camera out but we finally got him to do it again for the shot.

Now Ayden will pet a goat as long as it is being held.

Here is where it kinda got funny. Ayden was seriously afraid of everything except the horse. Then Alex not being afraid of anything decided she should be afraid of something and at the last minute decided she was afraid of the horse and didn't want to ride it. You can see her in the background with my dad pulling away from the horse. Silly girls.

Grandma and Grandpa with the girls on the train ride. Ayden is holding the cricket she made.

The wagon ride.

Grandma and Grandpa pulling the girls on the handcart with a little help from a "pioneer". The girls for sure loved this ride but I think my mom was having the most fun.

Thanks Mom and Dad for always planing such fun activities and giving us new experiences.