Reasons I Love Fall

I looked out my bedroom window yesterday and noticed that the trees on Cascade Mountain are changing colors.  One of my favorite things about living in Utah is the change of the seasons.  I love seeing the colors on the trees transform every fall.  When I think of fall I think of many things.  I love cooking delicious hearty soups and baking anything with pumpkin.  I love school starting again, rolling in the leaves with my little munchkins, carving pumpkins and playing football at Southfork up Provo Canyon.  Lastly, I love BYU football and watching my boy, Ethan, play soccer. 

Isn't my boyfriend darling?  Sunday morning I was laying in bed reading.  Ethan and Sadie came in and crawled in bed with Jared and I.  We were giggling and having fun.  Jared teased the kids that they were keeping him from snuggling with me.  I agreed and said, "You guys need to get out of my way so I can snuggle with my honey."  Ethan jumped right in, "I'm your honey."  Ethan forgets that I can be just as quick as he is.  I quickly replied, "You're not my honey, you're my boyfriend."  I thought this would get a funny reaction from him.  However, he surprised me when he seriously answered, "Okay mom, I'll be your boyfriend,"  then he walked out of the room.

Tonight's post is all about my boyfriend and his love of all sports, especially soccer.  BEWARE:  THIS POST IS TOTALLY ME BRAGGING ABOUT ETHAN.  One thing that reminds me that fall is here is when soccer season starts.  Ethan plays on a team with a group of boys that are all really good friends.  This is great for their team because they are always playing together they work well together on the field.  Soccer practice sometimes seems like a technicality because they play so much, regardless of an official practice.  I think this has a lot to do with the fact that his team went undefeated last season.

All that aside, Ethan does love him some serious soccer.  He takes his game seriously, however, he is great to acknowledge all of his teammates success and cheer them up if they are unhappy with their performance.  All the boys seem to rally around him. 

I should tell you that I'm not a quiet soccer mom.  Not one other mom on the team yells except me.  I rarely sit still while watching, I'm always pacing up and down the field.  I also don't sit in the car when it's cold.  This is my son!  I am not acting like I'm watching while I sit in the car!  I should tell you that I've gotten lots better.  At least now, I don't complain to Jared every time somebody doesn't play right.  I also don't yell at the other kids anymore.  And to my credit, I haven't slapped any moms yet either.  If you could see a couple of the moms you would agree, this is a HUGE triumph.

Tonight we had the second game of the season, they won on Saturday 6-0, so they were excited going in to it.  The team they played was very evenly matched with ours.  At halftime neither team had scored.  Ethan came over to talk to me during halftime.  He said, "We have to score.  I guess I'll go back in there and get a goal." 

The half started and he took off.  He stole the ball from that green guy, weaved through the other two green guys in his way, broke through the crowd and kicked it in for his goal!

This is the huge smile I was rewarded with after he scored.  Note to self:  Never underestimate Ethan's determination.

The First Day

Yesterday was the first day of school.  I always love the first day of school.  On the other hand, I always love the first day of summer as well.  I suppose I'm one of those hard to please parents.  So, here are some pictures and a little commentary on all my cute short people.  

Jenna is entering 8th grade.  That's right, I have an 8th grader.  I know I'm her mom, but isn't she beautiful?  I have an aunt that always said, "Pretty is as pretty does."  Jenna is a great example of this statement.  She is great to seek out the one who is lonely or doesn't have a lot of friends and include them.  She also loves everyone, she never judges why someone behaves in a certain way.  She is great at seeing the good in everyone.  She reminds me of my mom a lot in that way.  I love you, Jenna!

Abby is the 6th grader that I love.  I love her smile and her happy disposition.  Her teacher, Mrs. Pike, even called me last night to tell me how much she enjoyed Abby's positive attitude and big smile in her class that day.  Abby has such a good heart.  She's a sweetheart that is fiercely loyal and loving to her family and friends.  I love how she has been checking on Sadie in the lunchroom this week just to make sure she's okay.  She also tries so hard to choose the right.  These are excellent qualities that I know will take her far in life. 

Here's my boy, off to 3rd grade.  I sure do love this little guy.  Ethan has such a zest for learning and was so excited to be off to school.  He loves sports and is very athletic.  However, he's also great at his school work as well.  He is so excited to learn times tables and cursive this year.  Ethan is so fun to have around.  He loves to tease his sisters, his mom and his dad.  Most of the time, he does it in a cute and funny way.  He is so good to me and is always quick to see how I'm doing and to ask what he can do for me.  He has taken to reading his scriptures each day, as he has set a goal for himself to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. 

Last, but not least, is my baby who's not a baby anymore.  Sadie went to first grade.  She insisted on a bun in her hair so that all her friends could see her pierced ears.  I cried when Jared and I left her there.  I worried about her all day.  What if she didn't have a friend to play with?  What if she got lost?  What if she couldn't get the straw in her Capri Sun at lunch?  Needless to say, it was an exhausting day for both of us!  She came through with flying colors though.  That is, if you don't count the fever and sore throat.  She came home sick on the first day of school!  That is a first for our family.  She got up and went to school today because, "I can't miss the second day of school!  My teacher will miss me!"  So, I gave her some ibuprofen and off she went.  However, that was probably a mistake on my part since she has the fever back tonight.  I love this little girl and all the funny things she says and does to bring laughter into our home.

Here are a few other pictures that I took.  Jenna wouldn't let me take any of her at the school.  Apparently that's too embarrassing for words.  The others let me take a few at the elementary, though, Ethan was not thrilled about it.

Does anyone besides me think that Sadie's backpack and lunchbox look like they weigh more than her?  All in all the first day was a huge success for all my short people.  I'm sure glad they loved it, it makes it so much easier to see them go when I know they're having a great time.

The Last Weekend

Since this was the last weekend before school starts, we decided to make the most of it.  Friday night, Jared's sisters, Janelle and Elizabeth, along with their families came to our house for a BBQ.  The weather was beautiful, the food was fabulous and the company was so fun.  We had a great time visiting and comparing notes from our summers.  My kids were so excited to have cousins coming over.  I remember loving playing with my cousins as a child.  As a result, I love my kids to have good relationships with their cousins.

Abby, Nicole and Jenna

Rachael and Sadie  (Don't be fooled by those cute faces, these two are trouble.  Janelle and I are seriously worried for ourselves as they get older.  They are darling though.)

Saturday morning after a nice, long sleep in, we headed up to Midway.  There's a cheese factory up there that we love to visit.  We stopped for some awesome cheese curds and took them with us to the park for lunch.  The park in Midway is fairly new and very rarely is anyone there.  My kids love the playground there.  I'm not sure why, but they call it the Dinosaur Park.  After lunch Sadie headed straight for the tower where she screamed, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

Ethan and Abby were obsessed with the Olympics a few weeks ago.  Their obsession joined us in Midway, where they decided that monkey bar crossing should become an Olympic event.

Here are two of the Olympic spectators.

After the park, we came home and lazied about.  We have had a busy summer.  It was so nice to watch a movie without any pressing thing pulling us away.  

That night, Jared and I had been invited to join some friends on a bike ride.  We all rented tandem bikes and rode up to the trailhead for Bridal Veil Falls.  I had never ridden a tandem bike before, none of us had.  However, it was seriously so fun!  I would totally do it again.  While we were riding, I was thinking about my grandparents.  They made their living running a bicycle shop for years in California.  They were well respected because of their honesty and fairness to their customers and everyone.  When they had their 50th wedding anniversary a big party was thrown in their honor.  One song they played at the party was, "A Bicycle Built For Two."  The song goes something like this:

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do.

I'm half crazy all for the love of you.

It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage.

But you'll look sweet, upon the seat

Of a bicycle built for two.

My Grandmother's name was Daisy, so the song was very fitting.  I grew up hearing my mom tell all about the bike shop, the 50th wedding anniversary and that song.  The way I hear it, it was a pretty touching event.  I wish I could have been there.  A little part of me hopes my grandparents and my mom were watching us having so much fun together.  I know my mom would have loved to hear Jared and I tell her all about our night.  

Lawn Mower Extraordinaire

Ethan has been begging for Jared to teach him how to mow the lawn all summer.  The problem is, Jared is really picky about the lawn.  He wants it done just so.  That's okay, I won't argue with him.  I have things I want done just so as well.  Still, at some point, Ethan really does need to know how to mow the lawn.  Tonight was Ethan's lucky night.  Jared took him out and spent forever teaching him how to do it.  It easily took twice as long to mow, but Ethan was so happy.

It's really not a very good picture because I took it with my phone.  However, I love the determined look on his face as he's concentrating.  He stuck with it the whole time and when he came in he was so excited to tell me all about it.  I know his enthusiasm for mowing the lawn won't last forever, but I loved how happy he was to tell me about it tonight.  It's so fun to see him be animated about things he really cares about.  I also adored watching my two boys working together.  They are such a darling father/son duo.  I am in love with the bond they share.
 

The $10 Jacket

As has become tradition, I took the three girls to Park City last Friday to do some back to school shopping.  My sister, Lisa and her daughter, Brynn came with us.  It's a fun time for all of us and Jared and Ethan love having the day to themselves without any girls.  Each year I try to convince them to join us, but to date, they have never chosen to.  In fact, this year when I asked Ethan if he was sure he didn't want to come I threw in an extra little comment.  I said, "If you don't come you might not have any new clothes for school."  He had his typical boy response, "That's fine, I don't need any new clothes, I still have some."  He always makes me laugh.

We spent all afternoon and all evening shopping.  Sadie had gotten two $5 bills and a $10 bill from her Grandpas for her birthday the week before.  There had been no end to the talk about how she had a "10 dollar".  So, I was a little surprised when she brought all that money shopping with us.  She was good and didn't really try to spend it.  She had plenty of things she wanted me to spend my money on, just none she wanted to spend hers on. 

At one point during our shopping trip the older girls were trying on clothes in Abercrombie and Fitch.  She was standing by the accessories, her favorite part of any store, and I was paying very little attention to what she was doing.  I soon discovered the error of my ways.

In case you're wondering, yes, that is a belt around her head.  "Mom, how does this look for first grade?"  All I could say was, "Wow!"  Thankfully, I was able to convince her that the belt and glasses were too big.  Talk about dodging a bullet!

Around 8:30 we walked into the last store.  My sister, Lisa, and Sadie had walked ahead.  Lisa was trying things on so Sadie decided to join in on the fun.  She came over wearing a darling pink and white striped jacket.

"Mom, how do I look?  Isn't this jacket totally first grade?"

"Yes, Sadie.  But you already have two jackets, you really don't need another one."

"But, this one looks like first grade."

"I know, but not today."

"Can I buy it with my 10 dollar?"

"I'm pretty sure it's going to cost more than your 10 dollar."

"I don't think so, it's on sale."

"Really?  How much is it?"

"I don't know, I'll go ask."

At this point she marched her six year old self right up to the cashier, dropped the jacket on the counter and said, "How much dollars is this?"  The girl told her it was $19.99.  She turned to me and said,  "Is that more than my 10 dollar?"  I explained that it was.  I had brought some coupons with us, knowing this, she asked, "Do you have anymore coupons?"  This was when I realized that she wasn't having a passing fancy, she really wanted this jacket.  I told her that I did have more coupons, and was she sure she wanted to spend her 10 dollar on that jacket.  I was so surprised by what came next.  She began reasoning with herself about the jacket.  She was looking at the ground, basically thinking aloud.  It went like this.

"I've never had a 10 dollar before.  But I really want that jacket because it's pink and it totally looks like first grade."  She stopped here, turned to the cashier and said,

"Don't you think it totally looks like first grade?"

She was trying her hardest not to laugh, as she answered her with, "Oh yeah, it definitely looks like first grade." 

The reasoning continued,

"If I don't have a jacket, I'll be really cold at recess in the winter.  I might die from the cold!  Yes, I definitely want the jacket."  (This is where I was thinking, "Yeah, right, I'm going to let my kid freeze to death on the playground.  You have THREE OTHER JACKETS!)  To my credit, I kept that one to myself.

She turned to me and asked again for the coupon.  What could I do?  I pulled out the coupon, winked at the cashier and said, "I think with this coupon it will make the jacket $10."  Being a smart girl, she ran the coupon through and looked at Sadie with a big smile and said, "Sure enough, $10."  To which my little Sadie delightedly replied, "I will take it!"  $10 later for her (and $6.01 later for me) she walked out of her store with her new jacket and a happy skip, all because of a jacket.  When we got home, she ran in and showed Jared the jacket.  "I bought it myself with my 10 dollar!  Don't worry though, I still have my 5 dollar and also a loose tooth.  So, I'll have more money soon."  Is anyone besides me worried about how much money she's expecting to get for that loose tooth?

I have to tell you, none of my other kids are like her.  They would never have pranced up to a sales associate and had a conversation with them about a jacket.  They also would never have commented about their clothes, accessories, etc. being totally first grade, or any grade for that matter.  All I can figure is this is a result of her older sister's influence.  She just puts her own unique spin on everything.  

Later that night I told Jared the story of the $10 jacket.  He listened and laughed.  Then he said, "I don't know how you shop with her, she's exhausting!"  Tell me about it!

The Queen Turns 6!

When Sadie was about four years old she walked around our house for about two weeks telling everyone she was the queen.  The first few days it was cute.  After that, her reign became a dictatorship.  She wouldn't obey and ordered the other kids around, after all she "was the queen."  After two weeks I finally sat her down and informed her that she was NOT the queen.  She argued whole-heartedly for a minute, until I got smart and told her that I was the queen.  She was shocked!  "I never knew that!"  she exclaimed.  The entire situation became really comical at that point.  She walked away from our little discussion and immediately ran to Abby and said, "Did you know Mom is the queen?  I never knew that!"  Needless to say, Jared and I still refer to Sadie as "The Queen of Everything" but only behind her back.  Thus, the reason for the title of this post.

Sadie turned 6 on August 4th.  Being that she is the last child to have a birthday in our family each year she is always excited.  The night before her birthday, she came to me at 7:00 and informed me that I needed to put her to bed.  She said, "Tomorrow is my birthday and I don't want to be grouchy.  Also, I need plenty of beauty rest."  Who was I to argue with a kid who WANTS to go to bed early?  I tucked her right in.

One thing I didn't consider with my choice?  The consequence, which was a little tap, tap, tapping on my arm at 6:40 on a Saturday morning.  "Mommy, wake up!  It's my birthday!"  She crawled her cute, little self in bed with me.  Truthfully, I enjoyed our little snuggle together that morning.  She's growing so fast, sometimes I want to stop the clock.  So, I took full advantage of our time together. 

It wasn't long before she had Jared awake.  One birthday tradition at our house is that the birthday child gets to choose breakfast, lunch and dinner on their special day.  Sadie had chosen donuts.  (Yuck!)  I realize it's not the most healthy of meals, but I doubt anyone will die from eating a donut for breakfast one morning each year.  Sadie convinced Jared to get out of bed and take her to the store to choose them.  They were so wonderful to her and the other kids.  I guess that should tell you how often I buy donuts.  (Yuck!)

After donuts, (Yuck!) she insisted on opening her gifts.  Jared tried and tried to talk her into going back to bed without opening them, but she wouldn't have any of that nonsense.  What is it about dads that have so much fun teasing their children?  :)  I suppose it's one of the ways they show their love for them.

She's so cute, I could die.  Jared and I decided she was finally old enough to get her ears pierced.  She was sooooo excited!  There was screaming and jumping up and down.  You might say, it was all that and a bag of chips.   Here she is right before they pierced her little ears.

And here she is right after she got them pierced.  They are pink diamond studs, can there be anything better than pink diamonds?  Not in Sadie's world there's not.

Funny side note:  We saw Grandpa Walker the day after she got them pierced.  She insisted on having her hair in a bun so he could see how beautiful they were. 

We also gave her a jewelry box.  This was a particularly difficult gift for me to get for her.  My mom used to get all the granddaughters a jewelry box.  This was the year Sadie would have gotten that from her.  I cried my eyes out as I wrapped that gift, thinking about how much my mom would have loved to give it to her.  She would have loved sitting with Sadie as she put all her new earrings in it.  It broke my heart, but I knew I wanted her to have one just like the other girls did.  When she opened it I told her how Grandma always gave those to the girls and I wanted her to think of it as a little gift from her.  I hope she will.

Have you ever heard of a Lalaloopsy?  Apparently they are all the rage with little girls that are the age of The Queen.  She adores them.  My other kids harass her non-stop about how creepy they think they are.  She insists they're pretty.  I don't think they're hideous, but I don't adore them either.  Still, Sadie wanted a lalaloopsy cake and who am I to argue with The Queen.

She was so happy about her cake.  She decided to pose next to it for my picture.  I sure do love this little girl!  There are so many days when I see her growing so big, so fast that I want to scream, "Stop it right now!"  That happy little smile brings so much joy and laughter into our home. 

Her new bear "Lulu" really wanted to help her blow out those candles.  So, it's official.  My baby is six!  How did that happen so quickly?  When I was a child, I always thought it was so strange how parents would carry on about how quickly time flies and how shocked they are by it.  Now I think I understand a little better.  I feel like I just brought this little "pink one" home from the hospital.  She was such a cute, chubby little bundle.  Now she's bigger and not such a bundle anymore.  However, she still makes me just as happy, if not more, as she did the day they placed her in my arms for the first time.  I love you, my little Sadie Lady. 

Our Summer Get Away

After a few crazy months around the Walker house, Jared and I decided a much needed break and change of scenery was needed.  After consulting with my awesome Uncle Eldon and Aunt Linda, we decided to head to Reno, Nevada.  Eldon and Linda have a beautiful summer home in the mountains there.  You step off their back deck and you're in the forest.  It's so incredible!  

One Wednesday, July 18, we left our house bright and early.  It's an 8 1/2 hour drive and we were excited to get there.  We were lucky enough to have Grandpa Allen along for the fun.  We picked him up and off we went.  We go to Las Vegas to visit family often so they are very familiar with the route to get there.  Knowing that Reno is in Nevada, Ethan promptly told Jared that he was going the wrong way.  "Dad, you're on the wrong freeway.  Nevada is the other way."  We both laughed.  Thankfully Grandpa was sitting next to him.  He pulled out his iphone and showed Ethan where Reno was on the map and showed him the route we would be taking to get there.  Ethan is like Jared, they both love maps.  They both had a fantastic time watching our progress on the maps with our iphones

When we arrived, I could not believe how gorgeous it was!  I had never been to Reno and I totally expected something different.  Their home is up in the mountains in the middle of a forest.  We were all in heaven!  We had a fabulous time hiking and exploring.  Ethan and Sadie were completely in their element.

Can you see the deck in the background?  It's huge and beautiful and the perfect place to relax and enjoy this incredible place.  Shortly after we arrived, Ethan and Sadie found this huge rock.  I'm not sure why, but they decided it looked like a stegosaurus.  For the rest of the trip they were constantly playing on and meeting at the stegosaurus.  It was darling.

Here's Jared and Uncle Eldon grilling hamburgers for dinner.  That's Ranger on the ground.  Eldon and Linda have three dogs.  They are Zero, Ranger and Audrey.  Audrey is a little poodle and Sadie fell in love with her.  She was constantly taking her on adventures.  When we left to come home, Sadie cried.  She didn't want to leave Audrey.

Here's my Dad and Eldon.

Eldon and Linda live by Linda's sister, Karen and her husband Jan.  They had this hammock in their yard that was the total hit with the kids.  Here's Abby chilling and begging for me to take a picture of her in it.  "So I can always remember, mom".  She cracks me up!

Thursday morning, Eldon and Linda took us to see Virginia City.  Virginia City is where all the massive amounts of silver were mined from during the 1870's, the Comstock Lode.  It was once one of the richest cities in the world.  Not that they got to keep any of it, obviously.  However, it's still a quaint old western town with rustic boardwalks and old saloons.  Jared was a little disappointed that most of the saloons have been converted to tourist shops, no dancers or alcohol for him.  By the way, I'm totally kidding.  We all loved Virginia City, even though it did rain most of the day.

Sadie loves dogs almost as much as jewelry.  It was no surprise that she made friends with this cute, little thing in the jewelry store.

Are you wondering if Jenna was on this trip with us?  Indeed she was.  However, she is going through a "Don't take my picture!" phase.  Not to worry though, she is in a few that I insisted upon.

After exploring Virginia City and then eating lunch at a delicious Mexican restaurant there, we headed over to Carson City.  For all you geography buffs, that's the capitol of Nevada.  We explored their government buildings, something that is right up Jared's alley, and had fun running around on the gorgeous grounds.  They have the hugest trees there!  Aunt Linda took this picture of all of us there.  I look like a giant compared to everyone else!  And why is Jared hiding behind me?!?! 

Friday morning we all went to a place called Animal Ark.  It's this really neat place where they take animals that have been hurt or for some reason can't be released into the wild.  They create a natural habitat for them there and we were fortunate enough to visit.  A huge thank you to Eldon and Linda for taking us there.  It was so fun, we all had a fabulous time. 

We got there in time to see them feed the bears.  They hide the food and then the bear tries to find where it is.  It was fascinating to watch him get all of his food. 

This was my favorite one.  I loved watching that bear play tether ball.  We all laughed and laughed as that bear attacked that ball.  He seemed to be having a great time playing, and we were having a great time watching.

We also saw jaguars, a mountain lion, turtles, owls, a vulture, fox, and cheetahs.  The cheetahs were Ethan's favorite.  He did a report on them in second grade and has been fascinated with them ever since.

After Animal Ark we had a picnic.  I love picnics, I don't why, I just always have.  The kids played on the playground while the adults visited.  It was peaceful and fun.  After that we headed over to see the Reno LDS Temple.  It's one of the smaller ones.  Linda told me that you have to make reservations to do a session.

Here's our little family at the temple.  So grateful for the sealing power found in the temple that allows me to be with these awesome people for eternity.  I can't imagine my life without them.

So, here's the thing.  Jared went on his mission to Spain.  Part of his time was spent in the Basque country.  He loved it there.  He was so excited to learn that there is a huge Basque population in this part of Nevada.  Friday night we all decided to go to an authentic Basque restaurant.  It was about an hour away in a town called Gardnerville.  There was some debate as to which restaurant we would eat at because we had received conflicting opinions.  We were so glad that we ended up eating at J.T.'s.  The other restaurant looked empty, which seemed strange on a Friday night, while J.T.'s was packed. 

Basque restaurants serve their meals "family style".  This was a new experience for me, my dad and the kids.  Jared, Eldon and Linda had eaten Basque food before so they were the old pros.  They started by bringing us the soup of the day, which was a vegetable pasta soup.  It was delicious.  Even Little Miss Picky Pants, AKA Sadie, loved it.  They brought sourdough bread out with the soup.  I seriously could have eaten 10 loaves myself, it was soooooooo good.  Next came salad.  After that came the sides for the day.  These were tongue stew and baked beans.  Let's discuss tongue stew for a minute, shall we?  I'm sorry, but I can't eat the stuff.  I know, I know, it's so good and tender.  However, I can't get past what it is to eat it.  Jared did finally convince me to eat one bite of the meat, or tongue in this case, and it made me gag.  Again, not because of the taste, but because of what it is. 

The best part about this is that all the kids ate it and loved it.  I was quite surprised by this.  I should tell you that I was sitting by Sadie and all the other kids were on the other side of Jared.  When we were driving back to the house after dinner, I mentioned to the kids that I was surprised they all ate and loved the tongue stew.  I get this huge, "WHAT!" from the backseat.  Apparently, Jared told them it was beef stew, so they all devoured it.  I look at Jared and he says, "What?  It's tongue from a cow, that makes it beef stew."  FYI that is sooooo not the same thing!!!  Needless to say, Jenna was completely grossed out and Ethan and Abby decided they love tongue.  Sadie was with Eldon and Linda in their car so she missed out on this conversation.

After that they bring the entree you choose out with french fries.  Can I just say, I did not see that coming!  The french fries were awesome and supposedly just what they eat with their meals.  At least that's what Jared said.  Sadie was thrilled.  They put this huge platter of fries in the center of the table right in front of her.  She thought they were all for her!  She is so funny!  After that we finished off with ice cream.  I was so full I thought I was going to die!  It was all so delicious and I would totally eat somewhere like that again. 

Abby, Uncle Eldon, Aunt Linda, Dad

 

Jenna, Ethan, Jared, Sadie

 

I love this picture of my two boys!

 Saturday morning we were off to Lake Tahoe.  I had never been there, but I fell in love immediately.  I cannot say enough about how beautiful it was there.  This place was astounding.

 

We all had so much fun playing in the lake.  At the risk of sounding cheesy, it was a beautiful morning that I found to be totally relaxing and perfect.  Few things make me as happy as being surrounded by my family, laughing and just having fun together.

See, I told you Jenna came on the trip with us!  :)

Aren't they so beautiful, I adore these girls so much!

My handsome boys!  They were such good sports to take a break from playing ball to pose for my picture.

The Truckee River flows from Lake Tahoe through downtown Reno and into Pyramid Lake.  There's a pedestrian walkway that runs through downtown Reno on each side of the Truckee River.  There's shops and restaurants along the walkway and there's a big park towards the end of it.  We took the kids there for lunch on Saturday.  Aunt Linda had told us that it's really fun to play in the Truckee River, so the youngest three kids went equipped to have some fun in the water. 

I teased Jenna and asked her if she was "too cool for the pool" since she didn't want to get in the river.  She teased me back and asked why I wasn't in the river.  I informed her that it was my job to be the photographer so we could remember this trip forever.  She informed me that she was keeping Grandpa company.  She is growing up so fast and frequently makes me laugh.  I love this picture of the two of them together on the side of the river.

We were all exhausted after our afternoon at the river.  We began the drive back to Eldon and Linda's house.   We were almost there when the girls and I spotted a Charming Charlie.  If you aren't familiar with this store it's a girl's paradise.  The whole store is accessories of every kind.  There's jewelry, hats, purses, shoes, etc.  It's a really fun place to go, that is, if you're a girl.  Jared, Ethan and my dad went to do whatever men do when girls shop.  The girls and I went in for a fun adventure.  Yes, they were still in their swimming clothes from the river, but that wasn't going to stop us.  I was busy looking at something when Sadie stopped me and said, "Mom, can I have this?"  I burst out laughing and grabbed my phone for a picture. 

The next thing I know, Abby has convinced Jenna to put on a hat and the rest, as they say, is history.

Don't you love the look on Sadie's face!  Seriously, where did this child come from?  She is such a hoot!!!  Sadly, we didn't buy any hats that day.  Even more sad though, is whoever did buy those hats after my girl's hair was in the Truckee River before they put them on!!!  I suppose that's one reason to never buy a hat.  :)

All in all, we had a fabulous trip.  A huge thank you to Uncle Eldon and Aunt Linda for being great hosts.  You guys are so awesome, we love you tons!!!  On Saturday night, as we got ready for bed, Ethan said, "I think we should make this an annual trip."  I think he might be right!