Aliza's Golden Birthday

Aliza turned 4 on the 4th of July. She was trying to show us that she is 4, but it looks like 5 instead. She loves Belle, so I made her a Belle dress and a Belle cake. I was not in the mood for making an elaborate cake, so I was thankful my parents gave Aliza a small Belle doll. Perfect for the cake :) Aliza is such a sweet girl. We love her so much!

Sleeping Beauty Madeline

I think this was on July 3rd. We must have worn the girls out that day. I came inside and found Madeline sleeping like this. She got the balloon for her birthday and loved it every minute. She took the balloon outside and of course it ended up flying away. It was a tragedy. I felt bad so I got her another one and told her not to take it outside. Well, not too long after that she took it outside. It blew away again. Too bad. Luckily, my Aunt Kim sent her a dollar for her birthday and with that money she got a third balloon. She kept this one for longer, but I think it eventually ended up outside too. Maybe she'll learn next year :)

Fireworks

We did family fireworks this year on the 3rd of July. It was really fun. The girls all loved it, except for Aliza, and she sat on my lap most of the time covering her eyes. We didn't go anywhere to watch big fireworks, but were actually able to see a lot of good smaller firework shows right from our backyard. That's my idea of a good night. Rachel was the only child awake so it was fun having Daddy/Mommy time with Rachel. God Bless America!

Nintendo 64 is in the House

Ever since we've been married Jared has wanted to get a Nintendo 64. He's seen a fair share at garage sales, but I never gave in. Until this summer. :) It was too good of a deal to pass up, ($8 for the system, controllers, and 5 games). The girls have had fun playing Mario Smash Brothers. Jared and I play Dr. Mario whenever I'm willing to play... about 2 times a month :)

Rachel Feeding Goats at the fair.

We had a lot of fun at the fair this past week. Jared worked for a couple hours at a work booth at the fair, so we decided to go and meet him when he was done. The girls loved feeding the goats. Rachel giggled every time the goats licked her hand. It made me laugh. The girls primary president treated them to icees, which was perfect because it was HOT. The high for the day was 104. The high for the next day was 76! We had a great time.

Bonneville Hot Springs

Jared took Friday off this week. On Thursday we went to State Fair in Boise and on Friday we decided to go camping. It was SO much fun! We got to our campground and then went on a little hike (less than 1/2 mile) to a river with hot springs running into it. It's called Bonneville Hot Springs, and it was one of my favorite camping trips ever! The water temperature was perfect, and the depth for our kids was great. Camping was good too. It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, and we had a lot of fun eating canned food and telling stories around the campfire. Jared said that it was maybe the easiest fire he ever started because everything was so dry. Jared did almost all the work getting everything together, which always gives me more motivation to go camping :) I just love going into the mountains and getting a breath of fresh air.

Dust if You Must...

Tonight I was organizing my file cabinet and came across this poem. I think it was given to me from my Grandma Spencer because it looks like her handwriting at the top. Thanks Grandma!

"I can't tell you how many countless hours that I have spent CLEANING! I use to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect- "in case someone came over"-. Then I realized one day that no one came over; they were all out living life and having fun!

Now, when people visit, I find no need to explain the "condition" of my home. They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and having fun. If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice.

Life is short. Enjoy it! Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter, bake a cake or plant a seed, ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
with rivers to swim and mountains to climb,
music to hear and books to read,
friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there
with the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair,
a flutter of snow, a shower of rain.
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go- and go you must-
you, yourself will make more dust!

It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived. "

I just love this! It is how I try to live my life. I wish I could have both worlds, but I'd rather be on the enjoying side of life. Of course there are times very often :) when we must clean, but is it a want or need?