Hotlanta

Ryan somehow won a free trip down to Atlanta to see Boise State play Ole Miss (okay I do know how he won, but it's a long story).  Luckily for us, I have a sister and mom who love to come and watch my kids.  It was a quick trip, only three days, but we had a lot of fun.  Too bad we didn't come home with a win.

Before the game we went to the College Football Hall of Fame:

ESPN was broadcasting live so we tried to get on TV and succeeded as Ryan's uncle called us and told us he could see us!:

I know we were there to support the Broncos, but we all know I'm a UW fan at heart:

Ryan before the tailgate:

They actually had the players walk through the tailgate area before the game and I was quite impressed with the amount of BSU fans that showed up:

Our seats were pretty good:

A Girl and Her Dog

These two are the best of buds:

Until he starts biting. Then they're not.

First Day of Kindergarten - Isla

This was a rough day for me.  My baby's first day of kindergarten.  Seriously, where did the time go? She was definitely ready for this day and has transitioned remarkably well.  I'm so excited for her to make new friends and learn new things.

At the house already to go:

Daddy walking his little girl to her first day of school:

Waiting in line for the bell and taking it all in:

These were taken right before she walked in to class.  I took one right before I asked her to smile at me (this one kills me):

She then put her game face on and gave me a smile:

Then it was back to looking a little bit apprehensive:

Saying the pledge of allegiance:

Yes, I was one of those Mom's that snuck in and took a picture of her kid in the classroom.  After this picture I went home and bawled like a baby.  This parenting thing is rough sometimes.

Final Days of Summer

August went pretty quickly around here.  We ended our final days of summer with swim lessons and a trip to the fair.

Isla and Drew took swim lessons all summer and made great progress.  Drew actually advanced so far that he made it into Isla's class.  I am proud to say that Isla can now swim on her belly and her back from one side of the pool to the other.

Here are some pictures from their last day of swim lessons:

Isla takes it so seriously, while Drew has a smile on his face the entire time:

I was able to convince Ryan to take the kids to the fair this year.  Of course we chose the hottest day, but the kids had fun before we ran out of tickets and money (I'll have to remember to mortgage our house before we go next year because holy crow the fair is expensive):

Silly Kids

I found these gems as I was uploading my photos the other day:

Crazy, silly kids.  Oh and Mack wanted to join in the fun too:

Zoo Time

The weekend following the bachelorette party Ryan had his guy weekend in McCall with his high school buddies so that mean Mom and Kid time was on.  I kept them busy with a trip to the zoo and found that it's best to get there early so you don't have to deal with the crowds.

Crazy kids hanging out with the Prairie Dogs:

The butterflies in bloom exhibit was a hit and thankfully none of them died at the hands of my children:

 I had enough cash for one round on the merry-go-round:

And took my first selfie, ever:

Gosh darn my kids are cute, but I am a little bit biased.

You will notice Jake took a ride with Isla and Drew as well.  Drew NEVER leaves the house without his Jake:

Love having these days with my kiddos!

Christina's Bachelorette Party

My dear college friend is getting married in Italy in October (and Ryan and I get to go - yay!) and since she visits the US for a month every summer we decided a bachelorette party was necessary as not all of us will be able to make it to the wedding.

I hosted the party in Sun Valley (by kicking my sister out of her condo - thanks Anna!) and showed these girls a good time.  It was way too short - we could have spent an entire week, but we managed to get in some hiking, pool time, spa time, good dinners and a night dancing.

I love these girls:

Fun at Whiskey's with the band:

So many laughs were had!