Genesee VBS 2011

The boys had a great time at Vacation Bible School this past week. They went everyday from 9-11:30. They did crafts, played games, sang songs, watched puppet shows, and were surrounded by God's love. The boys learned new things everyday and tried hard to explain what they learned at VBS. :) Charlie felt so big going by himself without mom or dad. Thanks to everyone who helped out.

Prayer circle. Charlie's prayer was usually, "Thank you for everyone." When it was Coop's turn he would just wave up his hand to go to the next person. :)

Friday was water day.

They were trying to do hand stands here I think.



Popsicles!! Yummy!

Games Thursday night at the park. We froze.

Getting ready to perform all the songs they learned with the Lutherhaven staff.


Singing, "Everlasting Love." Charlie would turn around to watch the lutherhaven staff. :) Coop didn't want to sing the evening they had this. He did sing at VBS (I stayed around a little bit to watch).


Singing, "Splish Splash."

Genese Days!!!!

Genesee days was a blast again this year. We started it off with Nate and his brother Nic participating in the 5K run. They both did great. The kiddie parade followed, where the kids rode their bikes back and forth. The main parade was after that. Cooper and daddy walked in it with the cub scout group. They all looked so handsome. They won 1st prize and were rewarded with $50 for the pack. Great job guys! Kiddie games, hanging out with friends, food, birthday party, some Genesee beer (gag), bonfire with the neighbors, 4 hrs naps for the boys and then concert in the park followed by fireworks. What a fun day!

Nanni and Emma saying hello before the parade.

Getting ready for the kiddie parade.

And here goes Charlie. We helped them decorate their bikes the night before at 9pm.

Coop and his buddy Derek.

Emma watching the parade with Aunt Debbie and Stacy.

Ayva, Leif, Walt and Charlie.

Tiffany and Pierce. It was so good to spend parts of the day hanging out. We miss you already!

Pack 312

Tamra and Erin. I love all these new babies. So much fun!

And last but not least, The Genesee Beer!

Quick trip home!

We went home for a couple days to help celebrate Nate's cousin get married. It was a beautiful wedding. It was so good to spend some time with family. Nate's brother Nic was home from Iraq for two weeks and it was good to see him. The morning before the wedding we went to see the Shoshone Ice Caves. Cooper had been reading a book on ice caves and since we were so close, we thought we would take them. It was fun! We saw some friends before they left for Alabama, watched Nate's brother play some baseball at Story Park where Nate used to play, went to a show n' shine that dad was part of at Firebird and saw some racing, and saw some old neighbors/friends we haven't seen in a long time. The third night in Boise Cooper really struggled breathing. He was wheezing and coughing so we took him in the next day. He was put on some meds and an inhaler and the doc said he would most likely get better once we returned to our environment. We headed home that day after dinner. Within a couple days he was doing much better. Enjoy the pictures. I had a hard time narrowing them down.

Charlie sitting in a race car at Fire Bird. This car belonged to the Owen Family (we didn't know them. I thought that was interesting). The boys got autographs.

And Coop's turn.Boppi and Coop watching the races. These cars went so fast.

Riding in Boppi's 1949 Chevy.

Emma being cute at Nanni's.
Silly Emma!

Daddy throwing Emma up in the air.

Family photo. It would have been nice if Nate had put Emma's dress down. :)

Cousins with Great Grandpa.

Some good looking guys.

At Shoshone Ice Caves.




Charlie did not want any assistance. Scared me to death.




We enjoyed our quick trip.

Charlie is 4!!!!

I am almost a month late in writing a post on Charlie turning 4. We have had a busy summer. Nanni Vicki and Boppi Brand came up to visit and help celebrate Charlie's birthday. We had a little get together here at our house and the weather held out for the party. Charlie had a great birthday. Thanks to all who helped us celebrate. We love you Charlie!

Thanks Nanni and Boppi for the new Bike!


Our BIG 4 year old!

Hanging out with Nanni.

Thanks Nanni and Boppi for the new rolling backpack. I love it!

Charlie loves dinosaurs right now. All three kids enjoyed this walking and talking dinosaur from mom and dad.


Fun with friends!

Tamra, Nate and Everett.

Emma and Ali hanging out. :)

Butterfly craft.


Bubbles!!! So much fun! Emma loved the bubbles.

Coop is growing up

Coop's school year is wrapping up. Today he is at school until 3:25 and then he gets to ride the bus home. He gets to get a feel of what it will be like next year eating lunch at school and spending the afternoon there. They are having a field day, but it looks pretty cloudy out there. He was pretty excited. I bet he will be exhausted by the end of the day. I am not sure what we will do without him here. Tomorrow they have an assembly and then Megan is going to help out for a fun day in the park if the weather cooperates. Then we are off to Boise to see family. YAY!

Now that Cooper is finishing Kindergarten he had the option to join scouts. He is super excited. Nate is going to help co-lead the tiger cub group. He has been to two meetings. He has already memorized the oath, hand shake, motto, salute, and boy scout sign. He is well on his way to earning his first badge, the bobcat badge. Next week they will be making a banner and he will be walking in the Genesee Community Day Parade. It did take 2.5 hours to sew on those patches, but we got them on there. :) Coop's first t-ball game is tomorrow, which we will miss since we are heading out of town, but we will be back for his second game on Tuesday.

We are excited for summer, visiting family, going on some vacations/camping trips and hopefully enjoying some warm, sunny weather. It can show up at anytime. PLEASE!

I can't believe this kid is going to be in 1st grade. We are very proud of you Cooper and all your hard work this year. We love you!

And a glace back at his first day of Kindergarten. Sniff Sniff.