Happy 5th Birthday!!!

Happy 5th Birthday Parker!!! Look at what a cutie you are! You were so excited to open present and eat breakfast cake that you were up before 7:00! We had to wake everyone else up!


You were excited to not only get the special fork, but the special cup, place mat, and plate as well! We had Aubrey in tears (she wanted the special fork and special cup!).




Look at this stash of new toys! You were excited about them all. We still have all these toys out a week later getting played with constantly! Dad and I were wanting to get you "boy toys" so you'd have fun things to play with. We don't have a lot of boy things, but with a new baby sister due in April, we need to make sure you have plenty of "boy" things to do!!

Look at that delicious breakfast cake!
Your first birthday party!!! You invited a few close friends and family members to come to a birthday party on your birthday. You invited Will Rogers, Jackson Loveland, Kate Martinez, Jake Crowe, Nate Morgan, Will Morgan, Aubrey Deming, Connor Hardy and Max Pohlman. Creed Lorenzon was also invited but wasn't able to come. You got a lot of fun things! Jake gave you two new cars from Cars 2, Will R. gave you a new gun that shoots cans and they break/fall down (this has been a HUGE hit! You have LOVED this gun!!), Nate gave you "Don't Break the Ice!" This is a fun gave we've loved playing several times since. Connor gave you a porcupine ball that is SO soft! It is huge though, so you can't sleep on it (we told you if you tried your neck would get so sore!). Jackson gave you a Spider man mask, Max gave you a football that you could paint the sides of, Kate gave you a Nerf gun that shoots darts, and Will M. gave you an Optimus Prime Transformer. You had so much fun opening presents! It was hard for you to concentrate on anything else. You were so good to share your presents too. We have had several friends and cousins over since to play with all your new toys. I think everyone loved your toys just as much as you did!
You wanted an ice cream cake for your birthday, so I started making the cake, and couldn't finish it in time so Mandy did the final touch of decorating it. She is so talented!!! I bought everything with a vision of what I thought would be cute, and Mandy turned it in to a masterpiece! Isn't it so cute!? One of the great things, is you get to keep the cars on top! Some of the kids at your party thought they could keep them, so they said "I GET THIS PIECE!" I had to quickly tell everyone YOU get the cars on top (:

The highlight of the night was the pinata. Everyone was looking forward to this. There was no where to do it inside so we had to do it in the freezing temperatures outside on the patio. It didn't seem to bother anyone though. They were all excited!









I really can't believe that you are 5! You are getting so big. I miss my little baby boy. We were looking at home videos a few weeks ago, and watched your 1 year old birthday video. You were seriously the CUTEST baby boy ever. I got emotional thinking about how I can't have you that little ever again. You had the cutest little face, the spikiest white hair, these chubby little cheeks. You were always so happy and so content with anything. You are still the cutest little guy ever, and still so sweet and lovable. You are definitely a Mommy's boy (which I LOVE). You are really enjoying preschool this year, and go 4 days a week with Miss Erin. You have learned so much and I can't believe what you already comprehend and understand. You are growing up to fast! I told you on your birthday that I'm not telling you any more when your birthday is so that you stay 5 forever!!! I don't think that will work, but I wish I could. You are growing so much taller too. All your pants are too short, and so are your shirts. It is strange because I feel like I just bought everything.

You are Amber get along so well. On the weekends you two like to play together all day. I really enjoy this phase and hope it lasts! You like to tease Aubrey though. Every day pretty much you make her scream or cry. You just love to tease and tease. Since Amber started school I hear a lot more screaming from Aubrey now. I think you just are bored and don't know what to do with out your big sister there.

You enjoy playing with Lego's, guns, swords, transformers, rockets, and hot wheels. You got a hot wheels track for your birthday that has provided non-stop entertainment for a week now. You also got a lot of guns for your birthday which you really have loved. We have darts ALL over the house. I'll think we'll find them forever. I bought a ton of them so we'd have a lot, and we're down to probably half of what I bought! It's crazy! I'm glad it's been such a fun toy for you. I think you'll love hunting with Dad when you're old enough to. You enjoy being outside so much, and NEVER complain about being too tired, cold, etc. We can always count on you when we hike to make it the longest. You're just like your dad...a little mountain goat!

We went to chop down our Christmas tree just after Thanksgiving which required a lot of walking in the snow. We didn't have to carry you, you never once said "Wait for me!" or "I'm too tired!" It really is amazing.

I tell Dad all the time how you are such a boy. You are around me, Amber and Aubrey all day long, but you still just have this inner boy that comes out strong! You like things to crash and explode. You make all sorts of noises while you play. You LOVE cars and army soldiers, you love guns and targets. You love the noise the gun makes when it cocks. You understand how to load your Nerf gun better than I can! You love to put things together and lay down on the floor and play all day long! It really is amazing how the boy in you just knows how to act and what to do.

Well I hope the next year goes by SLOWLY! I love you so much and am so glad you're part of our family. What would I do with out you!?!

Your First Lemonade Stand

Amber was trying to earn some money for a stuffed horse she wanted to buy at Cabela's. We decided to have a lemonade stand!

Looks like a long day! You and Amber made a lot of money! Neighbors are generous. It was a lot of fun though, and you both did really well to serve friends driving by. I'm sure this will be a fun summer tradition!

4th of July

We got to go to Jackson Hole & Yellowstone for the 4th of July. Dad and I LOVE Jackson Hole and have a lot of fun memories there. Mom worked there as a River Guide for two summers and when Dad and Mom got married we moved there together and were river guides together for 10 weeks. We had such a fun first couple months of marriage being in the most beautiful place!
We got to Jackson Saturday night and camped at Station Creek, just South of the Lower Canyon boat launch "West Table." We got to see rafts float by all day getting ready for their trip down lower. Our spot was beautiful, the best in the campground if you ask me!
Stacie & JJ and their little boy Ozzie (six months old) came with us. Stacie and Mom used to work together in Jackson, so it holds a lot of fun memories for them both.

On Sunday we took a hike to Hidden Falls. You hike around Jenny Lake to get to Hidden Falls. We usually take a Ferry Boat across the lake, but this year we actually hiked to the falls (and then road the Ferry back). We were so impressed that you made it on the hike. It was very hot that day so it was especially a difficult hike! The water levels this year are unusually high for this time of year. It was a very wet winter, and it rained a TON in the spring, so the snow didn't get a chance to melt like it normally does so the water levels are basically at flood levels everywhere (even here close to home!). It has been a record water year. So the trail to Hidden Falls was covered with water at times and we had to take little detours to avoid swimming in the Lake!
We took a little break and threw some rocks in Jenny Lake.


This shows how powerful the water was coming down the falls.


Here we are at the top having a drink and eating some snacks before we head back.


Stacie, JJ & Ozzie

This is one of the bridges that was out due to water damage.
Here we are on the Ferry heading back to the parking lot.
We went on a picnic to String Lake, and on the way there we saw a heard of elk just outside the picnic area.
This is Mt. Moran. It is a beautiful Mountain that dad has been on the top of! Mom has tried to climb it twice but once the weather was too dangerous (lightening & snow) and the other she got altitude sickness.
We saw some buffalo on our scenic drives around Teton National Forrest.
Amber was looking at the buffalo. We had a hard time all sharing the binoculars! Aubrey kept screaming "nakulars!"

Dad took uncle Aaron and some of his friends down the river. The water was running SO incredibly high, 23,000 cfs (cubic feet per second). We are used to running the river at a much less powerful state, typically 10,000 cfs or less. So this was a very high and dangerous time to be running it. The rapids are very high, the water is very fast & super COLD! Mom fell out at a rapid called "million dollar fishing hole." It spun her around a bit and she got stuck under the raft for a little bit but came back up with her hat still on, so that was good! Uncle Aaron when in at the rapid "lunch counter" and was under the water for about 30 seconds before he popped back up. It was super scary, and we were worried he wouldn't come up again. He was really scared too. We had a really great run and Dad did an EXCELLENT job guiding. We kept telling you kids that when you were older you could run it with us. You need to be an expert swimmer and bigger so you can handle the cold and stressful situations (like if the raft flipped). We almost flipped on lunch counter, it was a close one! We were really lucky that we didn't!

We went to the fireworks on Monday, the 4th of July. You all enjoyed the fireworks so much. Aubrey was really scared at first. Aubrey you don't like loud noises, they make you nervous. During thunderstorms you scream and cover your eyes. You did this at first but then realized that fireworks were cool so you watched them without crying! Jackson really does put on the best firework show around!
Grandma, Uncle Aaron, Louis and Max

Parker and Grandpa



Cute little baby Zach
We went to Yellowstone on Tuesday the 5th. We went to Old Faithful first and walked all around the board walk. Everyone was such troopers hiking. It was really hot, but the hot pots were really exciting for everyone to see. Parker, you were fascinated with them all. You were excited about every single one and had a million questions. You loved the fact that they were "boiling lava." Everything was a volcano to you. It was really exciting to you Parker.




Here we are waiting for Old Faithful to go off.



Amber you and McKenna became little buddies on this trip. You really loved riding in their RV they rented. Parker you got to take a ride in it too. Amber you rode in it from Jackson to Yellowstone. I had a feeling you'd get really car sick, and sure enough when I saw you get out of the RV you were as white as a ghost! I felt so bad. I'm glad you didn't throw up. I think you would have been really embarrassed about it! We had to limit the RV rides from then on, but you really like handing out with a friend.
We saw a TON of buffalo, but not much else!

We stayed in Canyon Village in Yellowstone one night. You kids were OUT OF CONTROL hyper! You were bouncing off the walls. The cabins there are very small and packed tight so we are SO close to other vacationers. It was hot (there isn't any A/C) so we had all the windows open. You three were being so loud and crazy, we had to get mad because we knew you were keeping everyone up around us! You were all so excited to be in a fun place.
Aubrey you did NOT want to sleep in the port-a-crib. You are getting too big for it! You really wanted to sleep with Dad and Mom, but we didn't have enough room in our tiny little bed. You screamed quite a bit "daddy's bed!" but finally you calmed down and fell asleep after Mom told the story "If the Log Rolls Over We Shall Die we Shall Die!"

We took a hike Wednesday morning to Yellowstone Falls. It is a beautiful hike! The Waterfall is incredible!



Fitriah and Zach
Little Louis!





Dragon's Mouth

Mud Pots

Stinky!

We saw a cyote on our way out of Yellowstone. All in all we saw buffalo, elk, one deer and a cyote! We did see a bear in Teton National Forrest, but it was so far away we couldn't even get a picture!

We all had a great time. It was a really fun vacation. We really want to make it a tradition to go there every 4th of July. We wondered if any of you kids would want to be river guides like us when you're older. It was a really fun thing for us. We loved every second of it and hope you love Jackson as much as we do!