Walker Olympic Games

Last night before bed, the kids were beyond excited to show us their "very awesome tricks".

We've got London 2012 on the brain(and TV) in this house.  Give it up for Team USA!

Down by the River

Today we spent a good chunk of our day down by the Boise river.  The temperatures have been hot and we were excited to do something fun to cool off.

I took a bunch of empty tupperware containers for the kids and they were most definitely a hit.  The kids started out building sand castles until they learned it's a lot more fun to destroy each others.  After only a few tears were shed from the little kids destroying the big kids masterpieces, they moved on to something better.

Catching fish was next on their list for the day.  They made a small reservoir for the water to pool into and from there they could easily catch a cup full of tiny little fish.

Although the water was freezing, the entertainment was priceless.  What a fun way to break up our day, we had a blast!

Chewie

Dan found Chewie in a snowy parking lot 15 years ago when she was a teeny tiny fur ball of a pup.  She has been with Dan through some hard times and was definitely the diva of the house when I married him.  She had more toys and treats than one could have imagined and even got more room on the bed than I did(at first).  It took some adjusting on all of our parts when I came into the equation. 

I have always teased Dan about his baby and refused to do any of the dirty work when it came to the dog.  Even though she was extremely well behaved, I struggled with having a dog in the house.  I'm notorious for complaining about her and often crack jokes about making her into a rug when she was naughty.  She didn't really take a liking to me until I got pregnant, and then she became protective of me.  No matter how hard I tried to not like having a dog, she was a big part of our life.  She is all my kids know, she is all I know being married to Dan, she has always been a constant.  She was part of our family(I always made fun of people who said stuff like that).

Over the last year she became deaf and practically blind.  The past few months we noticed she was having a harder time walking, she would often fall when her hind legs would give out.  About 2 weeks ago, the kids and I took her for a walk and I practically pulled her the entire way.  She would fall with every step she took and would not stop panting.  We knew she was looking old and Dan was really worried about her being in pain.  We started her on some vitamins for arthritis and decided to watch for any improvement.

She made a quick turn for the worse when Dan went to check on her yesterday.  She could not walk at all, refused to eat or drink anything and actually snipped at Dan when he tried to help her stand to go to the bathroom. It was time to say goodbye.

Jace prays that the doctor can give Chewie medicine to help her come back, and Camden is quick to yell, "She is not coming back. She is with Heavenly Father".  Even though I hate to admit it because I was good about complaining, I feel a twinge of sadness knowing that chapter is over.  I know she was Dan's baby and this has been extremely hard for him.  I feel a sting of guilt when I open the boys window and don't "have" to yell at Chewie for barking. Who knew a dog could make this Negative Nelly cry.

Our sweet friends brought over this giant grocery bag full of all sorts of "chewy" treats to show their love.

Now what am I gonna gripe to Dan about?

Caleb's Wisdom

Uncle Caleb got his wisdom teeth out today.  He has been a little loopy and irritable, but definitely better looking.

Captain Awesome

This picture is totally blurry but I don't want to forget this moment.  

On our way home from Utah we stopped by to see Kelli and Andrew who gifted our children with more than they deserve!  Every time we see them they confuse our children into thinking it's Christmas with the amount of gifts they give.  One of the gifts they gave them today was this awesome Captain America gun.  The boys were in heaven; superhero's and a weapon, what more could you ask for. As we made our journey home I looked back at one point and saw Jace Man all decked out.  Totally typical little boy.

Super 4th

A 4th of July party at Leslie's house was the reason we came to Utah in the first place.  She called a couple weeks ago talking about wanting to throw a party.  She invited, I accepted, and we made it happen.

  We started the morning off by going to a parade.  We walked in the parade and passed out candy until we ran out, and then quickly found our spot as spectators for the remainder.

We enjoyed the rest of our day swimming, eating, and playing card games.

Our kids play so well together, it was fun to chat while they entertained themselves.

Chocolate covered strawberries, red velvet cupcakes, hamburgers, homemade ice cream, matching friendship bracelets, American flag banners, you name it she had it.

Even though Jace was utterly terrified, Blake's firework show did not disappoint. I felt like we should have paid big bucks to watch the show he put it on.  It was that good!

Those Walker's sure know how to party and we were grateful we got to be a part of their fun!

In other words, we had a SUPER fourth of July!

Utah

I can't even explain how happy it makes me that we are so close to family.  It has been so fun to be able to hop in the car at a moments notice and drive a few hours to be with them.

We left on Sunday right after church and made it to Great Nanny and Papa's house just in time for Sunday dinner.  A day at their house wouldn't be complete without hours of gaming. 

Monday morning we headed to Salt Lake to check out the new City Creek shopping center.  It was big and beautiful. The boys played in the water features for hours and we enjoyed visiting.

Our YaYa just happened to be there the same time we were.  It was so fun to see her, and even more exciting knowing we both happened to plan a getaway to the same place at the same time.

For one night we stayed at the Grand America Hotel and enjoyed riding the Trax, swimming, shopping, eating, and hanging with Aunt Kristi, Charly, Uncle Cracker and Kelby.  We even got to hang with Andrew at the pool for a few hours.

Coming to Utah with only a few days to play adds a little bit of a challenge.  Lots of people to see but not a ton of time to spend doing so.  Today we planned to split, I headed Leslie's house with the boys while Dan went golfing with his friends.  I was sad to miss dinner at his brother's house tonight but glad he was able to see them.