Blast through Summer!

Every summer we find it harder and harder to keep up the blog.  So to help with that, here is one long post of a bunch of fun times we have had so far.  Starting with the most recent and working backwards..Fasten your seatbelts!!! 

Lisa sure is talented.

She is feeding the baby,  paddling the boat with her feet and helping me keep Trace in his seat. All at the same time!

This weekend we had Lisa’s family up.

It was a lot of fun and great having everyone here!

Jaydee & Riley getting ready to play “I spy with my little eye”.  An easy game that still lets me sit here on the swing like a sloth. ;-)

Jan & Kev strutting their stuff (as well as you can strut while pedaling a giant pelican around).

I’m too cool to smile. Bo diggidy!

Lake Lowell.

This pic was taking just moments before we floated into a giant patch of tall reeds.  I was glad we had that oar to get us out of there! ;-)

Lisa cool, calm , and collected.  

Tiny Kendra in her jacket.

Trace learning to drive the boat!

The newest Skipper!  For our first time out together on the boat we had a great time and I learned something NEW!  A towel, when it falls out of a boat into the river sinks immediately. I don’t know but I always thought it would float. Nope!  One slid out and was gone immediately so if you are boating out at Lake Lowell and see a tan towel out there please grab it for us. ;-)

We went with the Dallings to the Boise Rec Festival.

It was fun and hot as can be. Well maybe not. My brother has been texting me from Arizona about how its 120 degrees there so I guess 93 or 94 isn’t too bad at all!  

Above you can see Eric, Sophie, Trace, and I as we get some of that refreshing water!

Two wet water rats!

Wendy and Aaron and my parents came to visit.

We had so much fun together. Here is a pic from the great Costco.  Pizza and soda only 2.50. How can you beat that?

This was the first time we had ever gone paddle boating. Here is

Aaron, Jake, and Connor!

     

Cool dude cousins Andre  & Trace.  Funny how I still remember when Andre was Trace’s age. Man, time flies!

Memorial Day

Grandpa & Grandma Stimpson’s grave. We went to Burley. It was nice… All except Trace had a fit moments later and threw up on the road. Hopefully no one stepped in that. Yuck!

So summer has been great!  So what's next? Let us know, we’ll all go do it!

Weekend Getaway!

We were originally planning to go camping this weekend but the weather did not look like it was going to cooperate so we decided to do something else.

We debated about  where to go and finally decided to go to Twin Falls. Not the most exotic of vacation places but we had a great time. There was a ton to see and the hotel was comfortable, had a pool, and served biscuits & gravy every morning for breakfast!  How can you top that? 

Here we are in front of Shoshone Falls. This was absolutely amazing. Pics never do it justice. If you haven’t been here, you definitely need to come check it out.

What a cool trick.  Hand stands are harder than they used to be. ;-)

Trace’s favorite thing to do was to run up and down the hill.  Easy entertainment…we have those at home!

Awesome place for a picnic!

On the road to Shoshone falls, we found this herd of Elk just a few feet away (on the other side of the fence).

This guy posed for us. Who are you sticking your tongue out at? 

 

Back at the hotel, it was time for a swim. Kendra slept in her chair as the rest of us swam.

The next day we got a look at the huge bridge.

Trace checking out one giant bridge over the canyon.

We noticed a man was about to jump off this bridge. Can you see him?

   

Thankfully he had a parachute! 

Lisa saw a sign for “Idaho Joes” that looked interesting so we ordered the “Burger, Fry, and pie”.  Not bad at all. ;-)

It was hard to decide between Strawberry Rhubarb or Boysenberry but Boysenberry it was. Lisa ordered Cookie Dough Pie.  I had never heard of that but she liked it.

  Trace attempting to be a race car driver at the Magic Valley Mall.

Here is the new Twin Falls temple. Very beautiful.

A couple had just gotten married and had lots of friends and family outside so we just quickly snapped a couple pics and left.

It was a fun relaxing trip. The only thing is after all that unpacking and putting everything away, I’m ready for another vacation. ;-)

Papa & Grandma come to town!

Grandma & Grandpa Stimpson came for a visit this weekend! It was so fun to see them! We didn’t get as many pictures as we would have liked to but here are just a few.

Dad & I went golfing. I did horrible but he taught a lot of good tips for me to practice. I think I might finally be figuring out what I need to do in order to get better. Watch out, Tiger. Here I come!

Here is Birthday Girl Kiera hanging off Grandma!

Trace sure LOVES his Grandma & Gradnpa. He was giving kisses all weekend long.

He kept roaming the house. Papa! Papa!

Kendra loved the extra attention too!

 

What else to grill?

Today we grilled steak, chicken, corn on the cob, and decided to try grilling bananas. We looked it up online.

Trace’s favorite was the grilled corn. He ate most of Lisa’s and then he ate a lot of mine too!

He love it!

Kendra appeared to like it too. Although she did nothing but watch us eat. ;-)

Trace is a Mess Maker!

3 Years ago to the day!

While getting a haircut at the hair school in Layton, the girl cutting my hair told me about this girl. She was fun, spoke Spanish, served a mission in DC and loved the outdoors. It was none other than her sister. ;-) After a few emails with Lisa, we decided to have our first date and meet!

Dina, the beautician MATCHMAKER!

FIRST DATE, April 21th, 2007!
Exactly 3 years ago!

I took her to THE RED IGUANA. It is an authentic Mexican restaurant in SLC which has not nearly enough seating. We sat down and started talking.

Because of the wait, there were people waiting to eat and they just stood there watching us about a foot or two away observing our every move as got to know each other.

Finally after awhile, someone yelled from the group and asked if we were on a FIRST date!

We answered YES! They could tell. lol. Then they asked if we met on LDSSINGLES.com. LOL. Nope, was our answer. I guess we looked like a stereotypical couple that met off there. ;-)

NO! We didn’t meet here! ;-)

DATE NUMBER 2 – TO A CAVE WE GO

Since the first date was a hit, we decided to go on a trail to a cave near Farmington. It was fun. I have always been a freak with my cell phone taking pictures, it probably drove Lisa crazy, but here is an actual pic from Date #2. I was just proud to be with her and wanted a pic to show off to all my 7 bros & sis and everyone else who I knew! ;-)

Well, next came DATE #3!

One thing we had in common was our pets! Lisa had a Golden Retriever and I had a St. Bernard. Here we are on a walk in Bountiful with our dogs. DATE NUMBER 3!

I still remember on that 3rd date thinking. She is so cool! I wonder if she likes me too?

Kenya and Brinkley sure hit it off as well! ;-)

We decided to buy SEASON PASSES and went to Lagoon

LISA AND I lived about 20 minutes apart and right SMACK DAB in between us was LAGOON!

We went almost every day! I kind of miss that. It was so much fun! In fact most of our dating was at Lagoon!

On the Gondola at Lagoon with Lisa! DATES 4-44+!

We met in April and in August, I proposed.

I took this picture of Lisa at the Chinese buffet we ate at. I remember thinking how clueless she was about what I had up my sleeve for her later that night!

Later that night , we had gone on a hike above the beautiful Bountiful Temple. There was a spot just perfect looking down on the temple.

It was getting dark and I asked her and she said YES!Here we are at the Bountiful temple, we wandered down from the hill and tried to get some pictures the night we were engaged. ;-)

That was a fun night!

Then in October 27th 2007 we were married in the Bountiful Temple!

Best thing I’ve ever done!

Then these two hoodlums came long!

AND IT ALL STARTED…. exactly 3 years ago today! WOW!

I guess the moral of the story is….. Go get a haircut? ;-)