The 30 Year Dress

Ashton's Grandma, Grandma Hansen, gave us this dress when Juliette was born.  She bought it when DeeAnn was expecting Ashton and since he was a boy, it got put away.  Then it got brought out again, and again, and again, until she finally gave up, realizing she was only getting grandsons.  Then we had Juliette. The first girl.  So that dress made it's way back out and into my hands.  

It is one of Juliette's favorite dresses.  I can't blame her either.  It is pretty twirly.  She loves to spin in it.  I tried to get a picture of just her, but Dex wouldn't have any of that.  

So here is the dress that waited 30 years for a sweet 2 year old girl to twirl in it.

Camping

In July, we took the opportunity and we went camping.  We went camping with Ashton's Grandparents (Grandpa and Grandma Hansen).  All I have to say is, it was just what we needed.  A time away from real life.  It was HOT but we still managed to have fun.  Grandma and Grandpa let us sleep in their tent trailer with them and we had a grand time.  It was pretty impromptu and so we ended up staying in 2 different spots, but it was still fun.  The first night we stayed at the State Park in Glenns Ferry.  The kids chased after bubbles, looked at bugs, painted rocks, explored and got dirty.

We ate some s'mores

and that evening, the boys went fishing and the girls played  Rummy.  I love this picture below.  Juliette was looking up at Grandma so adoringly, but the sun was going down, so it took awhile for the camera to snap the picture and it caught her mid blink.  You can still see the smile on her face, however.  She was having a great time.

The second night, we made our way down to Hagerman.  We were right next to a slide and some swings so the kids spent most of their time there.  I caught that on video.  They climbed the big tree, too.

We also went fishing again at the ponds around the fish hatchery.  Dex was in Heaven.  He loves to fish!  

JJ loved to dig her toes in the sand

Grandpa even caught a little fish and let Dex help him real it in. 

If you asked Dex how the fishin' was, he would say, "The fishin' was good, but the catchin' was bad". :)  Grandpa Hansen taught him that.  :)

That night, JJ was beyond tired and just kept crying.  I put both kids in the shower, that cooled and cleaned them up, then we snuggled down and watched a movie.

In the morning, the boys took off for some more fishing and then we packed up and left.  Grandma and Grandpa took us out eat at Ziggy's in Bliss.  It was pretty darn good and a great ending to a great couple of days.  

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Hansen for joining us!

New Spots

Our cupboards in Iowa all had child safety locks on them.  When we moved in, we didn't think anything of it, until one day, Juliette discovered something...

Peek-a-boo!  

She was playing hide and go seek with Dex.

Then of course Dex had to join in and well, it was a common thing in our house until they started eating in there and getting crumbs in all my bowls stuff stored down there. 

One day, we were all playing hide and go seek, and they both hid in cupboard.  It took me little bit to find them.  That was fun. 

And still, every once in a while, JJ will still sneak in. 

Settler's Park

There is one pretty amazing park here in Meridian.  It is the ultimate park.  It has a huge splash pad, play ground, music toys to bang on (think giant xylophone and bells and drums), tons of swings, tons of grass, and a pond with ducks and fish to actually catch and release.  Ultimate park.

We sure had fun there this summer.  This particular time, we went with Grandma Loveless.

It took Juliette a while to not be afraid of the water.  She would only go in this little circle and no where else.  

TV Stand

 Well, here is the dresser that Jules' and I found while out thrift store hopping with Shauni and Molly.

The TV stand that we used in Iowa, we got from the dumpster by our house.  It wasn't in the dumpster, but rather next to it.  It was sagging, supported by Ashton's physics book, and when we moved, we put it back where it came from.  It wasn't making the move.

 I tell you that this dresser was meant to be.  I have another cousin who lives here, Loren, and he had offered us use of his truck for whenever or whatever we may need.  My plan was to always find the dresser, buy it, and pick it up later with  Loren.

I had mapped out a couple of stores to go to, but when we got to Shauni's she said she'd take us to ones she knew.  I'm so glad we did, because we found it at a store I didn't have written down.  When we found it, I swear there was a heavenly beam on it.  It was just there, waiting for me.  I then realized that Shauni had a Pilot, and could fold down her back seat and as luck would have it (and because it was meant to be mine) it fit perfectly, they had guys there at the thrift store to load it into her Pilot, and she and Blake were coming into Meridian that evening and were able to drop it off without taking an extra trip.  Meant to be I tell ya!  It couldn't have been planned better.

I really like it.  It has some cute detail, it is taller than most TV stands that are available to buy anymore, and when we took the top drawer out, it already had a piece of wood on the bottom.  It was perfect!

It did come with a mirror on top so we kept it off and now it is in my room acting as my full length mirror.

After some sanding her down, adding a few coats of paint, some new knobs, and holes drilled in the back, she is done.  All of our movies fit with room to spare in the drawers.  Games and accessories all fit in the drawers as well.  I had spray painted the original handles white, but they didn't fit well to begin with and gave Ash a headache to try to put back in.  I picked out some cute little silver ones and installed them myself.  We saved the top drawer and painted it too, just incase one day, we decide we want something different, it can still be used as a dresser.  

Farmer's Market

We ventured down to Downtown Boise and walked the farmer's market.  I don't think it is as charming as Omaha's but not everywhere has such a quaint historic district like Omaha.  It was fun to walk through however and when we were done, we got the kiddos some balloons.  Dex chose a fishing pole and Juliette got a heart wand flower thing.  She kept calling it a flower, so that is what it was.  Oh, and don't you love Jule's necklaces?  She picked them all out herself and insisted on wearing them.  Love her!

Independence Day

Now I am finally to July.  Sorry I've been so far behind.  I'll get there.

We had a nice start to our 4th of July.  It started out by playing in the dirt in our PJ's.

Swimming in our pool later in the day

I finished up another butterfly my Aunt Diane paid me to make for one of her new granddaughters. She bought  the one at the auction and Evi got it, but since she had 2 more granddaughters, she needed 2 more.  I made one for Sam's little girl, and for Shauni's little girl, Molly.  This is one is for Sam's little girl.

Then we met up with the Higley's at the ISP headquarters and watched the fireworks.  It was a nice, low-key kinda day, and Ashton even got to spend it with us.