...madison county...

we had a chance to go up to rexburg a few weekends ago. chad had to work during the day in blackfoot, so the kids and i got lucky enough to spend the morning and afternoon with grandma & grandpa beattie. they took us to the rexburg water park...this is a new development since i was in rexburg last...and was such a fun & perfect thing for kids on a hot summer day. we didn't have the kids swimsuits, but zac's pajama shorts seemed to work great! although emerson didn't get as lucky...she remained dry whether she liked it or not. :)

here's our cute, finicky eater. bet you never would have guessed that it's a struggle to get this boy to eat...

zac was getting a bit frustrated that he coudn't figure out how to get the water on...


but grandpa beattie solved the problem in no time...thank goodness!



emerson & grandma on the side lines...wishing so bad that she could be part of the fun.


zac & great grandpa beattie...


emmy warmed right up...once again...she loves those men!


waiting for the carousel...


we went up the the gardens at byu-idaho...so pretty. definitely worth looking at if you're ever in rexburg.

...gone camping...

yes, it's been a while...but we've been busy! last weekend we went camping with my family...it was our father's day gift to my dad. which turned out to be kind of ironic, because it was supposedly a gift to him, but he ended up doing most all the work. and when it comes to camping, my dad doesn't just pitch a nylon tent and call it good...he goes all out! just to give you an idea...he had to rent a uhaul to get everything there! yeah, i don't know how many people can say that they've rented a uhaul to load up all their camping gear! so even though he did most the work, he really does love that sort of thing, so i think it maybe turned out to be a gift after all! we had a great time...here are some pictures to sum it all up...and thanks again dad! :)

you've gotta love zac's dirty finger nails...camping would be no fun if you never got dirty, right?

kylie just braiding away...she made some pretty cool bracelets while we were up there...it was taking me back to the old days! don't you remember friendship bracelets being the coolest things ever?


there were TONS of these little critters up there. zac had a great time catching them the first day. emerson was intrigued by the things, so i got one on a stick and put it on her arm. she didn't seem to mind, but the sad part was they must have some sort of sting or something, because it left 4 little mosquito bite type things on her arm. so lesson learned the hard way...fuzzy caterpillars are not friendly.


the bug catcher...he used something like this to catch these fuzzy things...it's a pretty cool gadget if you ask me.


and you gotta love heather's enormously huge peace sign...


emerson loved this little step. she'd always work her way right over to it & do her little sit down, stand up, sit down, stand up routine over and over. it was perfect entertainment...



camping wouldn't the same without some dutch oven cooking...and we had our fair share of desserts and the yummiest chicken dinner. something about cooking outdoors makes everything taste good to me. i love it.



little miss kalle...she's always so content and such a laid back, sweet little girl. she'll make a great big sister here in about 4 months!! brynn's a great mom...she'll be busy, but luckily kalle is so sweet and easy...i can't wait to see what this new baby boy is going to be like...




look at this girls lips...yes i'm jealous!


the gang, minus me and danny. and sorry mom, looks like brooke stole the spotlight.



a nice up close and personal shot of danny having the time of his life...


so it's true, emerson is definitely a softy when it comes to the guys. and lately, she's turned into a pretty big uncle nate fan. but i'm a big uncle nate fan too. my kids are lucky to have great aunts and uncles on both sides of the family...something i'm very grateful for...

...Friday's Favorites...

my mom gave this book to me last year for christmas and i was immediately drawn into it. "the parent's tao te ching" has some of the most powerful words of truth in it...and really makes you stop and think about life and what it means to be a parent. i've read it a couple of times and don't think i will ever stop reading it. it's changed my view on life, and i can hands down, 100 percent say that this is one of my all time favorite books and would highly recommend it to everyone...

here's a little excerpt:

Words of Life

You can speak to your children of life,
but your words are not life itself.
You can show them what you see,
but your showing and their seeing
are forever different things.

You cannot speak to them of Divinity Itself
But you can share with them
the millions of manifestations of this Reality
arrayed before them every moment.
Since these manifestations have their origin
in the Tao,
the visible will reveal the invisible to them.

Don't mistake your desire to talk for their
readiness to listen.
Far more important are the wordless truths they
learn from you
If you take delight in the ordinary wonders of
life,
they will feel the depth of your pleaure
and learn to experience joy.
If you walk with them in the darkness of life's
mysteries
you will open the gate to understanding.

...park, park, and more park...

i know, i always post pictures of the kids at the park...but what can i say? it's really one of our favorite hang out spots. for old times sake, we took a drive over to the park we used to go to before we moved...the "blue park" according to zac.

this little girl LOVES her daddy!! i can't blame her though...

loving the swings...and the slides...emmy is pretty much fearless compared to her brother. he's our cautious one...and has always taken a while to warm up to new things like slides and swings and water. emerson, on the other hand, takes no time at all. she's all about whatever is in front of her...so yes, she keeps me on my toes, that's for sure!

hooray for zac! i was able to get a few pictures with both eyes open and somewhat normal smiles...an unusual occurence as of lately....90% of the time we get crazy zac faces...so it's nice when he'll actually cooperate!

kisses??? how could anyone deny that? really.

...mexican chopped salad...

i love summer salads...and this one is a must for anyone that likes a fairly easy, very healthy, and extremely tasty salad! you should try it...i think this one is a new field family favorite! you can find the recipe here.

(photo courtesy recipe girl's blog)