A Visit from Tucker & Susie

I love summer. It's a time when friends & family come to visit us in Boise! This weekend we had Jeremy's parents come into town. What fun we had! We went for a LONG bike ride (for us - it was 8 miles! On our cruisers, that's long.) out to Lucky 13 after a quick swim at the Nat with the kiddies. Ryder wanted to show Grandma & Grandpa what a good swimmer he is.

Then Jeremy and I finally got to go out on a date! It has been a while. Susie & Tucker put the kids to bed and Jeremy and I jetted out. I forget what fun what Boise is. We stopped by a local coffee shop, grabbed a few iced drinks and walked around downtown in the Basque block and in BoDo. There were a ton of people out ... the Basque block closed the street down and they had this great band playing and a huge crowd of people doing some fun dancing. No worries, there was no dancing on our part. As I said, we only had coffee that night ... not wine.

While in BoDo ... we noticed that a whole new crop of restaurants & bars had popped up. Who knew? We decided to spend our night going to the movies though. We went and saw "The Hangover." Hilarious, awkward and several "are you kidding me?" moments ... it was most definitely a dude movie.

Many thanks to Susie & Tucker for coming to visit us this past weekend and letting Jeremy and I sneak out for a bit ... it was definitely needed. Plus, we didn't have to pay for a sitter!

I didn't have my camera out much during the weekend, but I did grab a few pics of the kids with Susie & Tucker.

Fourth of July Weekend

For the Fourth of July we loaded up Jeremy's truck and headed to the Tri-Cities to spend some time with my parents. We spent a lot of time on the boat, went for bike rides, took some much needed naps, and played endless games of baseball with Ryder.

Highlights from the weekend:

• The boat. There is nothing better than being on the water and I am so glad that Jeremy feels the same. Thanks mom & dad for taking us out and letting Ryder drive! We had a great time.
• Going out for cocktails with my high school friends, Kelli and her husband Jeff and Melissa. It was so good to see them ... we're planning a for them to come visit sometime in September. I would love to show them what my Boise life is all about.
• Talking with Ryder about what he wanted to be when he grew up ... the conversation was post time-out from Jeremy so he was a little sad and even more dad-clingy than normal. When we were walking down to my parents boat on the 4th I asked Ryder if he wanted to be a baseball player when he got bigger. He said "no, I want to be a daddy." It was so sweet.
• Watching Miss P spend some time with her grandparents. I may be biased, but she certainly is the sweetest little girl around.
• Getting to see my brother, Brad, and having him spend time with Payton and Ryder.
• Stopping by to see my Grandma Jo and Aunt Debbie & Uncle Eric. My grandma had this beautiful green velvet settee/love seat for years. She gave it to me this weekend, which I absolutely love. It looks so good in our house. And she gave Ryder an old vintage radio that he put in his room ... such cool pieces. Thanks Grandma!

Ryder and Payton enjoying time with Grandma Jan and Grandpa Chris on the boat!

Both Grandpa Chris and Ryder were about to fall asleep while watching the fireworks.

Grandpa Chris feeding Payton limes ... she loved them. She had about three.

Ryder and Grandpa Chris going for a ride in the dinghy.

A Visit from the Headlee's

We had a visit from our dear friends Tom & Deborah Headlee, along with their two adorable little girls Kiara and McKenna. Per usual, we had a great time barbecuing, playing games (our own version of Jenga) and watching the kids play together.

Here we are: the Headlee-Kearney-Bordner crew. I wonder how much bigger the brood is going to get?

On Saturday while the boys went golfing the mommas decided to take the kiddos to the Natatorium pool down. To wear the kids out we decided to walk - three mommas, six kids, three strollers, one Razor scooter and one bike. It was a circus ... but it gets better. After about a 30 min or so walk in the hot sun to the pool we arrived ... and it was closed. Seriously. Luckily there was a snow cone stand right next to the pool, so we opted for that and some play time at the park instead.

The kids. Aidan (yes, he's naked again), McKenna, Payton, Ryder, Kiara & Morgan.

My favorite pic from the weekend. McKenna looks like a cross between an eighties rocker and a jazzersizer.

And sweet Miss P in her cute Paul Frank swimsuit.

Girls Weekend 2009: Palm Springs

A few weeks back I went to Palm Springs with my Seattle girlfriends (Cherie, Missy, Ji Young & Dorrinda). We stayed in a rockin' suite at the Riviera - many thanks to Ji Young's friend, Julie!

We had a great time catching-up while lounging by the pool and drinking fruity cocktails. Naturally, after one, two or three of those yummy drinks the conversations got a little more interesting and engaging. It's always fun playing the "would you rather" game and reminiscing about college. I had so much fun and am already looking forward to the 2010 trip!

Oh and lest I forget. Before we got to Palm Springs, I heard nothing but rave reviews about the food in Palm Springs ... well, it was definitely memorable. Ji Young had a questionable hair right on top of her eggs Saturday morning and Cherie had a fairly large piece of cardboard in her salad that night for dinner. After that she exlaimed, "that is not a crouton."

Here are some pics from the trip ...

Missy popping a bottle of champagne after we arrived to our room. This is off the deck from our room.

The pool. Where we spent 90-percent of our time.

The bedroom in our suite.

This was the ladies' dance night.

Out to dinner at the Viceroy. Yum, yum. Minus the cardboard salad.

Already a Busy Summer ...

It's not even officially summer, but it's already been a busy one. We like it this way though; keeps things interesting. A few highlights thus far, Ryder has been very active in soccer (though it just ended), we have gone out on the boat a couple of times, and we went on a camping trip with the Kearney's.

Also, while not necessarily a "highlight," this past weekend we went to Seattle at the last minute for Jeremy's grandmother's memorial service and to spend time with the Bordner family. Under the circumstances it's not the best reason to make a trip to Seattle, but Jeremy's dad, uncles (Brett & Steve) and aunt (Jannie) did a wonderful job putting together the service to celebrate Mary (Jeremy's grandmother). She was a beautiful, kind and vibrant lady. Her and Roy (Jeremy's grandfather) have created an admirable, loving family. One that I am so fortunate and thankful to be a part of.

So, to keep the post short, you can enjoy some recent pics of our summer thus far ... there will be more highlights to come here soon. I'm off to Palm Springs this weekend with a group of girls. No boys, no kids. Ahhh...

Soccer Camp: Ryder loves soccer! He especially likes being a "blocker," AKA goalie.

Soccer Camp: Ryder and Morgan (in blue, front row) doing their warm-up stretches.

Kearney/Bordner Boat Maiden Voyage of 2009: Family pic. Ready, set, smile.

Kearney/Bordner Boat Maiden Voyage 2009: Tubing fun!

Kearney/Bordner Boat Maiden Voyage of 2009: Yes, I am wearing a wetsuit from 1988. The water was freezing and it's the only one we had.

Kearney/Bordner Camping 2009: Cute.

Kearney/Bordner Camping 2009: Cuter.



Kearney/Bordner Camping 2009: Ryder and his buddy Aidan.



Kearney/Bordner Camping 2009: Ryder and his best buddy Morgan. They had a blast camping ... were ready for bed at 6pm. Nice.




Kearney/Bordner Camping 2009: Daddy and Miss P, chilling on the beach. Doesn't Jeremy look great in is "Daryl Earnhart" sunglasses?



Kearney/Bordner Camping 2009: Do you know how hard it is to get the kids together for a decent pic? Yes, Aidan isn't wearing any clothes. He hardly wore them all weekend.


Seattle Weekend: As you can see, Ryder and Payton were pooped at the reception for Mary after playing at the park with Ji Young (thanks!) during the memorial service. We placed them in the back corner of the reception hall and they slept for a good hour or so while we visited with friends and family of the extended Bordner family.

Seattle weekend/Camano Island: The boys (l to r: Darren, David, Peter, Jeret, Tucker, Jeremy) playing a game of "Rock the Dock." I just now made that up. The gist of it is: each participant gets five rocks and throws them at the dock and whoever hits the dock the most times wins. Jeret won - he hit the dock all five throws.

Seattle weekend/Camano Island: Following the game, Jeremy, Peter and David showed Jeret just how appreciative they are of him with a little wrestle match.

Seattle weekend: Here's Ryder getting in on the wrestling.

Seattle weekend/Camano: Miss P and me enjoying a little mommy-daughter time.

Seattle weekend/Camano: Visiting, getting ready to say our good-byes for the weekend.

Seattle weekend/Camano: Miss P and Aunt Katka.

Mowing the Lawn

Recently Jeremy was out of town, in New Orleans, with some friends from Boise. While gone my mom came into town. We decided to do some yard work, plant some plants, mow the lawn, edge, get the garden started. You would think mowing the lawn would be the easiest task ... well, not for two adults. But for a four year old, no problem.

My mom and I could not figure out how to get the lawn mower started. We put gas in it, we pulled the cord, checked to make sure it had oil, but we just couldn't figure it out. After about ten minutes Ryder notices and comes running across the yard telling us "You have to prime it. Push the red button three times." It started right up!

Tubes Again ... but for Payton

On Friday, we went to the ear, nose and throat doctor for Ryder's follow-up appointment for when he had his tonsils and adenoids evicted and tubes inserted. While there, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and have the doc check out Payton's ears, as she's had a plethora of ear infections this winter/spring, on top of all her respiratory issues.

This doctor is really hard to get into -- she's a top-notch doctor here in Boise -- her name is Dr Beck if anyone is looking to have any work done in the ENT region. Anyway, as I said, Payton's ears have really been bothering her lately and when the doc peeked in there, she could understand why. Both ear drums were bulging, on the verge of rupturing, hence the irritation in her ears. Poor girl, she has been through so much!

They scheduled an appointment for this morning to have tubes put in her ears. We went in, she fell asleep in my arms, the doctor carried her back still asleep (it was so precious), they gave her some anesthetics via an oxygen mask, inserted the tubes, she woke up (not the happiest camper, a little disoriented from the anesthesia wearing off), but then about an hour or so later it was like nothing happened.

So, here's to a healthier, happier and more comfortable little girl!