September

After we got back from Pittsburgh, we went to the Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot. We didn't go on any rides, but the kids really enjoyed seeing the animals, tractors, magic tricks, dog shows,and craft and food booths (well, we enjoyed that part more than they did).




We are so lucky to have lots of neighbors who have young kids like ours. Most of the summer was spend outside playing together, or going to parks and the local zoo. We had such a good time with them! (here's just one picture of the kids piled together, even though we did tons of stuff together)

One day I got a package and Parker & Maddie had such a good time playing in the box with the peanuts. It entertained them for hours!!


We went with some of our neighbors to the local Sand Dunes one Saturday. Maddie had never been to the beach (since we moved from Portland when she was just 7 mo old), so it was her first time in sand and she loved it! We had such a good time but it really made me miss the beach.





Then at the end of September I took the kids once more to visit Jess and her family (I had to go one last time before Maddie turned two since that's when you have to start paying for their plane tickets). It was so nice to spend time with my twin again and our kids had a blast together! Just the other day Maddie was talking about Sydney which surprised me that she still remembers her. But since we have mostly boys in the complex (there's only three girls, two of which are infants, and there are 7 boys) she REALLY loved being with Sydney. Renn (Jessica's husband) is in the airforce but was actually home for part of the time that we were there, so it was nice to see him too (last time we were there he was gone the whole time). Jess & Renn have three kids: Sydney (turned six when we were there), Lincoln (2 1/2), and Clark (1).

Like I said Syd had her 6th birthday when we were there, so we threw her a big tea party and I got to make here a really fun tea pot cake. It was so nice to be there with her on her birthday!

My brother, Joe, and sister-in-law, Mary, also live in Tucson where Jess and Renn are, so we got to see them too. Joe is such a good Uncle to the kids!

Oh how I miss those good times together!!