Franchesca and Frank: The Frogs

August 2008
In the backyard of one of my PTO board members home, Isabelle found two little frogs by the swimming pool. Needless to say, we soon took Franchesca and Frank home. Isabelle quickly made a wonderful home for them and rushed off to google what frogs might eat. After about 5 minutes she came down and had a sad look on her face and told me she felt selfish. She said she read that wild frogs should stay in the wild and listed off the reasons why. She decided she wanted to let them free and at 9:00 at night, in my pjs, we found a nice pond and let our little froggies go. A smile returned to Issy's face and the following week when we drove by the pond on our way to school Issy would say "I wonder how Frank and Franchesca are doing....". Compassion is a wonderful innate trait.....

Issy releasing the froggies into their new home in Lakewood Pond.Frank and Franchesca's new home.

Summer Fun with Friends

August 2008

A fun day in the sun with the Abergs. A morning of the Capital City Market and an afternoon of swimming in their pool. We are blessed to have such good friends in our lives.

We also had some great summer nights with great friends at Sharon and Danarae's homes. Pool time, BBQ's and horseback riding filled many evenings. What a wonderful life we lead. Friends, Family and Faith...what more could we ask for!

Drama Camp

July 18, 2008
Issy attended the Idaho Shakespeare Drama Camp! She faithfully attended camp every morning for two weeks and finished the camp with a performance of "Caliban's Clowns". My little Drama Queen shined.....

Summer Vacation~Texas Style

July 18-27, 2008
Our adventure started at the wonderful wedding of Carter's cousin (sorry no pics....forgot to take camera). Our journey to Austin was memorable...our plane was delayed, we missed our connection and had our final flight cancelled at 10 p.m. Carter was our hero and rerouted our flight the next day to San Antonio and picked us up there (after he dealt with my tears and found us a hotel in Denver). Issy and I met many relatives and had a terrific time at the reception and meeting Carter's family.

The next day we traveled to San Antonio and stopped at the infamous "Snake Ranch" (don't worry if you haven't heard of it...we had not...but it turned out to be a hit with Issy...anything with animals is a hit with Issy :) Note: Texas Longhorn Cattle :)

The following day we met Carter's Aunt and Cousins to venture towards Sea World. What a hoot! It was an amazing day. Our eyes were definitely wide open the entire day (along with sweat dripping down our bodies the entire time....Texas is HOT and HUMID:)).

We took this photo specifically for Dana Roo...as we know you love flamingos xoxoxo

Did I mention that we got wet at Sea World (Carter's cousin Molly and Marshall's little boy Thomas) and did it ever feel AMAZING !

We visited the resort where Carter's family was staying (a picture of the pool is below...it had 3 or 4 seperate pools, a slide and was just beautiful) and chatted with family and ate LOTS of chips and salsa. Pictures below are of Carter's family that made Issy and I feel so welcome!

Next we went to Fiesta Texas~Six Flags. Isabelle rode her first "scary"roller coaster (thanks to Maggie's encouragement) and I was so PROUD! It was a day filled with smiles, SWEAT, laughter, SWEAT (by the way..... it is just a tad HOT and HUMID in Texas) and many, many blessings.

We traveled to Del Rio to visit Carter's mom and dad. Sara took us to Lake Amistad (the dam that includes the Mexican Border). The girls (Carter's cousin Marla spent time with us during the week, she is Issy's age and a sweet girl) were anxious to "hop the border" and we all enjoyed picnicing with Sara at the lake. That evening Sara made a scrumptious dinner with AMAZING peach cobbler and we enjoyed catching up with Carter's parents. Issy's highlight was seeing Augustus, the mule, Emmy and Baird (Winter's family dogs).

Carter's cousin Maggie and her husband Craig recently built a gorgeous home and we were grateful to be able to visit them. They graciously let us spend the night where the kids rocked out to Rock Band and we enjoyed a wonderful meal of fajitas. The following morning we helped Craig move some horses in preparation of the following week's work on their ranch. Issy got to hop on a horse (with Carter's encouragement) and we enjoyed getting a peek into the ranching world of the Jones' and Winter's.

We loved our trip and look forward to visiting again...

Alive After Five

July 16, 2008
Went to Alive After Five with my BFF Dana and her sister, Pam, . The kids had a great time running through the fountain while we all enjoyed some good reggae music. Brooks and Chad (hubbies of the previously mentioned ladies) met us for a good meal. Perfect summer night filled with good friends, good music and good food! What more can one ask for....:)