Mommy Liv Date

A few weeks ago, I heard on the radio that one of my favorite singers, Easton Corbin, was coming to the Union Fair in Union, Maine. The idea always intrigued me, because I LOVE a few of his songs. But, Brad and I have had a bit of a crazy life lately, and the idea seemed like just another thing to add to everything else. I am so glad that Brad REALLY thought I should go. Just enough enthusiasm to set me over the edge and get me moving on it. First, Liv and I went to see the fair for a couple of hours, fed the goats, got Liv's face painted and ate fair food for dinner (not my favorite, but I prefer the food over riding the spinning rides.) Liv wasn't interested in waiting by the stage to make sure we would get great seats, so we played until it was time for the show. Somehow, we still managed to find a place in the left corner of the front row that was empty. We meandered our way there, through a bunch of people, and claimed it. A few things about it all made the whole experience very lucky. We found out shortly after getting there that he was going to be signing autographs right next to where we were, and for some reason the people in front of the stage weren't standing, so since Liv and I were standing and dancing the whole time, we got the attention of Easton Corbin. He smiled at us and pointed to Liv a bunch of times. After the show, Liv was able to give him the flowers that she brought him, he signed her picture of him, and then he gave her a hug, and said, "thanks for coming dolly." Liv was thrilled about that and told everyone she saw for a few days. She told me what a fun time she had all the way to the car. The only bad parts of the whole night were that Liv had SUCH a hard time sleeping the whole way home, and I got lost going home on back roads in the complete dark, so it took us almost twice as long as it should have. I said a thank you prayer as soon as we got to a place I was familiar with and I knew we would get home safely at some point.

Can you tell this is a picture of Liv giving Easton Corbin her flowers?? Cute Girl =0).

Summer miscellany 2010

We got home from Spokane on Sunday and moved into our house on Wednesday. The longer we are here, the more we love it. We like being forest dwellers =0). One of our fun surprises was finding the entire perimeter of our yard is covered in black and raspberries, yum. We picked about 3 quarts of berries every Sunday for about 4 weeks. Then we would eat them with yogurt for breakfast for 3 days. YUM! Other than all of the things we have had to do, we have spent every possible minute down at the lake, relaxing in the sun. The girls love running down the dock and jumping in. I should say Liv's specialty is jumping in, and Gwen's specialty is being up for a swim with anyone, anytime. We haven't spent nearly enough time there. Our permanent goal is to make our summers completely obligation free so that we can do nothing but relax and play. The last pictures are of Nora and Gwen, when we are down at camp together, there always comes a time when they disappear over at the little play house to make "soup" and other play food out of the leaves and branches around. Inevitably, we don't hear from them again for a couple of hours.

So behind, So behind.....Spokane Family Reunion 2010

We spent a fabulous week in Spokane, at my sister KariAnn's house. KariAnn and Chad did a super job entertaining us, all 28 of us. It was so easy, and fun. The best parts: MY WHOLE FAMILY WAS TOGETHER!, the weather was amazing, the cousins had a great time together. I love these kids, and my brothers and sisters. I wish they all lived next door, I'm very lucky to have them.

We spent most of the time at the lake skiing, tubing, wake boarding, wake skating, sand castle making, sun soaking, and at the cabin, hiking, four-wheeling, and adventuring. The adventure this year was a Ranger adventure. All of the kids proved themselves by trying out for the rangers. It may have been my favorite adventure yet. Liv found that she has a special gift to be a healer, and Gwen as a sharp shooting ranger. One of these pictures, was my favorite memory. Elise forgot to bring her cloak to the cabin, so Gwen shared hers with Elise. It was so cute to see the two little girls hiding under the same cloak. If don't know anything about the rangers, they have magic cloaks that allow them to hide without being detected in nature.... amazing!

I always say this, and I will say it again, there is nothing like being with family, it is definitely my favorite place to be. Love you guys!!!