A Day At Birch Lake

After Kelly's 60 hour work week, we decided we needed to do something REALLY fun.

We packed up a picnic, fishing gear, and the boys and went to

Birch Lake.

It is only about a 1 hour drive from our house, and it is

BEAUTIFUL!

Hunter was so patient to sit and wait for the fish.

(The fishing pole spent most of its time leaning on the chair while Hunter played)

Patience paid off, because he caught his first "rod and reel" fish

A 12 inch Rainbow Trout

He cleaned the fish with Dad

Hunter wanted to photodocument the fish heart

After a long hard day of fishing, the boys decided to get down to business

and PLaY!!!!

And then they snuggled because they were CoLd!!!

We also had fun chasing butterflies, playing frisbee, and football.

What a GREAT day!

Super Helper

(Hunter in Grandpa Joe's Boots, maybe with some chocolate on his face)

The other evening I was folding all the laundry from our trip to Idaho, and the week before we left. I think Hunter could sense that I was busy and trying to hurry and get everything put away before bedtime. He came to me and said, "Mom, I want to be you "Super Helper" what can I do to help you?" No joke, he said it just like that!

I was a bit surprised, by his kind offer, but with that I put him to work putting his clothes, Chance's clothes, and all the towels away. He just kept coming back for more jobs, he even helped sort and put the socks away. It was AWESOME!!!!

He is a great helper...in fact, he is a SUPER HELPER!

My Brother's Keeper

(Old picture, but so sweet!)

Last night, well morning 3:00 am Chancey woke up and wanted a drink. I went in to calm him down and then went to get a drink for him. I came back to the room with a little cup of water, he drank what he wanted and then said, "Hunter...drink? Hunter, drink?". Of course Hunter was sleeping soundly and didn't hear Chance's offer of a drink, but I thought it was so sweet of Chance to think of his brother.

Here's To A Great Man

This last week we lost Kelly's Dad, Lemar. It hurts to lose such a great and loving Grandpa McGee. We will miss him so much, but are thankful to know that we will see him again.

Hunter and Chance went to the viewing and funeral with us, and we think Hunter had a pretty good understanding of what was going on. We explained to Hunter that Grandpa's body would be buried in the ground, but that his spirit would go to heaven. The night of the viewing we pulled up to the funeral home and Hunter said, "Are we in heaven now?" Kelly and I smiled, laughed to ourselves, and then explained. He was so sweet about it and keeps reminding me that it is "so sad" that Grandpa McGee was sick and had to leave us.

Thanks to all for your love and support during such a hard time!

K. Lemar McGee 1948-2009

K. Lemar McGee, 61 of Meridian, passed away at home June 1, from cancer. He was born May 14, 1948 in Farmington, N.M. to Kelly and Donna McGee. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a mission in the Columbus, Ohio mission. He served his church in many capacities and especially enjoyed his callings serving the youth, and serving as a Bishop in a Boise State University Ward. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University in Accounting. Lemar had a successful career as a CPA for several firms and corporations, ending his career at CTI-SSI Food Services. He married Marianne Tibbitts, on May 27, 1972 in the Idaho Falls Temple. They were blessed with three children, Shawn of Meridian, Kelly (Tammy), Fairbanks, Alaska, and Lindsey (Michael) McLean of Spanish Fork, Utah. Lemar enjoyed spending time outdoors whether it was fishing, hunting, kayaking, four-wheeling, camping, or hiking. He is survived by his spouse, children, and grandchildren; Addisen, Avery, Hunter, Troy, Mackenzie, Chance, and Cody; and siblings, Janice (Ed) Helmick, Don (Debbie), Gordon (Barbara), Rick (Suzanne) McGee. Lemar is preceded in death by his parents, and his sister Beverly. The family will visit with friends at Relyea Funeral Chapel, 318 N Latah Boise, Friday June 5, from 6-8 p.m. and again Saturday June 6, from 8-8:45 a.m., preceding a 9 a.m. funeral at the Meridian South Stake Center, 6575 S. Eagle Road, followed by the interment at Meridian Cemetery.

What We Did On Our Summer Vacation

We had a great time on our summer vacation to Idaho. While it was short compared to the last couple of summers (we've stayed in ID anywhere from 3 months to 7 weeks) it was still fun and memorable for us.

We arrived in Boise around 4 pm on a Saturday and went straight to the McGee's. Sunday morning was Mother's Day and we did a brunch with Marianne, courtesy of Kelly and Uncle Shawn. Sunday evening we all went to Aunt Kimberly and Uncle Caleb's house for a nice Mother's Day dinner in honor of Lillian. Everyone had a fun time, but it was especially fun to watch the competitve family volleyball game going on in the backyard.

After dinner the boys and I loaded up with Grandpa Joe and Grandma to head out to Melba to stay for a few days. Kelly stayed to play volleyball a little longer and then went to his parents to spend quality time with his parents.

These are some of the things we did at Grandma and Grandpa Briner's house:

Uncle Andy let Hunter play a video game with him.

Hunter had a blast! Andy was patient!

Hunter helped plant and water the plants with Grandma.

Chance liked chasing and teasing the dog.

But isn't he cute?

Such a good helper

Hunter helped pick the nicest tulips for a bouquet

Then....the adventure begins!

We had four cousins, and uncle and a grandpa

on a "Bug Scout Adventure"

I had read on a favorite blog of mine about how to throw a "bug party" so we decided it would be fun to do one for the cousins. Unfortunately we missed several cousins being there due to conflicting schedules.

But we still had FUN!!!

Grandpa Joe was the fearless bug scout leader

What is it? What is it?

Aunt Kimberly found these great bug catchers and we put them to good use.

Uncle Andy helping out...he is such a good guy

Grandpa Joe even wore our official Bug Scout Hat

And look.....Hunter caught a giant nose :)

Bug Scouts 2009

Chance, Trenton, Hunter, Gavin

Fearless!

After the boys successfully returned from their adventure we had lunch which consisted of:

Ants on a log, strawberry lady bugs,

Bug Bites Graham Cracker cookies, and chips with spiders crawling all over them,

we even had

Tasty Blue Bug Juice which is made of bug guts!!

And for the main course we had wormy hot dogs!

(Hot Dogs shaped like worms, with a little face)

After lunch was done, each of the boys got to create their own bug.

Grandma Lillian presented each of them an award based on their creativity.

I think Uncle Andy got craziest eyes for two reasons.

(no his eyes aren't normally crossed)

Chancey's picture was drawn for him courtesy of Gavin.

Good Lady bug Trenton!

The proud artist

The bug party was fun for everyone, and definitely a fun memory for these boys to keep with them.

We hung out a little more with G&G Briner, watched movies, flew kites, jumped on the trampoline, and just had a good time, but it was definitely too short.


Wednesday afternoon we went back to the McGee's and here are a few of the things we did while we were there:

Practiced riding the lawn mower

(Chance couldn't get enough of this thing!)

Then we REALLY mowed the lawn and rotated turns on Dad's lap

Chance

Hunter

We celebrated Grandpa McGee's 61st birthday with a

Divinely Delicious German Chocolate Cake made from scratch.

The boys gave Grandpa a Little Critter book, "Just Grandpa and Me"

Gee Gee did a lot of reading and a lot of playing with two of her favorite boys.

She took Hunter on a picnic, she threw rocks into the stream with them, picked strawberries, played baseball, watched them swim, and kept their tummies full.

What would a trip to Idaho be without a ride on Great Grandpa West's merry-go round?

(This is a merry go round that my Grandparents have had for a zillion years, right now it is in a less colorful mode than it was in my growing up years. It has been dug up and moved to three different houses!)

The boys love to ride and want to go "faster, faster"!

Sweet Grandpa West, still works like he's 30!

I LOVE THIS MAN!

We also made a quick jaunt to Idaho Falls to visit Kelly's favorite Granny T.

She is always so sweet to our boys. They look forward to looking through her bucket of toys and playing in her front yard. Chancey even decided to pick a tulip (bulb included) out of her yard.
Granny T. is 86

Well, our trip to Idaho was so much fun and it wore these guys right out!

I also have to mention that we went "camping" in Gee Gee's back yard. All four of us in a tent that Kelly made super duper comfortable. We slept well after Chance got over the fact that there were bears outside that were going to eat us. It was pretty funny!

Thanks to everyone for making a fun trip for us.

Some fun family videos

This video clip is pretty funny. Chance isn't even 2 years old yet, but he LOVES hockey. I never played hockey. We have taken him to a couple of games and he sees some hockey practices at the Big dipper Ice arena where Tammy goes to walk. A couple of our better friends, Doug and Janna Kemper play hockey but, unfortunately, we don't see them hardly ever cause they live in Anchorage. So we don't know where he gets this undying devotion to hockey. A couple of nights ago we had put the boys to bed and about an hour later, Chance starts just bawling for no reason. Upon investigation, I unveil the source of his heartache..............

Hunter is a singer. Here is his version of Oh Suzanna! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Take me out to the ballgame!

The Four Magic Words

My little Chance is a pretty special guy. He is really something else, and maybe someday I will really be able to figure him out. But, for now I know what makes him happy.

HAtS
Chance LOVES hats!!! Whether it be broncos (BSU or DENVER), Dodgers, Silvercreek Outfitters, Army Helmet, or Knight Helmet he DOESN'T care. He just wants a hat to put on his head at all times.

HOCKEY !!!!!

This little guy can't get enough hockey. Honestly I don't know where his love for hockey came from. We have only taken him to one or two games and we don't watch it on television. However, we go walking at the Big Dipper Ice Arena and there will occasionally be teams practicing. We don't usually stop and watch, but he has seen them enough to know what he is talking about.

So, this is what he does....he finds a frisbee and puts it under one foot (that is his ice skate), he gets this plastic sword (for his hockey stick), he gets a little ball (puck) and he puts on the army helmet or the knight helmet and of course that is his helmet. He knows the words, and he knows what the hockey players do. It is absolutely HILARIOUS! My favorite is when he runs around the house yelling Puck, Puck, Puck, Puck til he finds the ball he is looking for.

Bubblegum

Chance wants a piece of gum in his mouth at all times! It doesn't matter where we are (church), if he realizes that he doesn't have gum in his mouth he will start chanting, Gum! Gum! Gum! Gum! Last week at church the girls in the row behind us opened a package of gum and started chewing. Chance of course knew exactly what was going on and immediately started in on his chant. I didn't have any, but he begged some off of the girls :)

And YES he is actually pretty good about not swallowing it, but he has figured out that it is kind of fun to stretch it in and out of his mouth.

Last but not least....BooTS!

In Chance's world boots and shoes are interchangeable words. He likes to wear them in the house, even though we don't wear shoes in our house. He will go to great distances to find some "Boots" to wear and to get them on his feet.

Lately his habits have made great messes. We have been in the middle of break-up which is where all the snow and ice melt and it becomes very muddy. So, as you can imagine when the mud becomes dirt and Chance puts a pair of boots on.....my house becomes DIRTY, literally.


Chance is a fun boy, that keeps us busy but also entertained. We are glad to have him in our home. And I am so HAPPY to know these four magical words that make him HAPPY!!