FUN AND SUN IN HAWAII with the girls and Nana

For the first week of February, we took the girls and Paul's mom to Hawaii for a week. We stayed on Maui and it was the first time for the girls and Paul's mom. It was so fun watching the girls get comfortable in the water with their snorkels and fins and seeing the fish. I really thought once they saw the whales out in the ocean, they might think twice about swimming in it but they didn't seem to have any fear of that. We also had to spend some time shopping, what would a vacation be without it !!
Here we are getting ready for Paul's mom to take a picture of us and....

WHAM !!! big wave comes and almost knocks us over. Funny how the girls don't seem affected by it... could it be that they're already used to the temperature?



Just waking up...
whale watching off the deck of our condo.

The famous "Black Rock" where we went snorkeling.The girls and Nana head back to Idaho... gonna miss them.

Happy Birthday Ashley

For Ashley's 8th birthday, she wanted her friend Grace to spend the night so we bought a couple of craft kits and the girls had a blast "creating their masterpieces"

Nicole and her friend, Berlyn.


Ashley and Grace dancing with their glow bracelets... who knew you could have so much fun for $1 ??

Welcome Baby Mason!!!

We welcomed our newest nephew into the world on January 14th. He's a beautiful little boy and already surrounded by love.






We celebrated Ashley's birthday with Muffin, Keith, Miles, Nana and Mimi while we were visiting baby Mason.

She's Wild !!

What is quickly becoming an annual tradition for us is to go to the Lewiston Roundup with Chris and Jill, Jacob and Madeline Wuthrich. This year we ran into friends, the Konens and had a blast watching the bull riding (our favorite).

Labor day rafting

For the second year - we went down to Riggins with our friends, the Leachs, and rafted the Salmon River. We were a little more adventurous this year and actually went through Time Zone rapid. Everyone LOVED it and wanted to do it again... and again... and again. We had to stop though to allow for time to return to Moscow and reality, but not before we stopped at the fruit stand on the way home and picked up a BUNCH of peaches that I decided I would try to can (from memory of when I was little) uh oh!!! Fortunately, it worked out and they're delicious.


Getting started for the day
A Chukar photo shoot. Notice how he turns his head into the wind to show off his handsome profile!!



Picking blackberries on the side of the road.

It's always fun to show off the hands


The bear that we saw (he was actually quite close)


Our beautiful scenic hike


For those of you who like to see a little action.

School starts !!!

As usual, the summer went too fast and the first day of school attacked us when we weren't looking. The first day was quite cold (and raining) so Ashley decided that she'd like a "first day of school" picture the next day as well, when it wasn't so cloudy and cold. They are both very happy with their classes and their teachers.



Ashley and her friend, Grace.


Nicole and her friend, Berlyn. (notice the coats)

The second day of school (quite a bit warmer)

Our last trip for the year

We flew ourselves down to Pocatello where we met up with our friends Ryan & Trissa then drove with them to the Wind River range in Wyoming.  We spent the weekend hiking, canoeing, fly fishing and roasting marshmallows.

Ryan and Trissa's girls Ellie, Claire and Meg