Red Fish Lake

A few weeks ago we went to Red Fish Lake for a Pearce family reunion. In an attempt to avoid freezing this year like we did last year, we rented a trailer with my parents. The trailer turned out to be a good idea as far as the keeping warm part was concerned (the temperature dipped down into the twenties one night), but not so good for the members of the family who are over 6 feet tall, and did not even come remotely close to fitting comfortably on the queen bed. Just a note for all of those who do not know a lot about trailers (that would be me until recently) a queen bed in a trailer is not the same as a normal queen. But besides my Dad and Nate everyone else slept fine. We had a fun trip. I feel like I hardly saw Carson, because he was having so much fun running around with his cousins, and because I had to spend quite a bit of my time on the trip soothing a sick and teething baby. Lincoln really was good considering the circumstances, but I must admit having him in arms for almost 3 days straight did get a wee bit tiring. We had a great time doing normal camping things fishing, hiking, kayaking, swimming, and hanging out with the fam. Of course all good things have to come to an end, and did they ever. On our way out of Stanley my parent’s truck broke down. Now I won’t go into any of the dirty details but it took many, many, hours for us to get a tow and get both truck and trailer to Boise. I really shouldn’t complain because Nate, my Dad, and my Uncle Drew ultimately had to do the bulk of the waiting as all the women went home with the kids, but it was quite an ordeal nonetheless. I am actually really grateful that we broke down right outside of Stanley and not when we were going down one of the treacherous mountain roads, which could have resulted in a terrible tragedy. Anyway, to end on a lighter note we really did have a great time; and we really love the Red Fish Lake area the scenery is pretty and there is a ton of stuff to do there. So, despite the few little kinks we encountered we will definitely be going back next year.

This pic cracks me up both Nate and Carson have the exact same expression on their faces. The expression says Ohhh Fish!

Ahh the joy of the catch
Carson and Duncan trying out kayaking

Playing at the lake

Carson and Heather after the wind changed and they inhaled A LOT of smoke. I know that's sad but the picture is funny to me.

Nate and the Lincster hanging out at the campfire

FHE

For FHE the other day we practiced hitting a baseball (I know, not terribly spiritual). I love Carson to death but he is just not a natural when it comes to hitting a ball. It is not acceptable to us to have a son who can't at least hit a ball properly. So Nate tried to show him the ropes. Now I don't know about other people's three-year-olds, but it is quite the task to show Carson how to do anything. He is completly averse to any kind of instruction. So after much negotiation Nate finally got Carson to hold the bat properly and he got some good hits in.

Positioned
The Swing
The smile after a successful hit
Lincoln was more intrested in the grass than baseball, but we still have time to work on him

Well, sadly, one of our favorite summer spots (Roaring Springs) is cutting back their hours in preparation for the beginning of the school year. It's a sure sign that summer is coming to a close. Carson made some progress this year at Roaring Springs like being able to go down the yellow slide without screaming in terror and being able to get his face wet without having a mini breakdown. Ok, so he's no Michael Phelps but he's baby stepping his way to be a swimming machine. Lincoln also got so he liked the water, only in short increments, but mostly would just splash around for little bit. But to be fair, most of the time Lincoln was in the snuggli or eating cheerios on a beach chair. Although Nate and I spent most of our time at Roaring Springs in the kiddie pool, we still loved the time being outdoors with our family enjoying the summer.

The boys splashing around

The Guys hanging out

Carson showing off his "getting his face wet" skills

Climbing around

Lincoln being cute

A visit from Grandma & Grandpa Holland

We were very lucky to have Nate’s mom Kathy and her husband Joe visiting us this weekend. In honor of their visit we decided to try out the local summer tradition of floating the Boise River. Although I have no photographic evidence of our trip to prove it we had a blast! The Boise river float was the perfect combination of relaxation and excitement, there was just enough calm water to be relaxing and enough fast places and obstacle to keep you on your toes. Of course my opinion on this matter may differ from slightly from everyone else’s since I was the only one who finished the float without being walloped by any trees (Nate, Kathy, and Joe had some wicked welts at the end of the float). While our guests were here we also managed to squeeze in a little fishing. At our fishing spot we noticed that there was an abundance of minnows and very few big fish, lucky for us size isn’t that important to Carson when it comes to fishing. Nate discovered after fishing for a little while that he could easily snag some of these little fish by putting about ¼ a worm on a hook and yanking it. By this not very sporting method of fishing Nate was able to hook about 4-5 fish for Carson to reel in and over all it was a very successful little outing.

Carson helping Nate get the worm

Carson showing the worm that is about to be sacrificed to the fish Gods

Carson casting (He surprised us and actually had a couple of good casts)

Lincoln amusing himself by going through the diaper bag and by playing with grass.

The adoring Grandparents

Carson checking out the fish

The 4th

We went to Rexburg for the fourth of July, and had a great time. Our 4th of July weekend included the Rexburg 4th of July parade. It was a little boring for me but Carson loved it because there were tons of tractors, race cars, and candy. Other highlights of the trip were hiking, feeding the horses, and hanging out with family.

Carson and Lincoln looking patriotic

Carson showing off some of his spoils at the parade

Carson enjoying the parade

The girls hanging out

At the top of the Cress Creek trail

Nate urging Carson along

Carson feeding the horses

Carsons Birthday

Monday was Carson’s birthday. At the risk of sounding like my mother, I can’t believe my baby is growing up so fast (seriously my mom said that to me every birthday I can remember). I must say that before I had Carson I had a lot of anxiety about being a mother and how I would like being a stay-at-home mom (after all, I wasn’t one who ever really enjoyed babysitting). But now that I have been a full time mom for three years I can honestly say that I love it and feel so privileged to spend my days taking care of my little boys. I am so glad I have been there for the last three years of Carson’s life. Anyways, enough sentimental stuff. For those of you who don’t know, Carson is obsessed with trains, so I attempted to make him a train cake. While the cake may not meet Martha Stewart’s standards, I still think it turned out pretty cute and Carson was VERY excited about it. Carson loved all his gifts. After Carson opened almost every present he would declare what the gift was fire engine, train etc. and then say “that’s so silly,” pretty sure that within this context silly is synonymous with cool or awesome. You probably had to be there to fully appreciate it but the opening of gifts was fairly hilarious. Over all it was an excellent birthday andCarson had a great time.

My baby 2 months

Carson just shy of 3 years

The cake

Blowing out the candles

Carsons first ride on his new bike.

Lincoln: 6 months with attitude

Lincoln is six months old! The time has gone by so fast and he is changing so much. Today he army crawled about three feet. I'm afraid the days where I could place him in one spot and he would be there when I got back may be quickly coming to an end.