Who are these cool cats?

Check these kids out.

A first grader, a seventh grader and a fifth grader! I think while I was busy feeding them, washing their clothes and worrying about them my kids have been growing up on me. They make me laugh, they make me cry, they make me proud and yes frustrated too. I hope I am giving them the things that they need to go out into the world and make it a better place than they found it. They sure make my world a better place, every day, even when I'm picking up dirty clothes off the bathroom floor, or spending the night at the emergency room because aforementioned 7th grader decided to try a back flip off the swings and landed hard enough on his back to create concern that perhaps he had broken ribs. (No broken ribs, all is well). Parenthood is an amazing gift and I'm so thankful that it is mine, thankful that I have Todd to share it with and thankful too that I have great parents and a sister who love my kids and have loved me so well.

Camping Adventure!

At the end of the summer, we inherited Todd's parents 1974 Prowler camper trailer. The kids were soo excited! We aren't experienced campers, and it took us all day to pack, but we finally hit the road at 4:30pm on Saturday night. We went to a nearby reservoir called Rockport and lucked into a spot! Zach caught a few fish, the girls swam and we played games and had a nice camp fire. We marveled at how many more stars we could see than at home. Gorgeous! Then we snuggled into our miniature home away from home for a cozy nights sleep. Our final summer adventure before back to school. Lauren said it was one of her favorite adventures of the whole summer.

Family Summer

Hiking with Grandma and Old Mike, check out those muscles on Grandma!!! Yoga is her secret!

Fish Lake, Idaho with Grandma and Grandpa Little and Brundage mountain top with Allumbaugh cousins.

Sara's Dock, Indianola Washington

Montana hiking

Rimini, Montana- Fishing

York Montana- Hiking with Grandma Dawn

This summer we had a fantastic opportunity to travel the Northwest and see all of our siblings and parents. We put a lot of miles on our new suburban as we travelled from Utah to Southern Idaho, then Montana, then Northern Idaho, then Eastern Washington, then Seattle, back to Montana and finally home to Utah. In each state we celebrated time with people love, we hiked, we swam, we read, we played and Zachary fished. We feel so lucky to have so many people to love and share our lives with.

Summer Time summer time sum sum summer time!

Arches 2008

Wow! Wow! Wow! We couldn't stop saying that on our recent weekend adventure to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks here in Utah. We did some pretty adventurous hiking and were surprised, amazed and impressed at every turn. If you haven't seen this amazing piece of creation, we have to take you there!

A visit with Aunt Sara

We were really missing Auntie Sara!! Luckily a 4 day weekend and some frequent flyer tickets came along just in time to make a Seattle adventure come true! Sara recently purchased a vacation home and we were so excited to check out her new digs and spend a few days hanging out together. The adventure began with a ferry ride from Seattle to Indianola, the site of Sara's fabulous home away from home. Claire had never ridden the ferry and Lauren was a baby the last time we did, so it was a super fun trip for us all! Lauren stood at the front of the boat and felt the wind in her face and absolutely LOVED it! Claire was nervous about how the whole thing was going to go down, but was so excited once we drove Auntie's car aboard and seemed to nearly have the ferry to ourselves. Zach spotted several fish and did a few hot laps around the deck. We had a great weekend exploring the beach, the extra long dock, the cute little town and the whole island. Zach surprised us all by catching a crab with... turkey jerky!?! Todd was the ultimate brother in law and did a bunch of handyman projects for Sara. The girls even got to help Auntie paint her bedroom. A super fun weekend that really makes us wish we lived closer to my sis.

First Day of School 2008

The first day of school arrived on August 18 for the Little family. With Zachary starting middle school, Claire starting all day kindergarten and Lauren moving into the ranks of 4th grade, I'm feeling a real transition in our lives. My babies are really growing into amazing people! I marvel at the intelligence, confidence and love that shines from each of our kids. Then I realize that who they are is because of the amazing friends, family and faith that surrounds them. God has truly blessed us.