Two 3-year-olds!--August 11th

Well, every birthday is exciting, but it's not everyday that you get two 3-year-olds! On the morning of his birthday Andrew woke us up by yelling, "I got a new bike!" He wasn't really interested in anything else. He just jumped on his Lightning McQueen bike and cruised around the house.

Emily got a princess bike too, which she loves, but she wasn't quite as anxious to jump on it. We finally convinced Andrew to hop off and open some other presents. Notice that he kept his helmet on!

Sarah and Savannah were excited about the new bikes too!

We were lucky to get to spend the twins' birthday with Grandpa Fred and Grandma Jane and Aunt Amy, Mary, and Abby who came all the way to Boise to visit. We had a fun party that night at our house. Andrew and Emily both (luckily!) wanted spaghetti for dinner. Then after dinner we swam and had cake and ice cream.

Andrew was so excited to have a "white Spiderman cake". He even got a shirt to match his cake!

Emily wanted a "chocolate princess cake".

We ate cake by the pool and enjoyed the beautiful August weather.

The bikes have continued to be a big hit. Both kids cruise around our driveway like pros. It's really fun to watch them chase each other. What an amazing (and exhausting!) three years we've had! It's great to have Emily and Andrew to this point and to see them continue to grow and develop so well. They are truly wonderful blessings to our family!

Camping at Palisades--July 30-August 1

Well, we finally decided that we were ready for a camping trip! We haven't been camping since Emily and Andrew were born, and we decided that we could handle it this year. So, we loaded up the tent trailer and went to Grandpa Dave and Grandma Diane's house. They are our camping hook-up! We all headed up to Palisades reservoir and found a great camping spot.

It really was a beautiful place. The weather was perfect, and the bugs weren't even that bad! (Chad may disagree with that!)

On Friday we loaded up the boat and went out on the lake. The kids were so excited!

We stopped along the shore and Chad and Phillip got out to put down the anchor. Unfortunately, they ended up knee-deep in mud! Deep down they were loving it.

Emily and Andrew had a great time helping Grandpa Dave drive the boat.

The water was a little bit choppy, but we all enjoyed the sun and the lake.

When we went back to the campsite Andrew and Emily had fun playing ball. They ran and chased and burned a lot of energy.

Of course, there were card games going on. What else would you expect at a Risenmay gathering?

The kids enjoyed making s'mores over the campfire.

On Saturday we went out on the lake again. The water was a lot calmer, and we stayed on the water longer.







Phillip, Ben, Sarah and Savannah even ventured into the water.

It was an all-around great trip! Who knows, we may even dare try out camping again next year!

Sun Valley??? Vacation July 23-26

This year Chad's parents had planned a trip to Sun Valley for the whole family. They rented 2 condos, and we were all looking forward to biking, hiking, and relaxing in Sun Valley. Unfortunately, on the day that we arrived we found that the company that they had made the reservations through had gone under, and we had no condos! There were none available that were reasonably priced, so we were out of luck.

It was time to make lemonade out of lemons, so we got a motel for the night, and the kids enjoyed the pool.

We spent the next day in Sun Valley. We had a picnic, flew kites, and went ice skating. It was Savannah's first time ice skating, and she did a great job!

It was Sarah's 3rd time ice skating, so she was already a pro.

Emily and Andrew watched from the side with Grandma and Grandpa.
The kids had such a great time playing with their cousins!

Emily and Anna

Sarah, Jake, Emily, Anna, and Savannah

The whole gang in Sun Valley.

Anna, Andrew, Jake, Sarah, Savannah, and Emily on the bridge.

Later that day most of the group headed back to our home in Eagle, and we spent the rest of the weekend there. It actually turned out to be a wonderful weekend! On Saturday we floated the Boise river.
It was a gorgeous day, and a perfect time to spend on the water. When we were done we had a picnic in the park. After that we were pretty much wiped out, so we went back to the house. Other highlights of the weekend included a major waterfight, some serious swimming (including walrus balancing), and a wicked game of spoons. It was great to spend time with the family!