4 Fishes...

We took off on a whim last Saturday to a Reservoir a few miles from town.
As you can see by the smiles the kids had a blast and the parents did too.
Sunday Dinner was, what else but, smelly fish!!!...on the barbeque thankfully!

School Begins...

Oregon Coast

Kirsten and I went on a trip in celebration of her taking the Bar and starting her new job in Las Vegas.

We walked more than a few beaches. Ate numerous bowls of clam chowder and fresh fish














We climbed many a lighthouse.

















Even went deep sea fishing and caught our limit (without any male supervision- except for the captain)


















It was cold even in August!!! Luckily for us, some very stylish sweatshirts were on sale at the local Walmart!!!

Lost Lake is Found!!!

We were finally able to get up to the mountains last week for a camp out.

Since we are new to the area we took a chance packing up the whole family (Scooter and Gin included) and drove until Lost Lake was became Found Lake(so the kids say).

We found a beautiful meadow to set up camp just a little ways from the creek.

We had a great time fishing and wading in the COLD water

Our second morning there we woke up to rain! It soon cleared up and we were able to go for a ride up the mountain for a little exploring.

The sky soon grew dark again so we got cozy around the fire and roasted marshmellows again!

Eventually the rain started again and we ended up the tent. It drenched us!! The our tent leaked and soaked our bedding. We packed up and came home a day early. Oh well, the time we had was great!

July Memories

Here our kids; Kayd, Rhett, and Shae show off the fruits of their labor...Our neighbor is paying them for every gopher they catch. They were so excited to find their traps full the first day. Of course, Shaun wasn't around to give a lesson in tail and trap removal, so guess who got to give that one!!!
This was at the beginning of Weiser's 4th of July Parade. I've seriously seen longer parades in Tropic!
Emri was amazed by the fireworks. She oohed and ahhed at everyone.
She also discovered the reason olives have a hole in them!
Shae is becoming quite the tomboy all of a sudden. She has taken up shooting BB guns, gopher trapping, bug squishing, etc. etc.













This is how we are all feeling after running and playing so hard. Too bad no one else has a driver's license!!!

Family - Something to Think about during Summer Vacation

I ran into a stranger as he passed by, 'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.
He said, 'Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you.'
We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told, How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal, My son stood beside me very still..
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. 'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.. I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said,
'While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor, You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'
By this time, I felt very small, And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed; 'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said.
'Are these the flowers you picked for me?' He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'
I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.' He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway.'
I said, 'Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.'
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.
And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?

Just a thought from an email that got me thinking.. (thanks Steph)

Change of Address..

By the way we sold our house before we left for Delta. We moved into a rental just down the road.

Family Reunion

We spent the weekend of June 20-22 at the Shakespear Reunion at my Grandma Wood's cabin at Sherwood Shores in Delta, Utah. We swam, boated, ate good food, visited, and laughed. The girls even got a chance to suntan in the middle of the lake.

Reunion 2008

June 20-22 was the Shakespear Reunion held at Sherwood Shores in Delta, Utah.

It was held at my Grandma Woods cabin by the shore of the reservoir. We played hard and enjoyed catching up with with cousins, brothers, sisters, mom's, and dad's. Everyone enjoyed the water...even Shaun who is not exactly a water lover. There were amazing talents shown at the annual talent show. We gave our rap rendition of Popcorn Popping. The "mom's" took a moment during the day to float out on rafts away from the kids and work on suntans. My white legs have not seen the sunlight for far too long...I came home with sunburn. Oh well

Under Construction

Here is a picture of our house. We just finished it and moved in April. It's a beautiful house, but there is still so much to do. As you can see the yard was barren, now with all the rain we've had up here in Idaho the weeds are greening things right up . We started a new project working on the bonus room above the garage. What a mess! There is insulation and sheet rock dust on everything!!!

Summer Time --Here WE COME!!!

May is almost over!!! School is out next week for us! We are working on a list of things we want to do with our time....
1. go camping at least 2 times
2. go fishing 3 or 4 times
3. go to the library often
X4. go swimming once a week
X5. go to the Family Reunion in Delta
6. read alot of books
X7. ride bikes
X8. move to our rental
X9. take care of our garden
10. play with playdough
X11. make mud pies
12. take walks
X13. lay in the grass
14. eat lots of corn on the cob
15. eat lots of fresh peas and carrots
16. play soccer
17. roast marshmallows
18. go mountain lion hunting
19. go to a rodeo
X20. get a new trampoline

Keeping up with the Shakespear's

Hello,

Yes, we finally decided it was time to join in on the blog fun. We have moved into our new house and are trying to get into 'life as usual'. Shaun started a new job for Youngberg Heating & Cooling as a salesman. He is in St. Louis, Missouri this week being trained. The rest of us are enjoying spring. It has finally warmed up, the 'popcorn is popping on the trees', and we have the bug to be outside.