My Carlee Girl

My sweet Carlee Girl is growing up so fast and into such a beautiful young women. She has so many talents and she is so smart. We are so proud of her. Life is not always easy for her, but so continues through it with a great attitude. She has a sweet spirit about her and a strong testimony of the gospel. She loves activity days and is always there supporting her brother and sister in whatever they do. We love you Carlee.

Corn Maze Corny

Activity Days

Soccer Camp

Laney began her soccer camp with the YMCA. She learned a lot and did a lot of trash talking. She had a great time and loved that it was her turn to be watched and cheered for. Laney got right out there and jumped right into all the drills and games. We are so proud of her.

Always stretch before playing

Football

Parker's football team is in full swing. It has been beautiful fall weather for all his games. He is playing quarterback this year and loving it. It has taught him to be a great leader and we love that. He has some great friends and they are all learning the game of football. He is even enjoying watching football on TV. He loves BSU and hopes to play there someday. He says this about every sport he plays. Go get'em Parker. He is a great kid.

Team taking a knee while someone is hurt. Parker on the right end.

On The Blue Turf #24

Play developing

Back At It

So school has been in full swing for about 6 weeks and everyone is loving it. My kids all like school and they have great teachers that make it great for them. All the fall activities have started too. Football is almost over without a W in the Winner's column - oh well - and Laney's soccer camp came to a close this past Saturday. All in all everyone has had a good time with only one trip by ambulance to the emergency room for a neck injury. All was fine on that trip except for the cost. Yuck!!!!!!

Preschool

Jersey after BSU's win over Virginia Tech

4th Grade

5th Grade

Bracelets Off

By mid August Carlee, was scheduled to get her braces off. The first phase is done. Yeah!! And her teeth look great. We got to be pretty tight with Dr. Hess and Kristi since we were in for broken metal quite often. They both were so patient with Carlee. We love Kristi and Dr. Hess. Now a break until Carlee is 12 and another $4,000.00.

Utah Basketball

At the beginning of August Parker was able to attend the University of Utah Basketball camp with his Uncle Mike and Cousin Jordan. It was his first time away from home without his mom or dad. He did so great and really grew that week. He slept in the dorms, ate in the cafeteria, played fooze ball with a lot of basketball mixed in. He was tired when I arrived on Wednesday night. He just fell into my arms though he stayed cool around the guys. Thursday was final games and awards. He received the Mr. Defense award for his age group. Quite an accomplishment. After camp we shopped a little and had lunch. He slept from Ogden to Boise and all Thursday night. He was pooped, but can't wait to go next year. Not used to all the red. Especially when I am a BYU Fan!!!

Olson Reunion

So at the end of July we did the 1st Annual Olson Reunion. Just Ray's immediate family. All the cousins had so much fun together. The men golfed, the women did manicures and the kids played games, slept over, water games, bounce house and played at the park. We also did family pictures. We all can't wait to do it again. I enjoyed visiting and getting to know all my in-laws a little bit better. My nephew Junior said it was the best ever!! I agree Junior!!

All the boys. Ray and I are the only family with girls. 8 Boys and only 2 Girls.

All the cousins!!

Tweet Tweet Here Birdy Birdy Birdy!!

Parker and his buddy Andrew were walking home from the park one day and found this baby bird on the ground and brought it home. We think it had fallen out of its nest and was a little to small yet to fly. It was up in Parker's room for awhile before he told me about the bird. They had feed it some sunflower seeds. Parker had so many packages of seeds left over from baseball season in his room. They had taken good care of the little thing and wanted to do more. Since I had had an experience with a squirrel rescue some years back with Parker and Jordan, I knew what to do with this bird. We called a local bird rescue service and took the little thing to them. It is amazing to me that there are people who give up their time to take care of many different kinds of animals that would once go uncared for. The boys were happy and glad they had rescued this bird. They did a good job and are very sweet boys. Then off we went for a treat.

A Short Hike

The last couple of summers we have done some hiking and the kids have really enjoyed it. This morning before it got to hot, we headed up to our local foothills and did a short hike. We were above the Old Penitentiary off Warm Springs Avenue. It was fun to see the whole city of Boise. Parker's comment was now I know why they call Boise The City Of Trees. We haven't had a very hot summer so all the trees still look so green and beautiful. Parker also caught a grasshopper while Carlee was our leader. We made great progress today with Laney not complaining the whole way. A great success there. Afterwards we looked around The Old Penitentiary. I explained to them that it was a working prison when I was a kid and many times we would hear on the evening news or car radio that someone had escaped. As a kid it never seemed to bother me though I can't say the same for my mother and my cousin Debbie. Mom and Debbie always thought for sure they were headed across the river and on their way to our house on Monta Vista Drive. One night my dad and I decided to scare them after we had heard about an escapee. Mom and Debbie were out for an evening jog, so my dad and I jumped out from behind a parked truck in front of our house and scared them real good. All they could do was stand in the middle of road hugging each other and jump up and down while screaming at the top of their lungs. My kids love to hear that story. Now they have seen the actual prison of how that story came about. We had a fun time.

Swimming Lessons

The girls just finished swimming lessons from our friend Pat at Pat's Pool. We have taken lessons from her since Parker was 2 years old. The girls had a blast. They both love the water and are little water bugs. I can't get them out of the pool when lessons are over. I love to swim too. Here they are doing what they do best. Swim!!!

Happy Birthday Parker!!!

I can't believe my boy is 11 years old. He is growing up so fast. He is a great kid with such a fun personality. I call him my All American Boy. He is talented in so many areas. It will be fun to watch him continue to grow and to see all the wonderful things he chooses. We had a great party to celebrate. We rented a water jumpy slid and they slide for 5 hours straight. They loved it. Parker said it was the best birthday ever. He says that every year, so we much be doing something right. Love you son and Happy Happy Birthday.

Happy 4th Of July