Birthday Week Celebration

We got a lat minute invite to lava hot springs with some friends. So we got the kids from school, packed up the car and headed to Idaho for the night.

There was a bubble blowing contests in the car on the way up. Kyle won.

We didn't waste any time getting in the water. We unpacked the cars and headed to the pool.

The pool was like a big hot tub heated by the natural hot springs. This was a huge plus because the river water was freezing.

I thought they were joking when they said they were going to throw the tubes on top of the car, but they were not and of all the trips they took not one fell off.

They would float down the river and get out right by the house we rented. Then they would all run and jump in the big hot tub pool.

We got home from Lava Hot Springs Saturday evening and then on Monday we headed up to the Cabin for Labor Day. Dayton drove around in the 4-wheeler with his cousins and took his first lesson in driving the Razor. 

Dayton does not like cake so I made him an ice cream sandwich cake and we all sang to him. 

He got his present from Papa and Nana a little early and of course didn't wait to open it.

The whole family took me out to Black Bear Diner for my birthday dinner.

It is official, he is a teenager. I just can't believe it.

As soon as he got home from school we had to hurry to open presents and blow out the candles on his cake so he could get to his baseball game.

He finally got a headset so he can talk to his friends while they play video games.

The poor kid did not even get to eat his cake till almost 10:00 that night after his double header. It is a chocolate oreo mint chip ice cream cake.

And here we are at his games. They did win both so that was good.

His best buddy Kane did not want to be left out of the photo shoot. He is always ready with a pose.

The kings are too nice. They got Dayton and Oregon hat.

Finally get to go out for his birthday dinner. He chose Tucanos Brazilian Grill in Salt Lake.

He was a good sport to play along after telling us over and over that he did not want to be sung to. I was just happy it was not me.  

They had all these really cool big kid toys out in the courtyard. And then when it got dark they all lit up. It was really fun. 

I should have known better then to think we could get a nice picture. At least he smiled nice in one of them, the others were more like this...

Soccer Star

Camrie has been asking to play soccer so we finally got her on a team. I was not sure how she would do or if she would like it but so far so good.

They take turns playing all the positions. Here is Camrie being the goalie. She is lucky to have a Dad who is helping give her some pointers. Her favorite position to play is mid-field.

Basement Start to Finish

After months and even years of talking about it we finally started the huge project of finishing the basement. It was no small project to move all the stuff that was down there somewhere out of the way of the workers and it was terrible not having a basement the entire summer, but now that is it done we love it.

I did not take many pictures but here is the beginning getting it all framed.
Then we had all the HVAC, then electrical, plumbing, and a bunch of other things that had to happen until we could paint.

Then it was our turn to do some work. Kyle and I and a few kids primed and painted the whole basement. It was so much work I don't know when I will paint anything ever again.

 

The ceilings were rough on the necks and quite messy.

Taryn tackling the closet. Some how they ended up with more paint on them then the walls, but it was a first coat so it was okay.

The bathroom was a huge job all by itself. Kyle and a friend did almost all the work. This was a big project getting all the tile in.

Getting closer. It seemed like a never ending job, but finally it was all painted.

There was only one thing left to do before we were ready for doors and carpet. The closets needed shelves.

We could not find someone who could come get them done asap so we reluctantly tackled them ourselves. We had some help with directions and tools, but I have never done a project this big.

We needed them in the girls bedroom closets and in the playroom closets.

We did it and they turned out better then I thought so it was a success.

 

Finally we are all done.

Taryn's new room.

 Camrie's new room.

The bathroom.

The main room. (Family room/ playroom).