Let Freedom Ring!

I'll give you one guess as to where we went for 4th of July...

 Pronghorn baby! And we lived it up. We played hard and worked out hard, I ran/worked out every morning we were there and we went to the pool every afternoon. We did paddle boarding, shopping, and just had such a blast.

On our morning run

 Shopping at Old Mill is always on my list, the girls get bored but they are compensated for their patience with a trip to Sweet Tooth where they get to pick out a treat.

Family picnic after paddle boarding

 Since Brian and I had so much fun paddle boarding for my birthday we decided to take the girls and I'm so glad we did. They loved it. We each had a girl on the front of our boards and it went well. Eventually both girls hopped on Brian's and then Bria wanted to try paddling...she did awesome and is now hooked and wants more :)

My girls are always picking me flowers and I don't want to forget how sweet it is

 The pool in Pronghorn is so nice and not crowded at all so it's such a relaxing place. The girls swim for hours and we get to lay back and chill.

 On the actual 4th we went into Bend for breakfast at the Original Pancake house which is quickly becoming a tradition when we visit Pronghorn. The kids floored us by eating an insane amount of pancakes and then we did a little more shopping at Old Mill and walked around outside.

Our patriotic cuties!

 After we got home we took the kids swimming and then it was time to go to dinner. Us adults were beyond exhausted, you know you're old when this is what you do before going to dinner...

Red Bull shots...no alcohol, literally just caffeine to stay awake during dinner

 We all stayed awake fortunately and after our delicious meal we took a walk on the beautiful golf course.

Oh jeez, the teen years should be fun

Family photo

We love Pronghorn!

Love these cuties

 After putting the kiddos to bed we enjoyed our new favorite game, Bounce Off...

Intense stuff right here

 As always, we had so much fun and almost zero energy left by the time we got home. Bria never seems to fall asleep but Reese always does...

Until next time Pronghorn!

29 + 4

I had my birthday. It was my 33rd. Not a big milestone or anything, but I decided to use it as an excuse to do something fun with loved ones. 

I wanted to try stand up paddle boarding and Hood River is a great place for that. So I told Brian and he extended the invite...of course I wanted everyone to come but I also knew that realistically it was going to be tough. It's a long drive, people have kids, and summer schedules are busy. 

But I was shocked when so many people could make it and truly in awe. Grateful doesn't begin to describe how I felt. I LOVED that people were willing to come out and just have a blast...and we did just that!

Attendees:

Kyle and Jenny

Lance and Kayla

Randi and Scott

Dusty and Amanda

Craig Tate

Itinerary:

SUP (Stand Up Paddle board)

Brewery for late lunch/early dinner

We all met up at the park and got ready for our big day...

Kyle had his favorite accessory...his beer belt haha!

My girls! love them all!

The handsome gentlemen

The Holcrew! See what I did there?

 SUP'ing was a blast and everyone did great. We didn't have an agenda and some of us had never done it before so we just paddled around. Once we all got comfortable we had to try yoga on our boards (thanks for the idea Jenny :) because, I mean, that's normal right?
Well probably not but we are not a normal group and that's why we are fun. Kayla and Brian both nailed a headstand and impressed us all. Brian was squirting everyone so Kyle saved the day and tackled Brian in the water. Overall, we just had a blast and I was in heaven.
We were all getting hungry so we headed to Full Sail to enjoy some food and beverages.

Love him

Getting our food on

It was such a fun day and I seriously can't begin to thank everyone enough for coming out. I loved being able to try something new with some awesome people. Feeling very blessed!

Rarely home

Last summer I remember having a hard time with going a little stir crazy in the house. This summer I tried to make enough plans to keep us busy, but not overwhelm us. So far I'm feeling pretty good, hopefully that continues. 

The girls have gymnastics once a week and it's nice for them to have something to do, but this will be our last Parks & Rec gymnastics class, it's just a little bit of a crap show and needs more structure. Just being honest. 

But these matching gymnastics outfits are fabulous

 Brian had some traveling so the girls and I headed down to Albany for some much needed family time.

Attempting to teach Ames to scooter

 I cannot get enough of my nieces and nephews. While the Jensen kids might be older so I don't hold them and sing to them (I would if they let me though haha!) I absolutely love talking with them and just watching them get older and mature. They are the kindest and most thoughtful kids ever and I truly enjoy being with them.
It goes without saying that my love for babies is borderline weird, but I can't help it. I NEED babies in my life (not my own people, that ship has sailed).

Zoey getting way too big!

 So yeah, I smother the littles so much that they are probably relieved when I finally leave. And Bria is following in my foot steps because she can't leave them be either.

Selfie with Ames

Big girl walking!

 Aside from my obsession with babies, I adore watching Reese and Jax play. They are seriously hysterical and awesome together. Also, they are way too mischievous when left alone for 5 minutes...seriously, these two UNLOADED Jenny's holiday closet and it looked like ChristmasEasterHalloweenThanksgivingFourthofJuly exploded all over. I was speechless. But gosh darn it if they aren't the cutest together.

Howdy partner

 I love that Jax calls her Reesie, not just Reese, but Reesie or Reesie Peesie.

Happy to be the helper

 Bria is kind of in the middle in terms of her age in relation to her cousins. It can be hard for her at times and I feel bad, but she does love helping with Zoey and Ames so sometimes she will be content.

 Other times she wants to go boss Jax and Reese around and that does not end well...it's a work in progress.
I watched the Tegner kiddos one day and Marna joined me for a park day.

Subway sandwiches at Wildcat Park

 We went to Wildcat Park and it's the park from my elementary school. They've upgraded since I went there but it's always been awesome.

She is addicted to climbing trees. 

 We also made it to Ya Ya's house for some snacks, dinner, and hot tubbing.

They all adore my Mom, it's really sweet

Hot tub time!

We had such a great time and I love being able to make these trips down to Albany and see family. I was so sad we weren't able to meet up with my Dad, the few days got away from me and before we knew it it was time to head back up. Our next trip down will be some much needed Grandpa Armstrong time!

Making the most of summer already!

In May we did the annual DI5k (Dick Inukai 5k) in honor of Scott's father who passed away 5 years ago. I look forward to it every year and think it's such a great way to remember their Dad. 

Me and my girls

8.12 pace, not my best but I'm not getting any younger ;)

Bria  with Wes and Charleigh

 We had some great weather in June and it definitely called for BBQ's and margaritas. The Asbury's are more than willing to come over and help us celebrate summer and we enjoy our friends and especially some Penny time :)

Penny and Brian having a hilarious convo

 The Inukai's also had us over to break in their new outdoor addition...

 They've been doing a big remodel to their kitchen and outdoor area and it's taken more than twice as long as expected. But the outdoor area is nearly complete and it looks amazing. It's complete with a very large flat screen tv...yep outdoors. Scott doesn't go small haha!
Poor Randi, her allergies were horrendous and she could barely step outside. She took a bunch of medication and wore a mask so she could enjoy at least 10 minutes outside.

Poor girl!

 The kids swam and then had fun dressing up and running all over their property. It's pretty fun to watch their imaginations run free.

And I had to throw this picture in, this is so Reese. She has multiple outfit changes daily and loves to accessorize. 

We are not even a month into summer and we've already made 2 trips to Pronghorn...

It was this trip to Pronghorn that Brian and I finally figured out that the girls could watch a movie and listen with their headphones, and we could listen to the radio. It was the best road trip ever. Headphones are a worthwhile investment.

Sunshine and a pool...doesn't get much better!

A brunette and a blonde...match made in heaven!

We crack ourselves up!

The guys "building" a fire :)

Seriously, our trips to Pronghorn are absolutely heavenly and I love the memories we are making. In the winter we do skiing and sledding and in the summer we get to lay by the pool, golf, and just enjoy the warm weather.

People always know whose kids are whose!

She doesn't always nap, but we play hard in Pronghorn!

Rough life by the pool

The two little sisters have to take a break

Smooching on the golf course :)

Scott's a great coach

I almost spilled my drink on me in an attempt to get this group selfie haha!

After a weekend in Pronghorn it never fails, Reese is asleep within 10 minutes...

So yeah, you could say we enjoy ourselves there :)