Seattle

While visiting my family I decided to take Jesse to the Pike Place Market in Seattle. My old roommate Anna, and her husband Alex, live in Seattle so we went to visit them and go with them to the market. It was fun to see all the food, flowers, etc. that the people sell. There were so many free samples that we didn't have to really buy a lunch. We still ended up buying a few items just because they were too good to pass up. Jesse loved seeing all of the street musicians and fish shops. It was fun getting to be a tourist in a city that I grew up near and went to a lot as a child.

Fireworks and family

Jesse and his brother hadn't had a real 4th of July since they were in their early teens. They were so excited to be able to light off fireworks and put on a show for the family. We sat in the front yard and watched the boys light off fireworks in the road.


We only get to see our nieces and nephew once or twice a year. They've grown SO much since we last saw them at Christmas.

Idaho baby shower

My mother-in-law and sisters-in-law got our baby SO much! It was nice to be together in the park playing games and eating snacks. I'm so happy to have such a loving family who care so much about us and our baby.

Hotdog contest

Jesse's grandparents had an idea to have a hotdog cooking contest. We were amazed to see how many different recipes people came up with. My brother-in-law John was the taste judge and I was the presentation judge. Jesse's grandma and his sister Kristi tied for the test taste and Beth won for best presentation.

Linda made breakfast burritos. Jenny made pretzel wrapped hotdogs. Dennis made crazy relish.

Beth made potato and cheese casserole to serve over hotdogs.The Doss family made "Doss-kadogs" by soaking hotdogs, fruits, and veggies in teriyaki sauce. I made a German dish that my mom makes with onions and sauerkraut. Grandma James made relish and tied the dogs in ribbon.

John and Linz made bacon wrapped dogs. Jesse made a sailor scene with hotdogs and random veggies.

Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls

These monkeys were crazy!! They would yell and holler and then fly around on jungle gyms. Jesse kept imitating their sounds and this monkey got up close and started "talking" to Jesse. It was so funny to see!

After spending the morning at the zoo our nephew Gavin passed out in the car holding his monkey toy.

Camping in Idaho

We decided to spend a night camping out at Beaver Dick Park. We roasted strawberry marshmallows and fought off a million mosquitos!

Camping in Idaho - day 2

Jesse, John, and their father Dennis cooked us all breakfast over the coals.

Before going back to the house we decided to play in the river. The water was VERY cold so I only dipped my feet in. Jenny, Jesse, and John decided to go swimming in the river though.