Spudman

Last weekend we went to the Spudman Triathalon in Burley, Idaho. Blaine had 2 sisters and 4 cousins participating. It was pretty cool to watch. They cap the number of participants to 2000, and they are chosen by lottery. I read in the newspaper, though, that they were thinking of increasing that amount. Anyway, it was great to see the athletes. We did not get there in time for the swim but were able to see most of the rest. Blaine's sisters were a team- Jolynn swam (1 mile) and ran (6.2 miles) and Rachelle biked (25 miles-or so). They did an awesome job and it was great to see them accomplish this goal.

Here is a small picture of the bike area. If you thought the bike industry was in trouble...think again. I have never seen so many bikes in one area at one time!

Here is Jolynn getting ready to run. She has already swam her mile in the river and is now waiting for Rachelle to return from her bike ride.

Here Rachelle! The participants wear a timer-thingy during their portion of the race. Then they switch. Here is Jolynn getting the timer off of Rachelle's leg and putting it around her ankle. Now she will run.

Here is Jolynn in the very last stretch of the run. The finish line is just behind me. She did great! I caught her in mid-air...she almost looks like she is hopping.

Here are all the participants.

(L to R) Curtis Jones, Laura Jones, Andi Jones, Greg Jones, Jolynn Heiner, Rachelle Jones

(Blaine's cousin Andi just qualified for the Kona Hawaii Ironman this year!!)

Haircut

Somebody got a haircut.

Is it this guy?

Nope! Its this guy! Hmm...I kinda like it.

After Blaine came home from getting his haircut, Garrett saw him and yelled, "Dad's bald!"

Later, Garrett wanted to know if he could get his hair cut like dad's..."to the bald."

So....

Now Garrett's bald too!

How do you think he feels about this? I think he kinda likes it.

On the move

This is Ryan. My little man sittin' big in the


middle of the living room floor.






He's so happy. Who wouldn't be happy with a


big bucket of toys in front of them?






He sits so well but he is just started to


figure out how to scoot around. He gets


around, but he can't figure out how to


get back to where he wants to go.


Here he is...moved from the middle of the room

to being stuck part-way under one of the chairs

in the living room. He doesn't crawl yet, just

scoots around.

Here he is, later in the day. He is completely

under the same chair. You can't see his face

but he is NOT happy...screaming his head off

actually. Poor baby! Can's figure out how to

get out!

The greatest guy I know

My dad's the biggest guy, and my dad's the
strongest guy, and my dad's the nicest guy
of any guy in town. He can do anything, he'll
fix your bike, or fly a kite 'cause my dad, my
dad's the greatest guy around. He can throw
a ball so high you think it's gonna break the
sky; he knows the name of every kind of jet--
vroom! He can add up any sum, he always has
money for bubblegum, I haven't figured how
he does it yet, but my dad's the smartest guy,
and my dad's the bravest guy and my dad's
the neatest guy, it's positively so! Maybe I'll
introduce you, then you'll know that it's the
truth that my dad my dad's the greatest guy
you know.

This weekend was my dad's birthday. I have to
say that honestly, the words to the song (above)
pretty much sum up how I feel about my dad
and how I've always felt about him.

He really is the greatest guy I know. He supports
us in all we do and he will drop what he's doing
for us if we need him. I can always call him
because I know he can fix anything ( or knows
someone who can.) He is well known around town
and my sister and I joke that we still use our maiden
name for things because then they know we are
related to him (and often its not what you know, but
who you know).

My dad is funny about presents. He LOVES getting them.
Especially if its something he really wants. See below:



Here is my dad with Hannah on his lap, Liam
on the left and Garrett and Jayson on the right.
Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday.


This was a gallon of Reeds Dairy German
Chocolate ice cream-his favorite. Everytime
he goes in to the dairy he asks for it and every
time they say they are out. (My cousin used
to work there and says they aren't out...they
just keep it in the back.) So, we used our
insider info and had them "check in the back"
and get us a gallon.


Here's dad...opening the first of a series of
presents, all leading up to the real present at
the end. He was confused clear up to the end.
It was great!



Hmmm....see the confusion? "Whats this?
Mini Q-tips?"



Oooh, a box of bullets....see the excitement
is mounting. He gets this way...almost giddy
with excitement.


He is really getting into this. He gets a funny
grin on his face and makes a funny noise when
he really gets something he wants. Sounds kinda
like "Aha!"



Its a noisy cricket (anyone seen Men in Black?)
This is a gun that he has really wanted and is
hard to come by right now. It has a laser sight
on it that he is using to tease the cat. The cat
goes into wild animal/hunter mode when the laser
is out.


He loves this present, which makes the teasing
part-leading up to the actual gift- so much
more fun for us! (This present was from my
mom and all my siblings). If you don't know
already, my family is gun crazy. I'm the only
sibling without a concealed weapons permit.

So, if you can't tell yet...I love my dad!
Hannah is really crazy about him too! We all
love him lots! Here are some more nice things
said about my dad.

4th of July

I had to work the 4th of July this year so Blaine
was left to be both parents on this holiday. He
was a trooper. He took Garrett and Hannah to
the parade. (Luckily Grandma could keep Ryan
during that time. He's not quite old enough to
appreciate the wonders of a parade!) After the
parade, my family went to Beckie's house (my
sister) to have a BBQ and go fishing. My dad
has a pond that is stocked with fish and is
so perfect for little kids. I guess the fish
were really biting on this day-which makes
for really exciting fishing for little kids.


Here is Hannah just after catching her very first
fish!! Doesn't she look so cute in her 4th of July
outfit? I'm told Hannah wanted nothing to do
with the fish after she caught it.




Here is Garrett...concentrating so hard on
reeling in that fish. Blaine said that just as soon
as you threw your line out, you would get a bite
and hook a fish.



Here is that fish Garrett was working on. Thats
Chet's dad holding the fish for him. They did
catch and release fishing this day but they are
good eats too. We don't feed them and when
catch them, their bellies are full of snails.
Doesn't Garrett look so proud of himself?



Garrett and Hannah got to ride back to my
sister's house on the 4-wheeler with grandpa.
They LOVE riding 4-wheelers and are always
begging us to take them to Beckie and Chet's
house to ride.

Looks like fun times for the 4th of July. I'm
sad I missed it. Later that evening we went
to my brother Brent's house for more BBQ and
some (*shhh* illegal) fireworks. He lit one
fountain that would shoot fireworks up in the sky.
Well, it tipped over and started shooting at
the neighbors and at us and the house. It was
exciting there for a minute. It was kinda funny,
though. Good times, good times.

Hannah

Hannah is such a girly girl. She loves pink and
princesses and having her nails painted. She
wants to wear her "princess Analiese dress"
everyday. She is so sweet and hates the thought
of being in trouble. She is such a girl...happy one
minute, moody and crying the next. I love her so much.
But.... check out her new trick. It drives me crazy and
she knows it so she does it even more!


Here she is having a belching contest with Chet. (Turn your sound up!)

It is gross but people laugh so she keeps doing it!

I can't wait til she gets older...the boys will really love this!