Fun at the Rodeo!!!

My sister, Monica, and her family came to visit over the past weekend...so we decided to head over to the Snake River Stampede. Yeee haaaaw! This was also Kyla's 1st time at a rodeo. Things were going well...so well that Kyla felt the need to start dancing to the music that was playing. Unfortunately, her dancing led to falling and hitting her lip on the seat in front of us. Ouch!!! She ended up with a bloody lip, which led to many tears. After calming her down and cleaning it up in the bathroom, she opted to spend the rest of the time on mommy and daddy's laps. She did have fun seeing all the cows and horses...and especially the sheep with 'Mutton Bustin'. She has now decided that she wants a horse....of course!

Daddy and Kyla

Kim and Jack

Logan

Morgan

Kyla on Grandpa's lap...after the lip incident...

Bronc Riding

Everyone's favorite...Bull Riding!

And my personal favorite...Barrels

Happy Birthday, Oliver!

I can't believe my nephew is now 1-year-old! Where has time gone? We had a great time at his party. Kyla and Oliver had fun playing with legos in Oliver's new pool. :-) Good times! We love you, Oliver!

Play Date with Luke and Ella

Last week we had a play-date with my friend, Teisha, and her kids ~ Luke and Ella. It was so much fun for the kids to play, and we LOVED Luke and Ella's new swingset. Good job, Paul! Thanks for a great time!

Luke the Great!

Kyla LOVES to swing!!!
Luke being silly!
Craig and Ella... Awwww...sweet girls!

Kyla and Ella have fun with the piano.

Happy Father's Day!!!

This Father's Day I wanted to to pay tribute to the two fathers in my life ~ my own dad and my husband. I know I don't tell either one enough how blessed I feel to have them in my life, and how important the job of being a father really is.

Ever since I was a little girl, my father has been my HERO. My dad is the hardest working person I have ever known. As a child, I don't think I appreciated this...actually I probably resented it because while my dad was outside working on the farm, I was also required to be out there working too! Anyone who has grown up on a farm knows how much work is it. From a very young age, I remember being out on the farm right next to my dad....helping with chores, building fences, moving animals, sheering sheep, cleaning pig sheds...you name it! We kids had to come home from school and get our chores done before it got dark, leaving no time to hang out with friends. Though I resented it as a kid, I think if all kids had the responsibilities we had there would be far fewer problems. As an adult, I believe I have a strong work ethic and I KNOW this came directly from the example of my own dad.
My dad also instilled in me the importance of education. We didn't get much in the way of rewards for good grades, but if I came home with anything other than straight A's, I knew there would be trouble. More than that, I knew how proud my dad was of me when I got good grades. Education has been a priority for me and all my sisters. I give credit to my dad for instilling this extremely important value in me.

My father is now also a wonderful grandfather. I am so glad that my kids will grow up having him in their lives, as I did not get the chance to see my own grandparents very much when I was growing up. It is definitely a priority for me to stay close to my family so that my kids can get to know what a wonderful person their grandpa is! Thanks Dad!!!! I love you with all my heart and feel so blessed to have been given such a wonderful father!!!! 

Go Broncos!!



My husband is also an amazing father. When I first met Craig, the one thing that attracted me most to him was the kind of father he was to his children. He was (and is) so involved with his sons. I was so impressed with his ability to work full-time and raise two kids. He is still a wonderful father to all three of his kids....and I know they love him dearly. I feel so blessed to have married someone who places so much importance on being a good parent.

Happy Father's Day!!!!

Kyla loves her daddy!!!

Hunter's Band Concert....Oh, the dreaded saxophone!

So...Hunter just had to play the saxophone...it was life or death...it would kill him not to play it. Can any of you with kids relate to this???? I'm sure you can see where I'm heading. Well, it was all good for a couple months...then all of a sudden he seemed to despise this instrument. The past few months have been torture for us just to get him to do his weekly practice. You would think we were asking him to get a root canal rather that just practice the instrument that he just HAD TO PLAY. Needless to say, he is switching to the guitar next year; but we did make him finish out the year with his saxophone. And actually, he has really learned a lot (whether he admits it or not) and sounds great when he plays. But I guess you can't force someone to like something they don't.

The band just had their end-of-the-year concert and sounded great. I was really impressed with how far they have come since their first concert at the beginning of the year.
Hunter attempting to avoid the camera...heaven forbid somebody see him dressed up AND playing the saxophone!!!

And just to ensure Hunter was sufficiently embarrassed, his friend's mom (who LOVES Hunter), smothered him in hugs and kisses...

A clip from the concert...

A Griswold Family Vacation!

So the Knutson's are known to have some "not so great" luck on family vacations...I could probably write a book about some of our past family vacations. Though I am no longer technically a 'Knutson', the "Griswold curse" seems to have followed me! I don't think Craig realized what he married into! :-) Our vacation started out seemingly normal...Hunter playing his Nintendo DS, Colton asking how many more minutes until we get there about every 5 minutes, and Kyla amusing herself by singing to the radio.

However, the next day when we were supposed to have a fun filled day of rollercoasters and junk food at Lagoon, the weather decided to change dramatically and instead of being the predicted 70 degrees.....it was pouring rain all day! We had packed up our cooler, swimsuits, and all the extras only to drive an hour away and then have to turn around and head back to my sister's house. Not to mention Logan getting carsick and throwing up about 10 minutes from my sister's house. So I guess you could say it wasn't the best day! Disheartened, we decided to catch a movie and go out to eat. Anyone who is thinking '17 Again' would be a good movie to watch...think again.

Luckily, the weather prediction for the next day was also wrong...it was predicted to be the same rainy weather, but Hunter got up extra early to check the internet and found that it had changed...again. NO RAIN in the forecast!!! So we got our stuff packed up and headed to Lagoon again and ended up having a fabulous day. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the lines were shorter than I'd ever seen them. We were able to ride all of the rides, and some several times. (Though we couldn't get Colton on the rollercoasters that went upside down!) We decided not to cram in Lagoon A Beach (similar to our Roaring Springs) since we would be driving home that night which would make for too long of a day. We all had a great time and got home at about 10:00 pm. Is the Griswold curse broken???? I highly doubt it, but it was nice that this trip didn't end up a total disaster. :-)

It was so nice for the kids to get to spend time with their cousins! Morgan and Kyla had a GREAT time playing, and the boys also got along great with their cousin Logan. I love visiting my family, regardless of whatever 'setbacks' we encounter. Thanks Monica for putting up with us! I LOVE YOU!!!

LAGOON AMUSEMENT PARK

Summer Fun...

Summer is finally here!!! The weather has been eratic lately, so there has been no telling if it's going to rain, snow or be 90 degrees...but I think the warm weather is officially here for good (or at least I HOPE it is!!) The boys love to turn on the sprinkler under the trampoline, and I set up Kyla's pool and slide. Good Times for Everyone!!!!