FaMiLy PiCtUrEs!!!

We got new family pictures taken back in May, I know it was a while ago and I am a little behind in posting these. We had them done by an old friend from High School that now has her own photography business and does really well. Ashley McKay! It was a beautiful day around Idaho Falls. Considering that the entire month of May and June consisted of mostly rain, we lucked out. Here are some of our favorites! Thanks again Ashley!

LeT tHe PaNiC sEt In...

Now that July is almost over I basically had a panic attack when I realized that August is, well, basically here! August for good reasons means, Tolman family camping trip to West Yellowstone. It also means that I am going to visit my little sister in Montana. Those are the great and wonderful things about August. Wanna know the not so great?
1st: I have to get my wisdom teeth out on the 20th. I have been avoiding this day for years. Since middle school basically. And now the day has come that they need to be removed and lets just say that the dentist is not most favorite person right now. :)
2nd: I start school back up again. All summer I have been wanting be back in school and now that it is just lurking around the corner, I feel suddenly overwhelmed. I don't like school but I like having a set schedule and knowing that the sooner school starts the sooner it will be finished.
3rd: ADAM IS STARTING KINDERGARTEN!!!!!!! This was my major panic moment. Probably one of the biggest in my life. I registered back in early spring and even then it was all a little odd. But now, in the next week or so I will be getting him school supplies, a new back pack, ya know, school stuff. I am just a little freaked out. He is so excited though and I know that he will do great. But I feel like he is getting to the point where he just doesn't need me as much anymore. I think this is probably a common feeling amongst most mothers when they reach this point in their child's life. For some reason I felt like this day would never come and he would be little forever. It's silly really.
So now that my momentary panic attack is over, the reality of it all is setting in. It's not so bad and we will get through it. Eventually?

ReLaY LiKe A rOcK sTaR!!!

This past Friday Idaho Falls held their annual fund raising event for the American Cancer Society. The Relay For Life. For the past 2 years I have been a part of the local EIRMC/Cancer Resource Center team and have enjoyed every minute of it. This year was the best ever! As a whole, we raised over $100,000 dollars to go towards cancer research. The actual relay event is an all nighter basically. It started at 6pm Friday night and ended 7am the next morning. It's full of fun events, vendors, raffles and an awesome DJ. All funds earned that night also go towards research. Here are a few fun photos from the night!

This is a photo of the luminaria bags. They are to remember those lives that have been lost to cancer. Each bag had a name of a loved one and they lined the track with candles to light them. A lap around the track was taken in complete darkness with just the bags to light the way. It is a seriously moving experience. And yes, I usually do the entire lap in tears. It is just amazing to see the magnitude of such a horrible disease.


These are just a few of the people that stayed the entire night, camping out!

Yeah, that's me with Elvis. I know you are jealous of this one!
I cannot wait for next year to come around to do this all over again. Being a part of this event every year brings me back to a more humble place I think. In a way it reminds me that there are people out there that have a harder life than I do and they are so strong the way they go through it. It reminds me to be thankful for everyday and for everyone that is in my life. Such a beautiful experience.

I nEvEr NeW tHe VaLuE oF gRaSs!!!

As you could guess from the title, WE FINALLY GOT GRASS! I really never understood the value of having it until, well, I didn't have it! After buying a house with no yard, and the majority of our neighbors didn't have one as well, I decided we would never do it again. It is just so much work, not that I really did much of it :) But starting from scratch leaves a lot to be desired. Building our fence was last years project, which I have to say, still isn't finished, but mostly. Adam even helped Ben stain the fence! He was so cute in his little rainbow suspenders, Ben got some for Christmas so he will get to use them this summer...hehehe.
Then it is figuring out what we want to go where, planters, etc. Then of course there is the biggest problem, money! I didn't realize how expensive grass and everything that comes with it could get. So instead of going to school over the summer, we decided to get our sprinklers put in. So that happened at the end of May. It was so worth it paying somebody else to do it. Then Ben wanted to get some sumps in to help with the drainage off of the house. This required some major trenching, big holes, tractors and lots of rock.
Once this was done, the yard had to be rock raked and leveled out so we could be ready for sod. Ben did the majority of all this, as you probably guessed. I was the designated "photographer". But then it finally happened...Dun Dun Dun....WE GOT GRASS!!!!



We ordered the large rolls because it makes it less labor intensive and we had our entire yard done in just a few hours. But the grass really makes out house look so different. The boys were probably even more excited then I was. I had to tell Adam that we can't play on it until it has grown in a little and not until after daddy mows it in a few weeks. So every day since then, a couple times a day, Adam asks "Mom, is the grass growed yet?" It's so cute that they can't wait to be able to run around out there! In the pic on the left, that is our back yard. The empty spot in the back corner is going to be a stone patio with a fire pit so we didn't put grass there. And the empty spot on the front will eventually be the area for out deck, but that won't happen for a few years, so later this summer we will just pour a cement patio there.
We have been waiting to get all of this done for almost 2 years now since we moved in, now that we finally are seeing the end results it couldn't be more rewarding. Ben has worked so hard to get this done this summer and we love him so much for it! We will make sure that it is all put to use!