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!

The Tolman Adventures in T-Ball!

Since Adam has recently turned 5, we have decided to put him in summer city t-ball. He has been so excited for it. For his birthday in May we got him all the gear that he needs to play. A mitt and ball basically. Then we recently got him a tee and a new bat that is just his size. Well his first game was on this past Thursday. They have a half hour practice and then a half hour game. It is the perfect length of time. Well soon after he started playing, we realized we have a bit of a ball hog on our hands! Every time the other team hit the ball, no matter how far away Adam was from it, somehow he always ended up with it. Not that he really knew what to do with it once he got it, but he had it nonetheless. But when he got up to bat was when he became the real crowd pleaser! First, he is the only lefty on the team, so people seemed to like that. Second, when he gets to the plate, he hits hit bat on the plate a couple times, just like the pros do, with a super serious look on his face. Then, while running the bases, he would slide into home plate every time! It was so funny. I couldn't stop laughing and he was having so much fun! I hope he never grows out of these stages because he is just so awesome!

My NeW PrOjEcT...FaMiLy CoOk BoOk!

About 10 (or more) years ago, my mom decided that she wanted to do a family cook book. The VanderMeer side anyway. So after months and months she was able to gather recipes from all of my family members and started to put the cook book together. Well, 6 years later, it still wasn't done. So the task was handed over to my Tante (Aunt) Helen. She has had the collection for the last 4 years and has managed to put about 1/2 of the recipes into a Microsoft word document. The other half still remains untouched. So this is where I come in. Since over the summer I am not in school, not working, just hanging out with the kids I decided that I needed a project. Family cook book here I come! My Tante is supposed to email me the recipes that have been typed up and the rest I will hopefully get soon, either by traveling through family members or through snail mail. I found a free template online that lets me make my own cook book, upload photos, and basically do whatever I want. This way it will look professional and not sloppy. Once it is done then it should take about 2 weeks to order and TADAH! I am hoping to have this done by Christmas so everybody can have a copy. I just don't want this to go past the end of August. That is when I go back to school and I am pretty sure I won't have any time to do anything after that except to maybe put some finishing touches on it. I am really excited about getting the opportunity to do this because I know everybody really wants this to get done. So updates will come as I get closer. I already have chosen my template and have made the cover, chapters, and chosen layout options. It is a really easy set up (so far). All I need to do now is enter the recipes and any pictures I want. I think I am going to cook a few of the recipes that will be used and fancy them up a little bit so I can take some pictures for them. I guess we will see how it all goes! Wish me luck or if you have any really good recipes let me know!

SoMeBoDy MuSt LoVe Me I aM gEtTiNg SpOiLeD!!!

Afterlooking around for about a month, we have decided to make a big purchase. A NEW CAR!!! I loved my Envoy and it was a joy to drive, but we were getting the feeling that we were outgrowing it. So we went a little bit bigger, and a little more "pimped out" as Ben would say. We went for the Chrysler Aspen. It is a 2007. Black with Chrome accents. Leather interior with wood paneling along the dash. 3rd row seating. Heated seats front and rear. Navigation, Bluetooth, and DVD player. It even has a Hemi and 20" rims that Ben loves and feels "gangster" in. haha After 5 minutes with the kids in the car, they were glued to the DVD screen and it was "worth every penny!" Ben says. Getting the bigger vehicle makes family get togethers so much more convenient and we don't all have to take separate cars to get to the same place. Having a larger vehicle is better for if we decide to have more kids in the future. (Don't worry I'm not making any announcements!) But it leaves us the option and we wouldn't have to go to a bigger vehicle if we did have more kids. We love it and hope that you all do too! I am so spoiled!