Hammond Monkeys

Lava Hot Springs

While Ken was home this 2wks we planned 2 camping trips!! First we were off to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho.

Portneuf River...was right next to our campsite, very pretty!

We brought Mama Stef with us...she needed a get away.

There is a HUGE swim park there that we took the boys to one day. It was a blast!! They have one pool that is inside and it has this climb wall over the pool. How fun is that?? Brax tried his best, but it was pretty tough.

And of course Braxton was all about the diving boards, he loves it!! It was nice having the indoor pool to get a break from the sun when you needed.

I loved our campsite...even though i was a little paranoid of the boys being so close to the water, they did so great listening and not going near the water without one of us.

LOVE our camper!!!

Lava is known for being able to tube down the river. NOT me though!! I had a little tubing scare when i was younger so i have fear of tubing and rapids...but i was glad to take pictures and cart the fam back and forth. We rented this big o' tube for half a day, and you can go down the river as many times as you want.

They had a blast. After the first go though Alex got a little scared and he didn't want to go anymore, but i was proud of him for at least giving it a try.

Our BBQ King.

Whopper's first camping trip...and he did great!!

We had a lot of fun!! Lava is a great place to spend a few days to relax.

The big 5!!

I can't believe Alex is 5yo already!! Insane how time flies.

We had his party a couple of weeks early so Ken could be there, with his new work schedule it takes a little more planning of things. Ken's parents, Aunt Claudia, and cousin Jessie also came for the party, which was FABuLOUS!!

Not sure what happened to most of my pictures but here's a few.

We had sack races with pillow cases, it was way cute.

Then a little limbo.

Some lunch

and of course cake

what a cute boy!!!

He had presents of course too, but from some reason i can't find those pictures right now...oh well.

It was a great party, thanks everyone for coming!!

Big Changes

As most of you know Ken has made some big changes in his career...he was miserable at Associated Foods busting his butt everyday and coming home sore, he's not a young buck anymore. So after some research and lots of applications he got a job with Rain for Rent a company that provides water for oil drilling. He first got a job in Wyoming that was 3hrs away, but after just 2wks he got transferred up to Dickinson, North Dakota 12hrs away!! It is quite the drive but he got hired on with two other guys not too far from us so they all car pool up together. He works 2wk gone, and then get to be home for 2wks. It's been some major adjusting to having him gone for 2wks at a time, but i think we are all doing okay and making it work. He is MUCH happier with this job, really enjoys it, and having him home for 2wks with not having to work at all is wonderful.

Here are lots of pictures he's been taking. Not sure what everything is though.

These are their water tanks.

He stays in a trailer when he's there for two weeks with 3 other guys. The trailer was bought brand new right before they got there so it's not a bad set up at all.