Longest post EVER!!!

After an absolutely insane and busy July, I'm back!! I have wanted to post and tried a few times, but with my crazy schedule lately, I just haven't found the time. I am truly sorry to all of you who can't start your day with out reading up on the latest Erickson adventures, I know it has been a long trying month, (hee hee) I was even reported to the "blogging police" by Dad. Seriously though, it was nice to know that I was missed, and I will try not to go into hiding again, try being the main word there. I can't make any promises, remember I do have five kids!

I am going to try and fit a months worth of activities into one post so if you choose not to read it all and just look at the photos, I will understand. But to tell you the truth, I have slacked on my picture taking this month as well, so maybe it won't be the longest post ever! I will start with the beginning of July and work my way through up until today, Makes the most sense to me. Let's see if I can remember a month ago!

Right after my last post, we headed to Bozeman for a visit with my parents and for a wedding of one of my best college friends. I was so excited to see her again, I hadn't seen her in a couple of years. The first night we got there we attended a "cowboy BBQ." Laura (my friend) and Steve (her fiancee) came up with a fun themed BBQ for there wedding, just a few days before the "I do's" Everyone was to come dressed in cowboy attire and awards would be given to the best dressed in different categories. I think we were the only one actually dressed in "real cowboy" clothes, but it was a blast. Isabel ended up winning for "prettiest belt buckle" (she refused to wear one of her Dads big buckles and wanted to wear one of her pretty buckles instead and I guess it paid off!) and I took away the prize for the "biggest belt buckle." (it can sometimes pay to be married to a cowboy) The kids had a blast eating and playing on the playground, while I had a great time catching up with my dear friend and meeting her soon to be husband.



I can't believe that I didn't get any pictures at the wedding but, Laura looked beautiful! I don't think I have ever seen her look more beautiful or more happy. I was really glad we could make it. Congratulations, Laura and Steve.


While in Bozeman we thought it would be fun to hike up to the "M" something I did quite a bit while going to school there. I love to hike and don't get the chance to go as often as I'd like to, so I jumped at this opportunity. My Dad offered to watch Lillia, so we took the other four kids and my brother Liberty came as well. We had a great time other than a few spills and tired little feet. I had forgotten what a beautiful view it is from the top of that mountain. Bozeman is really such a cool area.




Here are some other fun pictures taken while we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Brown.






Once at home we tried to get back into a routine, but with three kids playing soccer and a different game three nights a week, a routine was much harder then it normally is. We did manage to get in a few of our families favorite summertime activities, like this one, a cookout.



The kids love to have cookouts, we roast hot dogs, and marshmallows for smores and after we sing songs a perform in front of the fire. Even my shyest of kids, Evan, loves to perform in front of the fire. I don't know if you noticed, but half of the hot dog, Will is eating in the picture, is gone. Cinnamon came up and took a bite just as Will was having a bite! It was really funny. It's a good thing Will likes to share!

Another fun thing we did in July was (of course) the fourth of July! This is usually a very hectic weekend for us. Jason is a team roper (for those of you who didn't know) and there are tons of rodeos on the 4th weekend. I swear every little town from here to Timbuktu has a rodeo and Jason enters every one of them! This year (with the cost of gas and all) he only entered a few and so we were able to get in some of the other fun activities that the 4th offers.
Early that morning Isabel, Jason and I headed to Menan for their annual 5K fun run. That's right I said JASON! Isabel really wanted to run this race with me. Knowing that she would have to stop and walk a few times (I wanted to run the whole thing) I asked Jason if he was up to running it with Isabel. I had expected him to laugh in my face, but instead, he smiled and agreed! I was shocked that he would run and very proud that he would do that for Isabel. The race was a lot of fun, but it was even better getting to watch Isabel and Jason finish strong together!
Later we hit the Menan parade and festival while Jason went to a few rodeos. It was not easy keeping up with all five kids in that crowd by myself, but it was still a lot of fun and the kids had a blast playing games and eating the yummy treats! After that we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Erickson's for some fun with the cousins. They flooded their lawn for the kids to "swim" and cool off a little. This is also one of my kids favorite summer activities. Once the heat of the day was over, we had another cookout and later enjoyed some fire works. It was a really busy fun packed day.






The next big Erickson event was Jason's niece, Whitney got married!! They had a beautiful ceremony at the Idaho Falls temple and dinner and reception in Pocatello. It was a fun day of visiting with family and eating (a lot), laughing and dancing. Whitney looked beautiful and so happy. Her new husband, Jordan seems like a really great guy. They make a nice couple and They seem very happy together.



The next two events were Kasen's blessing and Will's birthday!! We celebrated both the blessing and birthday on the same day. Kasen is Jed and Emily's first son and second child. He is such a little sweetie! They live in Chicago while Jed is going to school. They came out to visit for a few weeks over the summer and decided to bless Kasen here with all their family. We were so happy to see them and get to be part of Kasen's blessing.
I can't believe that Will is four years old! Times flies so fast! It was a pretty crazy day so I only got a few photos. I didn't even get any of him blowing out his candles!! (I know, BAD MOM!! but in my defense, I gave the camera to someone else to take pictures and I'm not sure what happened!) I do have to say our lives have been blessed having this little guy in it and I don't think I could have asked for a better kid. Happy birthday William!!



The rest of the month has been one busy day after another, but so much fun. It's crazy to think we only have a few weeks left until school starts. But summer is not over yet! We still have a lot of things planned and I'm sure a lot of unplanned things are still to come.

Here are just a few more photos of random things we have been doing. Enjoy!!