New Spice | Study like a scholar, scholar

Anyone who has seen the Old Spice commercials could appreciate this but I especially got a kick out of it because I spent a good bazillion hours "studying"/sleeping/living in that library. Now that I'm past my BYU days I think back rather fondly on the good and miserable times I had there. :) Gotta love it!

New additions to the family

Meet Shelly the newest member of the Baldwin family. She's actually Shelly III in Brian's family. We told Ryanna she could name her and she chose Shelly and it fits. Somehow Ryanna says she still remembers Shelly II who died when Ryanna was about 20 months old. She has a picture of her with Shelly so that obviously helps and Brian loved Shelly II so much it's only appropriate to remember her by giving the new puppy her name I guess. :)

Brian's sister Stefanie has a male and female papillon(that is the type of dog she is) and when they had puppies we were interested. Because they love us and are SOOO awesome they saved the mellow sweet one for us. I'm the least dog enthusiastic of the family but have to admit she is sweet, smart, and not at all a burden. The kids love her and she seems to have taken to us as well. As long as she keeps up the good work I'll be proud to announce WE ARE DOG OWNERS! Thanks Stef, John, and Lizzy for trusting her with us. We love her already.

Our neighbors have a papillon that is only about twice the size of Shelly. I like that she'll stay puppy size forever! Papillons are called the Butterfly Dog because of the resemblence of their ears to a butterfly. She's so tiny and cute but not at all afraid of any neighborhood dogs she's been around. In fact they seem more worried about her than she is of them.

Oh and one more thing. Brian finally got the couch he has wanted. Yes we already have a nice couch but it pretty much took up our entire living room and it drove Brian crazy. It took a year of "discussing" but we got it and at the right price too. We bought it in Provo for half the price it costs here in Vernal. So where is our beautiful couch?? In the garage of course making a mighty fine man cave for Brian. Somehow I don't think anyone is surprised. haha.

Hiking, Cousins, and Corn Hole

Brian's brother Carl and his family live in Fort Collins, CO. It had been way too long since we had spent time with them so we road tripped a couple hours east into the Rocky Mountains. When we arrived Ryanna got busy playing right away with her cousins Lydia and Cynthia. Today we made the hour drive to the Rocky Mountain National Park for some hiking and a picnic. Ryanna loved every minute of the hiking and sights. She especially loved the water falls and chipmunks. Quinten wasn't sure how he felt about being in the backpack but did well overall and even napped on Brian on the walk down. We hiked a little over a mile up a trail to Dream Lake which was gorgeous. The only downer was how busy the trails were and the picnic area at Dream Lake. It was hard to even get a picture without someone walking into it. We all had a great time and I'm hoping it translates into kids that sleep ALL night long tonight. We arrived back in Fort Collins late in the afternoon and learned how to play Corn Hole followed by an Independence Day themed BBQ.

Quinten and Mommy ready for some adventure!

Lydia was SO excited to bring out the cake decorated as an American flag, made with blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream. DELICIOUS!

Corn Hole is a game that is popular in the midwest. Emily is from Kentucky and Carl from Ohio. Basically there are two boards like the one above placed 27 feet apart. Each team has 4 bags that look like bean bags that are filled with corn. The goal is to throw the beanbag onto the opposite board. If the bag lands on the board you earn 1 point. If it goes through the hole near the top you earn 3 points. First team to 21 points wins. We had a great time though it got a little competitive at times. I've never played horseshoes but apparently it is like horseshoes but a lot less dangerous considering there were children running back and forth the entire time we played. This made for great backyard fun. I bet if you google it you could purchase your own set somewhere online. :)