Our first "official" family outing of the year!!

A few months back we finally got another car that would be more reliable in the winter than Paul's little VW truck. We love his truck but in the cold weather and on icy roads we just needed something that we could guarantee would get him to Idaho Falls and back, safely. After quite a few months of searching Paul found another 4Runner for a really good deal.

This is Paul's new baby. It looks a lot "newer" on the outside than it does on the inside but we really like it. We've always loved the 4Runner brand and we're glad to have another one back in the family. It's also nice that we have something that Paul can take out on the dunes and that we can take off-roading again. We've really missed being able to do that since selling Paul's truck and we're excited to start going again.

We've all been itching to get out and go play together as a family now that our weather has started getting better and since it's been nice so much earlier this year than we're used to we took the first opportunity we got and took the kids out. Riann didn't really seem to remember how much we used to take her out on the dunes and seemed a little confused about the fact that we weren't driving on the road but as soon as she saw the "giant sandbox" she was happy to get out and go play.

Colby really seemed to like being out and playing with Daddy too but he was a little hesitant about getting his hands dirty. He loves the dirt and he loves being outside but he's not so interested yet in having dirty hands. Anytime he tripped and had to catch himself he'd take a little time to get back up and dust himself off. He never complained but as you can tell in the pictures above he kept his hands open and a free from sand as possible. I'm excited to get him out and have him get dirty this summer. I think we can fix this fast. :-)

Colby also LOVED watching the people out playing with their quads on the dunes. Anytime someone passed us he stopped dead in his tracks and didn't stop staring at them until they were well out of sight. I can't wait for him to get to play this summer with Grandma and Grandpa Vreeken when they come to visit, when Paul graduates. I think both kids are going to love getting rides and seeing what kind of fun we can really have out there!!

Before we packed up and left I took a few pictures of the area we were in. As much as I miss Seattle, and everything green, the area we live in is absolutely amazing. There are so many places out here that are just breath taking and I hope we get to go visit and play a lot more in our national parks and other areas out here before we make the decision to move (not that a move is in the plans anytime in the next little bit). It really does get more and more fun to be out as the kids get older and we get to share with them a few of the things that get us excited about where we live. I can't wait until everyone is older and we can go do, and share, more together.