First Day of School

This year, I sent three kids off to school for the first time.  We got a brand new K-8 building this year, and it is nice, and HUGE!  I was worried when I went to back to school night that my kids might get lost in there, but they seem to be doing fine after a few weeks.

Connor is in the 5th grade and has Mr. Hickey as a teacher.

Mylie--3rd grade--Mrs. Proctor

Mariah--Kindergarten--Mrs. Argyle

Lagoon!

Way back in January, the kids and I decided on an incentive for piano. We figured it would take a long time for them to earn, and calculated that it would probably happen sometime in the summer. They had to earn 80 stickers to get a trip to Lagoon, and they were so excited to do it!  Mylie finished by the end of June, but Connor didn't finish his until mid-August.  But they did it!  We decided to take Mariah along as well, but left Brady home, which was such a good choice with just 2 adults and kids of various ages.

We hadn't been to Lagoon for 4 years, so they were super excited to go back. Because of Lagoon's schedule and my volleyball schedule, we ended up going on Labor Day, the day before school started. We were worried that it would be super crowded, but it really wasn't too bad, especially during the first couple hours we were there.  We got there when it opened and stayed to close, and had a blast all day!  Obviously, being pregnant, I didn't get to ride the rides, but I still had a great time watching the kids have so much fun! So worth every minute on the piano.

August Races

In August, Tony ran the Vaquero Loco, a 25 kilometer (about 15 miles) race in the mountains of Star Valley, Wyoming.  This race is KILLER, and it was his first time, but he did amazing, finishing it in about 3 hrs and 40 minutes.  I so want to do this race with him next year!

The kids loved racing in with him to the finish line, and then playing in the super cold water while Tony recovered a little bit.

Olivia also ran the race (her 3rd or 4th time doing it), and was the overall female WINNER!! What a woman!

A couple weeks later, we did the 4th Annual 75 mile Butte Kicker Relay race.  The weather was cold and rainy, which was the story most of August, actually. But it was still so much fun!  Our entire family participated, even the 6-month pregnant lady and the 2-year-old.  Such a fun tradition!

Tyson and Candace's Wedding

One the biggest highlights of the summer was my brother, Tyson's wedding.  He married such an awesome girl, Candace Beddes, and we couldn't be more excited to have her in our family.  The wedding was beautiful, and it was so great to have all the family together. WARNING: Lots of photos!!

Berry Picking!

During the first week of August, my parents went on a trip to see my brother in Texas. Mom's raspberries were on, so she needed people to come pick which she was gone.  So, as a favor to my mom (haha!), my sister-in-law, Angela, and I headed over one day and picked like crazy!  We brought home so many berries! It was amazing!  I was able to freeze so many, make a ton of jam, and have lots just to eat, put in cereal, and make raspberry shakes with. Best favor I've ever done for somebody! Thanks, Mom, for the great opportunity to serve. :)

While we were there, I also snapped a few pics of her yard.  When people here in the valley see my yard, they're always so complimentary, and although I thank them, I can't help but add, "It's nice, and I enjoy it, but you should see my mom's!"  And when people from Cokeville ask me if I garden like my mom, I'm quick to say, "Yes, I garden. But not like my mom!"  There just is no comparison.  Her place is simply amazing!

Hogle Zoo

One day in August, we went to the zoo.  Although all the kids enjoyed the zoo, the older three were most interested in making sure Brady was loving it. He loves animals and was excited to see all the zoo animals live, rather than just in books. It was cute to see the older kids showing him around and getting so excited about how much fun Brady was having. We only stayed a few hours, but we saw everything and had a great time!

County Fair

This year, Mylie was old enough to join 4-H and do her first steer for the fair. Although it had its ups and downs, and there were days she didn't want to do it at all, she kept with it, and in the end, it was such a great experience for her.  She had a gentle, little (well, relatively speaking) steer, that she named Peyton Manning, since he is white.  On show day, she was so nervous, but showed him like a champ and came out with a huge smile. The next day, however, was a sad one, as she had to sell him.  But overall, it was a great experience and she is looking forward to next year.

This year was Connor's third year with a steer, and he really stepped up as one of the "older" kids, helping Mylie and his cousin Jaxon know what to do.  His steer did really well, taking second in his class and advancing to the final round.  Although he complains at times, Connor really does enjoy doing this 4-H project each year and is excited to buy next year's calves, which will be happening soon.

Brady and Mariah also loved every minute of fair and never wanted to go home at night.  Connor and Mylie stayed in a camper on the fair grounds all week, and Mariah and Brady didn't think it was fair that they didn't get to, even though Brady did stay one night, and Mariah got to stay in twice.  They loved helping brush the steers, clean up poop in the barn, and go through all the barns looking at the animals.  Brady especially loved the pigs, and wanted to go in the pig barn constantly.  

We all love fair and hope to go to the state fair as well next year!

All-star Baseball

Connor had a great time this year with the Bridger Valley All-Star 9-10 team. Being the oldest on the team, he really tried to be a leader. It was fun to see him in that role since on his regular league team, which includes kids up to 12 years old, he's one of the younger guys.  He also had a great time making some new friends as two kids from Manila and a few from Lyman were on the team as well.  They didn't win any games, but improved so much and were SOOOO close in their final game, just losing by one run in the bottom of the last inning. They played so hard and were fun to watch.

Swim Lessons for Mariah

This summer, I only had one kid take swim lessons. Kinda weird. But Mariah loved every minute of it, and is SOOOO close to being able to swim completely on her own. She'll have it down in the next year, I'm sure. Here are a few pics...

 I love how these next three pictures show her personality so much. I was trying to get a good smiling picture of her outside the pool, but there were a couple other people standing there as well, so she felt super shy. 

What a beautiful little swimmer!