Pioneer Day

We have a fun little Pioneer Day celebration here in Bridger Valley.  This year, the kids got more involved than they have in the past, which made it even more fun!  We started the day with the races.  Connor decided to enter the kids triathlon, which is a 1-mile bike, 50 meter swim, then 1 mile run.  He did great and had lots of fun!

The girls also wanted to race, so they did the kids fun run, which was really short, but included an obstacle course.  They had a great time as well.

Later that morning, we went to the parade.  What kid doesn't love a parade?

A mad dash for the candy!  So sweet how Connor is giving a piece to Mariah.

Mom and Dad enjoying the fun from the curb.

 I love the joy on the faces here!  They were just running away from the spraying fire truck.

And in the afternoon, there was a play about different pioneers and their experiences crossing the plains.  Mylie had a part and did a great job!  I was proud of her for memorizing her lines and taking on her stage fright!  She made one cute pioneer girl!



Briant Teichert Family Reunion

Last week, we had a Briant Teichert family reunion. This is something we haven't done for 5 years (since Tyson got home from his mission), and now that Sullivan is home, we felt it was high time to get together for a few days!  We had such a fun time together.  It was wonderful just to be all together, but we also did some fun things.  We missed Austin, who couldn't leave work in OK City to be there, but otherwise everyone made it.

We started out Sunday evening with family pictures.  Sullivan's fiance, Michelle, took the pictures and is very talented!  I haven't seen a full family pic yet, but these pictures of us siblings and the grandkids turned out super cute (well, the grandkids anyway!) and are so fun to have!  Thanks, Michelle!

(Sorry, but the rest of the pics won't be quite this quality!)

That evening, we also enjoyed some time just visiting and playing, dinner, and a great FHE by my dad.

Connor and Mylie with Sedona.  She was sick most of the reunion, but was pretty happy that first night.

The next morning began with breakfast and then a hike up Big Hill and a visit to Tille's grave at the cemetery.

Everybody made it to the top, even the 3-year-olds who walked all the way!  My mom hikes the hill almost daily in the summer and has kept a tally over the past 5 years.  She recently hit 500 trips up the hill.  She's amazing!

Heading up the dump road before turning up Big Hill.

We made it to the top! (Even the 9-month pregnant lady!)

After that, we packed up and headed to Bear Lake.  I LOVE Bear Lake!  It is so perfect for kids! We went to the north end, and the water is shallow for forever. It's so warm, too.  The weather was perfect and we all had a great time.

 

The kids had fun making a "hot tub". The water was actually almost hot in that shallow area.

The adults spent most of their time playing volleyball. We didn't have a net, but had tons of fun just passing it around seeing how many hits we could get in a row without dropping it.  Our record was 51, but the best were the awesome dives into the water, especially Tyson's!  Wish I could have gotten a picture of somebody going down.

 

That night we camped in a campground near the lake.  It poured rain a couple times, but in between, we were able to get everything set up and have a good dinner.

Silly Kids!

Cute little Owen. This kid's hair is the BEST!

On the final morning of the reunion, we went to Minnetonka Caves.  The youngest kids didn't care so much for this tour, but the older ones were really interested in the cave and formations.

I LOVE my family! It was great to get together, and hopefully we will do this more often.

Pack Trip

Early this month, Tony and Connor were able to go on a pack trip.  Tony's parents and one of his brothers, along with his wife and two oldest kids, had gone up the day before with all the horses.  Tony and Connor hiked in, a 12-mile hike up into the Uintas.  Although their trip got cut short with the news of the passing of Tony's grandma, they still enjoyed their hike in and out and Connor did a little fishing as well.  They also got some beautiful pictures!

Baseball, Tee Ball, and Swim Lessons

June was super busy for this family with baseball every Monday and Wednesday nights for Connor, tee ball games every Tuesday and Thursday for Mylie, and swim lessons 5 days/week for 3 weeks for Mylie and Mariah.  Seemed like we were constantly on the go!  But the kids had a great month.  Here are a few highlights:

Connor played pitching-machine baseball this year.  He had a great year and was able to play on a team with a couple of his friends.  His favorite position to play was catcher. (I tried to upload some video of him playing, as well as Mylie's tee ball, and the girls swimming, but it wouldn't work, and I'm tired of trying and waiting . . . and waiting.) So you just get some boring mug shots, I guess!

Mylie played tee ball for the first time this summer.  She really loved it!  She played on a team with two of her cousins and two uncles for coaches.  She learned how to hit and throw, but what she was best at was running the bases!  She could really get around in a hurry!

We didn't do swim lessons last sumer, so Mylie hadn't done it for awhile, and it was the first time for Mariah.  They both had tons of fun!  Mariah wasn't really scared of the water before, but she became even more comfortable in the water, especially with going under water.  I knew Mylie could swim before she started lessons, but she lacked confidence.  But by the end of the three weeks, she was swimming all over the place! 

Here it is . . .

. . . the website for our new business!  Check it out!

http://jogeefishstay.weebly.com/

Let me explain . . .

Wow. So one post in 2 months' time is a definite record low for me in my 4 or so years of blogging.  I would like to just blame the fact that we were without internet for awhile.  But truthfully, we were only without for about 3 weeks, and I suppose things like caulking and painting all the trim in the house, painting the baby room and furniture, planting the garden, planting about 7 flats of flowers, watering all living things, weeding and weeding and weeding again, baseball games 2 nights a week, tee ball games 2 other nights of the week, swim lessons 5 days a week for 3 weeks, a week out of town to go to Des Moines, IA, two trips to Cokeville, a few day trips to Utah, and keeping up with laundry, feeding, and cleaning may have something to do with it too!  I've said it before and I'll say it again: BLOGGING IS NOT A SUMMER SPORT!!!  (But I did find a few hours today to update this thing, so until next time, here's what you get!)

Sulli, Cousins, and a Tasty Summer Treat

Okay, so this post is a little random, but I just wanted to put them all together.

First off, my brother Sullivan got home from his mission early last week!  It was so good to see him again.  But my camera died way too soon, so here are all the pics I got.

Ya, just one of him!  But I did get some cute ones of the kids getting wild in the airport while waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting!  He seriously took FOREVER to come down to baggage claim after the flight got in. We were all getting a little impatient, but quickly forgot once we saw him.

Second item: Cousin Fun.  This past Monday and Tuesday, Tami and her boys came for a visit.  We enjoyed 3 different parks, one of them being a splash park, a baseball game, a tour around the ranch, seeing all the animals, and just being together.  The kids had fun building this fort all by themselves!

Last item. If you want a fun, easy, and tasty summer treat, this is great! I usually don't do fun stuff like this, but decided to try this one.  Just lime sherbet for the rind, raspberry sherbet for the watermelon, and chocolate chips for the seeds.  Cute and yummy!

The Pond

This summer we have spent quite a few evenings down at "the pond" here on the ranch.  "The pond" is actually almost more like a lake, and is stocked with fish, which makes for some really fun fishing.  The reason we have spent so much time down there this summer is that we finally have our cabin (which we bought 2 1/2 years ago) all ready for guests!  In fact, we had our first guests last weekend, and they loved their stay!  It's a cute little one-room cabin with a loft, kitchenette, and bathroom.  We have water, septic, and electricity, which we couldn't be more excited about!  Anyway, if you think your family would enjoy spending some time in a beautiful area fishing, staying in the cutest little cabin, and enjoying some quiet solitude, let me know!  We will soon have a website, and when we do, I'll post a link here on the blog.  I don't have any cabin pics right now, but here are a few of us having fun there!

We love cooking out at the pond.  There is a fire pit and a picnic table.

Probably the kids' favorite thing is the paddle boat we just got this summer.  We can fit our whole family on it with Tony and I pedaling and the kids on the back. SO FUN!  (And, of course, for guest use, too! We also have a canoe and a fishing boat.)

We typically stay long enough to enjoy the sunset. It's also a great time for fishing!  Here's Connor fishing from the dock.

And he caught a beauty!



POKE

Poke is Connor's steer.  That's right, he's old enough this summer to do a steer for 4-H. He got Poke clear back in December or January and fed him every day through the rest of the school year.  Now that summer is here, he is really getting him ready for the fair!  Here he is feeding, spraying and brushing his new friend.

Growing Up . . .

How is it possible that my little Mylie Jo could already be old enough to lose her first tooth? I don't know, but it happened!  She thinks she's pretty big now.

With the nice hole in her smile . . .

. . . and in a very short time, with a premanent tooth in its place.

Track, Track, and more TRACK!

Oh, how I love track and field! (But mostly TRACK.)  This spring was beautiful weather-wise, and my kids are all old enough to do well all day at the track, so we took advantage this year and hit a few track meets! (Why lie? I always hit a few track meets each spring, regardless or weather or ages of children.) 

We went to the BYU meet, which is always a great meet!  The weather was great, and after starting the meet with a scary experience--Mylie fell through the bleachers at the second to top step and landed on the concrete down below, luckily feet first--we ended up having a great time.  Connor, of course, watches every bit of the pole vault competition at each meet, but aside from that, they all like to play a lot more than they like to watch track.

Although they don't really like watching all the races, they do enjoy having their own track meets at home, where they compete in several events.  One day, they even dressed up in "track clothes" for their meet!

State track was so much fun this year. Tessa did great, lots of great performances, and the kids were really good.  But, of course, I forgot to take a single picture at the track.  I did, however, get some fun pictures at a great park they have in Casper.  The kids love going there, and we were glad we went when we did, since it rained on the other days.

Finally, the second week of June, I went on a road trip with my Dad and sister, Olivia, out to Des Moines, IA, for the NCAA Track and Field Championships.  Tony and I went 4 years ago, and I've always wanted to go again, and so this year, when a friend of mine--actually a girl I coached in volleyball a few years back--qualified to run the steeplechase, I decided to go.  She won her heat on day one, then fell on a barrier in the finals. It was so sad, but she got up and finished the race, finishing in 11th place in the nation.  She is AMAZING and I was so glad I got to go watch her run!  I also had a great time spending 5 whole days with Dad and Livi.

I'm guessing that watching track next year, with a 9-month-old baby, might be a little trickier.  Glad I was able to enjoy this season so much!