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!

Doing What They LOVE Best!

Here are a couple short videos of Connor and Mylie doing what they love best!  Mylie is a little tumbler and tumbles all over the place.  Connor is, once again, obsessed with pole vault this spring and is very excited about the progress he is making.  Of course, I'm proud of them both, but mostly I just love watching them be so passionate about something they are doing!  Everybody should have that.