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.