Rider Ridin' and Old Dog Paco

Uncle Luke was nice enough

to give Rider


a few rides on his mare.

Grandpa gave Rider a ride too
but I didn't have any pics left
on my camera.

But here's to the both of you "thanks a ton!"


Grandma and Grandpa have an old dog, Paco.
The kids have really become compassionate towards him.

Anytime it would rain or get windy they would ask if

they could bring Paco in. Now mind you, we had our own
dog there too, Moqui. But they didn't mention bringing her in when the weather would be inclement!

We have some great family reunion pics,
but they will have to wait until Shylee gets home:)

I can't wait to post my pics of my adorable "Dapper Dan." It will be a hoot!

A Picture of Bordom

We got a flat tire going over the Griffin mountain. I finally won the day when I found Greg's magic wrench-thing to get the spare off.


In the meantime, Rider and I made





"Rock People"



drew in the dirt, threw rocks and


took random pictures of our feet.



All in all it ended up being a great time to hang with Rider. The other kids were smarter than us and stayed at Grandma's and Grandpa's house.

Pooling Around

I chose these pics to start with because I love the brilliant colors and we LOVED swimming in the pool!!



We went over for Cager Greg Moon's blessing. My sis-in-law, Cassy, had another paltry 10+ pound baby that they were able to bless the first part of July.



We stayed over in Blanding for a few days. We checked out Monticello, Blue Mountain, the schools, the hospital where Lance will work, and the motel's pool was the greatest hit!





We also stayed for the 4Th of July. Shylee has all those pics on her camera, so we may be posting some of the pics off of her camera at a later time:)

Shylee is staying out in Utah for girl's camp. She will be back next week.



We had an awesome time! Other family members came the next day and we goofed around in the pool for hours and hours.



Coming up next post:

flat tire on mountain,

fishing trips,
horsing around,

recording studio with sister,

and feet!



Check back soon for another round of fun and eventful posting!

Prepare Yourselves!

We have arrived back in Ohio, as of 2 1/2 hours ago! I will posting all the happenings over the summer, because.... why not! We had a wonderful time. We stayed with Debbie and Greg. Lance came out with us for a few days and then for a couple weeks at the end for vacation time, but worked in between then, here in Ohio.

It's nice to see all my stuff again. It's like recycling presents. I forgot about the fun stuff we have, and now I am so thrilled to have it again. Hmmmm...maybe that's what I will do for Christmas. I will just start packing up a bunch of the kids stuff, then when they get it for Christmas they will just be so happy to have it back again!

I have to admit something. I did do that to a few of my kids when they were really, really young.

There...I feel good about getting that off my chest. Too bad it couldn't havecome off my rear-end, but I digress......

It's nice to be back!

Hiding Out In Utah

We are in Utah with Lance's folks. It's nice to see the son again! Here in Escalante, we are not privy to Internet! Debbie and Greg aren't computer junkie's like myself:) So, I will rarely update. But just know that we are all working on our tans and enjoying Calf Creek and horsin' around!




We only have one more year in Ohio. Next summer I will be reporting from Monticello, Utah! Can you believe it? It's hard having a home there, because as badly as I want o enjoy it, I want my kids to be able to enjoy Utah! So Monticello will finally gel the two together!!!! Yay!!

The BIG #

The day started with Trapper's 3rd grade spelling bee. He was one of 3 kids that won his class round, that moved on to the 3rd grade class Spelling Bee. He did great. He is a kid that is very hard on himself. He shed a few tears because he didn't win. I tried to stay strong for him. Afterward I told him that he made it this far and that is great. He was good after that and went on to his class.


Then on to Sparkle, the local grocery store to buy simple sugar carb packed and frosted...donuts!!! So Rider could start his day packed with love and a sugar high, because Rider turned 4!



Later we had his birthday and the Cub Scouts Blue and Gold over at our house. I wanted to make sure that the Blue and Gold didn't take presidence over his big day.


So, we celebrated before and sang Happy Birthday during the B&G and kept him feeling mighty special ALL night:) Rider unwrapped some stellar presents. A sweet and smart Buzz Lightyear and accessories,






and






behind curtain number 2.....a NEW BIKE!!!





He also received the movie "Giant Meatballs Movie." For those of you that aren't in Rider's inner circle it's "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."

Dad/Lance was there to participate. He said yesterday that he felt that it was as if it was our first child having a birthday all over again, all the excitement he felt and how fast it has gone by.

A few fun notes about Rider~ he loves frogs and toads and will find them and carry them around until we have to rescue them and then he will say "they are just playing dead, they still want me to hold them."


He pats my belly and says "How cute mom, your belly is full." That is a real self-esteem builder-upper!

He once had gum in his hair and he stated "I saw the gum and then it just JUMPED right up in my hair."

And when picking out a treat at the gas station he was asked by his dad if he want gum, Rider told him "No! It will get into my hair." Then he chose something else.





Rider, we hope all your wished come true, especially those that include you staying safe and sound and happy all the days of your life:)

Muddy Shoes and Paws

Rider, Moqui, and I walked down to the pond this morning after getting the other boys on the bus.


WOW



It's like having my own zen garden in my back yard. We looked at deer tracks, picked pretty flowers and Rider wanted to hold my hand the entire time:)



I will mention that in my life size zen garden you will still get eaten by mosquitoes!



We even potted my mother's day flower and some peas before we walked back to the pond.



I think I had one of the most perfect starts to a day, even if I include the skeeters!

Makes me wonder why I am not doing this every morning!