Father's Day

For Father's Day this year, I sent Dave on a scavenger hunt around his car.  I handed him his keys with the first clue.  He went from there to the ignition. . .on to the back seat. . .

to the glove box. . .

by the gas cap. . .

And finally to the trunk.

Happy Father's Day to the most hard-working, kind, dedicated, HANDSOME, good, and amazingly talented man around.  He keeps our family running with his uncanny ability to fix all that needs fixing and keeps going even when he's downright exhausted.  I knew from the first time I met him that he was special. . .15 years later I've got hundreds of examples that prove I was right.  Thanks for being an incredible husband and father, Dave!  I love you!

Night at the Ranch

We spent one Saturday evening up at the ranch doing all the things we love. . .spending time with Grandpa and Grandma, campfires, s'mores, taking pictures, and four-wheelers!

Joely discovered swinging on the rail.  What a cute crazy girl!

Dad and his girls

I had a personal driver.  Carson did a fantastic job getting us everywhere we needed to go while I sat back and enjoyed the ride.

The lilacs are in bloom all over the valley.  When the wind blows just right you can smell them even when you aren't close.  I just try to soak up the scent.

Carson has helped Grandpa on the tractor, so he's our family expert (at least he thinks so)!

Look, Mom, no hands!

The kids are SO HAPPY when they're riding four-wheelers.

Riding towards the ranch house

You can't beat my hair. . .CRAZY!!

  For dinner, Dave made us all delicious tin foil dinners.  He's a professional at it!  Once we'd had our fill of four-wheeling, we went back up to the campfire for s'mores with Grandpa and Grandma.  We were so glad they came down to the fire with us.

Our two beautiful "Ramonas"

We are serious about our marshmallow roasting around here!

We had a fun-filled night and are excited for more to come!

Working with Grandpa

Carson has had a great time this summer working up at the ranch with Grandpa Robinson.  Grandpa will come pick Carson up in the morning and has jobs for him to do throughout the day (along with time to ride four-wheelers, of course).  Then he'll bring him home in the afternoon when they're done.  We are SO GRATEFUL that Carson gets to spend time learning about the ranch and working with Grandpa!

And we all get excited to see Grandpa in his truck or on the 4-wheeler!

The girls always want to jump in with Grandpa when he comes!

Home after a good days worth of work.

Moving?

We have loved living in Star Valley, especially since summer has arrived.  It is absolutely beautiful, like living in the Garden of Eden.  And the people here are amazing.  Our ward members are warm and welcoming and have made us feel like family from the very beginning (although, technically, we are family.  I think we're related to at least a third of the ward. :)  We go to T-ball games and community events and just soak up how great it is to be here.  I didn't think I would care for rural life, but it has been wonderful.  (Can you tell my whole attitude has changed since the weather warmed up and we can be outside a lot?)  

Dave somewhat unexpectedly received a promotion at Big-D, which we were thrilled about.  He was asked to become a project manager and be over his own full project from start to finish.  We were glad to see Big-D recognize his work ethic and experience and give him this chance. 

BUT. . .

The next morning, Dave sent me a text saying, "You'll never guess who just called. . ."

It was Randy with Hansen Construction, calling to tell Dave that they were ready to hire him.  We had been waiting for 14 months for that phone call, and it cracked me up that it finally came right after Dave's promotion.  We decided that a trip to Fort Collins was in order so Dave could meet the project team and see the job, and so we could check out the towns we might live in.  We packed up the van for a very quick trip. . .

Getting all those wiggles out after a long car drive. . .

Air born

 Sunday was my birthday (lovely #31), and it was fun to spend the morning in the Timberline Ward.  When we got home we had to take a few pictures in Grandma and Grandpa McClure's beautiful, green front yard. It's gorgeous!

After a yummy birthday lunch, Dave and I left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa and took off to explore possible locations to live in.  We drove through Berthoud and Longmont and then decided to check out the job site in Denver.  I have to admit, as we drove from Longmont to the site, I felt awful.  I felt very claustrophobic among all the masses of people, especially as we got into downtown Denver and drove through some "ghetto" parts of town.  Once we got to the job site it felt much better!  The job is impressive, even from outside the gate.  We went a longer way home, allowing us to go through Brighton, Frederick and Firestone.  We fell in love with Firestone and hope to be able to find a house near there.  Once we got home it was time for the birthday celebration.

Gotta love Joely's marker mustache!

It was a nice (though atypical) birthday.  The next morning Dave met with the project team while we went shopping (I needed a good dose of Target while I had the chance).  And then we were on our way home.  It was a jam-packed, eventful weekend!

Carson's Last Day of First Grade

It was the last day of school, and I anticipated Carson being home by about 11:15.  The girls and I were outside waiting. . . and waiting. . .and waiting.  The bus finally came about 11:40.  They were late because Kurtis, Carson's bus driver and friend, had taken all the kids for ice cream cones on the way home from school.  What a great guy!

Some of Carson's favorite things about first grade:

Making a cheetah mask in art (Thayne Elementary)

 French Immersion with Madame Stone

Getting to know his assigned second grade teacher, Mrs. Krittendon

P.E.

Riding the school bus

Tea Party

I promised the girls we'd have a tea party during the last week of school before Carson was home for the summer.  One last "girl" thing with all of us, since Emma will be in kindergarten next year.  So, on Carson's last full day of school, we spent the morning preparing for our tea party.  We used the Fancy Nancy Tea Party book as our guide, which gave us lots of fun ideas.  We made butterfly place mats and created some of the food Fancy Nancy suggested.  We even pulled out a brand new tea party set I'd been saving for a special occasion.

Our menu consisted of nutella roll-ups, raspberry jam roll-ups, cucumber sandwiches, vegetables, raspberry sticks, and strawberry lemonade.  We got everything outside on the back patio and had just started eating when I realized I needed something in the house.  I went up the steps, tried to turn the door knob, and realized that I'd just locked us out!  That kind of ended the fun of the tea party. . .we were all too worried about getting back in to enjoy our special meal.  Fortunately, I had left the front window open a bit.  I was able to get the screen off and send Emma in through the window to save the day.  Needless to say, it was a tea party to remember!

Emma's First T-Ball Game

We signed Emma up for T-ball this season and have had a great time watching her play.  Her first game was cancelled because of weather, so it was held the following Saturday.  We had so much fun!  Emma's first at-bat was awesome.  She hit the ball a few feet, then ran forward and picked it up before the other team could do anything.  Dave was helping all the batters on our team, and he talked with her for a minute before she tried again.  But it must not have worked, because she did the exact same thing all over again!  It was a riot.  Then, as she was getting ready to try once more, a helicopter landed right behind us!  We all paused briefly to watch it land and then Emma swung, connected, and actually ran to first base.  :)  She played a great game and definitely had fun in the process.

Getting ready to whack the ball right outta the field.

She's serious about her short stop position.

Our little ball player.

The helicopter was landing for a health and safety fair the community was holding at the community center right by the baseball fields.  We hadn't known about it, but were sure glad to be able to go.  The kids got to sit in the helicopter, a firetruck, and an ambulance.  They were giving away brand new bike helmets and free lunch.  The kids loved watching the police dog and jumping in the bounce house.  We ended up staying for a few hours just enjoying all that was offered and visiting with friends.  The only problem with the day was that we never sun-screened anyone.  Thankfully, I was the only one who got royally fried!

Exploring the fire truck.  Our backdoor neighbor was one of the firemen at the event.

Hopefully we never have to ride in one of these for real.

The day was awesome, and it gave me yet another reason to love living in Star Valley.

Circus Circus

The first-graders at Thayne Elementary put on a  program called Circus Circus for the end of the year.  Carson was asked to be a circus announcer, and boy did he do an amazing job!  I was concerned about how he would handle being in front of so many people since he refuses to sing in sacrament meeting or participate in the primary program.  I thought that if I practiced his part with him it would make him more hesitant to perform.  So, I had no idea what his performance would be like.  He was SPECTACULAR!!  He spoke clearly and was easy to understand.  Plus, he had great expression.  Mrs. Matijczyk said that he was a wimpy announcer when they started, but he'd become fabulous!  I'd have to agree with the fabulous.  Carson and a girl named Anna took turns introducing each circus act and brought lots of energy to the show.  Grandpa and Grandma Robinson were able to come watch the performance, which made it extra special.  After the show, the teachers held a reception where families could eat and visit with each other.  It was a great afternoon! Our family went out for ice cream that night to celebrate Carson's awesome performance.

What a great circus announcer!

Waiting for the show to start.

Welcome to the circus! Take a seat.  The show will begin shortly. Welcome the enormously electrifying elephants!  Check out the mischievous monkey!  And now enjoy the circus parade!

Watching the show with Grandma Mona

 

Lots of congratulations from Grandpa and Grandma Robinson for a performance well done.

Memorial Day Dutch Oven

On Memorial Day we headed up to the Ranch to do Dutch Oven with Grandpa and Grandma Robinson.  We'd found a recipe to try and were excited to see how it would turn out.

Yummy!

Hey good-lookin', what you got cookin'?

Dave also put together an apple cobbler that we knew would be heavenly.  The meal ended up taking much longer to cook than we'd thought.  We were so hungry by the time it was done, but it was definitely worth the wait!  It was certainly a do-againer.

Fishing Firsts

We spent a good chunk of Saturday morning fishing on the Salt River for the first time.  We'd invested in fishing poles for the kids and Dave (along with a super-expensive non-resident fishing license since we haven't lived here a year yet) and decided we'd better start using them.  The kids were so excited, especially Carson who received a tackle box from Grandpa and Grandma Jex for his birthday.  Emma and Carson both practiced casting in the parking lot while Dave and I got things loaded in the van.  Our first spot was just up at the road from us.  Carson got a nibble, but otherwise we were unsuccessful.  This spot was hard for Joely because I didn't feel good about her running around with the river so close and high.  But Emma and Carson were perfectly content casting over and over, hoping to lure those little fishies onto their hooks.

She must have been concentrating hard on her fishing, because her tongue was out most of the time!

This little stinker had no problem expressing her frustration with the fishing experiment.

Could she stick that lower lip out any farther?

There's that smile we love!

We decided to try another spot along the Salt and found a perfect little hideaway.  It was flat enough that I didn't worry about kids accidentally falling into the river.  Joely could play happily and I could set my chair up and keep an eye on everyone.  I would be content fishing here on a regular basis.

Even Joely got in on the fishing action.

We didn't catch any fish, but we had a great few hours enjoying the river (and hey, nobody fell in, so we did pretty good)!  I think it's something we'll be doing often over the summer.