A Day at Uncle Bill's

On Friday we loaded up the car and headed over to Firth, ID.  If we could fly like a bird, it isn't very far, but we have to go up around Palisades to Idaho Falls and then down to Firth.  I hadn't been to Uncle Bill's in over 10 years, and it was great to go back.  Uncle Bill and Aunt Deanna have remodeled their home and it is GORGEOUS!!  I loved everything they did.  The kids were completely content to spend the majority of the day in the back yard.  The rope swing and the play house were amazing.  Joely was especially pleased with the play house and didn't want to come out at all.  She loves playing house!

Right at Home

We enjoyed lunch together and just visited all day long.  Rachel, Mason, and Carter came over for lunch, and Joanna, Ava, and sweet little Hudson came by later.  I miss my cousins!  We got to tour Uncle Bill's giant garden and pick some produce to take home with us.  It's an amazing garden!  Ava serenaded us and showed off her amazing dancing skills, which kept us all smiling.  We finished off the night with a hot dog roast in the fire pit and (can't leave Uncle Bill's without it) homemade banana ice cream.  YUMMY!! 

Dinner!

Two of my all-time favorite people.

Ava and Emma are both four, but Ava is more Joely's size.  Such beautiful girls.

Rafting on the Snake

Earlier in the spring, my parents and I had each purchased tickets for a scenic river rafting experience out of Jackson.  We weren't sure we'd be able to use them together, but it finally worked out!  When the kids and I left Fort Collins, we took Grandma McClure and Aunt Kacie with us and met Grandpa in Rawlins (he had just finished up work meetings in Casper).  Our river rafting trip was the next day.  Joely was too little for the excursion, so three wonderful friends of mine in Star Valley took turns watching her throughout the day.  Joely was thrilled to have a whole day of friends!

Our bus took us up to Wilson, right near the project Dave had been on.  We were in a boat with Norm and Lila and our guide Brenton.  After Brenton went through all the safety precautions, Emma and Carson were terrified.  Emma sat in a near-fetal position and stared at the floor.  After we'd gone awhile, though, she really got brave.  It was almost difficult to keep her IN the boat!

About to Board the Boat

We finally got a smile out of her!

Loving the Ride

On our ride we passed Harrison Ford's property, Uma Therman's home, and Tiger Wood's ex-wife's home.  We also saw 14 bald eagles during our 13 mile journey.  I especially enjoyed hearing Norm and Lila tell stories from their previous rafting experiences.  A thunderstorm followed closely behind us, but we kept ahead of the rain and enjoyed a mostly cool and shady ride.  The only thing that would have made the ride better would have been having Dave, Joely and Riley with us.

Emma LOVED putting her foot in the river.  She didn't want to take it out!

Grandpa and his Mini-Me

Grandpa sat at the bow (is that the right word?) and was our fearless leader. . . until we hit some "rapids" and he got soaked! (I can't tease too much, I was drenched right there with him.:)

Two feet in the river

The whole crew having a perfect day on the river.

Walking around Jackson

Our ride ended faster than we'd thought, so we had a little bit of time to wander around Jackson.  We hit the elk rack arches and the candy store, saw some of Tal's artwork in a gallery, and checked out my favorite gift shop.  Then it was back home to pick Joely up from the babysitters.  When I asked the kids what their favorite part of the day was, they both said, "All of it!"  They were right. . .it was a fantastic day!

Family Fun in Fort Collins

Our Sunday after-church picture

Divas Rocking their Shades

Perfect Profile

I absolutely LOVE her laughing face!

Her missing tooth is so cute!

What a guy!

Emma was determined that I get a picture of her mid-air.  I'm glad it worked.

Carson is growing up so fast. . .he'll be taller than me soon!

Our monkey enjoying the monkey bars.

Awesome Aunt Kacie

Uncle Riley and Tara made our last night in Fort Collins extra-special.

We had to get one marshmallow roast in before we left!

Hanging at the 'Tute

Going to visit Grandpa at the Institute is one of our most-requested activities in Fort Collins.  We made a pre-lunch stop to say hello and get in a few games of ping-pong and pool.

Crazy Pool Sharks

The kids know Grandpa always has a treat hiding somewhere. . .

Hanging in Grandpa's Office

What a great place to work!

Old Friends

Another highlight of our time in Fort Collins was getting to see my dear friend Heather Morain Stuart and her family.  They live in Texas, and over the years it seems like we're never in Colorado at the same time.  But our timing was perfect this year!  We got to visit with each other at the Pioneer Day celebration, but then we spent a Saturday morning together at a park catching up with each other.  The dads and boys played catch, the little kids played at the park, the girls ate watermelon and sat and listened to the conversations, and the grandmas and grandpas visited together.  Heather is as amazing and kind as always. . .it's so easy to jump right back into our friendship as if no time had passed at all!

Joely totally made herself at home at the park, making new friends and relaxing in the shade.

Joely and Caleb are only a few days apart.

Dear Friends.

Kacie in Wonderland

One of the things we were most excited for during our stay in Fort Collins was seeing Aunt Kacie perform in the play Alice in Wonderland.  She was gone at practices the whole first week we were there, but it was worth it.  We were able to get front-row seats at the performance, which was perfect for Joely.  Now that Joely has seen performers on a stage, she's putting on her own performances at every opportunity!  Kacie played Tweedledee, or was it Tweedledum?  :)  The whole cast did fantastic; they made the story of Alice and Wonderland (which I normally think of as weird) completely enjoyable, and we were so proud of Kacie!

Tweedledee and Tweedledum. . .what a combination!

Hanging out with a star!

Joely was sure excited to see her aunt perform.

Of course, everything is more fun with Uncle Riley around!

A Visit From the Tooth Fairy

We were eating dinner at Grandpa and Grandma McClure's, and Emma refused to eat the last bite of one of her apple slices.  This was strange, because she usually LOVES all fruit and vegetables, but she did NOT want to eat the rest of the apple.  As she left the dinner table, Emma commented that her front bottom tooth was loose.  Dave pulled her aside and was looking at her tooth for a moment or two and then, VOILA! The tooth was out!  Emma is still four for a few more weeks, so she's following in the footsteps of her older brother and losing teeth early.  She was so calm about the whole thing and simply excited to have the tooth fairy come visit.  We teased her that the tooth fairy  might not know where to find her since we were on vacation, and sure enough, it took the tooth fairy two days to exchange the tooth for a $1 bill.  But Emma didn't mind!  I was amazed at how quickly we went from, "Mom, my tooth is loose!" to "Mom, I lost my tooth!"  It was easy-peazy.  :)

She's so proud of the hole in her teeth!

Team Effort

It seems like our Emma is growing up way too fast!  Next up is a 5th birthday and then full-day kindergarten a few days later.  Crazy!

An Anniversary and a Quilt

After Dave had been in Colorado for a week and a half, the kids and I had had enough!  It was time to head to Fort Collins to see Dave and our McClure family.  Grandma and Grandpa McClure were so kind and watched our kids for us so Dave and I could have a weekend getaway to Denver to celebrate our 9th anniversary.  We had a great time being just the two of us (a very rare thing!), eating dinner at P.F. Chang's, going to a session at the Denver Temple, eating lunch at Panera, and driving by our new house.  I don't think I've been so completely relaxed in months because I knew my kids were fine and all I had to worry about was Dave and me.  It was a great feeling!

Almost 9 years to the day since we were standing right here as the new Mr. and Mrs. David Jex.

  The Fort Collins stake held their Pioneer Day celebration at the Lynwood building that Saturday, and it was a lot of fun to see and visit with old friends.  Toward the end of the evening, Grandpa and Grandma McClure were presented with a book of remembrances and a beautiful quilt of the Fort Collins temple as a thank you for their years of service to the stake.  It was pretty special!