New Floors....

What a difference a week makes!!! It's hard to believe the floors are just about done. All that's left is trim work. They look amazing!!! We have talked about floors for years and we finally did it!!!!

Happy Things....

I love finding unexpected things like this. Joshua had to find a place to put his sword while he brushed his teeth before school. So sweet. I left it there all day because it made me smile!!!

 Dust, dust and more dust. We've talked about putting down wood floors for years. Our tile work was so bad and so much of it was cracked or had already come up. So, we're tackling it this week. Optimistic that by the end of the weekend our house will look much different. And optimistic that our cleaning lady can help remove the layers of dust that are everywhere!!!

Joshua came home and needed to write...AND held the pencil correctly (at least part of the time!!). He wrote "My name is Joshua. My birthday is August 26th. I like strawberries." I wanted to cry. :) So determined to do a good job. He's getting too big too fast!

 



Bike Rodeo 2013...

The big excitement of participating in the Bike Rodeo....the practice time, getting your bike ready, riding your bike to school that day...it's all so exciting!!!! And the ever present hope of winning!!! Excitement was sky high this morning!!!

 

Joshua's first time being an official participant!!! :)

 

The concentration....

 

By some stroke of good luck...Kinder, 4th and 2nd were all right after each other! Made it very easy for me to make sure to be there for all 3 kids!

 

 Jake has his game face on!!!

Sophia with two of her sweet friends afterwards.

And this guy...he did fine until the very end...and got confused about which way to go to put up his bike. It was all downhill from there. He did agree to a picture with his ribbon...but this is as good as it gets. Maybe next year. :)

Baseball Season....

 

Jake has been anxiously awaiting the start of Fall Ball. This is his first time to play and he is so excited!!! He's on a team with Hudson and Chase. John is coaching. He has a lot to learn...but he is so happy to be out there! :)

Cousin Fun...

It was a Saturday full of fun with cousins. Silly pictures like this...

 

And sweet pictures like this.... 

It's always so nice when our kids get to spend time with their cousins.

What a Weekend...

A night out for Mike's 40th birthday, 2 soccer games, 2 birthday parties, a church Elder dinner, and painting with friends....add all that up and what do you get?? T-I-R-E-D!! This morning was a bit rough!!!

 

We have 2 soccer players in the house for this season. Back to back games and 100 degree heat made for a long 3 hours at the fields on Saturday!! But both players rocked their first game.

 

 

Look closely...do you see the look of determination in her face??? Sophia was right in there and she played well! Scored her first goal!!

After the game all the kids headed to the Splash Pad to cool off!!!

Sunday evening we went over to the Hanna's for a painting party. Denee is back in town for a visit so she held a painting "class" and they all made a Halloween picture. It was a lot of fun!!

Opening Weekend....

Brenda invited us down to their ranch for the Labor Day Weekend and the first weekend of dove season. The kids were SO excited to see a new ranch and spend a weekend with friends. Their ranch is way down south...about 30 miles from Mexico! Hot hot hot!!! But they have a pool, which helps!!!

We spent the weekend swimming, shooting and having fun!!! I'm sure we had the cutest bunch of hunters around!!!

Sophia is quite the shot!!! She hits the target every time!!!! Mike was so patient and helped all the kids. We're working hard to help the kids love hunting and being outdoors...and to be knowledge, respectful and S-A-F-E with guns.

 

Brenda's parents have golf carts to drive around the ranch. The kids love taking turns driving!!!

Jake and Chase both got their first dove. So excited!!!! Their little faces were priceless when they came through the brush holding their first bird!!!

Rylie, Sophia and Joshua took turns shagging birds for Mike! Favorite line from the hunt....Mike yelling at them "Don't worry...there will be another half dead bird for you to pick up." That sounds so wrong!!!

And this picture from the way back to the house after hunting (I know it's blurry!!). Rylie is driving. Sophia sitting beside her with a dove in hand. Little afraid of what the future might hold for these two girls!!! :)