I hope I have been there

As I watched this message, I began to question myself as a parent. Have I been there ENOUGH for my children? Have I really listened to them, have I taught them things that will leave a lasting impression? I HOPE I have... I have given my all when I could, even through tough times. I hope they realize that I will try my hardest as a parent and love them unconditionally. I as pondered on this awhile, I felt  reassurance come over me. I feel like I have been there, but as we move forward, I am going to make it a point to be there MORE than ever, and listen to every hope, dream, and fear they have. As I watch them become young adolescents, I know of the temptations they will face and I want to help guide them in making the right choices when they will be so impressionable.

A Magical Summer's Night

We had YW's last night, and what a wonderful evening had by all. We started at Margaret's house watching Summer Magic with popcorn and taffy. This movie is SOOO cute!! I thought I had seen all of Hayley Mill's movies, guess not.

After the movie we headed to the to Carol's home to play an old-fashioned game of croquet. It was so much fun to watch the girls play this game and have fun doing it. I had so much fun myself as I had not played this game since I was their age.

We got done just as darkness fell. What a great evening!

Thank you girls!!

Bringin' in the BLUE

Taylor entered a zucchini from his vegetable garden and it took a

 BLUE RIBBON!

He also received a BLUE AWARD on his 4-H binder that he put together.

A Morning at the Fair

This morning was 4-H Swine Fitting & Showing at the South Bannock County Fair.

They had weigh-in on Wednesday morning and Taylor's pig weighed in at a

 WHOPPING 241 LBS!!

He showed in the Junior Class Division, being his first year in 4-H.

Here he is showing for "QUALITY"

I am so proud of him, he did an AMAZING JOB!!

He recieved a Yellow Ribbon

Showing us his number
475

Showing for Fitting & Showing

He received 2nd Place with a Red Ribbon

in the "QUALITY" division

rOw, RoW, rOw YoUr.....CaNoE

On this last Tuesday it was Joint Activity for YM/YW of the 8th Ward. They went canoeing!! Here are some pictures from their challenging river run. What amazing courage these kids have. Most of them had never been canoeing, EVER!! A big ThAnK YoU to Brother Bowman and all the adults for helping make this possible. They started out down below Alexander Dam and ended by Last Chance Canal. About an hour run, and there were rapids!! When myself and the other YW Leaders drove vehicles down to Last Chance to ensure the kids had a ride home, our hearts skipped a few beats when we seen the WaTeRfALL!! As mothers, you could only imagine our thoughts. We all had children in canoes. Everything turned out wonderful and the kids had a BLAST and everyone was safe!!

Pioneer Day 2010

Every year Uncle Jerry and Aunt Brenda have a Pioneer Day get-together. It is so much fun and there is always great tasting food. This year, with the passing of Uncle Jay, my cousin Casey came from Boise to do a memorial ride for him in the parade and the Grand Entrance of the Bancroft Rodeo. What a way to pay tribute to a man who was the true definition of a cowboy. We sure do miss him though!!

It was so amazing to visit with all the cousins and have our children play and hang out with one another. It doesn't happen as often as it should. Maybe there is something that could be done about this.......I have some ideas brewing! :) It was great to see Sammy, along with everyone else!!

We sure do have some handsome men in our family, and some beautiful women too!

The parade was fun to watch as it came pass the house, Shelbi and her fast-pitch softball team were in it, as well as Uncle Jerry along with the City Councilman.

We were able to hang out with Dillon and Chance this summer more than we have in the past summers, Taylor really enjoyed having them around more. It is sad to have them gone, they left for Kansas on Sunday. Taylor and Dax had fun hanging out too. I think they finally learned that they have a lot in common, and like quite a few of the same things.

Shelbi loves Lily and Kayla so much!! It was nice to see Tyler too! He is so TALL and handsome too. We got picture of all the 2nd cousins that were there. FINALLY!!

Uncle Terry was having a little Ciesta on the deck while we all visited with everyone. It was a great day as we celebrated and gave thanks to the pioneer men and women that went through so many trials and tribulations to get to where they wanted to be. What strong and amazing people, they set many wonderful examples for us.

A weekend filled with a little of this and a little of that.......

I knew I wanted to share photos from our fun-filled weekend, so I came up with these collages. We had a little of everything going on this weekend. From tubing to grand fish stories to smores and popcorn.

What a great time everyone had. It was awesome to be with such amazing company!!

Twin Lakes continued......

Twin Lakes

Worth the Wait......

After the parade, we took the kids to the carnival down at the city park and they played lots of games and Bungee Trampoline. While waiting in line for the Bungee Trampoline with Taylor and Chance, Dillon went back over to the carnival games and ended up running one the booths for about an hour to help out. GREAT JOB Dillon!! I think Chances favorite carnival game was the water balloon smasher. He kept getting into the chair underneath the balloons to get wet. He thought that was great fun until the wind picked up a bit, and then his teeth were just a chattering. When they were all finished playing the games they got a prize from the prize wall. Taylor got a water squirter and Shelbi got a little stuffed animal.