Allie's 7th Birthday

Our baby girl is 7!  She has really wanted Grandma Margie to take her to Build a Bear so that is what we did.  Megan even got to pick out a bear to stuff.  The worker at the store was so funny and good with the girls, they had the best time.  I let Allie pick out a dress and some shoes for her bear that she named Elizabeth.  

After we went back to grandma's house to get our car and then the girls and I went to Chick-fil-a for lunch.  Tony had to work and the boys wanted to stay home.  So it was a fun girls outing.  After Tony got home from work we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  She happily sat on the saddle and let them shout out for her birthday.  We gave her a couple of her gifts at home after dinner.  She loved all the attention and had a great birthday.  

First Day of School 2021-2022

Today was the first day of school for these kiddos.  Even though this was a shorter summer they were all very excited to go back to school.  Tyler started high school as a 9th grader.  He said he had a good day and really like it so far.  Today was A Day with four classes and tomorrow will be B Day with another four classes.  Tyler said he knew some kids in every class except his first period.  I guess we will see how tomorrow goes.  I am sure just as good as today.

The other three had an equally good day.  They all like their teachers and have friends in their classes.  Josh has a new to the schoolteacher and he was a little nervous about how she would be.  He is still not so sure about her and how she'll be, but I think it'll be a good year for him.  It is so nice having them all back in school.  They love it and I love to see them so happy learning and growing.

Father's Blessings

Last night before we put the kids to bed Tony gave each of them a father's blessing before the first day of school.  Each of the blessings were super sweet and just what they needed to hear.  We are lucky that Tony is worthy and able to give us all blessings when we need them.

Canning the Corn

We went back up to Harrisville to check out how the corn is canned before school starts.  It was another hot day, but always fun to see how things are canned.  Tony was especially busy dealing with lots of problems but he did great fixing them and giving us a tour too.

The Cabin Never Disappoints

I decided to take the kids up to the cabin yesterday.  I was able to move the piano lessons up to the morning and then we left after lunch.  It was nice to get out of the smoke a little bit and into slightly cooler temperatures. 

My parents came up earlier that day and then my mom stayed the night with us and then we took her home.  We were able to go on lots of four-wheel rides and we relaxed on the deck in the evening.  The cooler temperatures felt so nice.  I told my mom I ordered a moose sighting and then about a half an hour later a mama mouse came down from the back of the property with her baby.  They walked down and went straight to the pond.  They got a nice drink and then went on their way.  It was so fun to see, and the kids loved it.

This morning we cleaned up the cabin, had some breakfast, and then we went on one last four-wheel ride before packing up the car and heading home.  It was beautiful and just perfect.  I really thought that I would have gone up to the cabin a bunch this summer, but it just didn't happen.  I am glad that we were able to make it happen right before school starts next week.

Girls Trip 2021 - Jackson, Wyoming: Day 4 - Shopping & Driving Home

 
We started off our last day in Jackson by going to get some breakfast at a restaurant near our hotel.  After we ate we stopped at some shops before going back to our hotel to pack up the car and check out of our hotel.  We then did some more shopping before we started our journey back home.  The drive was good without any problems.  

Once we got back to my parents house we were all ready for some dinner.  Connie wanted to get home, so she left to drive home.  The rest of us went to Cafe Rio to get some dinner and it was super good.  The kids wanted to have a sleep over with their cousins this night so I didn't need to rush to pick them up from Margie's house.  So after dinner we went back to my parents house.  We walked around the block many times to work off dinner and then chatted on the patio.  It was nice to hang out for a while before I had to take Julie and Wendy to the airport.  I love spending time with my family.  Girls trips are always so much fun.

Girls Trip 2021 - Jackson, Wyoming: Day 3 - ATV Rides

This morning we had to get up and pack up because we needed to check out of our hotel before going back in to Jackson.  We did have some time to get some breakfast at the lodge before leaving for Jackson.

We got some gas before going to our check in place for the ATV rides.  We got all checked in and fitted for helmets and goggles before getting back into the van to go to our ATV spot.  We did have to drive about 30 minutes back towards the Lodge to get to our trails.  

We got all set with our helmets, goggles, and bandanas and we were off.  We had two single seaters and two double seaters.  My mom took Connie (who seemed really worried about riding) and I took Teagan (because I am nice).  Even with driving the double it was so much fun.  I would have liked to drive a little faster on the bumps but when I did it really made Teagan fly up, so I tried to take the bumps slowly.  

The guides drove us around to some awesome view spots and told us about the area, the trees, and plants.  On one of our stops we had lunch on our four-wheelers.  They had sandwiches, chips, cookies, and water.  The day started out overcast and cool, but by lunch it had gotten hot.  I wanted less talking and more riding, for I love it so much.  It was a very dusty and fun ride.  

After we got back to the cars we went back to Jackson and checked into our hotel for that night.  It was called Antler Inn and it was actually really quite nice for a motel.  We got all set, rested, and cleaned up before going to get some pizza for dinner.  

After dinner we stopped at a couple shops on our way back to our hotel.  Connie and mom went ahead of us back to the hotel and then onto the theater.  They had gotten us tickets to go see the local theater put on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  Wendy didn't want to go so she stayed back in the hotel. Julie, Teagan, and I then walked over to the play in the rain.  

We got our seats and waited for it to start.  I guess my Aunt Connie has some anxieties sitting next to strangers or being in big groups, or something.  She ended up snapping at me very rudely with the worlds must meanest look and that really hurt my feelings, so I ended up leaving the play about 5 minutes into the show.  I just couldn't sit there and enjoy the show and laugh along when I felt so terrible about how Connie had treated me.  So I went back to the hotel and hung out with Wendy.  Wendy was happy I was back and I was happy to get to spend more quality time together.  It was just too bad that the day had to end like that, but Connie did apologize the next morning.

Girls Trip 2021 - Jackson, Wyoming: Day 2 - Jenny Lake

When we got back we got some lunch at a nearby restaurant.  The food was good but it took forever to get it.  After we ate our fill we then drove back to Jackson Lake Lodge.  We all got changed into dry clothes to get ready to walk around Jenny Lake.  Wendy and Teagan decided to stay back so it was just Julie, Connie, Mom, and me.

We got there close to when they stop doing the boat rides, so we decided to ride the boat across the lake and then hike the other half of the lake back.  We were the only ones on the boat riding across the lake.  It was a nice short ride, but a pretty one for sure.  

The hike around the lake was beautiful.  We loved being there so late because it felt like we had the place to our selves.  We had three groups of people go by us, that's all.  It took us a little longer to go around then I thought it would, but since my mom is 70 years old, I say she did a great job.  Her stomach wasn't feeling very good so that made it that much harder for her.  We had to stop often for her to rest, but it was so beautiful we didn't mind at all.  Julie and I even practiced our hold incase we needed to carry my mom back to the car.  We were happy that we remembered stuff from our girls camp days.

By the end I was getting a little nervous that it was starting to get dark.  I really didn't want to drive back to the lodge in the dark.  We did pretty good and made it right before it got too dark.  We did drive by a large pack of elk and it was really cool.  We even saw a fox by the lodge on our way out to the lake.  Wild life is so fun and so is Jenny Lake.

Girls Trip 2021 - Jackson, Wyoming: Day 2 - Morning Hike & White Water Rafting

Awe, Wednesday morning.  We got up and went for a little hike outside the lodge.  It had rained during the night so it cleared some of the smoke so we could totally see the Tetons much better and a beautiful rainbow to top it off.

After our hike we went back to the room to get ready to go into Jackson for our white water rafting adventure.  We made sure we had time to get some breakfast before we checked in.  Wendy also needed some water shoes and a hat.  We found a place to park where Teagan, Connie, and mom got some breakfast at a bakery while Julie, Wendy, and I went to see what shops were open to help Wendy find what she needed.

The stores we needed didn't open until ten, so we went to Starbucks to get us some breakfast.  Julie and I waited for the food while Wendy bought her goods.  We then met up together and walked back to the rest of our group.  After eating we then drove to our check in point and got us all set to load the bus when our time came. 

We all then loaded the bus and it drove us up the road about 30 minutes to our loading point.  We got the safety lesson and our lift jackets and we were ready to go.  Our group was in the back of the raft.  Connie and my mom sat in the middle of the raft where they didn't have to row but just hold on and have fun.

The rest of us rowed on the edge and it was so much fun.  Our guide, Will, was so good and really funny.  Someone said something and he told them he would give them a straw so they could "suck it".  So funny.  We all got so wet and it felt so good.  There were a few spots that he said we could jump in the water and swim if we wanted to.  We did not, but I did like putting my feet in.  

We went through some awesome rapids.  Will said we went through some size 3 rapids and they were amazing.  I wasn't ever scared or worried, I just loved it the whole time.  I totally want to do it again.  It ended way too fast but we got to the end of the line and had to get out.  We then walked up to the bus that took us back to the office where our car was parked.