Our first ever school wide Snow Day

At 4:38 am this morning we got a phone call from Ava's school saying that school would be cancelled for the day due to the inclement weather! I wasn't planning to risk driving her to school anyway but it was nice to know she wouldn't have to miss a day. When we got up this morning we had about a foot of snow. We are now (6 hours later) up to about 15" or so. 

The girls wasted no time getting on their snow gear this morning and we were outside by 8:30 am. 

By the way I am also attempting to blog from my iPad for the first time so I'm not sure if I'm doing all this right or not. I guess I'm about to find out. 

Camping On The Clinetop

It has been a very long time since we have gone camping! The last time we went Sadie was just barely more than one and we were still enjoying our yearly camping trip with the Morgan family. (Which we fully expect to resume once they return to the U.S.) 

Chris had this spot picked out for us after he came here on a camp out with his YM and after we got there I knew why. It was so beautiful! We did not see another person camping the whole time we were there. It was quiet and peaceful and the perfect spot for our little family.

 Grace did pretty well for her fist time camping, although I did have to put her to sleep in the care first then transfer her to the tent b/c she was having a hard time going to sleep. But she had loads of fun playing in the dirt!

 Our first night there we just took a little hike close to our camp site to look around and explore. The scenery was amazing and I couldn't stop taking pictures!

The wildflowers were everywhere!

The next morning we decided to try the hike down to the creek. While Chris claims it is only a mile it is still a very tricky hike because it is really steep at the end right before you get to the creek. 

 The girls did so great. Ava and Sadie hiked the whole way down and up on their own and didn't even complain. 

The reward was getting down to this gorgeous creek. It was too cold to swim in but we still had fun playing around and just being together. 

 Proof I was actually there!! The only picture I'm in!

 I kept the food pretty simple b/c the cooking is the one thing about camping I don't enjoy. So we had bagels for breakfast. Grace didn't mind. (look at those pretty eyes!)

 Chris built a sort of hammock out of some logs and a tarp. He planned to sleep on it but it looked like rain both nights so he opted to stay in the tent. 

 There were also a ton of berry bushes next to our camp site and Ava loved picking them. You can see her in the background getting ready to put some in a bowl. Grace benefited the most from Ava's hard work. She loved them! 

My three little munchkins!

 Camping season is about over now. Hunting season has started which means the mountains are busy so I'm glad we got to go before the summer was over. 

First Day of Kindergarten

Freaking out? Who's freaking out?! It's definitely not Ava! She is so excited to be starting school this year and was so brave when I dropped her off this morning. In fact, when I said "okay I'm leaving now" she didn't even look up when she abruptly said "bye!" I had to ask her for a hug and kiss and when that was over she went right back to what she was doing. I'm guessing that 90% of the time the kids are braver than their parents!

When we left the house this morning we found that Chris had left Ava a special note! Such a sweet dad!

 I wanted to take a picture of Ava next to the school sign but I couldn't find it so we settled for taking a picture from a distance so I could see the school name. 

 We are so lucky to have 4 other kids from church who will be in the same class (only 3 pictured here). Hopefully they can all stick together and help each other out. 

 All of the kids go outside when their parents drop them off and then when the bell rings they get in line with their teacher and they all go to the class together. I've never heard of this and it seems strange to me. I would much rather she go straight to class when I drop her off. 

 THESE TWO! I am so happy that they are in the same class. I know they will stick together like glue! 

 Friends and cousins! Couldn't be any better!

It's 11:15 now and lunch time for Ava is 11:35. Chris and Sadie are at our property by the river this morning and he said they would try to go meet Ava for lunch (apparently parents can come for lunch any day they want!)  I hope he makes it. That would be such a fun surprise for her first day!

Kindergarten here we come!

"Jiminy Cricket"

A few years ago my MIL bought this child size four wheeler for the grand kids.I don't know why but we call it Jiminy Cricket. It's been sitting in a shop for probably two years now and Chris finally got it out to see if Ava was ready. She's not. At least not outside of our yard and driveway. Sadie tried once too but she was too freaked out by how fast it went and wouldn't get back on. Ava, always fearless, was more than happy to give it a try. 

 Yes, we ride 4 wheelers in dresses!

I'm hoping this might be motivation for some cousins to come visit! (hint hint)

Boating At Rifle Gap

This July has been nice and hot and a day at the lake is just what the doctor prescribed. Rifle Gap is a quick 35 minute drive from our place and some friends invited us to spend a day on the lake. A close friend of ours is moving away soon so we thought spending a day together at the lake would be a fun way to say goodbye. And we were right. All of the kids had a blast and no one got hurt. Yippee! 

Our friends have this adorable little blow up "water ski" thing to help kids learn how to stand up and hold a rope. Sort of a practice run for when they get older. It was so cute to see the girls ride it. Ava actually stood up and held the rope but the were too far away at that point for me to get a good picture. So I got a thumbs up! 

.

The happiness is written all over their faces! 

 While the girls headed out on the boat with Chris and some others Grace and I hung out on the "beach".   A little more rocky than sandy, but we made it work. 

Halfway through the day I remembered that I had the pack n play in the truck so I got that set up for Grace and she was thrilled. I'm not even joking this girl actually started crying when I packed it up because it was time to go home. 

 Chris and  couple of the guys rode the big tub together (isn't that cute!) and I was surprised how long they were able to hang on with all the crazy driving the boat driver was throwing at them. At one point Chris's body flew into the air but he was still hanging on and when he came down he landed on the guy in the middle. And yet they all stayed on still. 

 The girls (there was 7 of them and only two boys, a one year old and one month old) had a good time watching their dads and chanting "go dad! go dad!" It was cute.

 Sadie was cold and tired so she decided to make herself comfortable. It wasn't long after this picture that I looked over and saw her curled up and sleeping.

Grace was tired too!

This is me and Ashley. She's the friend that is moving away...to Pennsylvania! We took a sad face picture too but it wasn't very flattering so I opted to go with the smiles. But we are crying on the inside.

I'm not sure how this picture ended up at the end because it was actually at the beginning of the day. The girls had so much fun riding the tube together. Sadie's side went completely under the water at one point but she stayed on and was okay. But after the ride was over she never did want to go back out. Ava and I rode together later and both flew off (along with another little girl) but it didn't bother Ava at all. She's fearless like that.

We got to the lake at 10:00 am and stayed until 6:00 pm. When we got home everyone was tired and hungry and dirty. Ava was pretty red and sunburned especially on the back of her legs but Sadie didn't look like she'd been in the sun at all. Go figure.  I had so much fun it makes me want to get a boat. But my boat owner friend said "No, you don't want a boat. You want a friend with a boat!" Apparently they are a lot of work. Who knew?

Happy 4th of July!

What says "Happy 4th of July" better than a family all in tie dye!? That is how we celebrated this year. We also spent the whole week here on the ranch with Chris's family. All 5 of his siblings and their families were here for the week and it was a blast.

The biggest news of the week was that my in-laws 13 grandchildren were all together. We didn't waste the opportunity for a photo. 

 Don't you just love photo bombers!?

 We celebrated on the 4th starting with our annual ward 4th of July breakfast. Followed by lots of lounging (a few brave hikers) and then a large lunch/dinner. After dinner a large group of us went to our property on the colorado river to go fishing. 

 There was more playing done that fishing. 

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays and it is a great time to teach our children about our country and the sacrifices that were made so that we could have such a wonderful life. I hope I teach my kids well. 

Sadie Turns 4

It hardly seems possible that four years has already come and gone since I held this little baby in my arms.

 She has brought so much joy to my life and to our family. Sadie is sweet and sensitive, she is a tom boy but still loves pretty dresses and dolls. She is a good big sister and absolutely loves all of her friends and family. My favorite Sadie words are currently "favorite parts" (you know which ones she's talking about) and "cuptable" (for cup holder). 

 I seriously have a curse or something. In Decemeber Ava's birthday cake got smashed on the way home. Sadie's cake...smashed! Still tasted good though and she didn't seem to mind. 

I love how much pure joy you can see on kids faces when they open their presents.

 Thanks to all of our friends and family who came all the way up to the ranch to celebrate with us!

Happy Birthday Sadie Girl!

My Cowboy

First of all, isn't that a great view!?  I love my life in the country.

I just wanted to post these pictures because I'm so proud of Chris. He's been working with our horse trying to get him broke so that we can ride him. It's a little daunting getting up on a horse that could throw you off at any moment. He's making great progress though and it's fun to watch Chris do something new. 

Also, in case you hadn't noticed I just want to point out that my cowboy wears a baseball cap and tennis shoes. I think it's humorous.