I love these crazy kiddos

I love...

The way she thinks makeup should be done

How she takes selfies on the toilet!

That she isn't afraid to wear a Cinderella dress to the grocery store

That he climbs on everything!

That they clean up pretty nicely

They don't mind having an equally crazy mom

They have loads of fun together

And alone

That they come up with their own consequences

That dropping the girls off at school is a good reason to throw on some boots

That they make work fun (rarely, but it happens)

First Days of School

I usually roll my eyes when people write "when did they grow up?" or "what happened to my baby?" But this time I'm dead serious!  What happened to these girls?  Fourth grade?  Second grade?  And so darn cute!

 Lucy wasn't headed to school that day but she wasn't about to be left out.

However, today was her day!  I reluctantly joined a rotating preschool group with some friends.  I don't care for how loose the curriculum is or that I have to teach, even if it is only once every five weeks, but Lucy needs some time with kids her age. 

Colorado

We are always so grateful to Ryan and his family for letting us enjoy time at their cabin in Colorado.  We've created such wonderful memories there over the years but I think this trip takes the cake.  Considering the fact that this trip happened the last week of July and it's now September, the pictures will have to speak for themselves.  I just don't have time to explain everything in detail!

There's just something about the wheel on the old grill.

We shared a few days at the cabin with Burt and Sarah and their kids.  

We watched some crazy young adults cliff jump.  My heart raced the whole time.  I just knew one of them would break their neck while I was watching!  (check out he guy on the middle right)

We made a stop up the road from the cliff jumpers to see the natural hot spring.  So fascinating!

Sunday night was the end of our "family" vacation and the beginning of vacation for Kobie and the kids.  The Priests showed up that night so Jared's focus shifted to them.  It was still a great vacation, nonetheless.  It forced me to get creative and get around town!  I looove being chauffeured and not really having to care about where we are or which direction we are headed.

We spent a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather.

We found a new favorite place to visit in Durango.  Thank heavens for the Discovery Museum!  Worth.  Every.  Penny.  Can you tell by the amount of pictures?

 They had a section just for the little ones.  Best thing ever!

 Once I was able to peel my kids away we headed outside to enjoy more fun and take a peek at the Animas River.

 We took lots of Ranger rides.  I'm too chicken to go very far by myself so we spent a lot of time down by Lemon Lake.  Pajamas, BB Guns and all.

 I about killed me to leave.  Six days just wasn't enough. 

We made a trip to Four Corners.  Once was enough for our family.  

Colton isn't the best traveler we have.  I attribute that to the fact that we make very few trips to the Valley these days.  We did keep him quiet for a short time with Peanut Butter Oreos.  (And let it be known that I am not an Oreo fan but I did eat about a sleeve and a half of Peanut Butter Oreos!  That was after I insisted they would be disgusting and I would never eat one.  Never say never!)

Fourth of July

Yvette and her family came up to celebrate the Fourth of July again this year.  We always love having them.

A few years ago I made Allie's Chex Mix for them.  It was a huge hit and they quickly named it Heavenly Crack.  It's now become a tradition to make it every year.

The Waffle Love truck came to Taylor so we decided we had to try it.  We waited for nearly 30 minutes, they got a piece of Karen's mind, a refund was issued and I hung my head in embarrassment as I walked away hoping people would not know I was with Karen.  I believe her words were "there are going to be a lot of cowboys here tonight so if you want to be in business, you better start going faster."

We invited Edith over for our BBQ but showing up empty handed is never okay with her.  So much for our hamburgers and hotdogs.  She won the night with her Mexican Cuisine.  Let's just say, there was enough food to feed an army.

 After dinner everyone piled into the Ranger to head to the rodeo.  There was eleven of us total.

It's a good thing John wore that shirt that totally blends in.  Not.

Casa Malpias

In June the kids and I drove to Springerville to visit the Casa Malpais Indian Ruins.  We were quickly losing hope that it was worth the drive as we piddled around in the museum waiting for the tour guide to show up.

But after an hour, Pete arrived and drove us out to the ruins.  He was great!  He kept the tour short enough to keep the kid's interest but long enough to make it worth our money.

After the tour ended we decided to try out the city park in Eager.  Wow!  It was a fantastic park and did not disappoint.  We also ran into one of our favorite missionaries there, Sister Thompson.  We got to know her pretty well and were sad to see her be transferred.

By the time we were done at the park, our bellies were grumbling so we went to Trailriders were we got to have the bomb waitress, our cousin Kelecia.

In the past few months...

We got some exciting news.  Ben has accepted a job at the hospital in Show Low and they will be moving here next summer!  They will be such an asset to the community (whatever nearby community they end up in) and the women here will love Dr. Richardson.  I am confident he will have patients that are thrilled he is here.  We need a good OBGYN around here!

After I got the approval to tell my kids the exciting news, I had to snap a picture to capture the moment.  This is life changing for them!

Lucy has started writing her name on everything.  Ice cream sandwiches being one place.

We endured a very windy field day at the end of the school year.

We closed out the school year by keeping up tradition and having our last day of school breakfast at Trappers.

This boy is getting too big for his own good.

The girls also received awards at school.  Kimber came home about 500 awards from her teacher.  That lady can think of an award for everything that might make a first grader feel special.  Kimber's best award and my favorite was "Best All Around Girl"

Addie received the Citizenship award again.  The PTSO changed up the way rewards were received this year.  I'm not a fan for many reasons including the fact that this is the best picture you can get.

Addie's Recital

In May, Addie had her very first piano recital.  We got a late start on piano lessons and she didn't start until January, but she has excelled and loves to play!

She was asked to select and memorize two songs.  She chose Song of Sunshine and The Talking Clock (shown in the video).  I was so proud of her when I realized she was the only student, out of all 18 to have both of her songs memorized.  Way to go Add!

 Addie has a fabulous teacher, Jean Ellsworth.  Jean is a big part of our lives.  Not only is she a piano teacher, she has been Addie and Kimber's First Grade Teacher, I served with her in Primary for nearly four years and she is an overall good friend to our family.