Girls Time Out

Last Night Ellie, Elena, and I had a girls night out while Jake and Dad stayed home and watched a football game on TV.  We headed to Ogden, went to dinner at Applebee's and then headed to watch the Weber State University Wildcats battle the Utah University Utes.  There is something about watching a hockey game that I truly enjoy.  I don't think it has much to do with how mean the players are to each other, but maybe instead the feeling of being cold with so much adrenalin running through your body.  The girls and I had lots of fun, and enjoyed out time out together.

I hate pictures of myself, and hate to put pictures of me on the Internet or my blog, but I want Ellie to have this visual memory.  If I did not love her as much as I do know that this picture would not be here!  :)

Picnic in the Park!

I took the kids on a picnic today because we had no school, and they were being really good with getting chores done.  We decided to head out to the park in Riverside, and play.  I love spending time with my kids when they are happy, and getting along. :)

Ellie's lunch and soda!

Elena's lunch and soda!  (yes she ate chips for lunch)  lol

Ellie being a good girl and eating all of her lunch.  :)

Jake's lunch and soda!

Jake devoured his lunch.  He us usually such a good eater! 

May I just brag for a moment about how beautiful this little girl is?  She has such a contagious smile and laugh.  I just love her to pieces!

Jake doing what he loves most, swinging as high as he can with someone he love to death.  <3

Home Coming

Elena got asked to Home Coming the first week of school by this nice young man named Daniel Cottrell. He is a good kid, and I knew she would be in good hands for the night. They looked so good together, and I had fun snapping pictures of them before leaving for dinner and the dance. :)

This is Elena when we had just finished her hair and makeup.  I was very proud of myself for doing such an awesome job with both.  I'm not good at all with makeup or hair and hers turned out so very beautiful.  :)

I think they looked so cute together in this picture.  Both such cute kids!

Isn't her dress so pretty?  We found it in Logan on sale, so she ended up paying just under half price for her dress. 

Grandma's Ranch

We had to go to Grandma's place and help take care of some things. While we were there Aunt Kathie took Jake for a horse back ride along with the other cousins. Elena was able to ride a horse on her own which she loved, and Creed was kind enough to take Ellie with him on the ride. The kids all loved it.



Elena had a blast riding this horse all on her own, and she even wore her cowgirl clothes and real cowgirl boots.  She was all decked out.  The only thing missing was a cowboy hat! 

When I was Aunt Kathie come around the corner with Jake on the back of her horse it caught me off guard a bit cause she looked enough like mom that I had to quickly remind myself where we were and that it was NOT mom.  Kinda choked me up for a minute, and made me miss her quite a bit but also feel thankful that Aunt Kathie was willing to do this with a little boy who so desperately misses his grandma.

Aunt Kathie and Jake riding together.  Jake had taken some allergy medicine when we got there so he was able to ride without being affected terribly by the farm, or horses.

Creed and Ellie.  Ellie wanted so bad to ride a horse on her own, but I was afraid she would get hurt because of how small she is.  Glad Creed was willing to take her with him.

The group as they are headed off on some horseback riding adventure around the farm!

Twin Falls County Fair

Ray and I took the kids to the Twin Falls County Fair and Rodeo.  The kids (mainly Jake's fear of the rides) decided that they didn't want to go on any of the rides in the cold, so we walked around to all of the displays before heading to the rodeo where we got to watch some bull riding, and other enjoyable events take place.  

This was a miniature full grown cow of some sort.  The kids had fun brushing it's fur.

This was a ginormous cow of some kind.  It was taller than me I believe, and Ellie was in love with it!  :)

Jake loved the baby calves and spent a lot of his time admiring them both near and from afar.

Elena found herself a new boyfriend while we were at the fair.  His name is Gage, and I caught them in a tender moment.  ;)

This horse was HUGE, he stood taller than Ray, and had an attitude like you would not believe.  At one point he tried to knock that man down with his head, and even tried to eat Ellie's hair.

Farmer Jake and his produce.  I think that is probably the best produce I have ever seen!  :)

Jake and Elena found a piece of corn on the cob and were so hungry they attempted to eat the whole thing.  Adorable piece of corn, don't ya think?

New Teachers and the First Day of School

We got to meet Jake's 2nd grade teacher the week before school started.  Her name is Kit Canfield.  She was Ellie's second grade teacher and is a very nice lady.  She will be a good teacher for Jake. 

Ellie's 5th grade teacher is Mac Esplin.  He is a very nice man.  I love how Ellie and Jake both got grandparents as teachers this year instead of young teachers.  They both needed older teachers this year and I am glad they got them. 

First day of school.  Ellie and Jake were going to wear the same thing for the first day as they did when we met their teachers the week before so that teachers would remember them easier (Ellie's idea)  but Jake decided he wanted to wear this new outfit instead.  They were both very excited but very nervous for the first day of school, but did very well covering up any fears they had!

Meet Elena, our German Exchange Student

At the end of July Ray, Ellie, Jake and I welcomed our new exchange student Elena into our home.  She is a 15 year old girl from Cross Gerau Germany, a small town just outside of Frankfurt.  She will be a part of our family for about 11 months, and we are so excited to have her here with us.  Most of you have already met Elena, and have found out by now what a sweet, loving, kind, beautiful girl she is.  And well if you have not had the opportunity to get to know her I suggest you do so, you will not be sorry you did.  :)  

Welcome to America Elena, we are so glad you are here for a year!!!

Elena, Kelci, Chylie, and Ryan posing with Mr. Red M&M  :)

Jake was the first to hug his new BIG sister!

Bryce Canyon National Park

The signs we made for Elena to welcome her to America.



Ryan, Kelci, Chylie, Elena and of Cource the Coca Cola Bear!

Whitney, Elena, Ryan, and Jaden at Zion National Park.
(Kyson in behind the camera)

Glenn Canyon Damn Bridge.  That bridge was so scary.  It shook when cars would drive over it. 

 We have had lots of fun already with Elena, and have shown her many things.    We made a trip down south and inroduced her to most all of the family, and took her to see some of the great sites, Zion National Park (thanks to Whitney, Kyson, Jaden, and Ryan), Bryce Canyon  National Park (we made a stop in to be a part of Tymbers baptism day (what a sweet spirited girl she is we love her so much).  Elena Loved Bryce Canyon, we got lots of great pictures, and made lots of memories that will last us our whole life.  Then Ray and I took Elena, Chylie, Kelci and Ryan to Vegas to show her the Strip.  We had some bumps along the way, but all in all it was a great trip to Sin City.  The temps were horrible, and I am pretty sure Elena thought she was going to melt (at midnight the temps were still at 105), but we made it back to "God's Country" as my mom used to always call Utah, and were glad to finally make it back to our own beds, and cool house when our vacation was over.