Pictures for the Grandparents :)

Just some random pictures to make up my lack of posting to the grandparents ;)

 She is a book worm! If I can't find her, she's holed up somewhere frowning the "Papa frown" reading a book!

 Rhys and strollers! She loves them, whether they're for dolls or not, she'll take a ride! :)

 She's ready for school!

 He's relaxed, I would say!

 Enjoying a nice, cool, fall evening with a fire outside at Jeremy's. I'm loving the cool evening weather! Just wish the days would stay a little cooler, too.

 Having fun at Warrior Fest in the bouncy house!

 The boys got some lego Mario Brothers cars. Let's just say that Isaac really likes his car!

 We celebrated the first day of autumn by playing baseball in the backyard!

 Daddy got a little carried away, determined to hit a wiffle ball over the fence. You can imagine what happened when he connected with the ball....I got slammed in the head with it!!!

 It's blurry, but it's too funny not to post. Anna got nervous with how aggressive Daddy was being so she decided to don some protection!

 A trip to the library and we discovered they have a new kids-only computer! Isaac had no idea what he was doing, but he was taking it seriously!

I found Jacob teaching Isaac how to write his cursive letters one day. Too cute!!

Ranch Rodeo

A couple weeks ago, Healing Hearts Ranch put on a ranch rodeo to raise money for the ranch. It was a smashing success...or I should say God greatly blessed Scott and everyone at the Ranch. Admission was $1 and there were dozens of items auctioned off, both by silent auction and by live auction. The crowd numbered over 600 and there were 10 (I think) teams competing from all over the state. When it was all said and done, over $20,000 was raised!!!!! Wow! I'm excited to see where God is taking them. They touch so many lives every day. 

My whole family was able to make it. The cousins had so much fun playing together and watching the competition. If you've never been to a ranch rodeo, you should go the next time you have a chance. All of the events are based on what happens on a real, working ranch. Ranch rodeos are actually where today's rodeos started from. Some examples of the events included doctoring, trailer loading, and roping. It was fun to watch the teams compete!

Papa, giving a DOUBLE shoulder ride to Anna and Isaac! Crazy man.

 This was supposed to be a picture to show the arena but evidently I aimed a little too low! Ha. I don't even know who those boys are!

Even better was getting to hang out with the Dashiells at the rodeo! Stacey and I are kindred-spirit country girls, feeling the most at home at things like ranch rodeos (while our city-boy husbands feel quite out of place! Lol).

 This little cowboy was SO excited for the rodeo! I had to wake him up from a nap to go, and he was happy as could be when he found out we were headed to the rodeo. He insisted on finding his cowboy hat! :)

 The cousins had a lot of fun watching and playing together. The older boys disappeared for most of the evening, playing ball with other kids and playing in the dirt. The girls, especially Anna, were pretty well riveted to the action in the arena.

 Anna now has another goal in life...to become the little cowgirl that rides out into the arena before and after the rodeo carrying the American flag! 

 Not to be left behind, Isaac took his turn climbing the fence to watch the action up close.

We brought Anna's chaps and vest to share for pictures. Toward the end of the rodeo, she couldn't wait any longer to put them on. She leaned up against the fence and said, "Mom, take my picture!" 

It was a very fun night for everyone. The teams did great, the kids had fun, and we raised a lot of money for an awesome organization that is pursuing God's will and glorifying Him in what they do. I'd call that a smashing success!

Tea for Two...or Seven

Anna requested a tea party for her birthday. Somehow the summer completely disappeared on us with no real birthday parties for either Anna or Jacob. Finally, things settled down enough (as settled as they ever seem to get!) to schedule a tea party! 

Leah got to spend a few days with us so she could be here for the tea party!! So all three girls had fun getting things ready.

Anna decided she wanted everyone to dress up in play clothes for the party. Great Grandma Mary loaned us her beautiful lace table cloth. We used Great-great Grandma Anna's silver tea service and Great Grandma J's rose tea pot. I have a nice collection of tea cups from over the years so we had plenty. And the best part was that Binga came!! And she brought a beautiful bouquet and a single rose for each girl. So sweet. (I just realized I didn't take a picture of the tea chest with the tea service set up!)

 

We had a fruit tray with strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, and pineapple, made-from-scratch blueberry muffins, carrot sticks, and cucumber slices. And for dessert we had cupcakes and angel food cake. 

After "tea" the girls decided they wanted to play musical chairs!! The princess gowns came off, so to speak! ;)

It was a lot of fun! The girls played together for a couple of hours until I delivered them home. Thanks, girls, for making Anna's first tea party such a fun time!

Grandparents

I love my grandparents. I'm so blessed to have them in my life and that my kids are getting to know them. I had forgotten I had these pictures. They sum up Grandpa perfectly! :)

Now we have proof of just where Papa gets his silliness!!! 

State Fair Fun

The kids and I took a field trip :) and spent the day at the State Fair! It was hot, but we all had fun. Of course, the first thing little farm boy spotted was the equipment! 

Testing out the brand new Gleaner combine. 

We caught a little bit of the chainsaw carver. Amazing what he can create out of a tree stump with a chainsaw!

More tractors!

Look out! He really liked testing out the Spyders!

Oh my goodness. This picture is so sweet! Isaac was pretty good about staying in the stroller. I let him walk around in the domestic arts building and he wanted to carry Woody on his shoulders. 

The boys cooled off at the splash pad. Jacob got soaked, but he wasn't nearly as hot as the rest of us!

Couldn't miss the petting zoo!

The kids were so well-behaved and even though I didn't get them very many tickets, they didn't complain. They got to ride 3 times. 

Isaac and Woody were worn out! ;)

It was a fun day, even though it was 100 degrees. I couldn't have asked the kids to be more well-behaved, especially for the heat and all the walking the big kids had to do. We were there from 10:30-4:30!! We're just sad Daddy couldn't join us!