Horses and Golf - What More Can You Ask For?

 Yes, these two activities have become our summer staple.  Yes!  Sidney continues to grow in her equestrian skills.  She is so confident on the horses.

Her and Avery take a lesson together each week.  This has been a great time for both of them.  They love riding together and have a healthy level of competitiveness that keeps each of them pushing themselves just enough to keep it interesting.

Dad and I talked Mom and Sidney into coming golfing with us.  They had fun driving us around.  If only I could teach Mom not to talk when I am swinging:).

Yes, I think sometimes my game gets worse before it gets better.  I suspect that is pretty normal.  I love this game, but it sure can be frustrating.  I often hear Kevin's voice on the course, telling me to "Relax, have fun."  On this particular day, I was nailing it.  I wish all days were like that!

Glorious Montana!

The second leg of our summer adventure was a trip to see Roy and Sherry in Seeley Lake.  The afternoon we arrived was beautiful and hot.  We headed down to the lake to wade in.

Then it was off to Holland Falls.  Roy took us out on his fishing boat.  We journeyed back to the rope swing.  After much to do, the girls went for it.  I was quite shocked with Sid climbed up and let it rip.  She is becoming so bold.

Roy took us on a jeep trip up to Morrell Lookout.  It was a gorgeous view from the top.

On the way home, Kendall seemed to be having a serious conversation about something.  What exactly do you think they are discussing - the art of making fry sauce, maybe?

One morning, we took the canoes out for a spin.  There is a lovely canoe trail.  It was so relaxing.  Kendall and I decided to give paddle boarding a try.  These were awesome paddle boards, as they converted to kayaks.  It was nice to have both options.

AshLee, Cody and Kassi came up for part of the trip.  Roy took the girls huckleberry picking.

Sid had taken her guns, yes plural, so that Uncle Roy could take her shooting.

All of the ladies joined in the fun!

The morning we left, Roy woke the girls up at six am for a short hike.  The short hike ended up being five miles!  Sherry and I stayed back and prepared a huckleberry pancake feast, including bacon eggs and delicious coffee!

Before we had left for vacation, I had booked a hotel in Idaho Falls.  We typically drive straight through, so part of me wondered if this was ridiculous.  It turned out that it was the most perfect plan ever.  We did not leave Seeley until 10 am and arrived at our hotel right a check in time.  We grabbed an early 'linner' and reserved our hour at the hotel pool.  It was pretty cool to have a special time to swim.  After a good swim, we treated ourselves to ice cream.

The next morning, I woke up early, of course, and headed out for a walk along the snake river greenbelt.  I managed to cross a bridge without thinking that I would need to find another bridge to cross back over.  My short walk turned into a VERY long walk.  It was great though, because the morning was gorgeous.  I got back to the hotel, just as the girls were waking up.  We grabbed our 'breakfast bags' and sat by the river to eat.  

All in all, it was a much needed getaway!

Ear Piercing and Pretty Nails.

 As I mentioned in my last post we went up for Dylan and Heather's wedding.  The girls and I splurged and got fancy nails for the wedding.  Acrylic nails were the only thing that helped me stop biting my nails many years ago.  The girls had never gotten their nails done, so it was a fun treat.

I mentioned that we love road trips.  Well, my sister had told us about this awesome piercing place in Spokane.  Sidney had one of her piercing done with a gun a few years back, and it never healed up.  We had waited for this trip to get it done at this particular place.  So, one our way through town, we stopped.  

Kendall spontaneously decided to get her second holes done.

Not to be left our, I re-pierced my cartilage.  I had also gotten this done many moons ago with a gun, and it never healed properly.  I am happy to report that we are about five weeks out and all piercings are healing nicely.

A Wedding and Sushi with Hallie.

Ah to catch up on blogging.  I have been very bad about keeping up this year.  Sidney keeps telling me I should do one each Friday night.  That would make great sense.  Well, here we go.  The month of July was insane and fun.  It started with a trip to Northern Idaho for Dylan and Heather's wedding.  It was outdoors and beautiful and THANKFULLY no one got sick.  The girls and I do great on road trips.  We actually kind of love them.  I download a favorite authors audio book.  The girls pack their 'fun' bags and off we go.

It was an awesome time to visit with our family.  The girls and I and my mom took some fun photos while everyone was at the rehearsal.

The wedding venue was absolutely stunning and naturally helpful in social distancing.  It was in an old refurbished barn.  Sidney tells me they basically joined two stalls to make a ton of smaller spaces with tables.  There was an amazing fire pit and even three horses on the grounds.  Of course, Sidney wrangled up the horses in no time.

My Dad was on of Dylan's groomsmen.  He looked very dapper in his wedding attire.

The place where they said their vows overlooked a beautiful valley with mountains beyond.  Just gorgeous!

It is hard to believe that Dylan is old enough to be getting married.  It feels like just yesterday that I was at Ventura College and got the "I'm pregnant!" call from my sister.

My sister was a beautiful mother of the groom!

We were not able to make it up for Hallie's graduation, so we planned some special time together.  She suggested sushi for her graduation lunch.  The girls and I are total novices, so Hallie basically had to order for us.  Oh, and I am allergic to fish.  However, there were plenty of choices that do not involve raw fish.  

It was absolutely amazing.  The girls are definitely sushi fans.

We demolished three orders of these crab/cream cheese won-tons, in addition to our own meals.

It was really good to be with our family and we were grateful to be part of Dylan and Heather's special day.

Bean and Squirt.

The girls had a tetra tank when they were younger.  Keyword 'had' and the tank was loosely their's, aka mom had to clean it and get the dead fish bodies out.  Therefore, the tank has been on hiatus.  They have been begging for betta fish (thanks Erin and Bret).  So after they finally wore me down, I allowed them to spend their own money on a betta fish.  Iwas not about to spend a penny on these fish.  They each got a tank and fish and dug out the old fish tank props.

Here is Kendall's betta, Bean (naming was also her choice).

Sidney named her fish Squirt.  

Welcome to the family!

The Farklers.

These girls.  Quarantine has been hard on them, but they have been troopers.  So, when Paige's birthday came around, us parents decided to let these girls have some time together.  It is tricky to ever know if you are making the right decision, but mental health won out in this one.  Paige's aunt did a little photo shoot with the girls.

Paige's grandpa has a backyard pool, so the girls were able to cool off and have fun in the water.

Kendall has been really enjoying giving pictures as gifts lately.  We bought this great frame, and she made a farkler collage for Paige. I love that these girls have each other!

Summer Days.

The girls and I have been making the most of the time together this summer.  We had our first meal out in forever.  Cheesecake factory, yes!

After our meal, we shared this delicious piece of cheesecake.  It is very hard to remember to 'savor the flavor' when something like this is set in front of you!

Bailey continues to be more spoiled than ever.  If Kevin was worried that we would not show Bailey the love (which he was;)), he has nothing to worry about.  This doggo lives a charmed doggy life.

He even got his own feeding station.  I absolutely love this sweet setup.  Thanks to a recipe from Grandma Terrell, he has been getting lots of homemade dog treats as well.

Valerie and her son Josh joined my dad and I for a round of golf.  It was so good to see these two.  I know Valerie has been playing it pretty safe.  It think the outing was good for all of us!

The girls and their face masks.  I wish I could capture them all, but here is at least one shot of one of the crazies doing her beauty routine.  Love it!