Bendy Girl.

Kendall has had a pretty relaxing summer.  She got her license, has been working and spending 'teenager' amounts of time with her friends.  She had two weeks of summer dance intensives and has just finished up the choreography for her first competitive solo.  It has been a good summer!  I was so excited when I saw the Echo summer newsletter with her picture.  

Super fun!  She is such a bendy girl.  It is insane what her body can do with a bit of training.

I love this girl and all of her cuteness.  This is going to be a great dance season!

Wild Aunt Stephie.

Steph and Jason came down for a visit.  The weekend was filled with walks, golf, shopping and a bit of relaxing.  Things are always nutty when my sister is involved.  She tends to bring out the wild in all of us.

Sidney talked her into a trail ride.  Sidney borrowed Lilly from our friends, so they would each have a horse to ride.  It meant a lot to Sid to have her Aunt join her on the trails, as they share a love for horses.

The last evening she was here, she got the bright idea to engage the girls in the tortilla challenge.  Abby was there to join in the fun.  She and my sister lamented about 'large hair, don't care' woes.

Roaring Springs with Friends.

The girls and I, along with Grace, Liza and my mom, spent a day at the water park.  It was a lot of fun.  I am always grateful that my mom joins us, as she and I do all the big rides and then we are off to relax in the lazy river.  Wouldn't you know it though, I did not get a single picture of her and I together.

Who doesn't go to the water park to take mirror selfies in the bathroom (except every teenage girl)?

The best thing about water park day is the junk food!  This year, instead of eating lunch in the park, we ordered dominoes and set on the grass outside to eat it.  We demolished two pizzas between the five of us.  Of course, my mom and I demolished a funnel cake later in the day.  The girls chose to go for the dipping dots.  I still have not figured out the allure of those disgusting frozen pebbles.

Trail Ride with Liza.

Sidney has been begging to go on a trail ride with Liza and their horses.  I wanted to try out my new setup along a steep grade without any horses or kids onboard.  So, I decided to take Sidney and Pigeon up to Liza's place, so they could go trail riding while I took the truck and trailer over the Horseshoe Bend grade.  In my mind, this was practice for the upcoming trip to Weippe.

These girls are such a fun little team.

The day was a smashing success overall.  The horses did great on the trails, while I gained a level of comfort and confidence pulling my new trailer with my new truck.  Weippe...here we come!

Not For the Faint of Heart.

My mom has been asking about floating the Boise River.  I have not done this in years.  Kendall has been a few times each year with friends.  After she had floated with the Nelson's, I decided to take Sid and my parents.  It was an awesome day...for most of us:)

The float started out with me grabbing on to a tree branch to hold Sid and I back, as we waited for the elderly to get in their tube and catch up (ha!).  After a few minutes we decided to tie our rafts together, which was both super fun and very precarious.

My dad and I did most of the steering.  To think, my dad had left his oars at my house and thought 'no big deal' I won't need them.  Thankfully, I had enough sense to go back and grab them for him, because he definitely needed them.  

Do not let this calm, cool picture of Sid fool you.  She was a disaster.  While we all had fun, she was a nervous wreck.  As I was telling my friend Hildi about our float day, Hildi said she 'hates floating the Boise River and refuses to go'.  I laughed as she is a true white water rafting girl.  Ironically, so is Sid.  She has been white water rafting and loved it.  The difference for them is that they both feel equipped when white water rafting and totally out of control when it comes to river floating.  Funny, really.  It was interesting to learn both of their perspectives and find them so similar.  Like Hildi, Sidney says she will never do this again.

Meanwhile, my parents and I found it fun and refreshing.  I think we will be doing this again.

August 10, 1997. A Beautiful Day to Get Married.

This is a milestone year. I turn the big 5-0 this year, and it also would have been our 25th wedding anniversary this summer. We spent 10 years married before we had children. We lived a lot of life together. Having kids made our life even better. I know without a doubt that he would have wanted us to keep living life to the full. We would be making him proud for sure. However, I do miss him every damn day!

Happy 25th Anniversary! (click link for video)

All The Things.

Here are my ramblings for the month.  Bella is growing up so quickly.  We have had her for nearly a year now.  She has taken to putting herself to bed most nights.

The hummingbirds are back in full force.  Unfortunately, we did not have another nest this year.

Beautiful flowers from my garden.

Hannah came over and made us a homemade cherry pie.  She has since brought us a peach and blackberry pie as well.  I have put in my fall order for a chocolate cream pie.  Fingers crossed!

The other day, I came out to find Sidney drinking out of this cup.  Oh the memories!  These of which I will keep to myself:).  

Lisa sent us these adorable pictures of Kami's little girl, Vaeda, snuggling with one of Kevin's shirts.  

Such a sweetie!  I love this.