Sheryl Crow

They had a bunch of great concerts during the Boise Open this year.  My parents had some great forethought and bought us Sheryl Crow tickets.  It was a lovely evening.  We got great seat not too far from the stage.

She put on a great performance.  I was surprised that I knew nearly every song.

She is a beautiful woman and has a lot of charisma.  It was fun to watch.

The Mule Show.

Sidney had a busy end of summer.  Out of 10 days, she stayed 6 of them at the fair grounds overnight.  First was the mule show.  Noel was the superintendent of the show.  Sidney was employed to be the judge's assistant.  Hannah also worked the show, as the gate attendant.  It was three (and a half) very long days, but she came home ready to do it again next year.

Noel set up her living quarters and ran the show from there.

Hannah and Sidney set up camp in the back of the horse trailer (air mattress and all).

Butch Mowdy was the judge for the weekend.  Sidney got to be by his side the entire weekend and learned a ton.

She helped set up courses, take notes for Butch and generally jump in and help out with whatever needed to be done.

Hannah made sure everyone was at the gate on time.

Yep, this is about how they looked at the end of the weekend.  Tired, but happy.

Noel's dad, Scott, sent me the nicest note after spending three days with Sidney (he was the show announcer).  I am copying it here, so that Sidney will have it to remember.  "Just a quick note to 'rat out' your daughter...she was AWESOME!!!  The Judge enjoyed working with her, was pointing out things to her that he was looking for and asked her more than once if she saw specific things.  She jumped in and helped with the arena stuff, and even kept Emma occupied a time or two."  That is the kind of note that warms a mom's heart.

Sid - Freshman Year

Sid is starting her freshmen year of high school and continues to do school at Gem Prep.  However, she is taking an in person match class at the local school.  She is loving it!

Kendall - Junior Year

Kendall is starting her junior year of high school.  She is living her best life and is taking most of her classes at CWI.  It is crazy how fast the years have gone!

Family Pics

Emily was back at it this year, so we were able to get a photo shoot with her.  She always does such an amazing job!

Friday Funday!

Since life has been crazy between my schedule and the girls' schedules, it seems like a long vacation is out of the question.  In lieu of a vacation, I have been taking a few Friday's off and having a bit of fun.  I typically have to plan some things out, or I will end up in my office.

My dad and I have been getting in some rounds of golf.  It is a lot of fun, even if I do end up spending some time at the beach!

One Friday, the A10's were doing maneuvers and kept buzzing the course.  It was awesome.  I just love that sound, after many years of living on air bases.

I have been spending time at the ranch on Friday's with Sid and the gang.

Sidney, Hannah and I loaded up the horses and took them over to 10 Mile Riding Club one of the Friday's.

The girls took the horses on the trail course, while I walked Levi on the outer trail and stayed in the arena.  I was not too sure if I was ready to try him on the trail course yet.

Bill put in a patience pole at the ranch. I tried Levi at it.  He did well.  It is good for him to learn to stand tied.

Jayde bought a unicorn sprinkler.  She and Sid inflated it one Friday and set up jumps for their horses and rode them through the sprinkler.  Pigeon was not too sure at first, but he did follow Kaycee's lead.

Sidney, Hannah and I took the horse on a trail ride (walk in my case).  Levi did super well.  On the way back, it was getting kind of dark and a few of the branches looked like scary goblins to him, but he did good!

I think I could get used to these Friday Fundays!

Toes in the Sand.

I can't help but have a Zac Brown song in my head, as I write this post.  I got to stick my toes in the sand of the Coronado Bay on a work trip recently.  It was such a good feeling.  

Roxane and I snuck away for a quick walk on the beach as soon as we could.

I truly think I was made for the beach.  I LOVE Idaho, but I do miss the ocean dearly.

The last day of my trip happened to be August 10th.  It would have been Kevin and I's 26th wedding anniversary.  I was so happy to be able to take a long walk on the beach and remember him and the lifetime we shared together.  We were married at the ocean, and I remember it like it was yesterday!

When I got home, my mom brought me this beautiful bouquet of flowers for our anniversary.  It was super sweet of her!