Summer Fun!!!

We just can't even tell you how much fun we had with cousins this summer! Having Tyler, Brooklynn, and Brandon here for 3 weeks was AWESOME! We did tons of funs things and spent lots of time together. They all got along so well and became best of friends in no time. All 3 of my kids cried their eyes out when it was time for them to fly back to Texas. We are already counting down the days until we see them again!

Ice Blocking!

We are having so much fun with the cousins here! I will post more about all the fun stuff we've been doing later, but I had to share this video of them learning to Ice Block. They didn't really think it was going to work and were amazed at how fast they could get going. We only had one "incident" which was totally my fault---I forgot to tell them not to let the blocks of ice hit them on the way down. Oops! But thankfully it wasn't too bad and we were able to enjoy the rest of the day. We even went to Charlie's for ice cream when we were done! YUM!

Enforcing the law

The other day Tyson and I were in Sportsman's Warehouse when we came across some dutch oven stirring spoons. They just happened to be small, medium, and large. A light bulb went off in my head. It must have been my up-bringing coming out. There are many stories of the dreaded "death stick" my mother wielded. So I decided to make some paddles for the kids. I named them, put their names on the appropriate size, and hung them on the wall next to the "Thou shalt not whine." sign. Now when I feel myself losing control of a situation, all I have to do is say, "Ok--go get your stick!"
I think it is hilarious---the kids on the hand, they aren't amused.

4-H

Raygen spent 2 days and 6 hours in a 4-H cooking class this week. She learned the basics of cooking and made a few treats. She came home excited and eager to start practicing all that she learned!

Sand~Box!

Well it took me a couple weeks and a whole lot of trips with the wheelbarrow but we have a sand box! Ridge kept digging holes in the garden so I decided to make him a sandbox. I started by digging out the flowers and dirt that were in the corner of my yard. Then I put boards around the edge, put a weed barrier down and dumped in the sand! Pretty easy, it just took time because I had to do it in between rain storms. The only problem is that I think we need more sand because I dug a little too deep! :)

Boys Will Be Boys. . .

Or I guess I could say, "Ridge will be Ridge." He loves to play in anything dirty. He loves worms and mud and all things that are boy. I love to take pictures of him when he doesn't know I am watching him. He is at such a fun age right now. He says the funniest things everyday, and I find myself just watching him all the time. I swear I can SEE him growing and learning right before my eyes. It gives me so much joy! It seems like because he will probably be my last kid, I find myself missing him before he has even grown up.

We the People. . .

As part of the 5th grade, Gabe got to participate in the "We the People" night. His group had to read a paper they had written about the government and then answer questions from the judges about the subject they had chosen. Gabe's group talked about the Bill of Rights and Freedom of expression. Gabe answered the first question from the judges and then another one about whether school uniforms go against our freedom of expression. He did a very good job. He said he was really nervous, but we couldn't tell. Afterward he got a certificate and we took him to eat at Big J's. We were very proud of him.