Sunset

Since summer seems to be winding down, we have been heading out to Frye and Roaring Fork lakes a lot lately. I guess we know these warm days are going to be few and far between. We were at Frye lake when we saw this gorgeous sunset. Kaycee took most of the pictures (the ones she isn't in)...Anyhoo....I think she took some good shots! Watch out Ansel.

First Grade!

Today was Kaycee's first day back at school....as a 1st grader. Boy, was this morning light years different than last year! Kaycee was a little nervous on the way to school.... but, once she saw some of her friends from last year... and some other friends who are entering kindergarten ... she was just great!

Camy and Kaylee were in Kaycee's class last year and all three are in the same class again. They couldn't be more content about it.

Even though we were all a bit tired this morning (I don't think Kaycee has gotten out of bed before 8:30 am all summer long) they couldn't stay away from the monkey bars before the bell rang.

We're so glad Kaycee had a great 1st day of school....her favorite part was having popsicles at recess.

Looks like it's going to be another fun school year!

Ramshorn

Kaycee's best buddy Nolan turned six the day after Kaycee turned six. They love the fact that their birthdays are right next to each other. This year, Nolan opted to have a small party at his family's cabin near Dubois, WY and invited us to come. We were so glad they did!

Their cabin has some spectacular views of the Ramshorn mountain. It rained on us the entire drive up there and we were really just expecting to see clouds and trees. But once we got there, it cleared up quite a bit and we were able to go for a little hike and take in all the scenery.

Shayla and Kaycee kept busy picking flowers for their bouquets. If anyone needs flower girls for an upcoming wedding, we've got a couple of candidates for the job.

It was so nice to get out of town for the day and romp around in the mountains. Thanks Jan, Steve, Nolan and Shayla!!

SIX!

Well.... I'm a bit late posting Kaycee's birthday party but better late than never! She turned a huge 6 on August 5th. Since she had so much fun at Jackson's birthday - we pretty much did the exact same party for her... just with a different crowd. It's amazing the difference between having a party with a bunch of 3 year olds vs. 6 year olds!! All the kids behaved so well - it was great!

Kathy and Gerald drove all the way over here Tuesday night so they could be here for the big birthday bash. Kathy was able to take Kaycee to the movies (Monsters vs. Aliens) while Gerald helped me decorate and made his YUMMIE home made root beer. The party was a hit. Kaycee was so happy to see some of her friends she hasn't seen since school. And she made out fairly well too... with that huge "wad" of cash... I'm thinking of asking her for a loan... ;)

Did I mention Gerald makes the BEST homemade root beer?? Jason and I have tried making it a couple of times but it just isn't the same. Besides, I don't recall anyone sucking the spout off the container when I make it.

Kaycee's such a big girl these days. She sure puts up with a lot from her little brother and crazy parents! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MONKEY!!!

Happy to be THREE!

Jackson turned 3 on the 15th! He's been strutting his stuff ever since. I told him I was sad because I want him to stay two forever and I don't want my baby to grow up... he responded with "It's OKAY Mom....(sympathetic patting on my shoulder)....I just HAVE to get big.....even BIGGER than Dad!" followed by a great big hug & kiss. You'd think he was off to college tomorrow!

This was the first year we had a friend party for our little monster.... we survived having twelve adorable munchkins over for the event. We had 3 pools, a shark slip-n-slide, water balloons, pizza, cupcakes and a pinata! Everyone seemed to have a great time. I think most of the kids' favorite part was terrorizing Jason (and vise-versa) with the water balloons. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the older boys start calling us for playdates with Kaycee's Dad!

We were all so glad that Grandpa Bruce and Grandma surprised us by showing up for his big day! We took Grandma to see Madagascar 2 with us in the afternoon and she helped us out at the party while Grandpa B. had some work to do in Riverton. After his party and about 50 "turnovers" from Grandpa, Jackson zonked out at the computer - he was EXHAUSTED.

Amid all the chaos of birthday madness... I was able to get this cute clip of Jackson singing to himself...followed by his signature statement. It is obvious that we are still in potty training mode????

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAX!

4th Fun

The 4th was so much fun this year! Kathy and Gerald came up to celebrate with us. We had some BBQ then watched the fun fireworks show behind our house on the 3rd (Jodi and Dane stopped by with some family too). We had about 30 sparklers for 4 kids (which we went through in roughly 5 minutes) then just hung out and chatted for awhile.

I think we were all a little tired on the 4th for the Lander Parade. Kaycee and Riley were on "candy patrol" in their matching outfits. They did eat a little cereal before all the sweets came down main street. They were too cute.

The best part of the Lander parade is at the end when the firetrucks hose down all the spectators. Kaycee and Jackson were WAY to chicken to stand under the enormous cascades of water... but Riley was right in there soaking it up - wish I would have had my camera to capture it! By the time we left, they all were pretty much drenched from playing in the excess water gushing down the street.

After the parade, our friends Jim, Connie and Bill came over for lunch and to visit for awhile. Then we rested a bit before the big fireworks show our neighbors put on every year. It was so cool! They were seriously right over our heads (Kathy was even hit by a few of the firework shells). The kids each had their moments of loving the fireworks, then being scared by them. We found out we could really use TWO pairs of ear muffs instead of one.

Of course, Kaycee and Jackson's favorite part of the weekend was being spoiled rotten by Granny and Grandpa! Jason and I were able to sneak away for awhile too to ride the horses. THANKS AGAIN Granny and Grandpa!!!!!!

Summer Nights

Every summer we come across a couple of big horn sheep that hang around the rise of the sinks canyon. Don't know what happened to one of them... since this guy seems to be going solo these days. We've seen him a lot lately, and happened to have our camera on our way up to Fry Lake. Jason and John (and their cousin Brian) caught him trying to ram into a black Toyota back in May. The people in the Toyota had a video camera and posted their footage on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPdLtRexwqw . I'm definitely more cautious around him when I am running up the canyon after seeing that ...... :p

After snapping some shots of the BH Sheep, we headed up to Fry Lake. The kids had fun collecting rocks, sticks and wading around in the cool water. I think Jackson threw rocks for seriously 2 hours. Kaycee's little "krusty" by her stick collection is the result of Jackson using her head as a target for one of his flying rocks. LUCKILY, it was just a small pebble!

Jackson's favorite target was trying to get his rocks to land in between the exposed roots of this huge pine tree. He was getting fairly good at it by the time we left. We all had fun.

LOVE LOVE LOVE SUMMER NIGHTS!