Saturday, July 25, 2009

Daniel"s game


During the fourth celebration in Rupert I ran into a past fifth grade student. He came and visited with me and told me about his summer playing on an all stars baseball team. He also told me there was a tournament in Burley. He didn't know the times but called me later that week with the time of his first game. It is awesome when your students think you are the coolest teacher ever and want you to come watch them. I went and watched him play that night and was amazed at the skill level of these young boys. They played awesome! I was glad to know he thought enough of me as his teacher to invite me to watch him play. It turned out I knew several of the boys on the team. Stormie says I must be a really good teacher because my current and past students always go out of their way to come and talk to me or say hi-she says she avoids any teachers she ever had. I hope my impact on the youth I educate is positive and that they know I care about their lives and what is important to them. This year, moving to a new school, has been a great change for me. I have bee able to see an entire different population of students and what they need for success in life. I don't remember it being this hard to be a child when I was young.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

4th Fireworks

Ryan and Cydnee HoweMe, Kris and Chloe
Kris and Chloe
Cydnee, Audra and baby
Stormie and Shandler.

4th Fireworks

Ray, Brooke and AshleyHanging out by the fire.Cuddly up, it is starting to get cool.Scott and Korena

4th Festivities

The dog vaccumed the snacks and then needed a nap!
She found a strip of shade and stretched out!
After barbequing Kent was busy on the boat!

All day....
Great weather for the 4th on the river!

4th Festivities

Grant and Audra Conrad and their son Noah
Brooke and Ray
Korena and Scott Redder
Sayger Max!
My mom and Audra were sitting in the shade visiting when they found out we are related. She is a Robbins and that was my grandfathers name. It is really a small world!

4th Festivities

Kent fired up the BBQ
Setting up shade and chairs!
Relaxing before the feast
Swimming, of course.....

Rupert 4th-Parade

Sitting on the curb watching the parade go by!
Waiting for candy!

My children's grandpa Alex is in the extended care center in Rupert. Yes, it is sad and none of us like it, but life has a way of being in control. So we take the opportunities we can to share some moments with grandpa Alex and this one was the 4th of July parade. We patiently wait in the shade and visit with grandpa until the parade makes it way to the hospital then the kids quickly move to the curb where they help Sayger fill his sack with candy. This year the parade was long as it always is, but they did have some great floats and of course Sayger filled his sack!



Super Scrubber


Along with growing older comes the responsibility of doing chores. Before the 4th we had the kids do their chores so the house would be ready for guests. Sayger doesn't mind cleaning the toilets because he doesn't need to touch anything but the wand. This day he decided to wear his yellow silky cape and clean as "Super Scrubber." Totally makes sense to me, any job is easier when you are a super hero!! Stormie tried to take pictures but I think she was laughing to hard because they are all a little fuzzy. As you can tell, Sayger found no humor in this job and was taking it very seriously! I love this and it made me laugh, someday he will be mortified I even have these pictures!!!!


Kayaking




Before the girls left for girls camp Mark had asked if he could use the inflatable kayaks for the lake by the camp. Kent said sure and then decided to give Stormie a lesson before they left. It was funny. The inflatable kayaks are a little tipsy and closer to the water so you have a tendency to get more water on you than normal. The river was still high so they headed up stream between the islands. It was tough paddling. They made it to the Moss residence and headed back down with the flow of the river which was much easier paddling. Dad also gave Stormie a lesson in splashing with the paddle which of course led to a water war! They had a fun afternoon learning to use the kayaks and Stormie said they were great to have on the lake at girls camp.



Famous Art Work

Shandler's kindergarten art work
Stormie's kindergarten art work.

For several years I have stored these two pictures drawn by my girls when they were in kindergarten. They have carefully moved from cupboard to cupboard in order to keep them from wrinkling or getting bent. Robbie and Kenna had a great idea in displaying their children's art work, so I am stealing the idea and also displaying my children's art. I need to find or have Sayger create something wonderful for me so I can display his talents also. I love to just stop and look at these two pieces and go back to the time when there where little girls in my house. I hate to see them growing so quickly.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Golf Tournament and BBQ

Connie and Brett
Korena and Scott
Kent-the maser chef.
Last Saturday the guys enjoyed a day of golf as part of a fundraiser for the golf course. After the golf game we invited the crew over for a BBQ, boating and swimming. This is one of the biggest reasons we love our backyard. The high water didn't slow the kids down either, they headed right for the river.



The river rising....


Every year I watch the river levels closely, especially when there are large amounts of snow or heavy rain. This year we had both. A late heavy snow storm and an entire month of rain. The rock planter out in the water is usually where our beach is, which is also covered with sand. For several weeks the planter and the beach have been under water. The sand is being washed down river and my plants are under water! This picture is the highest point the river was at this year. The river has been dropping steadily for about seven days now. I was hoping to have the beach back by the 4th of July, however run off into the reservoirs is still steady. Kent placed a post in the water so I could see just how much the water was rising, I was starting to get concerned, he marked it every three inches. From the first day he placed it in the river it rose six inches but since then it has dropped those six inches and a bit more. The big rock in the planter has since tipped over due to the many boats and waves from the 4th of July. We will be re-building or re-planting, hauling sand in and tipping the rock up soon. I HOPE!

4-H



Shandler loves to ride. For the past couple of years we have had the worst luck with her horse but this year we made a few changes and the horse is doing fantastic. We had a friend of Kent's put shoes on her and he did a few tests to check her feet. He said she is sound and ready to ride-great news! Syd is thrilled to see how much Shandler has grown in her riding abilities too. As I looked at the pictures, I was amazed at how grown up Shandler is beginning to look. That is not right!!! These two are having a great time working together to prepare for fair, which will be here before we know it!