Our kids had a great time exploring Silverwood and Boulder Creek with their cousins when they came to celebrate T&M's anniversary. As evident in one of the photos, Ryan and Todd had way too much fun soaking the boys (Ryker mostly) on bumper boats. And it was not a fair fight. The boats were not equip with guns that could even come close to competing with those on the docks. The kids get major props for good sportsmanship, if you ask me. :) Fun times!
Some pics from our week with the Texans, exploring Walla Walla. Ryker was thrilled to have a four-night sleepover with cousin Gabe. We think he's pretty awesome. And an enormous debt is owed to Cousin Jenna! We begged her to stay with us for a couple of nights and then put her to work the moment she arrived. Literally. Thanks, Jenna!!! 
Because we love our nieces, had yet to celebrate a birthday with them and because their trip to Washington landed right between Campbell's seventh and Caroline's fourth birthday, we had a little princess celebration. Happy Birthday girls. We love you! 
My home is no longer a dead zone. I have regained access to the Internet on both my computer and my phone but I'm not sure I'm happy about it. In fact, were I not trying to run a small business here, I would have been mighty tempted to stay dead. As much as I ordinarily enjoy browsing, checking in on my blogger friends and being "connected", I really really really enjoyed these past couple of weeks! And SURPRISE! I do remember how to talk on the phone - as in have a real Hi. How've you been? Let's catch up. conversation. And now I'm determined to have more of these.
Something else I've enjoyed this month has been the privilege of spending time with family and friends. We celebrated Tim and Marlene's fortieth anniversary on August one. A big thanks to all who shared in the celebration, to Don and Sandy for opening their home, to Donna for working her decorating magic and to the Knights of Columbus for a BBQ that was out of this world. And an even bigger thanks to Tim and Marlene for making their marriage work for 40 years. We love you all! 
More posts to come!
10 years ago, I married my best friend. I know, it's so cliche! I vowed to love, honor, cherish and obey him. I think I choked a little on that last bit. ;) These vows haven't been hard to keep but I'll have to get back to you on whether he thinks I've done well. Between dishing up a little something for breakfast and dishing up a little something for breakfast, I forgot to inquire. The 2000 photo in the collage below is pretty obvious. The others may be more obscure. 
I still love you, Baby! And just as soon as we return from the lake, I'm going to dig up a picture from one of our first dates circa 1994. Think braces, pimples, Ropers, Wranglers and a "Hey, cowgirl! Wanna get lucky?" baseball cap. :)
Today, my girl told me about a dream she'd had. There was a mean cougar in it and this cougar wanted to bite her.
"That sounds really scary!" I said.
"It wasn't." she replied. "I turned the cougar into a beautiful butterfly."
- Just one of many little lessons I learned from my children today. :)
These days, Emerson has taken to cuddling my bump. She likes to kiss the bump, pet the bump, talk to the bump and rest her head on the bump. I asked her if she can tell that my tummy is growing. "Ya." she replied and then added (much to Ryan's delight), "So is your bum."
I wasn't present during this particular conversation between Ryker and his favorite buddy but I'm glad my friend shared it with me. Everytime it comes to mind, I laugh out loud. You know how boys are - he and his pal were attempting to best each other and near as I can tell, Ryker was getting desperate because he brought out the big guns. "Oh yeah?" he said. "Well, my grandma can sew better than yours!" :)
I'm ashamed to say that I've raised a couple of city kids. Ryker and Em would rather hold lizards, pet snakes and play with cockroaches than get anywhere near a cow - or calf, for that matter. We recently took a field trip to what was once the Vanbatavia Dairy. Current owners have yet to remove the sign in the parlor with our name on it. It was difficult to convince Ryker to pet a calf and I doubt he will again. Ryan may have to give up the idea of Ryker showing steers at the fair and resign himself to raising rabbits. :) And after about five minutes, Em decided she could see everything she wanted from the back seat of our Yukon. She loves her western boots but sure ain't no cowgirl! 
