Mmmmm Jam!

Today, Holli and I made raspberry jam.  Our grocery store has raspberries marked way down so we decided to give it a try.  We go through a lot of jam so this was really a good deal. I hope we did everything right so we don't get sick!

Bayfield Jr Rodeo Banquet

Holli had her very first Rodeo banquet last weekend.  She was so excited to get her awards. She received a bucket, sweatshirt (with her name on it) and a quirt. 

Looking forward to the next series that starts in November.

Labor Day in Moab - Part 2

Here are some photos from around camp.  There was never a dull moment.  The kids had so much fun catching frogs, playing in the sand and getting wet in the creek. It is so great that the kids don't fight when there are NO toys involved!  

Lots of little frogs in the creek.

 

 This is what Holli did most of the time we were at camp.

 Climbing.. I don't think this was as bad as it looks but I wasn't there!

 Gypsy truck

 

 Mountain biking

 View of our camp from above.

 Delicious french toast breakfast on Monday morning.

Winnie's first time in a restaurant!  She was very well behaved. It helped that she was so tired from a full weekend.

Labor Day in Moab - Part 1

We had a really nice Labor Day weekend in Moab with our friends, the Williamsons. We spent most of 

  our time in the water. Everyone had a great time!

 

Dylan and Ethan helping paddle.

 Holli cliff jumping.

 Bob doing a backflip off a really high cliff.  Drew and Bob are the only ones that jumped off this one.

 Duckies being pulled behind the boat.

 Winnie LOVED swimming but she got WORN OUT!

 We named this Panic Rock.  When we first got there everyone and the dogs seemed to be freaking out about something.  The kids climbed the rock and then slid down.

 Drew at the helm.

Sand monsters!

More to come in Part 2. So many photos!

Visitor

Smokey came by for a visit yesterday.  Unfortunately, none of us got to see him but our neighbor across the street snapped a couple photos.  I was home along with 3 dogs but none of us noticed him! 

Success

Dylan's first day of kindergarten was a success!  I will admit that I was very nervous this morning.  He got a little teary (so did I) when we said goodbye but ended up having a great day.  We are very lucky to have a good friend who is a teacher at the kid's school.  She checked on Dylan throughout the day and sent me text updates!  He was always happy and having fun! 

It's nice to have a big sister to show you the way. 

Dylan has the same teacher that Holli had for Kindergarten.  We couldn't be happier!

End of day Ice Cream celebration! Holli was very proud of him.

2nd Grade

Holli has been looking forward to this day all summer. 

 

Last day of Break

 Today was Holli's last day of Summer break.  We spent the day on a trail ride with our friend, Kathy.  It was so fun to actually be able to ride with Holli and not have to walk behind her. 

Dylan starts Kindergarten on Thursday.  He has the same great teacher that Holli had and we are all thrilled about that.

Life Cycle

Last Spring Holli found this Caterpillar.  He was so big and pretty.  She put him in her butterfly habitat and fed him fruit. 

  After a couple of weeks he transformed into a Pupae. 

 Many weeks later he emerged as a Moth. 

 We released him in the backyard and watched him fly away. The kids were so excited to see this whole cycle.

Mesa Verde Horse Show

Another weekend; another horse activity.  This weekend was the Mesa Verde Paint Horse Show.  This was Holli's first show and she did really well.  

Getting ready for the show. 

Showmanship.  There were only 2 contestants in the Beginners class and the other one was a grown woman.  

2nd Place ribbon for showmanship  She was THRILLED to get a ribbon! 

Western Pleasure.  She did very well and came in 2nd again. 

Trail ride.  This course was pretty difficult but Holli and Tigger did great.  She was the only contestant and therefore, got a blue ribbon!

Happy rider. 

Holli was awarded Reserve Grand Champion for the Beginners class.  She got a nice big ribbon and a brush for Tigger!  

Pine River Rodeo

Holli and Tigger had another good rodeo today in Bayfield.  They get better every time! 

Running Barrels... Tigger's specialty! 

 Tigger is such a good boy!

 Pole bending

Cooling off after working hard.

Staying Cool

When there are 3 wildfires burning around us and it is 100 degrees outside, the only thing to do is get wet!

There were sooooo many people on the river today! I have never seen it this busy! 

 

 Holli and her friend swimming at the sand bar.

 The boys digging a tunnel.

Last night we drove West to check out the Weber Fire.  This fire is 12 miles West of our neighborhood and the fire is only 1/2 mile from the highway.  It was pretty incredible to see. Dylan said it looked like the hot lava in Star Wars.

Feed bag to Tote

Spring Creek Horse rescue recently gave me the idea of making horse grain bags into  usable totes  They make these totes and sell them at the local animal supply stores. The feed bags are made out of woven plastic and they're pretty sturdy. I just emptied a bag of grain yesterday so I decided to give it a try.  I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.  I will actually use this bag and not be embarrassed.  Now I'm thinking Christmas gifts.  Haha! 

Gulf World

We're having lots of fun in Florida. More photos to come in a few days. Here is Holli swimming with Maya, the dolphin.

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Weekend happenings

So far, we've had a a pretty good holiday weekend.  Friday evening we went to the Bar D Chuck-wagon. La Plata Electric Association received a Community Heritage Award and as a reward, all employees were invited to the Chuck-wagon. The Bar D Wranglers are always fun to see. 

This morning Drew rode the Quarter Horse to Purgatory.   Drew had a good time and a great finish.  We think he came in 4th but the official results haven't been posted yet. 

While Drew was racing, the kids and I went to Greenmount Cemetery with our 4-H club and put flags on veterans graves.  The kids had fun looking at some of the old headstones and finding the graves of servicemen.

Our weekend continues with the kids Iron Horse bike race on Sunday morning and volunteering at the Spring Creek Horse Rescue on Monday.  We also hope to squeeze in some horse and motorcycle riding.  The kids will be back to school on Tuesday for their final week.  After that, we leave for Panama City, FL!

A Day on the trail

Dylan and I had a very busy day yesterday.  We dropped Holli off at school and then hopped on our bikes and took off. 

The first thing was did was ride to the fairgrounds to take care of Tigger.  We then headed to the Rec Center to go swimming.  We were there for all of 15 minutes before 85 4th graders showed up.  They were on a field trip from Aztec, NM.  The pool was a bit too crowded for us so we moved on.  

 Feeding fish at the hatchery.

Looking around the CO department of wildlife museum.

Taking apart electronics at the Discovery Museum. 

 Riding at the skate park

Playing with sand along the river. 

Riding the BMX track. 

We finished up the afternoon with soccer practice and SkaBBQ.