The First Day of School

The kids were so excited for the first day of school that they knocked on my door at 6:15am all dressed and with their backpacks on.  "Mom we're ready to go to school!"  I'm glad they are excited and hope they have a great year!

When I picked up Sienna from her first day of school, I asked about it and she began to tell me all the details, among which she said that her teacher said "Be Quiet," alot.  I asked her if she did what the teacher said and she said, "yes".  She continued telling me about her day and then she said "Actually, it is hard to always do what the teacher says."  What honesty.  It made me chuckle!

Bryce's Baptism!

Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate Bryce's special day!

Don't look too closely at me.  A Mom has a right to be a bit teary eyed, but I actually had a broken nose and 2 black eyes from Sienna jumping on top of me in the pool 2 days before. 

Birthdays!

Emma turned 6 !

Sienna turned 4!

and Bryce turned 8 and was baptized!

Summer Fun!

Here are a couple of shots of the kids playing T-ball and in swimming lessons this summer.  Though we were gone part of the time for our summer trips they had fun.

Emma standing next to our backfloater.

Summer Travels--Visiting Family

We continued our trip through beautiful Montana and up to Mt. Vernon Washington where we visited Great Grandpa Dutton.  I love this 4 generation photo of the guys.

Then we drove over Deception Pass and spotted this beautiful eagle!  

We took a ferry across then headed to JoLynn and Mark and the cousins. We enjoyed spending time with them and even got to help refinish a floor. Then we got to see Debbie and Ken and all the work they have done on their beautiful home.

Summer Travels--Yellowstone

Next we we drove through the Grand Tetons.  It was so rainy and overcast that we couldn't even see the mountaintops.  I was a little disappointed because I had a faint memory of their grandeur.  Then we continued to Yellowstone National Park. The weather didn't cooperate, and unfortunately we were wet and cold most of the time, but we did see some great wildlife including: bison, carribou, a coyote, and a bear as well as some great geysers and natural scenery.

Summer Travels--Chadron

I need to fill in a few details on the summer.

We went camping at Chadron State Park with most of Janet's family and had a great time. Here is a picture of the kids in the pop-up trailer.

We had a great time playing volleyball, swimming, riding horses, fishing, playing bumper boats with the paddleboats and of course eating!  We will have to go back again next year!