Oh great

For the past 3 years the town has been putting in new water lines and meters. We have missed the construction so far, but yesterday it finally happened. The equipment rolled into my BACKYARD around 12:30 and commenced digging a nice little hole for about 2 hours.


It would be my luck that my water hookup is right were my children play, smack dab in the middle of the swing set and sandbox. For a day they had a nice little rock pile to play on...

but first thing this morning a backhoe came in and took that away. So now I am left with dirt, dirt, and more dirt all over where my kids play. At least they are boys and love getting muddy!

I am in high hopes that some top soil will be brought in and then I can seed it again this year! Gotta love town projects.

Garden Update

I can't believe how fast a garden grows! I have already harvested my broccoli and cauliflower, and my lettuce, spinach, and radishes are ready today! It has been so much fun to watch the different things grow. I am so excited that my two pumpkin plants are doing so well and can't wait to see an actual pumpkin. It has been a very rewarding "first" garden.

I think he likes it?!?!?

Tallon hasn't slept in his bed in who knows how long. He would rather sleep out on the couch and it just isn't worth the fight. This morning this is how I found him

Have I mentioned that he likes football?

Football 101

Tallon latest fascination is the sport of football. He carries around a little blue football, who knows where he got it, and talks about how much he loves the game. This is really funny to me because we are not a football family. I watched it growing up, Tyler is not into it at all, and we don't have TV for Tallon to have watched any games. His fascination is totally a mystery! But it is there all the same. He is lucky enough to have a wonderful cousin who has dedicated his whole life to the game. He knows all that a 10 year old could possibly know and more. He and Tallon have became fast friends and today Kellon came over and spent 8 hrs with Tallon, just teaching him more about his favorite sport. It was the funnest thing to watch these two! Tallon dropped a lot of passes and jamed his fingers, but by the end of the day he could run a play!

Watch out, I think we could have some serious talent on our hands!!
(The very cool helmet was a gift from Kellon to Tallon for a job well done! How cute is that)

more from the river

A day of peace

We went up Grey's River today and what a wonderful day! The weather was perfect and the kids played so well. They threw rocks, played in the creek, shot their guns, went fishing, and slept the whole way home. Doesn't get any better than that. Here are just a few pics of each of the boys.
Tallon

 

Vivin

 

Orrin

 

Tallon

 

What better way to end a week. We had a blast and are hoping that the first trip of the year isn't the last trip of the year!

Only in Wyoming!!

Tonight we were driving down the quiet streets of Afton, we looked to the left, and to our amazement we saw a bobcat!!! No kidding. There was a couple camping in the trailer park and they had a pet bobcat. We did a huge double take, went and asked the owners if Tallon could get out to see him, and they said yes! Tallon got to pet a bobcat!!! How cool is that. My only picture is on my phone, so if I ever figure out how to get it off, I will put it on here.

Just as it should be

Well after finding the screen cut on the front door, and having his pocket knives taken away for life and then some, I asked Tallon if he had cut anything else. No, was his reply, which changed shortly after I found a second screen cut, this time in his bedroom. Now I know Tyler and I are also to blame, after all we are the ones that gave him the darn thing, but seriously!!! So then came the punishment. No big Cabela's trip for his birthday and he gets to do nasty jobs to pay off the cost of the screens.
So, me being the farm girl that I am, could think of nothing nastier than shoveling out the holding pen (the place where all the cows get to stand and wait their turn to be milked, with nothing else to do but stand there and poop) for grandpa a few times. Tonight was his first night, and some how he caught his shovel on a corner, which sent he flying head first into a nasty pile of crap. Ahhhh, sweet were the sounds of his cries.

A little too much time on our hands???

We were so lucky to have some of our friends come and play with us this morning. Raf and Skylar are always so much fun! When it was time for them to leave I stepped in the house to grab some things for Kassie, and noticed a mysterious hole in the screen.

It wasn't there earlier this morning so I was quite baffled. But I am a quick thinker, and put two and two together. The equipment used...

and the operator

The best part of all is that Tallon can't remember what he was thinking when he was doing something so wrong. Hum.
Every time I walk past the front door, I have to count to 10. We will see what punishment is in store when his daddy gets home!

Gardner Reunion

The 4th of July welcomed the Bruce LaVere and Jennie Gardner family reunion. We met at the town park in Thayne and had a great time. The kids had fun playing on the big toys and on the bike track. It is always a ton of fun to get cousins together and listen to the adults reminisce.
Tallon

Vivin

Orrin

Tallon "wowing" everyone with his mad skills

Of course the twins would find a mud puddle to play in!!

The one responsible for the Van and Thelma Dana line

 

I am so thankful for the family heritage I have. I have amazing ancestors that had great faith, courage, and determination. How blessed I am!

9 hours just wasn't enough

The past 3 years my little sis Jullie has helped with my kids during the week of Girls Camp, and this year we got to switch places (bummer that Relief Society Presidents don't get to go to girls camp). She has this little cutie who is 19 months old and always this serious. We call her Klem.

The boys love their girl cousins! They are always so much fun when they are together.

Klem loves RBK... from a distance.

She finally was brave enough to give her a little pat and they were best buds for the rest of the day.

We got the swimming pool out and for some reason, the kids put Orrin in charge of the hose. Too funny.

We came in for naps and little Klem was a bit unsure of sleeping in a strange crib, so we made a bed in the living room for her and Tallon. She was still a bit sad so Tallon slid over and held her little hand until she fell asleep. So sweet.

One more picture to show how stinkin cute this little one is. Aren't we the luckiest Aunt and Uncle ever (she gets her cuteness from us)!

Jullie lined out help for the rest of the week so we only got to help for 9 short hours. Next time I think we are going to go for an overnighter!

Young at Heart

I love little moments when Tyler reverts to being a kid. Tonight we were sitting out back watching the kids play, when Ty got up and started playing on the swing set with them.

Tallon was showing him some of his fancy tricks so Ty decided to show Tal some of his.

Getting back up proved to be the best trick of all. Man it stinks getting old.

Tallon was way impressed and so Tyler helped him learn how to do it.

The boys laughed and laughed. What better way to enjoy an evening than to sit in the shade, listening to my children laugh with their daddy.

Bowling!!

We took Tallon bowling for the first time when he was 3. He fell in love with the game but the bowling alley closed down shortly after. A local family has spent the last 9 months remodeling the old NAPA store into a new bowling alley, and we have been so excited to go again. We finally made it over to Sky View Lanes to do a little bowling tonight and it was a blast. They have a little arcade that the boys just loved. Here is Orrin and Vivin riding the helicopter. I love the death grip that Vivin has.

Tyler and Tallon loved the hunting game, go figure!

The twins loved driving the cars and made their own sound effects, which is always entertaining.

They offer a family special of 2 large pizzas, a pitcher of pop, and a game of bowling for $40. What a great deal!! Here are the boys enjoying their pizza between turns.

Tyler's amazing form. I think bowling on the wii is the key to good form!

Vivin and Daddy watching Vivin's ball.

Orrin and Mom hoping for a strike.

Tallon and Orrin. The boys were so much fun. They would get so excited watching their ball. They would clap and cheer and jump up and down, and when they were done they would go stuff their faces with pizza.

Here is amazing Tallon giving it his all. His dance says it all!

Final scores were no big surprise. Of course Tyler won, but the big shock was that I broke 100!! First time ever, sad I know. The twins kick butt with the aid of the dinosaur, and Tallon did awesome for doing most of the game with no ramp.

We had such a good time. We had the whole place to ourselves which helped the stress level of taking twins in public. We will definitely be going back soon.

A night for Jacob

Hard to believe we have had Jacob 16.5 years! Where does the time fly. Jacob joined our family at 18 months of age and it was the most wonderful day of my youth. I always wanted a brother and he fit the ticket just right. Now here we are 16 years later celebrating his 18th birthday (does that mean I have to stop calling him my baby?)with cake and fireworks. He doesn't officially turn 18 for another 2 days but Sundays are crazy with meetings, so we celebrated tonight. Tyler was a dear and cooked dutch oven potatoes in pouring rain. It was raining soooo hard the entire time he was cooking and just as the spuds were done so was the rain.

We had a yummy dinner of chicken and potatoes and then it was time for cake. Here is Jerrie, Orrin, Jacob, Vivin, and Jason blowing out the candles.

Then it was time for fireworks!! Tallon was so excited that Jessie and Jason remembered to bring some.



It was soooo cold out, so the twins got to stay in the house and watch from the front door with Grandpa Chad.


It was a really fun night. The boys were all so tired and cold but they wouldn't stop. It is the best thing living close enough to family and being able to celebrate nights like tonight. Happy Birthday Jacob!!!