back to school

Another school year has begun!  My boys are growing up so fast!

Ryan -- first day of high school!!

 Jared begins his Senior year!!

 Jacob is in 6th grade and Matthew is in 2nd grade!!

I walked up to school with Jacob & Matthew.  Jacob's classroom is in one of the portables this year, so we dropped him off outside with a bunch of his friends.  Then Matthew and I headed inside to find his new classroom.  He let me take this picture of him at his new desk and by the classroom door. 

A new school year is always exciting!

another driver in the family

Ryan got his learner permit yesterday at the DMV.  I hope we're ready for this!

ryan's birthday

 Ryan got to celebrate his birthday for 2 days.  After going to Lagoon with the Vawdrey cousins, we came back to our house for pizza and some birthday presents.  Ryan started off opening cards with money inside!

 Next he opened his new Jazz shirt from G&G Vawdrey.

 Next it was time to open the big one -- the gift he picked out and talked us into buying for him...

 a new airsoft rifle!  With plenty of ammo.

 After that round of gifts, we waited until his actual birthday to finish the celebration.  Another round of presents...

 from his brother he got Oreo's, Reese's and...

 Gatorade!

 Next it was time for his birthday dinner -- rolls, roast beef, cheesy potatoes, and watermelon!  Yum!

 And last but not least, the birthday cake!  Ryan wanted an Oreo ice cream cake -- it turned out pretty good!

Happy Birthday, Ryan!  We love you so much!

jacob earns his tenderfoot

Jacob earned his first rank advancement as a boy scout -- Tenderfoot!  Way to go Jacob!

vawdrey cousins go to lagoon

We had our annual cousin-day-at-Lagoon yesterday.  I only took a couple pictures.  As we started off our day, we wandered by the Cliffhanger and found that it was actually working (it's usually always broken).  Sarah, Jared, David, Ryan, & Jacob climbed aboard...

 and got totally soaked!

 Later in the afternoon, Matthew and Will teamed up for a few rides in kiddieland.

Matthew had a great day trying out many of the "big" rides for the first time -- Colossus, Wicked, and Spider!  He loved them all!  He's way more brave than me, so it's a good thing he has uncles, brothers, and cousins to ride with.  I did however, go on the white roller coaster for the first time in years -- yay, me!

lost another tooth

Jacob lost another tooth while we were at Bear Lake yesterday!  Yay!  He chucked the tooth in the garbage, but the tooth fairy paid up when we got home -- a 50 cent coin!

(our tooth fairy may not pay out in big numbers, but likes to give special or collectible coins instead)

a day at bear lake

Yesterday we spent the day at Bear Lake with Kathleen's family, Mom & Dad, and a few of John & Karen's bunch.  It was a fabulous day!  Perfect weather and wonderful family!  This is Jacob & Colton in the canoe -- Jacob was a whiz with the canoe and spent a lot of time in it paddling around and giving everyone rides. 

 Most all of us took a turn just lounging around on a tube -- like Ryan.

 Matthew had fun in the water AND the sand!

 Jared enjoying a lazy afternoon.

 My mom wasn't dressed for swimming, but couldn't resist taking a turn floating around on a tube for a bit -- hopefully her bum dried out for the ride home!

 



Kathleen & Micheal rented a couple paddleboards and I had fun paddling around on those.  We all just enjoyed hanging out together and having a chance to chat and relax.  Grateful for a wonderful day!

matthew passes swimming lessons

He is so excited!

quick trip to idaho

Ryan, Matthew and I took a quick trip to Idaho to see if we could help my parents a bit. The beans were ready to be picked in the garden, so we got busy picking, snapping, and canning! Matthew and my Mom did a lot of snapping.

 

 

The other big job was mowing the lawn. Ryan was the chief lawn-mower guy. He mowed for like 2 hours straight! In between picking and snapping beans, I mowed quite a bit of lawn as well.  We were rewarded for all our hard work by taking home 7 quarts of beans and being able to have a hot dog roast for lunch!  So worth it!