Close of Summer

Cleaning out the storage room and the garage has meant saying good-bye to some of our things.  It's not always easy for kids with sweet memories.

Bryant shared this smile with us though it was tough.

James helped Sariah get her materials and build her frame for her Junior Miss project.

Rex caught air at the skate park.

Lyle was right behind him.

Saturday we took a day trip up to Moses Lake and met up with Dax and his kids to go to the temple presentation.

Then we went to Bergeson's for a picnic and they took us to Lybbert's Pond.  It was a lot of fun on a hot summer afternoon.  The perfect swimming hole!

Uncle Dax

Daddy

Mom

Kayaking

Rope swing

After Talmage did the rope swing, he helped the little kids for a LONG time getting up to swing.

Wore them out good.

Talk about a crick in the neck.

We came home that night for our Back To School Dinner.  Our theme for this year is "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."  The last night we were all together before Sariah started cheerleading practice every night.

Some pretty excited boys when it comes to salmon.

And I got to eat what everyone else was eating!

Rex and Lyle enjoyed making flip comics---spent a few hours drawing.

The Spechts finished their rock wall--turned out pretty awesome!

Discovered the sno-cone machine the last week of summer.

The annual cousin swimming picture.  We've spent a lot of time at Stock's this summer.

Talmage packed up and headed off on his next adventure Thursday morning.

Sariah discovered the store Plato's Closet and life will never be the same.

We also love the quiet nights, barefoot grass walks, watching the sunset and reading in the patio lights.

 

Summer Cousin Time

New games at the pool table with Hayden.

Sariah taking opportunities to earn money babysitting the Olsen girls.  This week she has been taking care of Clyde's horses and Woolf's flowers.  James is taking care of Howard's watering and Campbell's cats and dogs.  It's a good thing we're around!

Races at the River:

Air soft games when it is too hot to suit up for war:

They were shooting paper airplanes out of the sky.

They wanted to play air soft at Hayden's so we drove out Thursday night and spent the night so they could suit up before it got too hot.  They got some go-carting and 4-wheeling in before Rex and Lyle needed to come back for eye appointments.  They are really wishing they got to stay with Hyrum.

We had the elders for dinner and found out that our new elder, Elder Jensen (on the right), just spent the last three weeks in the same MTC district as Damon.

Sariah's creativity shining through.  A shot that looks like she is standing on water but she is actually on her back at sunset having put her right shoe on the top of her left foot.  She and James met with Josh Kessie to get started on her Junior Miss talent this week.  James put up the lights on the back porch.  I thought it was too much effort this late in the season but I love it.  It is so beautiful out there at night.

Talmage took some of his football friends down to Utah to Zayne Maughn's wedding on Friday.  It was a quick trip but I think they had fun.  He will go to St. Louis in 10 days to work on a temple renovation then start BYU-I.  He's still waiting to find out about the job he interviewed for.

Swimming, swimming, and more swimming

Didn't include this last post, but it was so random that its deserves a report.  On the way back from the river, Rex told James and I that there was something in his throat that was bothering him.  Didn't think much about it until we were home and he brought me a headlamp to look.  Sure enough, this miniature spear was stuck in his tonsil.  It took him a few minutes to muster the courage, but he let me get it out with a pair of tweezers.  I couldn't believe how long it was!  We think it must have been a spice on the pepperoni that had just the right angle when he swallowed.  Crazy.

We asked for a smile and he sure looks good in one though it took some effort.  A better week for him than the last but it's a struggle.  We're sure proud of him for putting up a good fight.

Wild discoveries on his p-day hike.

Ancient carvings laying out in the middle of the jungle.

Sariah's Young Women Hiawatha Bike Ride ended up being more of an adventure than planned.

The ride went pretty smooth after Brother Hoskins fixed a lot of bikes.

They ended up at a standstill for at least 5 hours on the way home and didn't get home until 1am.

But they made the best of it, and made a lot of memories to boot.

2022 Zucchini Boat Races

Lyle's masterpiece

Maverick and Milo, the neighbor boys did it with us this year.  Rex and Hyrum were so good to partner up with them.

It was nice that it was a bit cooler these last few days.

Still got plenty of swimming in (just about every day).  Most days were with cousins.  They are getting pretty good at their swan dives.

Loved this picture of Grandpa and Grandma at their local fair.  Missionaries in their element.