A quick trip to Phoenix

Because Mary wasn't able to come up for the family reunion, and because she had an adorable baby girl that I needed to meet, I decided to take a quick trip down to Phoenix, just me. Well, just me as in no kids and no Joel. After Adrienne found out I was going, she jumped on the bandwagon so it was a bit of a sister's weekend! We flew in to Mesa Thursday morning, went to Mary's house, and didn't leave her house until it was time to go back to the airport Sunday morning. It was delightful!

Baby Eliza is beautiful and so sweet! She didn't always like me, but we got along okay. :) We also made a chocolate souffle from a recipe we'd seen on The Great British Baking Show. They turned out quite amazing, if I do say so myself! There was also plenty of movie and show watching, and of course a lot of talking. Friday evening Laura, Amy, Rachel, and Erin came over from Mesa for a sisters night. That was great fun, as always. I do miss being able to see my sisters more often. It was a great weekend. Thank goodness we snapped a picture of the three of us before we left for the airport on Sunday. (And of course I took pictures of the souffles. Priorities.) 

More Random Stuff

Here are some random things I want in the blog book. One evening Joel, Jenna, and William were at mutual and scouts. It was a beautiful evening so Audrey, Adam and I went for a walk. We ended up at the Truman playground. It is a great place to play! On the way home there were some deer on the walking path, and they were not scared of us at all. There were probably around ten of them. 

One evening this buck and his friend buck (not pictured) were hanging out in our front yard.

On Labor Day we went over to Laramie for the day. We hung out with the Bades, went to lunch, talked a lot, and Sarah and I snapped a couple of pictures before we left. We even got to see Erin for a few hours! It was a great way to spend the day!

First Day of School

This year Jenna is in 9th grade (A Freshman in High School!), William is in 6th, Adam is in 3rd, and Audrey is in preschool. They all looked wonderful on their first day of school!

 I told Adam to do this pose with his first under his chin. After I took it he asked if I had everyone do that. I told him I asked all the kids to do it, but he was the only one who actually would. He didn't like that! The following pictures are his reaction...

 He decided he wasn't going to smile for me because he was mad about the other pose. Obviously he couldn't maintain that! He thought it was funny, too!

We are doing preschool with three other kids and moms this year. The four moms rotate teaching, so three weeks out of four, twice a week, Audrey gets to go to a friend's house for preschool. She loves it! The first week was at our house, so this is actually a picture of her second week of preschool. That first day going to someone else's house she was pretty hesitant, and kept telling me she wanted me to stay. Until we got there, of course, and then she ran right in with hardly a goodbye! She's growing up so fast! Next year will be Kindergarten, and I can seriously not believe it.

Dane Got Married!

After our family reunions we stayed up North because Dane was getting married the following Saturday! The kids swam more in that week than all summer. Cowley does have a great town pool. Audrey and Lydia went to the new splash park in Cowley. Audrey liked it more than Lydia. :) 

Dane and Lauren got married August 13th in the Billings Montana Temple. It was wonderful to be there with them and we are so happy for them. The reception was that evening in Lauren's parent's back yard in Cowley. It was beautiful!

 Picnic at the park in Cowley

 Joel came up to Cowley late Tuesday night, then left early Wednesday morning to go to Devil's Canyon with Daniel. This is us when he got back. I hadn't really seen him for a week and a half. I missed him a lot!

 Audrey in what she called her "wedding dress". I suppose it was for the wedding, so she wasn't wrong.

Happy Birthday Jenna!

Jenna is 14! We celebrated at Mickelson with my family, and on her actual birthday we celebrated at Grandma R's house.  Jenna got a lot of fun presents, and she chose a delicious cake. We Skyped Joel in for a while, too. He was home from the backpacking trip, but in Green River working. We are so happy that Jenna is a part of our family. She is a great girl, and so much help. She's growing up to be a beautiful young lady. We love you, Jenna!

Dickson Family Reunion

The Saturday following our Croy girl reunion was the Dickson family reunion. It was a one day event at the park behind my Mom's house.  It was smaller than some of our Dickson reunions in the past, but it was great to see and talk with the family that was able to come. It was a warm day, so the kids did escape to the cool of Grandmas house for awhile in the afternoon.  We had a great lunch and so much wonderful visiting with everyone there.  Sadly we missed Barbara and Gloria. My Mom was only there for a quick lunch, then she went back up to the hospital to be with Bill. I'm so sad we didn't get any group pictures. Maybe next time.