County fair

One of the great things

about living in a

small town

is that they have a

county fair every year.

The events are always fun to attend,

we usually try to go to the big ones.

This year, we went to the

CPRA rodeo on Friday night.

Saturday morning,

we all got to be in the

parade!

Our friend is running for

county commissioner.

The kids had a blast

handing out candy to people

all the way down the street.

London got to ride, lucky girl.





Later that afternoon,

we went out to the airport

for the Air Fair.

They had tons of fun things indoors

for the kids to do.

One of the coolest things

they do is have parachuters jump

as the national anthem is played.

And the air show was

pretty spectacular, too.

It all made for a fun-filled weekend,

and a good end to summer

for the kids!

Little

She tells me she's not a baby,

she's bigger now.

True, it takes both arms

and more strength

to scoop her up

and give her hugs and kisses.

True, she can talk up a storm

that rivals the vocabulary

of my 6-year-old.

She's growing up faster than I can blink.

But to me, she'll always be my baby girl.

Quilting

Every Tuesday night

for the past few weeks,

we ladies have a chance

to get together

and tie quilts.

They're for humanitarian aid.

Not only is it a

fun time to hang out

with friends and chat,

but we feel like

we're contributing

something small

for a good cause.

I usually take

the kids with me,

and Sydney has

been helping

some with the

quilting process.

One time she

was playing with

my phone

and started

taking pictures.

So, I thought I'd

post some.

We finish 2 each week,

and will keep going

for the next couple

of months.

It gives me

a chance to

think about

how blessed

we are

and how we

can do

something

to help

people all

over the

world who

need it.

It's kind of

a good

feeling!

Eleven

On Sunday, we celebrated

Austin's 11th birthday.

The day before,

we went to lunch at the

restaurant of his choice

(McDonald's - because he

wanted the Mighty Kids Meal,

instead of a Happy Meal)

and then went swimming

at family night at the city pool.

Then Sunday we had cake

(decorated by his sisters)

and presents.

Got them all out in

one blow!

Reading a cute card

made by Jordan.

Happy birthday, bud!

Can't believe how fast you're growing up.

"Can-do" attitude

A couple of days ago,

we came home and Sydney took off her

flip flop

and showed me the strap had broken.

She asked if it could be fixed,

and I told her probably not.

London asked if we could get some tape,

and I told her tape wouldn't fix it.

Well, that didn't stop her.

She took the broken shoe,

ran up to the kitchen

and got the scotch tape out of the drawer.

She proceeded to pull out

a huge long piece of tape.

I broke it off for her

and she got to work.

She wrapped it all around

the entire strap

of the flip-flop

and declared that it was

fixed.

Good as new.

Hey, what do moms know, anyway?

Next best thing

It's not that we didn't try.

The concert was last fall,

just in time for Sydney's birthday.

We went online to get tickets

the day they went on sale.

Well, I guess you had to buy them

in the first 4 minutes, or they were gone.

Rather than pay $300 a seat

buying from scalpers,

we decided to wait.

We settled for the concert on tv

in 3-D

last Saturday night.

Not quite the same as being there,

but almost.

Campout

Friday morning
we headed up
to Rifle
Mountain Park
for a fun
night of
family camping.
We were lucky
to find an awesome spot to camp. Mostly shaded and pretty secluded. Austin had some scouting requirements to fulfill, so he helped set up the tent.

There were lots of trails and rocks

for the kids to climb on and explore.

Doug and Austin

got busy whittling

some branches

into marsh-

mellow

roasting sticks.

then we had a

3-mile hike to do, so we took a long walk down the road. On the way back to camp, this deer jumped out in front of us. It was the biggest doe I've ever seen. Doug thought it was an elk at first, that's how big it was.

In the evening, Doug took

Austin and Sydney fishing

on the stream, while

Jordan, London and I

gathered wildflowers for

a table centerpiece.

Austin helped build

the fire

and we had more

s'mores than we

should have,

but what's a campout

without s'mores?

Yum!

We actually got

a pretty good

night's sleep,

and the next morning

had a hearty

breakfast

(cooked by Austin,

yes, another

requirement)

of breakfast

burritos.

He told me he wants

to do more cooking at

home, he kind of

enjoys it!

We ended our adventure

with a rousing game of

"upset the fruit basket",

then packed up and

headed home.

What a blast! We need more

of those kind of trips.