Six and Sick

Our Eli-bell turned six on August 21st. SIX!! Unfortunately, the little lady was sick--hand, foot and mouth disease struck again (thankfully that's all over with and Shad was skipped over).
Despite a sore mouth she requested finger steaks and french fries for her birthday lunch and Caramelitas, rather than a birthday cake. Everything may have sounded good but she was unable to enjoy any of it. I've promised her a do-over. Luckily her sore mouth didn't affect her ability to open presents; that may have been the saving grace for her that day, poor thing. So the pictures I'm about to share show a pretty happy/tad grumpy/really not feeling well six year old-

She LOVES Littlest Pet Shop toys...she said this was her favorite gift.

A Sock Monkey...no this was her favorite!

An American Girl?! She'd been asking for one since Christmas...THIS was her favorite

Her own alarm clock, clothes, a glitter lamp etc...there's just too many to choose from-they are ALL her favorites

We're sure glad grandpas and grandmas came to help make Eli's birthday all the more fun for her. It's pretty crumby being sick on your birthday but I hope she still had a good day. This family sure is blessed to have you Eliana!!

Company II

We've been pretty spoiled the last few weeks with all the fun company we've had. This last week we got to enjoy seeing more friends from Texas, Chuck and Nancy Whitlock. We had such a fun time visiting with them and catching up on everything. Livi wasn't quite herself and, therefore, didn't make it into any pictures this time. She had been battling a fever which evolved into hand foot and mouth disease this weekend. Poor little lady has had blisters in her mouth since Saturday, gums so swollen you could barely see her teeth, and she hasn't had much to eat in a week between not feeling well enough to and having such a sore mouth. Fortunately she is staying hydrated (for those concerned family members out there). She's on the mend now though, so we're just hoping it stops with her, especially with Eliana's birthday this weekend! Anyways, it's been such a fun summer getting to see some of our family and friends. The girls have come to expect visitors and every week ask who's coming to visit. I guess they've enjoyed it, too!

Nancy holding Shad

Eli showing Chuck her magazine



On a completely unrelated note-it's always fun getting free things in the mail and I'm always receiving free samples and coupons of sorts but I really lucked out with this freebie! $40 worth of Zebra Pen products=sweetness!

Star Hope

"We said goodbye to the world for a day;

no phones or laptops came out to play.
We spent our time in the Majestic Outdoors;
the sky was our ceiling, the dirt our floors..."

It doesn't get any more beautiful than this.

We FINALLY got to go camping! Last Friday Sandy was able to commit to a camping trip. That is a BIG deal, his summers with work are so crazy busy! So we planned for the following Monday-Wednesday (woulda left sooner but I had a dentist appointment Monday morning). Our destination...STAR HOPE!! I was so excited!
I called my parents to let them know we were going; they wanted to try and come up for a day. Then my mom told me Tyler didn't work all that week either and suggested I see if he was interested in going, too. As it turns out, he and Laurie had already planned a camping trip...for the same days AT THE SAME PLACE! This could not have been planned any better if we had tried! We had such a great time! We learned Eli is a pretty descent baseball player; she not only throws really well but can hit the ball nearly every time! Her favorite part about camping was playing with the dogs. Livi is in her own world no matter where we are and it's so fun to watch her play. Grandpa brought a little shovel with him and that was her entertainment for most of the day. What she enjoyed most, she said, was going fishing in the creek. Shad was an easy going happy baby. It was a bit chilly so he looked like a cute little smurf the majority of the trip, all bundled in blue.

A little family history on Star Hope-On our drive there I started wondering why, of all places, we camped so frequently in Star Hope with my grandpa and grandma growing up. There are closer, more convenient places after all. So I made it a point to ask my dad. Grandpa had a friend that owned a ranch in the Copper Basin area who he would help haul cattle for. Also, it was simply my grandpa's favorite place to go camping. He had been several different places, but this place ultimately was the one he preferred most. I can understand why. I loved it when I was little and I love it even more now. Here's some pictures snapped throughout the trip-

Showing Ty how to pin the GPS coordinates for the Family Tree. Serious business.
(the matching clothes were purely accidental, lol!)

Ty was really good at finding wild strawberry patches

Goin' fishin' and rock throwin'

Tio Ty and the girls built a boat and sent it sailing down the creek.

Company

We got to enjoy some fun company the last couple of weekends. Our good friends from Texas, the Whitlocks, took some time to see us on their vacation; the visit was more appreciated than I think they know! It was so much fun seeing and talking with them (passed 2 am) and it made us miss the times hanging out with our Texas friends. Eli and Livi had so much fun! Eli asked Sam out on a date (lol!)...Livi was just Livi and enjoyed time with kids and Shad was so wound up from all the fun it took a couple of days to get him back to his routine.

The following weekend Sandy's older brother, Everett, and his wife Joanna, stayed with us--despite the girls being oober shy for some unknown reason Eliana and Olivia still enjoyed some time with their aunt and uncle. We treated them with a visit to a small country town creamery to have some homemade ice cream and cheese curds then they all took a ride in the swather with Sandy while he cut our second crop of alfalfa.

Thank you, everyone, for the fun visits; lets do it again soon!!


Jennifer, Cody, Sam, Isabella, and Dillon Whitlock posing for a group picture with us, followed by a picture of the girls wrestling with Uncle Everett and a picture of all 3 kids with Uncle Everett and Aunt Joanna.