Grateful

I am so very grateful for family...

Girls...

Cousins... we were able to go to Cortez and Roman's semi-final football game for the State playoffs.  They play for the state championships this weekend in Tacoma.

 

Amazingly talented, kind and fun Sister-in-Law's...

 

Food... (lots of it)

 

Cousins like Kennidi who shared her Mary Kay with all of the girls...

 

And Grandma who gives us Ice Cream Waffles for breakfast...

Halloween 2013

Halloween was a breeze this year.  Mostly because the girls' costumes were simple.  I only purchased (1) red cape, (1) mad hatter hat and (1) mad hatter vest.  The rest was either borrowed or something we already had.  I did not sew ANYTHING!

Pumpkin Carving at FHE.

The three princesses at Trunk-or-Treat

Little Red Riding Hood, Tangled (aka Rapunzel), Ninja princess, the Mad Hatter.

Ninja Princess fights the Ranger.

The Trick-or-Treat gang before heading out.

Red Riding Hood looks pretty excited for all of that candy.

Fair Time

 It's fair weekend here in Bonner County.  The girls wanted to enter some of the produce they have been growing at the farm.  Maren was super excited to get the Best of Show with her purple cabbage.

 

 

Paige won a blue ribbon for her squash and entered this vegetable creation - Granny Squash.

 

 

Hannah got a blue ribbon for her beautiful poppies (which only last a few hours in a vase - so no photo) and Izzy chose one of Kirk's sunflowers and entered it for him for a blue ribbon.

 

Some of the other favorites of the fair this year was Mama pig

and her 13 (yes! there were 13) piglets!

The girls loved milking the plastic cow,
but no one wanted to drink the plastic cow milk - wonder why?

 

Another new favorite this year... the mechanical bull.

 



 

Summer in Utah

 The girls and I just returned from a great trip to Utah.  Bret and Elizabeth hosted all of the girl cousins (and some fun neighbor friends) for Princess Week.  Everyday we celebrated a different princess with fun activities.  Here are some highlights...

Sleeping Beauty Day was highlighted with the tea party - including dress-up, mint tea, heart sandwiches, chocolate fountain and lots of giggles.  The day ended with a sleepover in the backyard.  9 Girls and one big tent made for a memorable night.

Pocahontas Day included a float down the Bear River at Oneida Narrows.

The Little Mermaid Day started with a hike through Minnetonka Cave and ended with swimming on the north shore of Bear Lake.

We were lucky enough to find a photo of Grandma's Quilt on the way to Bear Lake.

Belle Day revolved around horse camp.  We had to detour to a local park until the wind calmed down, then the girls got to work with their favorite horses - Rufus, Sunny, Victor, Peppy and several more.  Thanks Amy for another great day with the horses!

Thanks Bret and Elizabeth for a special week of memories!

Engle Lake

We left on Friday morning with a plan to hike to Rock Lake.  We were looking forward to a nice hike, a lake, some waterfalls and an old mine to explore.  But after a wrong turn and a long drive on a steep and winding dirt road, we ended up at the trail head for Lake Engle instead. 

 

It was a very steep hike through a beautiful forest.  We ended up on a ridge overlooking the Cabinet mountains and several lakes.  The girls all did really well, even though it was a tough hike.  We all had shaky legs as we headed back towards the car, but it was worth it.

 

Blueberry Season Opens!

 

The Shingle Mill Blueberry Farm opened up for its first season of u-pick this weekend.  We are so excited because it is just down the street from our Farmhouse.

 

We took the opportunity to bring home some blueberries. Five girls and 45 minutes = 30 pounds of blueberries!

 

 

 

They were BIG, tasty and plentiful.

 

When I told the owner that my girls will eat their weight in blueberries if given the chance, he thought I was joking.  I wasn't.