Projects Completed and Pace's Visit

Summer is quickly coming to an end and we have been racing to get a lot of

outdoor projects finished before it gets cold and wet again.

The roof is finished and we just need to get the rain gutters back up.

If you notice, the old roof (where the siding ends) was 3-4 inches deep.

The patio furniture has been repainted and reupholstered.

The wooden swing has been stripped, sanded and re-stained.

Several loads of hay have been brought in and stacked. The 4-wheeler has been taken to get repaired or at least operational. The two globe willow trees have been removed as well as piles of concrete and junk from the pasture.

Just a few more projects to work on: running the TV cable through the attic, reorganizing the garage, and replanting the front border next to Izzy's.

It feels great to get some of those big projects done. There are a lot of things in the house that need to be done but they can mostly wait for colder days.

This last week, Lisa, Cameron and Ben came for a quick 5 day visit. We were able to celebrate Benjamin's 1st birthday. He is so fun to watch and play with.

Construction vehicles will be so fun.

The birthday boys. Benjamin - August 21st and Ralph - August 30th

He only got a little cake and frosting on his face.

Ben loves looking at and playing with books

A visit to Grandma and Grandpa Hatch.

Critters

Rubber Ducky Derby

It is county fair time again. It is a bitter sweet time for me - I miss not having kids participating but don't miss the craziness and stress of trying to get everything ready and in on time. It was fun this year to just be a spectator and cheer for my niece and nephews as well as former students I've worked with.
All spring and summer, I watched Todd, Kimmy, Issac and Seth walk their lambs and practice getting them ready for the judging. I'm not sure who benefited the most from those 2 mile early morning walks - the lambs or their owners. It was great to see them working so diligently to be ready. A couple of days before, the lambs all went in for sheering and then Dave and Michelle did the final sheering and grooming just before taking them to the fair. It was a lot of work for everyone. The first day of judging was long but all the kids did a great job and they all got blue ribbons.

Kimmy getting her lamb judged.

Todd getting his lamb set for the judges.

Seth leads his sheep to the final judging.

Issac waits for the judges to finish his class.

We've had two girls from Germany staying with us this week. Ironically, their names are Lisa and Alina. We took them to the fair and watched a little bit of the all-star lamb judging and the steer show as well as walking through all the other animal exhibits. It was a new experience for them but it was interesting.






On Friday, we went up the canyon to have a campfire and cook dinner. We went up some forest service roads and by the time we got to where Dennis wanted to stop, it was nearly dark. Needless to say, maybe tin foil dinner weren't the best idea because it was almost 10 PM by the time they were ready to eat. We sat around the campfire and played games. On the way home, Alyna came up with a a game where we got points for different animals we saw, 1/2 point for a rabbit, 10 points for a dear, 20 points for a raccoon or porcupine, 30 points for a moose, 50 points for a bear. I saw a rabbit, a porcupine, and a couple of deer so I won. Of course, I had an unfair advantage since I was sitting in the front seat.

Not my picture because it was dark when I saw ours in our headlights. Luckily,since we didn't hit the deer, they probably still look much the same as this one.

This morning, we went up to Beaver Creek Lodge and went on horse rides. It was a beautiful morning and we had a nice ride.

Our trail guide and Lisa head down to the river.

Dennis, Lisa, Annette, Alina and Alyna at the top.

Alina and Alyna