Time with Our Kids

Now that Dennis and I are officially empty nesters, all of the moments that we are able to spend with each of our children is extra special. At this moment, I am sitting in Mindy and Jeran's living room thus completing the summer visits with each of our married kids.

Lisa, Cameron and Benjamin came to visit in August. (See previous post) Andrew and Lindsay were able to come visit the first weekend of September. That worked perfectly because they were able to be home for the Briscoe Family reunion and their friend, Garrett's wedding. We were able to have a baby shower for them and they had a great time seeing many of their friends that they hadn't seen for a couple of months.

Lindsay and Andrew enjoy the nice summer weather and  being with family.

Andrew and Alyna use scientific measurements to see who really has the biggest mouth.

Andrew helps Ralph figure out how to do some things on his Ipad.

Opening gifts

Family and friends enjoy the evening together.

Alex, Burke, Alisha, Garrett, Andrew and Devin.

At Mindy's, we went out for some good chinese food the evening we arrived. Mindy and I were able to attend their stakes Women Conference with was excellent. While we were at that, Jeran and Dennis helped a friend of Jeran's move. That evening we went to see Contagian. It was pretty good. Sunday, we worked on quilt blocks for our family reunion quilts and went to church. It was the Primary program so that was very entertaining. Mindy and Jeran teach the 11 yr. old Valiant boys so they had an easier to manage group. Mindy and I worked on projects (crocheting and quilting), went shopping and we all went out to eat at a couple of yummy restaurants.  

Mindy has become creative with her crocheting.

Yummy caramel and chocolate dipped apples from Rocky Mountain Candy Company.

Briscoe Family Reunion

I tried to do this post just after the reunion and had some problems uploading the pictures so I never got it finished. I hope this time to actually get it posted.

We held the Ralph Briscoe Family Reunion on Sept. 2- 4. Everyone was able to attend except Lisa, Cameron and Benjamin-who are in Indiana, Mindy and Jeran-who are in No. Carolina, and Zeke is on his mission. Grandma Briscoe planned it and prepared almost all the food.

Friday night, we met at Izzy's for dinner and games. By the time we got to the games, it was starting to get dark and cold so we came into our loft to play.

Saturday morning, everyone who could went to the temple. Michael just received his mission call to Milan, Italy and was going through for the first time. With all the Sissions and all 3 generations of Briscoe's we made a pretty big group.

 Afterward, we met at Izzys for an Italian luncheon and a missionary shower.

Later in the afternoon, a lot of the family had a great time swimming at the Logan aquatics center.

That evening, we had a potluck casserole dinner and Anya and Kimmy got their reunion quilts.

We were going to watch the movie outside but since it had been so cold on Friday night, we set it up in our loft. We watched Rio.

Sunday, everyone went to church with whoever they were staying with and then everyone from out of town headed home and the rest of us met for dinner and to work on quilt blocks.

We ate lots and had a lot of fun. I hear Tom and Sandi are in charge next year and would like to have it in Fort Collins.

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