Lately...

Cute pic of Miri and best pal Nicholas at school.

Purrl the kitty has discovered the barn. She also learned that Spiffy the dog goes in there. Hence the look on her face.

We are gearing up to move and put our house on the market. So Aleaha was helping spruce up the bathroom with a new coat of paint. Wow, what an improvement! 

A couple of cutie-pies.

Making Applesauce

A project of homemade applesauce has been on our summer-fun-to-do list for many weeks, and we finally made it happen. We picked the apples from the trees in the back yard, quartered them, and got them cooking. Convinced we would have gobs and gobs, it cooked down a lot and provided just 5 pint jars. Dang - those will be eaten up fast! Maybe we can make more sometime soon. It was fun and has a tasty, heathy outcome.

Aleaha was so pleased with our project that she insisted on wearing her apron the rest of the day, including for our errands to Bimart and the grocery store. :) (Thanks again to Aunt Jeannie for the darling apron - the apple theme is spot on!!)

Sisters

Showing off their new pajamas while making breakfast one recent morning.

Field Trip to Marys Peak

Aleaha's school made the annual trek up Marys Peak. Mommy volunteered as a driver and chaperone. 

We made our way up the trail to the peak of the Peak.

The view was quite smokey, but pretty nonetheless.

She liked the vantage point, but we couldn't actually see to the ocean that day.

Took a short break with friends Addy, Maggie, and Finn.

Late Summer

Gotta enjoy that sunshine while we still can.....

Let'er Buck!

After missing last year's Round-Up, we were all very ready for 2012! It's a pilgrimage of sorts....

Cousins Tyler, Ella, and Hank waiting for the parade.

Miri, Ella, and Aleaha.

"It's coming, it's coming!!"

Cousins Ira, Sam, Tyler, and Hank stand for the parade of Ol' Glory, carried by the beautiful Horse-Indian team from Happy Canyon, Chinook and Bryson Bronson.

Miri loved watching the 102 American flags go by.

The animals were amazing. Here's a 6-up oxen team, which was pulling a tripple wagon. Same team later performs in Happy Canyon, negotiating a very tight turn-around. Hail to the beasts and their trainers!

Daddy spectates from our Friday seats.

It was hot, so we put up Aleaha's mop of hair.

Our Saturday seats are totally rockin'. This was the view, with a bull loaded and awaiting his cowboy. 

The cowboy is mounted and the chute-puller is ready. 

They are out of the chute!

And for a moment, he's still on!

And then suddenly, he's eating a dirt sandwich. Sorry, man.

The bull looked right at us and almost winked.

He had to be encouraged to leave the arena.

Great view for the barrel racing, too.

This shot shows just what distance these horses have to cover. Could barely get all three barrels in the same shot.

Mommy and GrammaBon took all the kids to see Happy Canyon. Aleaha had seen it, but she didn't really remember details. Their favorite part was when the outhouse blew up and the rolls of TP went sky-high and fell into the orchestra pit. They are still laughing about that days later. They also have a rudimentary understanding that the White People were "not very nice" to the Indians, and that was "very sad". They also felt the treatment of the deer and rabbits (who were, uh, expired), was notable.

First Day of First Grade

 Aleaha really missed her teachers and her friends, and we all missed the routine.

She is ready to go back!