Rodeo Ready

Last weekend was the annual Frontier Days, which includes a full weekend of rodeos.  Our favorite rodeo to attend is the Ranch Rodeo that is always held on Friday night.  Local ranchers, quite a few that we know, participate in events based on work that they would actually do on the ranch.  Some of the activities, however, are just purely for the entertainment of the audience.  Every year we cheer for the same team, consisting of our good friend and his brothers.  We have a good time hanging out with our friends while watching the teams compete.

This year, David’s parents and his aunt and uncle from California joined us.  They had never been to a ranch rodeo before, so it was a new experience for all of them.  In preparation for all the cowboy activities, grandma brought cowgirl hats for the girls.  They look adorable in them.

Bentley even got to wear her cowboy boots.  Bria has grown out of hers and was very disappointed.  Bria still thinks she is going to do “cattle work” when she grows up.

Camping

At the very end of July, my parents came and got the girls and took them to their place to go camping for a couple of days.  They camp at the river about 20 miles from where they live.  All summer, the girls had been asking when they could go camping with grandpa and grandma.  We were all finally able to make it work.

While camping, the girls went swimming in the river with Uncle N and Aunt D.  They swim with their life jackets on, which makes them feel brave, and they kept begging to be allowed to swim out to the edge of the swim area.  Knowing that the girls would get tired, they were only allowed to go about half way and had to be with an adult. 

When you’re camping, you have to have a fire and roast marshmallows.  Even though that is something we could do here at home it is a lot more fun while camping.  It has been too hot to have a fire in the evening anyway.

After a couple of days with grandpa and grandma, we made the trip to pick them up.  It also gave us a chance to make a quick visit to the chiropractor.

Every time the girls are gone to the grandparents, I try to get as much work done as possible.  David and I also went on a date out of town, where there are more options for entertainment and dining.  We are grateful for the time that we get without the girls, but we do miss them when they are gone.

Getting Caught Up

Near the end of July, we were traveling again.  This time to see my sister and her husband in their new house.  The girls and I traveled with my parents to the Twin Cities; unfortunately, David wasn’t able to go with us. 

They have a cute home and have already done some projects to make it fit their style.  The area they live in feels rural even though it is still in a suburb of the cities.

One of the days we were there, they took us to the park where they go camping.  We did some hiking and swimming there.  It is a beautiful area. 

We saw a couple of fawns run through the trees as we walked through this area.

The park they camp at is near both a river and a lake.  The wooded hills coming down to the river were beautiful.  Bria and Bentley stood on the bank of the river with Aunt T.

Our time there wasn’t long, but it was a lot of fun to be able to stay with them.  Thanks for taking time off work for us to visit you!

A Second Trip

On July 5th, we packed the family up again and headed east to David’s parents.  His sisters were coming with their kids, and we had some errands to run while the grandparents watched the girls.  David spent the weekend with us at his parents then headed home Sunday night to work for the week.  The girls and I stayed at his parents’ for the rest of the week—that was not the original plan, but things change.  We had a great time with the in-laws and even got to visit some old friends.

Some of the cousins posing for a picture.

All the cousins posing—grandma wanted a new picture for her frame.  I’m not sure the kids cooperated well enough to get a good picture.

We spent one whole day at a children’s museum that was not too far from the farm.  The kids had a great time exploring, and didn’t even get to everything.

They had a “river” area outside.

The dinosaurs roared and moved.  Bria was scared, but Bentley loved it.

These blocks were really cool.  The pictures of what you could build with them was amazing.

Aunt H and I decided to help Bria make a more stable house than the one that was already built.  We spent a good hour figuring and constructing.

Outside the museum, grandpa had to take a picture of all of us.

At the farm, the kids enjoyed playing with each other, grandparents, exploring the farm, playing in the pool, and lots more.

Bentley and grandpa working on the conveyor that goes with the trains.

Bria by the pool.  The main way of keeping cool outside.

Two sisters who really love each other, even though they may fight some times.

We came back home on Saturday and are trying to get back into our “normal” routine.  I thought things would slow down when we got back, but it looks like we will be busy for a couple of weeks yet.

Earlier this Month…

At the very beginning of the month, we had a family gathering (really a reunion) for my mom’s side of the family.  I’m not sure how many were there in total, but we all stayed at a hunting lodge not to far from my grandpa’s.  All my aunts, uncles, and cousins were able to make it.  It has been a long time since we have all been together.  Some of my relatives I haven’t seen in at least 5 years, maybe even more.  It was great to see everyone.

The girls were a little nervous to begin with but warmed up to my younger cousins quickly.

All of July has been very hot, so these little pools were one of the ways the kids kept cool.  Once in a while, even the adults could be found standing in the pool to cool off.

We spent plenty of time outside and even played some yard games.

It was too warm some of the days to spend too much time playing games, so some time was spent in town, at the pool and the river, or inside the nicely air conditioned lodge.

Some of my family is from a state where they are not allowed to shoot off fireworks.  What would a gathering around July 4th be without fireworks?  So, on the 3rd we attempted to shoot off some fireworks at my parents’ house (about 40 minutes away), but the wind came up too much, and due to the dry conditions, we ended the night early.  As we were heading back to the lodge at 11pm the car thermometer still showed 90 degrees. 

On the 4th everyone headed back home.  We came home and celebrated with some friends with a picnic at their ranch.

The next day we headed out again.

Swimming Lessons, VBS, and Potty Training

Wow! This summer is flying by and won’t be slowing down for a least a few more weeks.  Here is a quick update since the last post (whenever that was):

Two and a half weeks ago, we found out that swimming lessons for this summer were going to be the last two weeks of June instead of July.  Bria’s time slot was at 5 pm, which usually means it is warmer outside.  However, the second week of swimming lessons would end up conflicting with VBS.  After talking with the lifeguard, we were able to do some make-up lessons in the first week so she could get all of the recommended time in.  That one-on-one time with the instructor was extremely exhausting for Bria since she had to swim the whole time without any breaks.  Also, whenever either of the girls get in a pool, they start shivering almost immediately.  Between being cold and the extra swimming, Bria took naps two days in a row.

This year for Vacation Bible School, I was responsible for the decorations, assisting the kids with their crafts, and helping with the puppets.  Prior to VBS, we also passed out invitations around the community to the kids we have had in our kids program we run during the school year.  We were rewarded with over twice as many kids compared to the past two years.  The kids had a good time and clearly heard the gospel message several times throughout the week.  The theme was focused on learning about the Bible, so the kids had to learn as many books of the Bible as the number of their age for each day.  It amazed me how many books Bria and Bentley were each able to say.

Since the beginning of June, we have been working harder on potty training Bentley.  My mom got us started by getting a little potty that plays music when she goes.  We really started making progress when we reinforced her accomplishments by only giving her a reward when she went potty and her diaper was still dry.  We immediately saw more dry diapers, and she didn’t need to go as often.  She has now been completely dry for most days, and even a couple of nights (although they haven’t been consecutive).  Bentley still doesn’t tell us when she has to poo and won’t do that on the potty, and we have to ask her most of the time if she has to go potty.  We are definitely seeing more progress, about a year after we started.

We have also been spending some extra time at the pool because the girls love it, it wears them out, and I can work on my tan!

I hope to have another post in a couple of weeks from all the activities that are coming up.

Picking Strawberries

We don’t have any places where you can pick your fruits an vegetables, but we have a very generous community.  There is a lady from our area who has a huge garden and is always sharing her produce (we have several people who share their produce).  This last weekend, we were invited to help pick strawberries.  We thought the girls would enjoy it, so we headed out to the country to pick some.  The girls enjoyed it and so did we.

As you can see from the picture, the strawberry patch has bales around it which is to protect them from the harsh winds we have.  We were able to sit on the bales and pick.

We suggested to the girls that they try some of the strawberries while they were working.  Bria ate some right away, but Bentley said they were for eating at home and didn’t try any at first.  As we were picking, I looked over at Bentley and saw that she was eating a strawberry.  After eating one, she couldn’t stop.  The strawberries were smaller than what you would get at the store, but the flavor far exceeds what you buy.

When we got home, I made a strawberry pie and strawberry sorbet.  They are so good.  We are still enjoying some of the fresh strawberries.