Foreigner!

We heard word that this girl was going to get to sing on stage with Foreigner!

That's right, the famous 80's band

Very cool indeed!

Jaedyn has joined the competitive high school choir: Hillcrest Chorale. They have a new director this year, Jonathan Rose, and she is loving her experience already. To start the year off with a bang they sang Sept 26th with Foreigner on stage at the Mountain America Center here in Idaho Falls for the Farewell Tour. The center seats 4200-6000... I have no idea how many were there that night but what a very cool experience for those kids! Mr Rose is rocking it already... quite literally! 😆

Emily, Jaedyn, Trey, Aiden. Very excited and very nervous!

Up on stage singing "I Want to Know What Love Is". Jae said the main singer was within arms reach at one point and it was absolutely terrifying. Ha! Chad asked if she was tempted to reach out and bop him on the head. Nope.

Great event, great friends, high on adrenaline, with ice cream afterward... made for a very happy girl indeed.

 

Homecoming Week

Ane got to cheer at Homecoming and we got to watch their halftime show. It was so fun to see how happy she was! They also did a clinic for the younger kids so afterward they were allowing kids to come up and build. Lilia was feeling like hot stuff up there on the pyramid... Thanks Ane for getting her the opportunity! A few of my girls walked away after this night thinking they'd like to consider cheering... I guess we shall see!

Jaedyn was asked to go to the homecoming dance by Trey who, knowing her love for sushi rolls, bought her some real sushi! So taking his lead she responded with some candy sushi... which was right up his alley!

They had a lot of fun that night. The festivities on Sept 16 actually began with the family. Not knowing it was homecoming week earlier in the year, we bought tickets to go to the Armor Up youth show with John Bytheway, Meg Johnson, and Matt Townsend. Jaedyn and Lilia each got to invite a friend along for the ride. This was a very inspiring morning full of encouragement to strengthen ourselves against the forces of the world whether external or internal. They did this in such a loving and humorous way that even the adults left feeling inspired and uplifted. 

After the show we stopped at Crumbl to buy some cookies for Emily's family. Her father had hurt himself while we were at the show and the kids were upset. Emily was dreading being in charge so we sent her with ammo. Afterward the group Jae was doubling with came to our house for some sandwiches before heading out for a little axe throwing and pictures down at The Greenbelt. 

They were such a good looking crew! I wish I'd been able to get a pic of Ane in her dress but she went with friends and got ready at their house instead. I did get to help her and Jae dress shop though so that was my consolation. She looked absolutely beautiful in a long sleeve maroon dress!

And what is Homecoming week without a little Powder Puff?! Ane played! I love her spunk and willingness to just get out there and try anything. I asked her during her weeks of practice how it was going expecting to hear how much fun it was or how different... "terrible!" was her response with a lot of laughter. And she hoped they didn't throw her the ball! Ha! She got to play with the seniors as an exchange student cuz they were favored to win. And they did! And Ane caught a pass! Such a fun experience. Trey manned up and decided to take part as well... he ended up being the aerial cheerleader. It made for a hilarious show!

 

Wind Rivers Big Sandy Take II

4 days before Helen headed out on a backpacking trip, I decided to call her up and crash the party! And I was so excited when she said yes! It turned out to be a good thing because on my drive to meet Helen, she informed me that her 2 friends had bailed. No bueno hiking solo in bear country! 

We met up in Boulder for take II at Big Sandy trailhead. We hit it about 7 pm and had about an hour of daylight to hike 5 miles. Nope! So we got to do a night hike for an additional hour and got to camp about 9. It was so beautiful to hike under the stars! It has been years since I've embarked on a good night hike! We chattered the whole way and were grateful for Atlas who carried his trusty bear bell so we didn't have any unwanted visitors. Helen had prayed for no rain despite storms in the forecast and I think I felt 2 drops the whole evening. It was such a blessing!

The overcast skies on this trip made for some beautiful pictures!

I love hiking with these 2! Helen is just so fun to tease and she is a wealth of knowledge and information that she eagerly shares. Occasionally asking what I interpret as a rhetorical question. LOL Atlas has really learned a lot about not chasing squirrels, staying close by our sides, keeping his wet beard away from our food, and will eventually learn not to stop mid trail right in front of us!

We found a great campsite at Big Sandy lake. Look how happy I am to be in my element again! Normally such a quick trip is a tad stressful but I was nothing but eagerness for this one! It has just been too long and summer was too short!

Monday morning we woke up and hiked an 8.5 mile loop around Clear, Deep, Temple, Miller, Rapid, and back to Big Sandy Lakes. They were so beautiful and idyllic! And one in particular made for a great picnic area. The wind was a bit nippy at one point so I found a big rock to sit half under while I enjoyed my traditional jalapeno bagel with avocado. mmmm

  

I ever a hike had a theme... this one would be flowers. I was loving all the red flowers! Clearly. LOL

The trail was perfect and the weather was cool and lovely. Sans a small hail storm we got to hike through! I didn't even really mind it, I was perma-grinning so happily to be there. And one nice bonus to wet weather was no mosquitos! For Wind Rivers, that is quite a benefit! We were a bit chilled when we returned to camp so we crawled in to our tent and changed into dry clothes... just in time for Helen's friends to roll in. We sought small pockets of sunshine the rest of the evening and then settled in to watch a movie before calling it a night. The hike out the Tuesday morning was faster than expected... like a horse headed home I guess LOL. 

Thanks again Helen, for a wonderful adventure!

 

Yellowstone 2023

Labor Day in Yellowstone! We got rained out again! Ha!

That's ok though cuz everyone were good sports.

Natalie visited us with her kids, first time in sooooo long and we were very very happy to host her visit. Valerie also came up with her kids and it was such a fun full house!

Camping is such a love of mine. Just look at the grins. Look at how the relationships are building. No tech to distract. No walls to constrain. No one getting shushed. Just freedom and beauty and imagination and adventure! Pictures are worth a thousand words... look what is happening here! 

We also got to explore Yellowstone. Ane and Natalie were both very impressed by all the natural wonders that exist there. It was fun to hear the exclamations and the awe. I think I'd like to take Ane back to see more before she returns to Spain! Jaedyn poked her bum on the fence and Valerie walked backwards off the board walk while taking a photo for some other tourists. Nothing wounded but the pride in either instance but made for some fun memories!

The rain the morning we packed up camp also made for some fun memories! Chad cooking over the stove in the downpour. Us shaking stuff up and trying to get it packed up and kept dry... and then giving it up and accepting our dripping fate. (Everything ended up being unpacked into the gym and raped over equipment to dry anyway.) And being circled by everyone as they chanted to tell us thank you for planning the trip and bringing them. Such a funny way to say thank you but so fun! It was much too brief of a visit and over too fast but so so enjoyable while it lasted!

I'm not the only one who hopes we can do it again soon!

 

First adventures with Ane

Did you know Spain doesn't have peanut butter?! My mind is rebelling at the thought.

Ane has joined the cheer team at Hillcrest. Here she is, ready for her first game!

Her first Friday here, Chad and I both had to work. Lame. So the girls, at her suggestion, dressed up in Christmas jammies and rode their bikes to Walmart to go shopping! I laughed so hard when I heard this! What an awesome and fun girl she is!

We decided to head to Rigby Lake and try out our paddle boards again. So fun! Poor Ane was freezing though. And we got rained out! In August! This has been such a weird summer. I hope we get a Fall... I'm worried we won't with as mild of a summer as it has been though. 

We did manage to get in a couple of hours of sunshine and play before the rain hit. The paddleboards were popular as was the flamingo and our beach ball taps had a record of 48 I think. Not too shabby! We met my cousin Alyssa and her family there so the kids enjoyed playing together and soaking up the sun. Before the scramble to get out of the rain. LOL

I didn't even realize McKinley could maneuver a paddle board... but she was a natural! It was probably good we got rained out... cuz there were sunburns after just a few short hours. Turns out telling the kids I brought sunscreen doesn't actually provide protection... they have to actually put it on!

I also didn't realize how healthy Spain is. Apparently they aren't very big on desserts. I love healthy food. But I also love desserts. So... Ane might be ruined staying with us because not even a week has passed and we've already introduced her to a few. Including cinnamon rolls. Which we passed off as "dinner" when we served them with chili! I hope her parents will forgive us 😬

And just a few fun favorites to throw in: Jaedyn wanted me to take her shopping at Target for matching outfits. So I did. Cuz what mother would pass that up?! Aaaand how cute is the second? Jae and McKinley were walking down the street to visit an elderly neighbor and stopped for a candid. They look so happy and I just love it!