Just liked this picture. She's looking at a worm in the corn she was husking.

Child Labor

Child labor laws not enforced at our house...
We would have never finished our yard (finished, ha!) without them. They really are great helpers!

Shovel, anyone?

I can already hear what the kids will be saying when they get off the bus...and it won't be happy chatter.

Pride

Says a tall, skinny man wearing wranglers and dirty work boots, "He yours?" nodding his head

toward the soccer field in Brady's direction, "the kid with the 'Big Leg?'"

"Yeah" I say with a smile, the "Big" kind, the kind that has roots in the bottom of my heart, "he's

mine."

Lauren visits!

My youngest brother's wife came to visit last week. She brought her adorable baby who is so scrumptiously darling that I could just take a bite out of her! We kayaked, saw the temple, ate at the Garden, and just hung out. It was so nice to have her around- she always jumped in and even had dinner ready on one of my particularly busy nights! She is an amazing mother and talented in so many things (especially in things I lack). Lauren is a good example to me and I'm so glad to have her in my family!

Warm Cinnamon Rolls

I have had a hankerin' to do something "Fall-ish". The clouds rolled in and the breeze kicked up and my wallflowers filled our house with the smell of cinnamon and clove (I know you love it too Nik). Brady begged to make cinnamon rolls. I'm usually a cook of the Rhodes variety, but we pulled out the recipe books and whipped these beauties up in no time! I had total dejavu when we were slicing the dough with dental floss. Why are so many memories linked to food? I think I need to pull out the cookbooks more often, we had a great time together, and it felt so....Fall!

RUN!

Kimberly hosted a cross country meet at Magic Mountain. This is Justin and his buddy before the meet.
Mass start of Jr. High boys.
The course went up the ski hill. Can you say dusty?
Go Justin! I had a terrible sore throat but it didn't stop me from following in my mother's footsteps - I screamed so loud for him! He took 18th out of all the middle schools in the valley and beyond - from Oakley to Buhl to Wood River, and third on his team. Way to go Justin!

Green Day

Notice anything different about our yard?

Thank goodness for nice neighbors

and kids
and this guy and his trademark hat.
Break time. Mom is always good for a trip to Sonic. Darren makes the kids log their time (they're earning money for the Middle Fork trip). Brady's time card for this morning read that he started at 8:09 and ended at 11:03. They know they won't get paid if they don't write it down! They got all the sprinkler heads in around the whole house today. So it looks like we're ready to seed the rest next week!

LOTOJA - (low ta juh)

These men just rode LOTOJA. 1 day 3 states 206 miles! The race starts in Logan, UT and ends in Jackson, WY. On bikes, people! Not motor ones either. 11.5 hours. If Darren wasn't your hero before, he should be now! He was mine already, but now he is my superhero!

Team IdaFlorUtes before the race. One of these people we had never met before and another Darren had never ridden with.
Darren at the start in Logan, Utah. They left at 7:34am and arrived in Teton Village at 7:00 pm.
Darren in Afton after 3 BIG passes and 120 miles. Honestly he didn't even seem tired. This was right around the corner from my grandmas house, I drove right past the hundreds of cars trying to park and pulled into her drive way. HA! I thought, got you on this one!
Finish. Ambulance workers on site just in case. I felt like I needed them, I drove for 12 hours! The cars were sent on a longer alternate route for the first half of the race converging with the race only to meet their riders at feed zones. The traffic was at a standstill several times, and parking at the feed zones was a nightmare. I felt like I was in some kind of a race too! I didn't have time to stop and get food or whatever very much. Darren rode 206 miles and I was the one who was dehydrated. Next time I'll take a helper with me!
Helmet head in the shadow of the Tetons. He did so well, he didn't even seem like he had done anything. His legs felt fine, but at the last feed station at Alpine, with 47 miles to go, he was really sick to his stomach. That was the first time all day I had seen any kind of discomfort on his face. The word GU (as in the energy gel) is now a swear word and we are not allowed to say it. He has been starving since after the race, but we went swimming today, if he had had time he said he could feel like a mtn. bike ride. I honestly don't know where the energy comes from.

Another lady from our team took lots of pictures, (she had another person with her) so I'll post them when I get them)