Ella's performace

Love this girl!

She is an amazing dancer and I love to see her when we can.

She was asked to do this special performance at the U with some of her teachers!

Love watching all their time and talent pay off.  So fun and love this little Fankhauser crew.

Dodge Triplets bday party

Triple the fun with the Dodge party!

(Cheesy, I know)

Hunter, Kaden & Lia were going to be turning 7 and their little brother Karson was turning 4 so they combined parties and had a super fun blow-up slide.

Look at all those cute kids!

Fun party - thanks for the invite guys!

We had a blast with the water, friends and yummy cupcakes.

We don't see them as much anymore and it is kind of sad they aren't as close as they once were but it is hard with them so far away and in full time school now.

Sad to see that change but hopefully they'll stay in touch a little over the years.

Farm Country @ Thanksgiving Pnt

It's rare these days to get to take the "older kids" anywhere because they are now in "full-time" school but when we can, we do.

This is one of Jax's favorite places to go visit.  He often asks to go here & 

loves going on these pony rides.

Blake got to go by himself (with me walking close by of course)

I don't trust that he won't fall off yet but he sure felt big going on his own.

Austin got the big horse and was thrilled of course.

Rio was super happy also - she loves horses.

This tough guy decided it was okay to not hold on?!?!?

Oh I love your courage sweet boy but put those hands on the saddle!

Fun times at a beautiful place full of fun animals to feed.

Garden time 8.16

Every year, I love to garden at the beginning of the summer and fall and then at the end of fall, I start to get lazy and don't weed as much and start to pick less and less veggies but I did take some pics to remember.

It really is such a great thing to do and the kids love to help and eat the bounty :)

Logan LOVES raspberries so much and is often found eating all of them! (along with Spencer when he can)

However, Logan is quite thoughtful and tries to share too.

Pumpkins and squash

Zucchini, tomatillos and cucumber

A close up of the tomatillos - they grow so cool!

Inside their paper thin shell, they are sticky.

Tomatoes galore and huge as always

My two best garden helpers - always ready to pick things and help me eat them.

Some of the awesomeness of the garden.  So much stuff - time to share with neighbors.

One last hike for the summer - Silver Lake (yes, again)

Funnest hike place.

I love it and could spend hours in the mountains.  It is so much fun and beautiful and I just feel like my kids belong there.  

They are always happy there and have fun.

My own little ants on a log.

Oh Logan, maybe one day you'll smile in a group picture

My little princess - always and forever!

Jumping contest!

Who can go the highest?

After the jumping contest, we sat down and ate some lunch with our cousins, Uncle Andrew & Aunt Erin and Grandma Morris.

Next, it was on to the hike and exploring in the forest.

Isn't this lake gorgeous?

I love it!  It's the best hike because it is short and lots of things to climb on and around.

*Ethan, Rio, Logan, Cole, Jax, Preston, Cooper, Austin & Blake*

We are so lucky to have these beautiful mountains so close by.

I love my little crew so much and being outdoors with them.

We even got to see some deer along the trail.

After the hike, we went inside the visitor center and looked at the the bugs and skulls.

Oh these two...they are the best of buds at times and laugh and laugh together and then...most times they are typical brothers who annoy and agitate one another :)

I pray they will be buddies more and more.

Here's the a great summer!  Now...on to the school year.

First Day of School '16 (JAR& L) & my sleeping Blake

Oh man...is summer really over?

Please say it's not!

This pic has nothing to do with school or summer but is just my darling sleeping Blake.  His days of crib sleeping and napping are numbered so I have to treasure it.

He insists on his brown blanket first, then his grey one and the yellow one to the side.  Love it!

Logan's first day of school @ Corner Canyon Academy!

Such a big boy!  I'm so excited for you and what you'll learn this year.

He gets to go to school with two of his favorites: Nick and Dez - lucky boy!

Logan - 1st day of preschool

A few days after school started, Logan got to be celebrated at his preschool for having his birthday and he was so excited!

Crown and a huge pixi stick balloon.

The triplets were ready for 1st grade and their first day of the dual immersion program too.

I am so excited for them to start learning a new language and to have awesome teachers.

Austin - 1st grade

Rio - 1st grade

Jax - 1st grade

Oh these kids!  It was not like last year when Rio was a mess - she was totally fine.

Austin was sad and a little nervous :(  He started to cry and then I did but tried to hold it together.

I did and all was okay.

Drew and Rio

Hopefully BFF's for a long, long time.

Later that day, I had to get my tires checked and so I got to have my first one on one date with my Blake.  So fun!

Lucky me - I will get to have a few of these this year with Logan gone at school too.

Can't wait - he's so cute!