June & July 2018

June

Swimming Lessons:

• Ayden is becoming more confident as a swimmer each summer.  
• He learned some new strokes, although his favorite is still more of a doggie paddle. 
• He became a lot more comfortable with his back float and a little more confident with the backstroke.  (He is a bit afraid to be on his back in the water still.) 

• He learned the form for diving into the pool head first.  (Feet first is still his preferred method - especially off the diving board.)
• He also mastered his cannon ball.

Football Camp:

• Ayden enjoyed a few days of football camp again this summer.  

We lost another great man from this life:

• Mandy's other Grandpa passed away in June.  
• We are thankful for the time we had with him on earth.  He was such a great leader and patriarch of our family.
• Ayden called him "Grandpa at the Farm."  He loved to visit "Grandpa at the Farm."  Probably because he always got treats from Great Grandpa.  But also, because Grandpa loved the kids.  He would tease, and play, and of course, spoil them.

• His funeral was a great tribute to his hard working life.  The hearse was lead by a tractor and a flag. 

• Along with farming, Grandpa spent his whole life managing the community cemetery our ancestors established in the late 1800's.  Grandpa was brilliant and could tell you where everyone was buried, and who was related to who, and who owned what plots, etc.  He knew things that anyone else would have to look up in a book.  The cemetery meant a lot to him.
• As a tribute to the great man, and because the cemetery meant so much to him, a few family members thought it would have extra significance if they hand-filled Grandpa's grave like was done in the old days.  So, instead of using the mini-excavator, they used shovels.  It was a touching tribute.

• Grandpa's 10 grandchildren, and some of his great-grandchildren.

Fishing Trip:

• We took Grandma Susie and Great Grandma fishing with us.

Puppy-sitters:

• Grandma Susie's dog had puppies, and since she was working, Ayden and Mandy got assigned to check on them and their momma each day. 
• We stole plenty of newborn puppy snuggles.

Softball:

• Mandy and James played plenty of softball this summer.  

• Ayden enjoys playing with other kids and visiting the concession stand while we play.  
• He especially liked this tournament because they had extra fun stuff for the kids.

•  Making memories at the ball field.

Father's Day flood and the aftermath:

• Father's Day 2018 will be remembered by all in our community! 
• It rained so much, so quickly, that water poured off of the side hill and into the canal below.  The canal couldn't hold the water and quickly over-ran flooding yards, homes, and fields.  

• The clean-up of mud and rubble after the flood was a lot of work in our community and at the cemetery.

Worms:

• Ayden and Mandy earned some money by catching and selling worms again this summer.  The wet ground after the flooding was perfect for catching worms!

Food Pantry:

• Ayden and Mandy volunteer at the food pantry once a month if we can.  
• Ayden got assigned to traffic director - in the rain - but he was a good sport.
  

Painting:

• Mandy, Ayden, and Grandma Susie helped Great Grandma paint her house.

Drive-In Movie:

• We saw a few movies at the drive-in this summer.  
• Incredibles 2, Jurassic World 2, and Dispicable Me 3 were some of them.

Muddin':

• Ayden's cousins have a mini-RZR, he made a mess of it, and himself, this day.

 Baby birds:

• We were able to watch the process of eggs to baby chicks again this summer.
• Another Mama killdeer thought that our gravel driveway was the perfect place to disguise her nest and eggs.

Trampoline:

• Ayden enjoys life to the fullest.  
• Water and trampoline look like a great combination for Ayden.  Mom and Dad would have broke their necks if they tried it.

Butch:

• Butch has an obsession with plastic bottles.  He packs them around, chews on them, plays tug-o-war with them, etc.
• If you leave your drink unattended, he will find it!
  

Work with Dad:

• We went on a road trip with Dad to one of his job sites.  Ayden had to try out the pile of road base.  He found that it was much more painful to roll down than a pile of dirt.

Kickball:

• One day we had a community kickball game in the afternoon.  Ayden enjoyed playing with his cousins and friends.  And they all enjoyed popsicles too.
  

Rodeo:

• One of our summer traditions is going to a rodeo or two.

Early 4th of July Celebration:

• The last Saturday in June was the day of cousin Ally's baptism, which meant a big family get-together and party in her honor.

• The cousins enjoyed her family's backyard pool.

• James and his brothers enjoyed some basketball.

• Ayden challenged Aunt Lindsay to a game of hoops. 

•  That night, Ally's town had an early Independence Day celebration with fireworks.

July

FISHING FUN:

• We went on a couple successful fishing trips this summer - this one was on July 1st.  
• It was a quick trip, as we had to leave early to go rescue Grandpa who had broken down and needed a tow.

Grandma's Kittens:

• Grandma Susie is a cat lady (but we love her).  She took in some orphan kittens and nursed them back to health.  Ayden enjoyed feeding them.
  

Silly Boy:

• Once again, Ayden found a solution to his allergies.  Kylo Ren should keep the pollens out of your eyes right?

4th  of July:

• Most years we do Independence day playing softball... this year was different.

• We went to a new parade in Ashton (new to us, that is).  That was fun.  
• Ayden caught a water balloon that was thrown at him, and it didn't break.  He was proud of that.

• After the parade we hoped to go fishing.  But, everyone else had the same idea and all of the places we wanted to fish were already taken. 
• So, Ayden and Dad decided to have a water fight while washing the pick up. Ayden thought his Captain America shield would help his cause. 

• We watched the massive Idaho Falls fireworks display from afar.  We could see all of the other firework displays around as well.  
• Then we did a few small fireworks and sparklers in our driveway. 

Familiar Sight:

• Oh look, Butch found another bottle.  And it makes him so happy!
  

Sleeping Outside: 

• Ayden and Mom slept on the trampoline - most of the night. Haha.

Guard Dog:

• We went for a hike in the mountains, to scout out some huckleberry bushes.  When we got back to the pickup, Butch jumped right in the pick up like he owned the place. 
• We laughed later as we noticed James' pistol (that he had packed on our hike) near Butch like it was his gun.  Our dog is armed and dangerous.

Grandma's Puppies:

• More of the cute puppies!  Getting so big and playful! 

• Grandma Susie and her pups.

Lunch Date:

• Ayden and Mom rode bikes to Big Jud's for lunch.  He was excited to see the huge rootbeer the waitress brought him.  No kiddie drinks or kiddie cups here!!  ...unfortunately, he didn't finish it!

Summer Heat:

• It was a HOT summer for Idaho!  We had temperatures in the high 80's and 90's without a break for most of the summer.
• Ayden was surprised when Mom climbed into his kiddie pool to cool off one day.

Fishing in the ditch:

• Ayden still thinks that he can catch fish in the irrigation ditch, and that they are there and waiting for his worm... he didn't have any luck this time.
• He did bait his own hook though, which is a new skill he has been learning.  He doesn't mind touching the worm, but he is hesitant with hooks and afraid to hook his finger like he did when he was younger. He has made a small phobia out of it.
• And oh, look.  More worms we caught to sell. 

Water day with friends:

• A couple of the times we flood irrigated our lawn this summer, Ayden invited friends over.  They had a great time!

Anaconda Softball:

• While they each would have liked to win a couple more games, James and Mandy had a fun time playing softball in Anaconda.  
• The ride home included a blown camper tire and a dead bat in the pick up grill.  It could have been much worse, so we are thankful it wasn't. 

Twinning with Uncle Lance:

• When we shopped for new shoes, Ayden wanted shoes like Uncle Lance. 
• We took a picture and shared with Lance, who is over a thousand miles away, in Texas, at school.
• Lance sent us back the twinning pic with the same clothes and shoes.
• Twinning is winning!

Family Weekend:

• We had a cousins weekend and celebrated Pioneer Day.  
• We went to the St. Anthony Pioneer Day parade, which had the best floats we have EVER seen.  We have heard so much about it and FINALLY went!

• We took the family to visit Grandma Susie's kittens and puppies. 
• And, Ayden enjoyed holding his newest baby cousin.

• The next day, we went on a GREAT fishing trip.  Everyone caught MANY fish!
• Fishing was cousin Kylee's birthday wish.   

• Ayden sat in the water, on a rock, to fish... and soon a leech found him.  GROSS!  He didn't know what it was at first.  But he wasn't too bothered and continued to fish, and swim, and wade in the water.  He pulled a few more leeches off of his legs before we left.  YUCKY! 

•  THE COUSINS! And their fishies!

Berry Fun:

• We found our huckleberries and raspberries for the year.