Nebraska Sun

Well, we had a fun but quick trip to Nebraska to visit Karrie, Chad and Madison. We got back Monday evening. They have a nice little lake about 15 minutes from their house, so we went boating and swimming twice. Natalie had a blast.

More splashing for Daddy (we did spend Father's Day there). Momma got in the water but didn't swim a lot because she doesn't have a suit that fits right now!

She would have stayed in the water all day if we let her...

And here is Daddy with both girls. Madison was a little hesitant to get in the water at first, but she eventually joined in the fun. On the way home we stopped at Cabella's and got Natalie her own life jacket and new fishing pole. She was so excited. They had about 12 to choose from, and we let her pick the pole out on her own...she chose the only pink and purple princess one. Since Monday she has been BEGGING to go fishing, so she is with Grandma and Grandpa this weekend, looking forward to her private fishing trip with Grandpa Guy on the boat tomorrow.

And here is a snapshot from just before we left. Against my better judgement I left her in the kitchen for about 2 minutes while I ran back to the bedroom, innocently thinking that because she was having yogurt for a snack it would keep her occupied for a minute. Well, it was a little too quiet, and when I came back out she was finger painting with her yogurt. It was everywhere, including her hair! It was too cute to not take a picture.

Another cute story from last week...she was "having a movement" on the potty and I could tell it was taking quite a bit of concentration, so I just let her be for a bit. When she was done she stood on her stool and looked in the toilet, raised her arms triumphantly and yelled, "Ta Da!" It was too funny for words, and of course I didn't have the video camera. That will just have to be one I tell in person when she's older!

We had fun in Nebraska and are home for the week. Kyle has to work on our anniversary tomorrow (5 years!), so we went out to dinner and a movie tonight. It was fun and great to spend some time alone together. He bought me some O'Douls so I could have a beer from the fridge if I ever feel like it. We decided to just do cards and not gifts because we're headed on a big trip, so the evening out was just right. Anyway, things are good with us. I have a doctor appointment next week before we leave and lots of house cleaning to do. Hope everyone is well in the great beyond. Hugs to all.

It Must Be Genetic...

Well, Natalie has been BEGGING to ride Momma Stormy this week, and I am now convinced some of it must be genetic. I remember when I was little all I wanted to do was ride, even more than play basketball! She is so energetic about riding and has no fear yet, and after an hour of her asking if she could ride again today, I finally gave in. She's ridden several times this week, and today we worked on stopping. She really is a natural, and I can't wait to keep teaching her some things as she gets older. For those of you who don't know my horse history, I started riding very early but didn't get my first horse until I was 15. This mare was my absolute favorite horse to ride on the ranch in Wyoming when I was younger, and I called them to ask if I could buy her when Mom and Dad finally said I could get a horse. She's a very nice mare, and of course they said she wasn't for sale! Well, last year I bought another young horse from my friends there, and Grant gave Stormy to me, remembering how much I loved her. She's up there in years now and can't have adults riding her, but she's a good starter horse for Natalie. I just love that we'll have this beautiful mare as a connection to share...

I even got her to wear her pink hat...

Saturday we spent hours and hours outside planting new shrubs and relocating old ones. Natalie loved all of the worms we dug up, including this giant monster we found under the horse trough. When he was all stretched out he was way more than a foot long. She carried the poor guy around for a long time before we told her he had to have some water or her would die...

So, she then carried him around in this pot of water for a while before we put him back in the ground. I have rarely seen a worm that big around here, but we've had so much moisture lately I think they all had growth spurts!

Anyway, we had a busy but fun weekend, including a trip to Powell and Cody to celebrate Grandpa Chauncey's birthday and Guy and Jill's 34th anniversary. We also went ot a fun BBQ Friday in Ten Sleep to visit friends and celebrate Nate Boyd's birthday. It was good to catch up and visit everyone. I'm taking my filly JJ to the trainer tomorrow for her first riding sessions. I've been doing a lot of work with her over the last few weeks, and I think she'll be a smart little horse. We're headed to Nebraska Friday morning, so we'll have more pictures to post of our visit next week! Hope everyone is doing well and hugs to all.

Adorable Gifts From Grammie

Well, we got a nice surprise in the mail from my mom today. Since Natalie is now in her big girl bed, she made her some adorable pillow cases. She wanted me to put the chicken one on first, and here she is displaying it! The other ones have monkeys and horses on them. It's a really fun idea, and she loves it! Maybe one day she'll pass them on to her kids...

A Keepsake From Nana Brooks...

Well, it was so nice Sunday that we pulled out the sun dresses for church, and I put her in this adorable blue one that my Nana made for me when I was little! It is still in great condition and she absolutely loved the ruffles and how it twirled...

I just think it's so special to have a keepsake like this to pass down. Maybe one day I'll be able to make an item of clothing, but I'm going to place my bet on quilts. My friend Mandy wants to teach me, and the more I learn about it the moreI think I could actually do it. The test will be to see how patient I can be!

And here is Miss Nattie painting today. It was a little to chilly (we got more rain tonight!) to play outside in the pool today, so she painted twice! Daddy goy home last night and let me sleep in this morning (could I ask for more?) and they had already painted by the time I got up at 8 o'clock. Then I painted again with her this afternoon. She just loves color and creating things, which is such a joy.

I had a doctor's checkup yesterday for me and Beckett, and everything looks good. The little bugger was moving around so much we could hardly keep a heartbeat count on him, but he's doing just fine. It's hard to believe we only have about 3 months left! We have pretty much decided to use Great Grandpa Chauncey's middle name "Lee" for Beckett's middle name, which I think fits well. We used Brooks from my side of the family for Natalie, so I wanted to use something from Kyle's side this time if it worked out. That will make his initials BLT, but I guess there are worse ones! Hope you all have a good rest of the week and a fun weekend. We will head to Powell after church Sunday to celebrate Chauncey's birthday and Guy and Jill's anniversary. Then we'll start packing for Nebraska! Hugs to all.