Pierce County Fair

Right after we got back from vacation it was time for the Pierce County Fair across the river in Wisconsin.  It was the perfect day to go to the fair, not hot at all.  We had a good time looking at all of the animals other different displays.

My little chickens

 playing on the tractors

 The kids loved this huge combine

And the petting zoo....

We did stay and ride any of the overpriced rides because Jake had to go to drill for the National Guard which disappointed the kids, but we still had a fun time.

Fishing Trip

Before we went on vacation, Jake and Ashton went fishing on the Mississippi with Carter, Jake's shift partner from work.  They had a great time and brought home a few fish that we had for the dinner the next night.  While we have gone fishing before, this was the first time that Ashton has actually caught a fish all by himself and he was so excited.  They had a fun evening.

A Few Fun Facts

A Few Fun Facts about our summer vacation..

• We traveled a total of 3889 miles (to get to Utah and back)
• We traveled through 12 states
• We were in the car for 60 hours plus
• We stayed in 4 hotels

Vacation, vacation, vacation

We just got back from 3 1/2 weeks on vacation... I just downloaded the pictures from my camera to the computer and there are 504.  Plus the ones my mom took that I don't have yet.  I have all the laundry washed, folded and the kids put it all away.  I made bread today and restocked the fridge.
I'm tired, I need a vacation to recover from coming home from this vacation!
We had so much fun and nobody was ready to come home it's way too bad that we live so far away that it has to be a once a year thing.  Here are a few pictures of what we did...


 We went to Utah via San Antonio...I know long out of the way detour.  But we got to see Nathan and how well he is doing in his recovery.

He is proving all the doctors wrong, he can sit up in his wheel chair, speak, and so many other things they said he never would.  

We hit four corners on the way to Utah.

Played some miniature golf.

On the 24th we went for a picnic and 4-wheeling in American Fork Canyon, with Lisa and Ben and their kids.  

We went to see relatives in Vernal and stopped by the cemetary.

Myles rode his first horse.

We went to the zoo with cousins

And a family reunion.

On the way home we went to Mt Rushmore.

And stopped at more than one rest stop along the way.

It was a great trip and I will post more about it soon.

New Car

Oh how I loved my old car.  We got it when Ashton was a baby because his huge car seat didn't fit in out old car.  It has been with us through so much, including moving to Minnesota.  We stuffed that little thing so totally full on the way here. 

 It has been such a great car, we have never had any problems with it at all.  I wouldn't even have thought about getting ride of it if the kids didn't look like this in it now.

We were so squished in there.  And the thought of making the LONG drive back to Utah for vacation in it was more than we could stand.  Even with the box on the top we would have been totally crammed in there.  So we made the plunge and bought a new car two weeks ago. 

 A GMC Acadia 

I love it too.  And we are no longer squished.  The drive to Utah will be so much easier in this. And I feel a little spoiled with all the standard features this one has that I am not used to.  I just don't love filling up the gas tank, that hurts just a little.  

Baby Led Weaning

First of all I have to say that I hate that name, but someone thought it sounded good so that is what we are all stuck with.....   Basically it means that instead of feeding Myles a bunch of purees, we give him a bit of whatever we are eating and let him figure out how to eat it.  It is seriously the cutest thing ever. And Myles absolutely loves it.  He loved eating traditional baby food at first, but then he got increasingly frustrated with the whole thing, either I wasn't feeding him fast enough or he wanted what we were eating instead.  So one night I handed him a piece of bacon just to see what he would do with it.

He sucked on that thing until it was in teeny tiny pieces and loved every minute of it.  It was a huge success. So we have slowly started letting him eat what ever we are eating and he LOVES it.  Here he is eating rigatoni

And mushroom barley soup.

He really likes pancakes and any kind of fruit.  He chowed down on pieces of broccoli the other night.  

No he doesn't choke on anything, never has, he does occasionally gag on something but it is totally normal and he doesn't seem bothered by it and goes right on eating.  And he is so much happier at mealtimes.  And it's super easy to just give him whatever we are eating instead of trying to feed him something while trying to eat my own dinner before it got cold.  I know that he isn't actually swallowing most of what he is trying to eat, but I am totally ok with that.  I still feed him some things on a spoon, but I have also let him try and feed himself coconut yogurt and some of the baby food we have left and he does pretty good if I put it on the spoon for him.  He is still milk and soy intolerant but I figure if I can eat it so can he.  Happy Eating!

My Sew Awesome Journey

My super sweet, super talented daughter, Lexie, has started her own blog showcasing all of her sewing projects.  It is called My Sew Awesome Journey please check it our and see just how talented she is.  I think she is amazing.

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school for Lexie and Ashton.  We had a really great year this year.  Lexie learned a lot and got really good grades.  She had a few really good teachers and I think she had a lot of fun as well as learning tons.  Next year she moves to the high school, I shudder just thinking about it.  I can't believe that I have to send my 13-year-old "baby" to school with kids that are potentially 18 years old. But that is a discussion for another day.
Ashton also had a really great year and that is mostly because of this really great lady.....

Mrs Bjork

She really "got" Ashton and helped him to have a really great year.  Last year he starting "hating" school about October and it was not a fun year at all.  I felt so bad for him because I didn't know how to help him, no matter how many times I talked to his teacher she didn't get him and he was bored and frustrated most of the year.  This year was the total opposite.  He felt understood and was engaged in learning most of the year.  She understood his humor and relied on him to do classroom errands because she knew she could count on him to do what she had asked.  He also learned a lot and I wish I could clone her and that he could have her as a teacher forever.  She was definitely an answer to prayers.