The Big Sandhill Crane Hunt.

We took a Family Night and decided to go Sandhill Crane hunting. That's what I get for putting Jason in charge of one Family Home Evening each month, but it actually was a great family outing. We went to this field, with amazing Teton views. The weather couldn't have been better and the kids were all geared up for their adventure.

After we arrived at 'The Spot' we hunkered down in the tall grass and waited for them to come in. I thoroughly enjoyed just sitting back in the warm sun. The kids took turns looking through the binoculars and walking through the nearby trees.  For a while they sat with me and we just chatted about the day.

Here is Jake checking out some Cranes in the distance. He loved the binoculars. Jason thinks he's a natural.

And it was a successful evening all around. Jason did even manage to land a bird. Now even I have been hunting if you can believe that.

Cleaning the Coop!

Jake and I have been enjoying our time at home during the days with just the two of us. Friday we cleaned out the chicken coop. Actually, Jake more or less cleaned it out. He informed me that I was using his shovel and that he wanted to get all the poop himself.
How long will this last for?

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs!

We really don't know for sure, but we think that at least one of our ducks is laying now. Cambrie found this HuGe egg and had to document it. She took all the pictures herself, then wanted to cook it up and was so excited because it was a 'double yolker' as she calls it.

Most of our hens lay brown eggs, but recently we've been getting some white eggs, most likely from Rose, our newest hen.
This was the big egg in Cambrie's hand.

All of them together. She's quite proud of her eggs.

1st Day of Preschool!

Jake started Preschool today!  He has been so excited to go to school after watching the girls get ready and head off last month, but when it actually came down to it, he was quite apprehensive.  This shocked me because his Preschool is at his little buddy Isaac's house and his Mom is Jake's teacher.  Their house is practically his second home, but for some reason, the thought of going off to school still worried him.  He laid in bed for a long time the night before and just kept saying, "I just don't want to go to school tomorrow." 

 

Here he is all smiley!

The 1st day was also his Birthday, so we took his favorite, Chocolate Chip Cookies and made this poster to hang in his class for a while at Miss Cathy's request.

He was still worried on the way over there, but once he saw all the kids, he seemed to settle right in.  Here he is after he hung up his orange backpack.  This was his favorite color for a long time, but more recently, he says it's blue.

Jake with some of the kiddos in his new preschool class.

Jake-Man turns 4!

It's hard to believe that our baby boy is already 4 years old.  As usual, he was able to choose what he wanted for breakfast.  Jake wanted chocolate chip pancakes which did not surprise me at all.  He LOVES chocolate chips!  He also loves his Iron Man PJ's.

His Birthday was also his 1st day of Preschool (that will be a separate post).  At Preschool he got this cool crown and when I picked him up he asked me, "When is your Birthday?"  I replied, "July."  Then he informed me, "When it's your Birthday, you can be the boss, but today I am the boss."  I asked him where he heard this and he quickly replied, "Caffy."  (Which is Jakenese for 'Cathy' his preschool teacher.)  He was sure to remind me several times throughout the day, that 'He was the Boss!'

After preschool we went to the park (another one of Jake's favorites). 

We had already celebrated his Birthday and were feeling a little 'caked' out, so I took some of the Tillamook Cookie Dough Ice Cream that my parents drove from Oregon and put it into a silicone cupcake pan, then stacked them on top of each other for individual ice cream towers.  He loved that it was different and all of us have loved the Tillamook ice cream.  Yummy!  Here he is blowing out his candles and of course, back in his Iron Man PJ's.



Labor Day in Sun Valley.

Grandma learned about 2 weeks prior that she would be heading in earlier than expected to have her stem cell transplant.  We wanted to help lift her spirits and send her off with lots of good memories, so we decided to head over to spend the Labor Day weekend with everyone.  The kids didn't have any trouble finding activities to keep occupied.

They found some body crayons and decorated their faces.

The girls all had a tea party with Grandma.

Spent lots of time just visiting with Aunt Mo and Abby.

More time with Grandma.

More face painting.

 

Hiking.

Cambrie was helping Grandma.  She was worried she was getting too tired from the hike.

We even had a Birthday Bash for the Jake Man.

Grandma's Haircut.

We headed over the Sun Valley for the Labor Day weekend to spend time with Jason's Mom before she headed down to Salt Lake City for her upcoming Stem Cell Transplant.  Part of the weekend that I'm sure the kids will never forget, was helping with Grandma's haircut.  She was told that during the course of her hospital stay, she would lose all of her hair, so it would be easier and less messy if she just cut if very short.  She was a real trooper and decided to let each of the grandkids get their snips in, the Arleane Merrick (a family friend) finished it up for her.  If you look closely, you can see Jake trying to squeeze in for his turn.

Here is Tatum taking her turn.

 

And Cambrie too.

Each of the girls saved a little baggy of hair.

Grandma did a great job turning something she had been dreading into something fun for everyone.