EISF 2016!

Autumn time has officially begun! Last week we went to the fair in Blackfoot. We gorged ourselves on tiger ears, scone nuggets, potatoes, and ice cream. Amelia and Cooper entered the baking competition again this year. Amelia had moved up to the 11-17 year old class, so she was happy to win 2nd place for her coconut bread! Cooper entered orange bread and also won second. I think they were a little let down after sweeping first place and best of class last year! :-)

Here they are outside the entrance:

I think half the fun is finding their bread:

We walked through the campers and RVs and dreamed of "someday". This one was their favorite:

As always, we stopped at the petting zoo, where Amelia and Cooper devised a plan to get food to a tiny baby goat the older, bigger goats always pushed out of the way.

We had a great time at the fair and visiting family, including our TWO new additions! Grandkids now officially outnumber kids!

Next up: straw mazes, pumpkin patches, and all other fabulous autumn activities!

First Day of School!

School started this week and everyone was ready to go back! Here's our first day pictures!

Amelia also traded her violin for a full one! She can keep this one with her forever--unless she becomes a world-renowned violinist and wants a bit fancier one. Hey, dream big, right?

Next weekend we have the fair! Can't wait!

Final Summer Days!

A few last of summer pictures (can't say I'm sorry--AUTUMN is up next!)

We went to Celebrate Youth this year, as usual. Amelia immediately ditched us for friends :-) so Cooper and I went around and played games, shot a fire hose, and played in the spray from the ladder hose.

Notice he's soaked. It was a hoooooot day.

We also registered Amelia for junior high! We found all her classes and she walked them in order of when she'll have them. She'll be a tired little girl because they were all over the school! She's super excited and seems so grown up. Here's a picture of her in the hallway:

Lastly, we had our annual back-to-school dinner at Pizza Pie Cafe. We ate way too much, celebrated the end of summer, and geared up for the next school year:

We're ready for 2016-1017!

End of Soccer and New Cousin

Whew! School is coming up soon and things are getting a little out of control in our home. Here's what's happened the last few weeks:

Cooper finished soccer with a bang---his last game he took a soccer ball to the face playing defender and broke his glasses. He rallied however, and jumped back in the game with slightly fuzzy vision to complete the quarter. Here's his team photo:

Amelia and I cheered him on from the sidelines. She had a difficult time wrapping up her camp chair:

My amazing soccer player, pre-ball-in-the-face:

He played a great game and has improved so much this year. I really do think soccer will be his sport!

We also had the arrival of another cousin! We were thrilled to be able to meet the newest addition to the Call family only hours after he was born. He's such a cutie and we already love him so much!

That's it for now--next post will probably be first day of school pictures. So exciting to start another year!

Girls Camp....and What We Did While She Was Gone.

Amelia had her first year of girls' camp this year! She was a little nervous to go, but once she got there she didn't want to come back! Here is a picture of my darlin' when I dropped her off. Notice how nice and clean she is. She didn't come back that way. :-)

On Wednesday she had her first year hike. It was a 3 mile round trip jaunt through the wilderness. She said it was hard, but the view where they stopped was worth it. I think she is less scared of a nature now.

She took these pictures:

This is one of her friends. Aren't they lovely?

Amelia came home Friday awfully tired and burned. Here is what she looked like AFTER camp:

Bless her heart. She was asked to speak in sacrament meeting today about her camp experience. She rocked it. As I knew she would. :-) Thanks to Mom and Dad for coming up to listen to her!

Cooper and I had a fun-filled few days without Amelia. We went to lunch, played board games, and worked on scouting stuff. We are soooo close to him getting his Bear.

He also had a couple soccer games. I've tried to get him interested in basketball or baseball, but this boy lives soccer. So soccer it'll be. Here's a picture from one of his last games. It was a really hot day!

That's it! We only have 4 weeks until school starts and I have a feeling they will go quickly. Next up, hopefully two new cousins!

The Blessed Day Has Arrived!

It is here! For years and years and YEARS we have awaited this glorious day! IT. HAS. ARRIVED!

Amelia has lost all her baby teeth. Well, to be honest they've all been pulled. Today at 12:41pm our beloved, patient, kind, long-suffering dentist extracted the last of Amelia's baby teeth.  All five of 'em.

Amelia whined. Amelia cried. She even protested vehemently at times, but when it was over she gave a huge sigh of relief that this chapter of her life is finished. So did I. So did her dentist. And the dental assistant. To think of it, her orthodontist is probably pretty happy too, 'cuz he's about to get ALOT of money from us!

On a bittersweet note, tonight will be Amelia's last visit from the Tooth Fairy. Now, I can't speak for the Tooth Fairy, but I'm pretty sure she'll be relieved because she'll have to empty her account for this final passel of teeth.

                 Next up: braces! They'll be a breeze because they don't hurt at all, right?  :-)

4th of July Weekend!

Well, we can certainly pack ALOT into 5 days. First, Thursday night we started off with our yearly Chukars game. Amelia brought a friend and we managed to stay until the bottom of the ninth--but the score was tied and having a half hour drive home, I made them leave. Luckily due to social media, we discovered our beloved Chukars won at the top of the tenth, so all was well.

Cooper enjoyed his free hat and sno cone. And popcorn. And cotton candy.

Amelia and her friend AJ. Yes, they are the same age. :-)

 Early Friday morning we set off for Mountain Home to meet up with our aunt, uncle, cousins, and their kids for the Call/Dalrymple reunion. It was so hot but fun to see my cousins, aunt, uncles, brothers, sisters-in-law, and all the children. And eating the fabulous food. I'm happy I'm related to such good chefs!
Thanks to my fabulous brother and cousin for playing with Amelia and Cooper for three hours in the pool. They adore you, even if they can't figure out how they're related. :-)  Hopefully our next reunion will be sooner than 3 years.

We arrived home Sunday night, then Monday morning bright and early we were up to attend out ward's flag ceremony and breakfast. Cooper did the "calling" of the colorguard and it was a nice cool morning.

My patriotic kiddos!

 After breakfast and tracking Amelia down, we waited for the parade to start. It was another great year, no one stood in front of us. (It could've been due to my very effective glare.) Ben, Kim, and the boys joined us, along with our neighbors. Happy 4th of July!