Random Summer Pictures

Labor Day has come and gone, the girls have been in school two full weeks, and Seth and I are finding a homeschool routine, so it is time to post the last of the "summer" pictures. 

Seth was Russ' right-hand man this summer with the lawn and tree trimming.

The girls had the opportunity to attend the Newsies musical in Logan, UT this summer with a friend.  They had a lovely time enjoying a wonderful production and sweet friendship.  In one of the pictures, they are with Crutch, one of the characters in the musical.  Seth, Anna, and Lydia also had tickets to three of the Idaho Shakespeare productions this summer and thoroughly enjoyed Taming of the Shrew, The Music Man, and Julius Caesar.

We enjoyed our backyard fire pit and lights until it got too warm in the evenings.  Looking forward to a crisp fall!

Saw this snapping turtle laying eggs while on a walk this summer.  I drove home to get the kids and watched it bury the eggs in the playground mulch and head back to the pond.

Anna volunteered at the library a couple days a week this summer.  They were impressed with how quickly she was able to shelve books and pull holds.  I guess they didn't realize that patterns and numbers are her "thing" (alphabetizing and Dewey decimal). 

Seth had been gifted a season pass to the Roaring Springs waterpark this year.  We went once as a family, he went again with Nicolas while we were at the RYS convention, and later he went with Lydia and friends at a back-to-school outing.  Since he didn't want to go alone, it got a little spendy to go too often with him!

Our apricot tree produced again this year which meant tons of jam, pie, and cobbler.  Someone recommended apricot pepper jelly so we made a batch of that too!

This was the first year our blackberries produced enough to actually "do something" with them.  I've made a couple batches of jam, a berry crisp, and shared a large bowl with the church family at the Labor Day pancake breakfast.

This summer Harm, a Calvin College student, stayed with us for about a month.  He was part of a fire management crew for forest fires in the Boise area.  The first month he was here he housesat for a couple in our church that was in Europe, then he stayed with another young couple for a few weeks, and ended his stay in Idaho at our home.  He fit right in with the kids as he loved to play games.

What did our big boys do this summer?  I may have mentioned in another post, but Nicolas and Caleb both stayed in Iowa this summer, living in Grandpa and Grandma's basement apartment.  Nicolas worked at Central Vet getting veterinarian experience and also worked part-time at Trans-Ova.  Caleb began work on his Master's in Education while working at The Ridge golf course.  They also put their musical talents to work and provided the music for a college friend's wedding in the Twin Cities area.  I borrowed these pictures from Facebook.

Sometime late summer, Nicolas decided he was sick of the long hair.  The boys surprised us with a noon Facetime session for Caleb to introduce us to his "new" roommate.  This isn't a great picture but you get the idea.  Look forward to seeing the new "do" in person!

What is the summer without the Western Idaho Fair?  And what is the Fair without sampling some of the food?

Loved this crocheted dress in the 4-H tent!

We also took in the Warhawk air show this year.  I had always wanted to go, but it was just too expensive.  Since we won a membership from an online auction this spring it was half price so we enjoyed a lovely morning watching vintage WW2 planes.

The highlight of the airshow was hearing Colonel Bud Anderson speak of his experiences as a WW2 fighter pilot.  

The kids invited their friend Allison as she is a huge fan of flying and planes and hopes to be a pilot herself someday.

We had several celebrations this summer.  Caleb had a birthday first on July 27, turning 22.  Then Lydia turned 16 on August 1.  She passed both her driving and written test to become the next licensed driver in our home.  Hard to believe we have just one more to go through the whole driver's ed process!  She graciously gave up her bedroom for Harm this summer but is loving having her own space again as she gets into the school routine for her sophomore year. 

Russ and I celebrated our 25th anniversary on August 13.  The church surprised us with cake and a gift card at a church fellowship meal the Sunday before our anniversary.

I celebrated my birthday on the 28th and then Seth quickly followed with his birthday on the 29th.  Russ and I took him out for a coffee drink on his birthday and then browsed Barnes and Noble for an hour before going out for lunch with friends.  He is growing into a sweet young man.  Thankfully, he has an awesome sense of humor as he endures the "voice cracking" stage and often has us in stitches.  Since Seth loves to play games and still prefers Russ and I decorate a cake for him, we decided to make a Settlers of Catan gameboard out of cupcakes.  The kids all knew what the cupcakes were supposed to be so we considered our feeble attempts at decorating a success.