Outdoor Movie Night

This weekend we planned an outdoor movie night/sleepover.  We LOVE hosting these in our backyard....of course we have to test out the equipment before the event.  Emmrey came in from her bike ride and just plopped right down for a preview.....helmet and all:}

 

Although we had been experiencing evening rain/thunderstorms during the week, we were hopeful that the weather would cooperate.  Friday morning we woke to cloudy skies, but by afternoon, the sun had broke through.  Then just an hour before the party, it began to sprinkle and then pour.. ...for a brief spell.  When it was over we were treated to this beautiful double rainbow.

While the rain fell, the girls passed the time playing HedBanz......so fun:}

 

 Because of the rain.. .. I didn't get to set up everything like I had hoped.  We did get a quick concession stand set up for the kids 

 We had borrowed a wall tent from our friends.. ..thank goodness!!   So we set up the movie right inside since the ground was still wet.  Technically we didn't get to watch the movie under the stars...but this worked out perfectly.

And finally they all settled down and went to sleep.. ...and I do mean FINALLY

.. ..believe it or not they were all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning:}  Sleeping outside does that I think.

{Bailee and Dani}

{Karsyn, Skyelar, Sage and Emmrey}

Ice Cream Date

Emm has been reading so diligently for the Summer Reading Program at the Library.  She has become a bit of an addict...but really who would complain about that:}  Every week the kids participate, the Librarian gives them a small prize to keep them motivated.  This last time, she got a coupon for a free ice cream at Peter's.  It was good for one child and {parent}, although Emmrey insisted that it was for "her and Mom", since that is what the Librarian told her.  Well, you don't have to ask me twice to go for ice cream, so we made it a special date for just the two of us.  We went downtown and enjoyed sitting outside eating our cones.  Emmrey knew right away she wanted the blue cotton candy flavor.....

 

We walked around a little, but mostly just asked each other "Would you rather..." questions {a favorite conversation topic with Emm these days:}  It was so fun spending a little time together ...just Emmrey and me. 

Girls Night

Mark was gone last week so the girls and I had lots of time together.  Almost every night while I read to them before bed, they {usually Emm} rubs lotion on my feet.....ahhhh it's the best!!  They are so good to me, I wanted to treat them to a much deserved pedi with the works:}  

They soaked in warm water with salts, had a foot rub with lotions, and had their toes painted with their choice of color and design.  The thought it was delightful.. ...  and I was so glad to be able to do it for these girlies of mine.

Teaching Moment

Mark loves the look of a freshly cut lawn and is pretty obsessive about it {often mowing before it actually needs it}.  But I do appreciate that he's this extreme rather than the other.  Last time he mowed he decided to use it as a teaching opportunity for Bay.  We are all about educatin' around here and she is getting old enough to learn the tricks of the trade...

She did a great job and Mark was pleased.  I am not so sure he is ready to completely give over that control just yet, at least she is acquiring a new skill:}

Gary

Karsyn had a job this weekend.  She was asked to take care of a horse that belongs to the Bear Biologist while he was out in the field. 

 Meet Gary -   a friendly little guy.. .. ..

Gary is a Pinto who was injured in a barb wire fence so he had to stay behind.  Kars was thrilled to be his caretaker for the weekend.

 Her job was to visit him two times a day to feed him, fill his water trough, and just keep him company for a bit. .. .. ..she did a mighty fine job and I am sure she will be hired again:}

Oasis

Saturday we took the girls to a new water park in Billings called the Oasis.  Because it is new, we didn't know exactly what to expect.  We were pleasantly surprised ......nice, clean, affordable and plenty of features}  Emmrey was loving the fact that she could play in every part of the park...

 

It would have been nice to have 1-2 more "big" slides to play on...but we all had fun on the twisty slide.  Even Emmrey was feeling brave enough to ride all by herself:}

 

The girls LOVED to wave pool and the Lazy River and spent most of their time in those areas....with hundreds of others:}

If you wanted to escape the quick current for a bit, they had these little pools to relax in.. ..

.. .. .. as long as you didn't mind others joining (who may or may not have sat on your lap;)

 

That would be my one complaint.....way.too.many.people.  I think everyone had the same idea for a hot (94 degrees) Saturday afternoon.  I don't mind a few other people to share the fun with, but this was a bit much at times......

At one point in the day the gray clouds loomed and lightning was seen in the distance.  Therefore, we were forced to empty the pools and wait for it to pass. I thought this would be a great opportunity for a family shot, but Kars would not come out of her towel to participate.   Poor little girl became instantly upset and was pleading to go.  We convinced her it would be okay and managed to calm her long enough for it to pass and so we could resume our fun:}

The girls had a BLAST.. ..  Mark and I thought it was pretty great as well.

Roller Derby

Emmrey isn't the only one spending a lot of time on wheels .....this gang has been rolling around our neighborhood lately.. ... ..making us all feel a bit like we are in the Roller Derby:}  So funny how Kars just towers over her little friends:}

Two Wheels

 Thursday morning Bailee and Emmrey came to tell me I had to come and see something....Emmrey was riding a 2 wheeler:}  Apparently, while I was in the shower, Bailee had asked Emmrey if she wanted to try without training wheels again?  Emm took her up on the offer and in that short time, she had figured it out.  

We have practiced without training wheels a couple of times before, but this time she decided it was time.  This is typical of Emm, she does everything in her own time when she is ready.  And when she is ready....she is off.  She was still a bit wobbly at first.....having trouble starting and stopping.  Bay was such a good big sis/ helper.....

But within an hour...she had it down like a pro:} 

She didn't want to get off and was on her bike literally all day.. .. .. riding round and round like a speedster:}

By the next morning, she was pulling around Karsyn's friends on their skates.

 

**Emmrey asked Mark "When you were 8 and learned to ride without training wheels, did it make you feel FREE?"  Here's to your new found freedom little girl:}  We are so proud of our Boo and this big milestone....it's crazy to think about no more training wheels:{

Kool-Aid Play Dough

One of the things Emmrey wanted to do this summer was to make more Play Dough.  I decided it would be fun to make something different than our usual recipe, so we tried one with a Kool-Aid twist.  

The color was so vibrant....

and it smelled delicious

good enough to eat really:}

The girls had so much fun making all sorts of creations.

 And Emmrey was one happy girl to check this off our Summer Bucket List

Stranded at the Drive In.....

We took the girls to the Drive In last this week to see BRAVE.  Bailee had already seen it, but thought it was good enough to see again. Honestly, I found it to be somewhat disappointing.  I can appreciate the message of the movie, but I thought it moved very slow and the story line was a bit weak:}  Oh well, we go for the "experience" anyway....this time the "experience" included lots of mosquitos and cigarette smoke in the air.  Yep, people smoking away because we are in our own vehicles- right?  Even if we are parked next to one another.  If they had been any closer I would have moved for sure.....  Seriously bugged me.  It always sounds like a fun night out....but at midnight when we have a 20 mile drive and we have to wake the girls to get in to bed.....we question our decision.  It is one of the things the girlies feel is tradition over their summer break ...so we go with smiley faces:}

Garden of Eatin'

Remember how I was worried that our garden efforts would be all for not ....well our little garden is doing just fine.  By fine, I mean it is slowly taking over the planter boxes!!  We had our first cucumber last week, and it was tasty.  We have several more almost ready for picking.  The girls have been enjoying finding sweet peas that are appearing and eating them right out of the pod.  Tomatoes are coming on strong, and I'm afraid the zuchinni plant is going to take over the backyard!!  No sign of peppers yet.  Emmrey feels solely responsible for whats being produced......she does the watering.  I wonder if she would feel just as responsible if it were a flop!!

Then {June}.....

 ....and now {July}.

Employee of the Year

While Bailee and I were at camp, Mark had the other girlies with him in Lander.  He was invited to the Commissioners Meeting as a special guest. .....to receive a very special honor.  Mark was selected as the Fisheries Employee of the Year.  WOW...can you believe it?  Actually, I can!!  This is an award given to one fish employee who exhibits outstanding performance{from nominations across the entire state department}. Mark is so dedicated to his job and not only does he want to do it well, but he is determined to make a difference in his field.  At times he gets discouraged, because he feels like he works so hard and others just skim by doing the bare minimum.  I think this was encouraging for him to know that others do notice. The girls and I have always felt that their Dad stands out....it is nice that he was recognized for it!!

 {Mark Fowden- Fisheries Chief, Hubs, Aaron Clark- Pres. of Commission, Scott Talbot- Dir. of G&F}

***

Mark had his little entourage with him.  I can't even tell you how sad I was that it was scheduled during Girls Camp.  I would have given anything to be there.  I am so proud of my Marko and know that this is only one of many honors/awards to come in his career.   We love you and appreciate how hard you work to make life good!!

Family Visit

Mark, Kars and Emm were able to meet up with Kevin, Migdalia & their kids while they were in Yellowstone a couple of weekends ago.  Unfortunately this occurred while Bay and I were at Girls Camp, so we missed seeing them:{  They all met up at the Sunlight cabin for an "overnighter". 

They did some fishing....

Played in the water.....

And enjoyed the outdoors.....

Mark told me that these 2 were joined at the hip the entire time....he thought they played together so cute!!  Apparently there were many games of "SPOONS" played during those couple of days:}

 

 It was a very brief visit, but we take what we can get around here. I was so sorry we were not able to spend time with them.  Who knows when they will make it out again...sooner rather than later hopefully:}

Mud Mask

At camp, Bailee received a chocolate face mask from her Secret Sister.  As soon as she got home, she wanted to try it out.....

 of course little sissies wanted to get in on the action too......

{Wonder if any "tasting" went on?? It is chocolate scented:}