Final Summer Fantasies

Right before the school year ended last spring, I wrote down a summer wish list on a post-it note.  It included mostly simple things that I wanted to do with my family this summer.  Jeff stuck it to his desk.  When there was less than a week before school started, there were still some things we hadn't crossed off the list yet.

One summer wish list item was "sleep out on the trampoline."  We slept out on the trampoline all the time when I was a kid.  I have such fun memories of sleeping out under the warm stars and waking up with the bright sunrise.  I have never slept out on the tramp with my kids and it was something I really wanted to do.  So we did!  Our whole family packed out our sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets for our big summer sleep out adventure.  Turns out it is not quite as magical as an adult as it was as a kid.  As Jeff put it, "We slept, er, laid on the trampoline all night long."  Hey...at least we got it done, right?

Another thing we hadn't done was go on a Moonlight Ride into the Elk Pasture.  Isaac and I were in charge of meeting the riders at the Elk Pasture with the steaks and dishes.  Daisy and Levi joined daddy for the ride in.

 Levi had never ridden this mare before and he did a great job.

 Cowgirl was totally in her element: horse, mountains, daddy.

 We have all worked hard in the garden this summer, and lately we can't keep up with our harvest.  We have been snacking on cucumbers, eating summer squash several times a week, and lovelovelovin' fresh salsa.

 One thing I just had to do this summer was take the kids over to the drive-in movie.  It got to be only two days before school started and I called Jeff and told him this was our last chance.  As soon as he pulled in from work, we loaded into the mini and zoomed off to the drive-in.  It was a little chillier this time than we had remembered, but we were prepared.

 Levi chose a doughnut for his movie snack.  Surprise, surprise.

Isaac chose a doughnut too, but he didn't eat it so I had to.  Dang.  We saw Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which was not worthy to be shown in theaters in the first place, but it was all about the drive-in experience anyway.

And the best news?  We got the summer wish-list all but completed just before school started.  Whew!

Where Farm Meets Fun

County Fair time is a BIG deal around the Dansie house.  I have been on the Fair Board for about 5 years now, and right now I am the vice president of the fair.  There are so many things I love about the fair, and I feel privileged to be part of it.  The fair showcases the best in the community.  It fosters unity and promotes a real sense of togetherness.  The entire fair is put on by a massive army of volunteers, and when everyone works together to do their part, great things can happen.  We practically live at the fairgrounds the week of the fair.  Here are some of our highlights.

 This was Levi's second year Muttin' Bustin'.

 He's a tough cowboy.  He drew a big sheep and he held on tight.

 Isaac was a little over excited when his hen won a blue ribbon.

 Levi's hen got a red ribbon. (And yes, if you would have had the privilege of watching me, over 5 months pregnant in the sweltering August afternoon heat, trying to take on the chicken coop solo, catch the specific chickens the kids wanted, and shove them into the porta-kennel to get them to the fair grounds, you would have had a great story on your hands.)

 This was Isaac's second year competing in the Toddler Tractor Pull and boy was he ready.  He had been practicing for days when the big race finally arrived.  He was all sorts of competitive.  (Is that a good thing?)

 His skills paid off!  He won second place and couldn't have been happier.

 We tried lots of different yummy food from the vendors at the fair.  The kids were fascinated by the liquid nitrogen at the SubZero ice cream stand. (I wasn't so smitten by the price!)

 The kids earned ribbons at the Ribbon Read.

 Levi was especially impressed with the beautiful queens, the Juab County Royalty.  He is already a flirt!

 The Bicycle Barrel Race is a big event with over 100 kids competing each year.  Levi was all business.

 Daisy is not as competitive, but she had a lot of fun participating.

 On Saturday both Daisy and Levi participated in the horse show.  Levi was a little nervous because the horse he showed isn't really well broke, but he was brave and did a great job.

 Daisy was really confident.  If it involves a horse, this girl is totally in her element.  She placed in the horse show.

 This guy couldn't have been happier when they handed him a blue ribbon.

 Daisy is a veteran when it comes to the walk/trot competition.  She did a great job this year on a horse that has never been used in the arena.

 This was Levi's first year competing in the walk/trot, but the horse he rode has done it for years.  She took good care of him.

 He stuck close to big sister.

 He took first place!

 Daisy got second place on Honey.

 Cute cowgirl.

 After the horse show, we walked over to watch the non-horse riding kids compete in the RC Race.  It was fun to watch!

 We took a few spins around the fairgrounds on the train ride.  It was one place we could be in the shade.

 It's always exciting to see all the livestock at the fair.  The 4-H kids work SO hard in preparation for the livestock show and auction.

 Levi took a short spin on this young steer.

 And the culmination of the entire week comes Saturday night at the Demolition Derby.  Let me just clarify that I am not a huge fan of the Demolition Derby.  It's not really my style of entertainment.  If it weren't for my boys, I probably would sit this one out.  For them, however, it is a major highlight of the summer.  They look forward to the derby for months.  They talk about the "crash cars" when we drive by the fairgrounds, and they play demolition derby with their little matchbox cars, and with their bikes.

 They get really into the whole thing.  They dance to the music, cheer for the drivers, and remain fully invested the entire time.

 At the height of his glory.

The interesting thing is...we seem to fit right in with the derby crowd...yikes.

It is always an exhausting week, but we love fair time, and we are already looking forward to next year.

Farm Style

 I don't really consider us a "farm family." Even though we do chores on a daily basis night and morning, like gathering the eggs from our chickens, riding our horses, taking care of our cows, playing with our dog and moving sprinkler wheel lines, we don't raise crops outside of our small garden, and we don't drive tractors and plows every day.  So I'm not sure we qualify as "farmers" until I look in the backyard and see what my husband rigged up for my kids...

 No, your eyes are not deceiving you.  Yes, that is a horse trough that my kids are swimming in.

 And yes, that is Levi's cute bum.

 And yes, they needed goggles for this occasion.

 Does it get any better than this?

 Little brother (in big brother's swim suit) wasn't a big fan of the frigid trough water.  This was about as close as he got to getting in.

It ain't heated, it ain't filtered, it ain't chlorinated, but for this hot summer afternoon "on the farm" it was perfect.

Super Six!

 Do we have a birthday?  Yes!  We have a birthday!  Birthday where?  Birthday here!  Oh!  Levi has been waiting and waiting for the greatest day of the year to finally arrive.  We were so lucky that Grandpa and Grandma Jones got to come have a sleepover in celebration of the big event.

 They gave Levi "shoes with wheels" which turned out to be a lot harder to wear than they looked, but could not have been more exciting.

 For his birthday celebration, Levi chose to have a family activity.  He got to choose where we all went to dinner.  And he chose his favorite place:  Kentucky Fried Chicken (we are high class...)  The kid can't get over how cool it is to eat meat off the bone.  He is a drumstick maniac.

 After dinner we were off to the Owlz game.  We brought our own entertainment - Levi's little brother, Isaac.

 Did you ever know a kid that was really naughty but too cute not to love?  That would be Isaac.

 Levi got to invite one friend to come with him on our family activity for his birthday.  Of course, he chose his cousin Dawson.

 The kids were all thrilled by the funny mascots. (Check out her "Olympic Torch" made with a plunger and construction paper.)

 Great-grandma Mary and Grandma JoAnn wouldn't have missed the big birthday celebration.  They were great sports, and Grandma even bought all the kids a giant popsicle since the weather was a bit warmish.

 Big mama and birthday boy at the baseball game.

 On the morning of his birthday it was time to open more gifts.  Levi got this fab Captain America turbo blaster from his fellow Avenger, his cousin Davis who lives in Ohio.

 All Levi asked for for his birthday was a suit, and he was thrilled to get one. (See, I told you we are high class...)

 Levi had LOTS of help opening his gifts.

For his birthday dinner, Levi chose chicken noodle soup (in August? Really?) and instead of birthday cake he wanted indoor s'mores, which was a-ok with me.  Yum!  Happy birthday big man!