Muddy Buddies!

Lauren would climb up in the tree house, but wouldn't stand up.
So dang cute!
Just want to squeeze her.

This is what happens when your yard is not finished being landscaped,
it's hot outside,
the kids are bored and they start playing with water.

This is what kept the kids busy for a long time. Marissa and I just sat back and let the kids roll in the mud like a bunch of pigs on a hot day.

Carly found her spot and wouldn't move. She was so relaxed I was worried that she would fall asleep. It was hysterical. All the other kids were digging and playing, while she just laid there.
I was jealous.

One good thing.
The kids skin got exfoliated.

Gabe and Soren made channels and rivers all over the place.
Typical boys.

I hope these girls marry men with lots of money.
Mud baths get expensive when you grow up.

It was so much fun to sit back and watch the kids cover themselves in mud.
It was more fun to watch Marissa spray the kids off with the hose.

These kids will remember the summer that they got to dig holes and make mud baths. In a couple of weeks they will all start school, the cold weather will come and this will only be a memory.
Until next year.
Maybe next year Marissa and I will join them.

Having some outdoor fun.

The kids trying to catch a fish. Notice a couple of things here OK? First Anna is wearing Troy's NRA hat that I absolutely hate. They wear it just to get my goat. Second, Ella is such a girly girl. Look how she is fishing with her hand on her hip. That is soooo Ella. I am surprised that Soren is not in the pool swimming with the fish.

Soren shooting a .22.

Anna taking her turn with the shotgun.

Now Logan is taking a go at it.

Ella shooting a .22.

Both the girls were learning how to tie a fly. Anna really got into it.

Ella on starting on the rock wall.

Logan is an old pro at this.

Soren was pretty excited to be doing this. Last year he was to short for the climbing wall. He was so sure he was going to be BIG enough this year.

Today was the New Mexico Outdoor Expo. Troy took Logan, Anna, Ella and Soren to have some fun shooting guns, making flies, fishing, climbing rock walls and some art projects. They came home with lots of stories for me to listen to all at once.

I had been sick so I stayed home with Olivia. She was feeling a little under the weather too. It was nice to have some quiet time and listen to some good music. Olivia took a long nap that improved her disposition greatly. I, on the other hand, tried to take a nap and was unable to. I was scared that the mouse that one of the dogs caught and brought in the house was going to crawl all over me. Molly was playing with a mouse this morning and it got loose. Every time I would close my eyes I would get the heeby jeebies. To bad my disposition did not improve.

Pretty in pink.

The Crepe Myrtle tree in the front of our house has started to bloom.

I will take another picture of it when it is all in bloom. It is really quite stunning.

Pagosa Springs.

Olivia who wanted to take the horse home. We could put it in our backyard Mommy.

Logan who thinks he is a cowboy. Hehehehahahaha.

Soren who probably one day will be a "real" cowboy.

Anna who loves horses the most.

Ella was a little bit giddy and making the horse nervous.

The puppies had been playing in the mud. Can you tell?

Logan even had a paw print on his chin.

This was the first time Fred and Molly got to play in the water. They had fun for a few minutes then got to cold and wanted to be held and warmed up.

My beautiful Aunt Peggy.

The girls made it to the big rock and they were very proud of themselves.

At the San Juan River.

The family packed up and headed up to Colorado for a couple of days. My wonderful Aunt lives there and we stayed with her. We all had a wonderful time exploring the river and mountains. It had rained a lot so we did not get to do any hiking. The kids got to see some deer, boy did they think that was great. They all thought that we should move to Pagosa and live in the mountains. I think we should too, but Troy has this great job here that supports our family. Drat! We had a good time visiting with Aunt Peggy. The kids kept calling her Grandma. She looks a lot like my mother plus they have a Grandma Peggie. It was just to hard for them to keep straight. We are hoping to have another visit in the fall when all the leaves are turning.

Home made fun.

That was awesome!

Anna being a chicken.

Autumn giving it a try.

Blake and Soren in crash mode.

Olivia would not walk through herself, so big sister Ella took her on a ride.

The kids were hot and bored so I came up with a home made slip and slide. Some black plastic from the garden shed and a sprinkler and the kids are happy! I opened the back gate to the park and set up the plastic so the kids had more room to run.