End of Summer Fun

*I swear, I wrote and published this post over a week ago.  But somehow it disappeared.  So I've recreated it to the best of my abilities.  Technology is weird sometimes!



We did really enjoy our last few weeks of summer vacation.  We finally made it to Carter Mountain for their summer sunsets!

Sometimes, Ryder is snuggly!

A lovely, muted sunset

One of the kids took this panorama shot, and it shows the crowds of people as well as the sunset pretty well!

Then a few days later, Craig's parents took us to a rodeo!  I wasn't sure what to expect of this, but I ended up TOTALLY LOVING it!  My only regret was that the kids got so tired we had to leave before I was ready to go!

Love this shot!

Country girls carrying the flags to start out the show

Craig took a lot of video, but very few still shots, so I don't have much to share on the blog.  But some of the highlights (for me, at least) included the "mutton busters"-- 6-year-olds trying to ride sheep!-- and watching a bull ACTUALLY stamp its feet just like they do in cartoons!  Who knew that was based on reality???  But I also just loved seeing how diverse it was, and watching the crowds go wild for any cowboy-- black, white or hispanic-- who could stay on a bull for 8 seconds!  THIS is the America that I believe in!  And it was fantastic.

And, double bonus, all this inspired Bentley to put on his old cow costume.  From when he was two years old.  And which he could still. squeeze. into...   We are not feeding that boy enough!

18-month-old Bentley, when the costume was too big still!

 I also started babysitting again!  This was pretty busy, because I had both Quinn and Theo all day for several days!  My own kids couldn't understand why they weren't allowed any electronics during the days when we had our extra guests!  But we managed to have fun anyway:

We busted out more costumes

And managed to dress like twins!

And occasionally Theo helped Bentley practice piano!

And of course, we always have a great time at the Manassas Ward Campout in Matthew's Arm at Shenandoah!

Not only were Bentley and Spencer excited to hang out again, I thought it was awesome that they were matching!

Craig took most of the kids hiking while I hung out gabbing with my friends

So, yeah, we had a very full and fun summer.  I'm sad to see it end.  But I'm not sad to see the days starting to cool down a bit...!