September 2016- Happy 10th Birthday, Sissy

Driving home from church out in Council.  The kids love to drive once we get in our neighborhood.  We had a fun Labor Day weekend out there.  Of course, Dad and Hyrum were gone archery hunting until Saturday night.

Starkey had family swim on Labor Day.  Always lots of fun.

Since Dad left on Lydia's birthday for his Alaska hunt we celebrated her birthday on Labor Day out at the cabin. In some ways it works out well for Lydia that Dad is frequently gone on her birthday because she usually gets more then one day of celebration.

Grandma Shauna came to surprise Lydia for her birthday (and to help me for a few days while Jon was gone).  She brought a special surprise for Lydia and in this picture she's reading the clues of her treasure hunt to find her surprise. I love her excitement!

Lydia was super excited to see Grandma Shauna and super duper excited to find Anikah.  I don't think she could've asked for a better birthday present. The fun was just beginning though because this was the day before her birthday.  On her birthday went to Chuck E Cheese for lunch and Mongolian for dinner. Dad left for Alaska the morning of Lydia's birthday and was gone for 10 days. He went with Justin Gibb.

We didn't have a 1 & 0 for candles so Zerin said we could use a 2 & 8 because they equal 10.  What a smart five yr old!

Enjoying the beautiful fall weather and playing at the park with Grandma.

Look how strong that kiddo is!

Handsome as always

Fruitland Family Fun Days.  Fun booths and activities for the kids.  Their favorite was the big inflatable balls they got to roll around in.  We also watched a magician.

Dad's welcome home banner

Fell asleep on mom's lap during church.  Such a precious boy.

Porter found out what happens when you put a penny on a plug that's plugged into the wall.  I didn't discover it until I couldn't get the lights in the house to work.  Glad he was okay and thankfully, my vacuum still works.

This kid is a HUGE eater.  He eats and eats and eats!

Archery season is always a little hard on me and I get worn down being home with the kids by myself the majority of September so I got a wild hair and decided to go out for a night and a day with Jon.  Don't tell, but we left Hyrum and Lydia at home alone with the boys. I left around bed time and met Jon at the top of Cottonwood.  The next morning we hiked and hiked and hiked and hunted. Unfortunately, we didn't see much. We came out that night in the dark and I headed home. The next day was the 30th and Jon's last day to try for an elk.  Unfortunately, just outside Cambridge my van broke down.  Thankfully, Jon had service and I was able to have him come pick me up.  We were both exhausted. as it was well after midnight, and decided to leave the van in Cambridge and drive to our cabin for the night.  (Which meant the kids were home alone one more night). The next morning we got a hold of a mechanic in Cambridge to fix our van and we came home in the truck.  No more hunting for Jon, but everyone was safe and reunited at home.  I was extremely grateful that the van broke down where it did.  There were so many other places it could've broken down where I didn't have service and would've had to spend the night alone on the side of the road.  I have no doubt I was being watched over.

An antler shed Dad found