Three Buckaroos

Half of the fun of the Little Buckaroo Rodeo is the preparation.  Dalanie rode on Brent's back getting twisted and turned.  She learned how to how to hold on tight in order to ride a sheep.  Ruby galloped around on the stick pony Aunt Melanie and Grandma made fore her.  And Hudson pulled out his spurs and dusted off his hat.  Lucky for Dalanie, Hudson's chinks no longer fit, so she got to wear them.  They loved posing for pictures before we left.

 Just three of the eight Hillman grandkids to participate in the event.  Grandma and Grandpa were pretty excited for the evening.  They went down an hour early to save seats.

Even from the beginning of the participant parade, Dalanie was biting her nails and a nervous wreck.  She didn't enjoy much of the evening prior to her turn with the 3rd group of sheep riders.

 Ruby with Evelyn and Natalie who also rode their fancy stick ponies.

Pretty proud of her shiny buckle.

Try as he might, Brent could not get Dalanie to let go of his neck.  (Although this didn't surprise many of her fans.)  The clowns offered to hold onto her the entire time, but it that couldn't persuade her.  I think watching all the previous kids crash and burn was too much for her.  By the time she was back to the stand, her sobbing was over with and she could enjoy rest of the rodeo.

 Brent and Hudson were both pretty happy with Hudson's barrel racing performance.

Ward Campout

As luck would have it, I was put in charge of the food for the ward campout.  This posed a slight problem since my cute visiting teacher  was going through the temple the same time.  I made some arrangements so that I could go to the temple but this meant that I didn't get up to the campout until dark.  We still had time to cook our traditional donuts though.

Kids were up bright and early the next morning so as not to miss a single thing.  Morning campfires are the best.

An early morning root beer chugging contest organized by President Schiess.  Notice that no mothers are present?

 Eddy, Lonnie, and Bishop cooking up breakfast.  I had strict order not to run out of sausage.  We accomplished that goal.

Dalanie on Tang duty.

As usual, the pond was the main attraction.  Sure a few kids got wet, but we didn't lose anyone.

 Hudson hogged the kayak.  We had to pry him out of that thing.

 Spectators on the bridge.

 A lot of the kids headed out with their poles to catch some fish.  Our crew came up empty handed.

 When it was time to go, we got to practice Elder Uchtdorf's counsel to "Lift Where You Stand."

It's fun for the kids to have so many friends to chum around with at the campout.  You can tell there are a bunch of country kids, the boys can't wait to gut their own fish and the girls aren't afraid of baiting their own hooks either.

Finally Five!

For the past seven months Dalanie has been asking if her birthday was getting closer and the countdown has been on.  She jumped up and down when she saw 4th of July decorations because it was her birthday month.  Too bad it's not until the end of July.  But finally the day rolled around.  

Grandma and Grandpa surprised her by coming to movie night.  We had the entire crowd sing her happy birthday.  In the morning it was a cinnamon roll birthday and quick present opening before G&G had to head back.

She hasn't got much of an attention span, but Ruby has enjoyed countless hours of combing Rapunzel's hair.

 A summer birthday was the perfect chance to get her a bigger bike.  Her poor little legs had to work so hard to keep up with us on her old bike.

 Red Robin for dinner and then a bike ride at Freeman park.

 There was all sorts of traffic on the way home, heading out to get a better look at the fire burning just south of us.

 A new bike for Dalanie meant a new one for Ruby as well, complete with lessons and all.

 We took the boat out, but another failed attempt with that thing.  Wouldn't you know, if it's not the carburetor or fuel lines, it's the water pump.

 Birthday cake fatality.  This is what you get when Dalanie insists on doing things by herself.  Not to worry, we had two other cakes to choose from.

 As per tradition we had a joint bbq party for her and Grandpa Hillman who celebrates the day after her.

 All the excited cousins.

Modeling the new fancy shoes.

And for five things to remember about her @ five:
1.  She's a nail biter, and on ocassion toenail trimmer.
2.  She is persistent as they come.  She's not afraid of a challenge and works hard to overcome obstacles.
3.  She melts her Daddy's heart by requesting snuggle time.  He's her snuggle-wuggle.  And we often find her and Ruby sharing a bed, giggling in the mornings.  She revels in affection.
4.  She loves to be helping.  She will repeatedly ask "What can I do? or how can I help?"
5.  She's fallen into a very shy streak.  She loves to bury her head, hide behind mom, her hands, or even Ruby when others are talking to her.  We blame it on Grandma Hillman.  Hopefully it's something she will overcome in kindergarten.

We love you Dalanie Lane, Lanie Bug

A Favorite Summer Tradition

July 26, 2012

Back by popular demand, our annual outdoor movie night.  Despite my 'sick summer' our entire family voted to have movie night.  (There's nothing like a deadline to get a project wrapped up- the swing set completion warrants it's own post.)

The biggest undertaking is getting invitation passed out.  It requires several shifts in the delivery car, but we enjoy those quick visits almost as much as the actual evening.

 Hudson was adamant about having a 'ticket booth.'  He oversaw the construction of the stand we doubled as a popcorn stand.

 The tire swing was a main attraction as was the candy cannon.

 Chairs and blankets were the only way to reserve yourself a seat.

 A new addition was the photo booth.

 Grandma and Grandpa showed up for a birthday surprise for Dalanie, even bringing cupcakes.

 More photo booth fun.  Can you guess the movie by the props?  We showed Up.

 Anna and her assistant, Clayton popped all the popcorn for the evening.

 Homemade rootbeer to wash down all of the concessions.

Parish Reunion

July 19-21

While we wanted to go camping again, planning and preparing meals was a major roadblock for me.  Just thinking about food made me sick. So we decided to take advantage of the Parish Reunion in Elba, ID.  Mom and Dad joined us for the fun, and I only had to contribute a few dishes to potluck meals.

 Grandma and her Ruby Duby

 The teepee makes its appearance.

4-wheeling up New Canyon.   Lunch in the shade.

 Cooling down in a creek.

 Fancy sandals Grandma made for Hudson out of skunk weed leaves and grass.

 I've always loved the view of the patchwork of fields.

 Durfee Hotsprings, complete with one of Hudson's famous nose bleeds.

 A roadside glance of the City of Rocks, Brent's first experience.

 Fishing at Lake Cleveland.  Only fishing, no catching.

 Kaleb's kids and our kids quickly became friends.  I can't get over how adorable his kids are.

 Wearing Papa's glasses.

Headed home through Malta.