Lowes Build and Grow

My friends at work had been telling me about the Lowes Build and Grow clinic. I knew that they did these things but I had just never thought to look into it. So, one Saturday I signed them up and off we went. Claire and Owen absolutely loved it!! They got to build a bus, get little aprons and safety goggles, and Owen's favorite thing - use little hammers. He was very sad when I gave them back to the lady. Grant was to young to build anything, but he was very good. The kids did great following the instructions, and listening to directions. I was very impressed, and we will definetly be doing it again.

Wood!

So I mentioned that one of the things the kids did while they were at my parents house was cut wood. They would go up to the mountains with the men, and cut the trees down and into smaller pieces to load into the pickup. Then, they would bring them back to my parents house and unload them into a large pile. After that it was my job and the kids to run the hydralic wood spliter and split the wood into smaller pieces. It was a good job for them, especially since I was the one lifting all the wood, and they just had to run the lever. Chad had to go to Boise to get some sprinkler parts for my parents, so he took the pickup and a huge trailer full of wood back to our house. It was a little out of the way, but this is what I was met with when I got home. Claire thought it was a fun place to climb. Hopefully it will keep us warm all winter!

Claire's Front Tooth

Claire lost her first big front tooth while we away this summer. She thought it was great. The tooth fairy even found her at Grandma's house. Last time she was at the dentist he said she had 5 loose teeth. I'm hoping she looses the other front one before it grows in because I think she looks so cute!!

Berries

One of the last things we did while in White Bird was pick berries. The wild blackberries came on during the last week of our visit. I was so excited. I picked enough to make a few pies, and then bring home and make some jam. I love picking berries, I always feel so productive. Cody was nice enough to go with me, and somehow we are going the same speed, but she gets a ton more. The kids didn't think berry picking was the best thing, but it was good practice for them.

Suckers

My dad has a sucker jar. I wish I took a picture of it because it is always filled to the brim with suckers of every kind. The kids knew that if they gave Grandpa a kiss they would get a sucker. I hate the sucker jar. They could come up and give my dad a kiss at 6 in the morning and get a sucker. What a way to start the day. But, I know that it is a Grandpa thing so I don't fight it to much. Let just say that by the end of our trip Grant warmed up to Grandpa and the kids all needed to go to the dentist.

Family Time

We spent quite a bit of time with my family this summer. My Grandma and Grandpa Farmer, my brother Roy and his family, my brother J.R., and my Aunt Linda all live in White Bird, so we would get together a lot. Almost every Sunday afternoon we would have a family dinner and then play some Pinocchole, which Chad learned how to play and I think enjoyed. It was so great for Great Grandma to get to know Ava, and spend time with her, and for the rest of the kids to really get to know my Aunt Linda. I think the boys especially loved her dog Macey a ton, but Aunt Linda was part of the packaged deal. Owen especially loved living close to Uncle J.R. who he adores. J.R. took Chad and Owen fishing one Saturday morning and Owen is proudly showing off his catch in the picture above. Of course Claire had to be in the picture, but she didn't go fishing, it was a boys day out!

Rocks

My kids learned something else while we were gone for the summer. They learned how to work. They spent a lot of time in the mountains helping their dad, uncle and Grandpa cut wood, then they spent a lot of time with me running the wood splitter and stacking wood. One of their other jobs was to help pick rocks. Like I said my parents have very rocky soil, so in order to cover the sprinkler pipe up we had to pick out all the rocks. The kids had a lot of help from their cousins and they all earned a trip to the drive in to see Toy Story 3 from Grandpa for all their hard work.