Soccer

Austin is playing soccer again. He took a couple of camps over the summer and has improved tons. He is so fun to watch, it makes me very proud to see him do so well and take the pushes and falls with bravery. He has had six games and made eight goals, at least one each game. Tom is his coach. We only have two more games and I'll be sad to have it be over. In the picture our team had just scored a goal, Austin is number 2 with his hands in the air.

School

Shaustia and Austin started school August 24th.

Elie loves to wave to them and blow them kisses as they go off to school. Here she's wearing Austin's sweatshirt because she so loves him and wants to do what he does.

Bear Lake

In mid August we took a trip to Bear Lake with Tom's brother Jon's family. It didn't start out as a very nice day but we stayed and it got nicer. The kids and the grown ups had a fun time.

Elie still has sand in her swimming suit.
Keaton's grin shows how he feels.

Elie bringing up the tail end of Keaton, Austin, Shaustia, and Jace.

The sand castle the Dad's built.

Eliana talking to her Dad on the phone!!

New things!

Elie's Ponytail Is New!!

It's barely there but I'll take what I can get.

Our quilt for our bed. We don't like comforters they're too.. I don't know, puffy and hot. So we have quilts on our bed. With the kids climbing and wrestling and jumping on our bed all the time I finally spent the money and got a nice one, I keep having to get new ones because I would buy cheap ones that can't handle the wear and tear.

Our close to Home Getaway

Last week we took a little vacation. We went to Fairmont, Montana and to the cabin in Island Park. In Montana we stayed at the Fairmont Hot Springs resort. So we could swim all we (the kids) wanted to, it wasn't very warm while we were there so it was good that they are hot springs so we were able to swim in the warm water while it was cold out (I didn't get any pictures at the pool). We took a little trip over to the Lewis and Clark Caverns. I remember a little bit about it from when I went there when I was a kid. It was a lot of walking with Elie on the front of me in a snugli but fun and the kids liked. On the drive back to the hotel we decided to make an adventure for ourselves and climbed up and over and down and up again to a huge cave that we saw from the road on our way. We definitely got our exercise that day. After Montana we came home for a day, Tom went to work and we got the lawn mowed and laundry done. Then we took the four-wheelers up to the Cabin. The Shuldberg's went with us and we had a blast. I haven't ridden that much at one time and by the time it was time to go home I think we were all ready to be done for a while.

At the end of the caverns at Lewis and Clark Caverns
The hike to the cavern entrance they said it was about 3/4 of a mile uphill.

Some of the many awesome formations inside the caverns.

The cave we climbed to.

From the inside of the cave if you look closely you can see three of the kids at the entrance.

This is where Elie and I stayed while the rest of the family went on to the cave. We went a big part of the way but decided it was too dangerous and hard to take Elie the whole way.

After a long day of hiking and swimming.

This is Sparky's Garage in Dillon Montana. We ate there on the way and on the way back. Their barbecue is delicious.

This is how I looked after our long four wheeler ride. I had no idea and Tom and the kids kept laughing at me so I went to look for myself in the mirror. It was pretty funny looking so I had Tom take a picture of me with dust caked on my face.

Summer & some pictures from the past 4 months

Eliana and Grandpa Buttars

Elie's so tiny that she puts her legs through the handle to keep herself on the teeter-totter.

Keaton was so exhausted that he fell asleep this way. At least he was in the shade.

Shaustia's dance recital was clear back in May.

Their piano teacher Holly, Austin, and Shaustia at their piano recital back in May also.

All summer we've been going and going. Even if it's not in the van the kids are going back and forth up and down the street to play with friends. They have been going to bed late and sometimes just fall asleep because they've played so hard and haven't slept much. We're going to actually try and take a little vacation next week but Tom has a lot going on at work so I hope it goes well. Elie is so little not 20 pounds yet but she is a very smart little girl. She loves to cuddle and be held and she just makes us smile and laugh. Keaton goes constantly, he always wants something to eat and never wants to rest. Austin hates doing his chores, he's finally growing a little I think, and he desperately wants to lose a tooth since he's going into second grade and was the only one in his first grade that hadn't. Shaustia just turned 9, she can be very helpful and sweet. She is trying out volleyball at a camp and wants to have plastic surgery on her knee that looks horrid from her bike accident last year. We still have a little of summer left, it's going so fast. We have swimming lessons, another soccer camp, and a trip to Utah still to come.