First Day of School

It's official...my kids are OLD!  Both kids are in school now and although it is super nice baby sitter wise, it is super sad mom wise.  I can't believe my kids are growing so fast.  It really is so sad to have these two who are both practically adults these days.  

Cannon - the kindergartner

Kylee - 1st Grade

Both Cannon and Kylee LOVE school.  They are great students and having a lot of fun making new friends and learning new things.  I am really blessed with super awesome kids.  

YAY FOR SCHOOL!!!

SOOOO Long

It's been so long since I've updated my blog but lets be honest here...no one checks this thing but me and my one dear friend who doesn't have access to these same things on facebook.

However, I do take advantage of the awesome blog books that are so easy to get printed out and call that my "scrapbook".  I love that I have them to look back on when I'm feeling sentimental.  So...that being said...it's about time to get caught up.  Prepare yourself for blog post overload and be patient as it might take me awhile to get caught up.  A lot has happened since the first of March which was the last time I posted (how sad) so make sure you keep on scrolling through the older posts so you don't miss anything.  ;)  Thanks for stopping by and checking in.

Cody is Married!!!

My baby brother is MARRIED!!!  Shantell has been in our lives for so long it was awesome to be able to celebrate her officially joining our family.  My kids got to be part of the wedding party and that was such a fun memory for them.  It was also great practice for Emilee's wedding which is just a few weeks away too.

A gorgeous flower girl.  

One handsome ring bearer.  

Look how cute this box the rings were in is.  

Waiting for the ceremony to start.  

My handsome brother the groom.  

My proud parents. 

Such a sweet moment as a parent.  It was fun to see how proud he was to be holding the rings.  

I was so proud of Kylee.  She gets super anxious and nervous about things like this but she did a great job.  

Shantell looked beautiful.  She is an only child so I thought it was neat both parents walked her down the aisle.

It was a beautiful ceremony.  

Really pretty cake

We got to make Italian Cream Sodas before the reception.  They were DELCIOUS!!!

My family.  I'm really lucky to be a part of this group.  

I love my siblings very much.  

It was a wonderful wedding full of dancing and laughing and lots of family and friends.  We love Shantell and are so happy to have her as part of our family officially!  

CONGRATULATIONS CODY AND SHANTELL!!!

Grandma is 80!!!

My Grandma Hebdon is one of the most AMAZING women I have ever met.  She is incredibly talented, loves everyone, and is such a great example of faith and enduring well.  She is BEAUTIFUL and no one ever guesses that she is 80 years old.  We had to throw her a big bash for the big 8-0.  

She's standing next to her wedding dress.  It was hand made by her mother on a treadle sewing machine.  The waist on that thing was so tiny I don't think I could even fit into it.  She has always been a petite gorgeous lady.  

 My grandma was the same age I am in that picture on the left.  She looked much better than I do at 33.  And they didn't have Photoshop back in those days.  That's just her being gorgeous.  

We made homemade Shirley Temples and Ironport drinks.  Drinks that were very famous back in my grandma's time.  We had old timer music and great food.  It was fun to visit with family and hear stories of my grandma.

I'm Brecken's favorite cousin so she makes me take a picture with her every time she sees me.  

 My Grandma with her brothers.  She is the oldest but you would never know it.  She is amazing.  I'm so lucky I get to call her Grandma.  

HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!

Heaven on Earth

When I was a little girl my Grandpa Hebdon ran a ranch up in McCall, Idaho.  We would go up in the summer and winter months and it was a kids paradise.  4 wheelers and horses to ride, animals to feed and lots of land to run and get dirty on.  A river not far away we could tube down and play in.  A rope swing in the barn provided hours of entertainment.  I shot my very first gun up at the ranch and also learned how to make Grandma's homemade rolls up there.  I have tons of awesome memories and some sad ones too.  (I once literally ran over my brother with a 4 wheeler.  Hit him into the ditch and dislocated his shoulder).  When I heard we were going up there for vacation I knew I had to at least drive by the ranch and show my hubs and kids some of the things I got to do as a young kid.  My grandpa died when I was 11 at the age of 62.  It was sad and unexpected and I often think how different our lives would have been if he was still around.

I was excited to find the ranch but not prepared for how emotional it would make me.  When we first pulled up I wasn't sure it was the right place. It has been over 20 years afterall.  You could tell the place has been abandoned and that no one is currently living there so we walked around the whole property.  The little house in the picture above was where my grandparents lived while the "big house" was being built.  It used to be white back in the day.  It's TINY!!!  Like the size of my garage.  We were all very excited when the big house was finished.  

 This picture above is a new garage that wasn't there when I was a kid.  The trailer wasn't there either.  

This is the "BIG HOUSE".  I could tell it's been a long time from how big the trees are in the front.  We planted them and they were tiny the last time I was up there.  The rock chimney is an addition and they made the garage into a room (it was behind the chimney).  I walked up to the house and looked through the window and it was like one of those moments in the movies where even though everything is old and dusty and gross it suddenly becomes new again and you flashback to a memory.  The furniture inside the house is EXACTLY the same.  I looked in and tears started forming.  I could almost see my grandma in the kitchen making rolls and half expected to see my grandpa ride up on a horse.  

This barn had a rope swing in it that we would swing on and land in the hay.  There was also a loft in the top that we spent hours playing up there.  

It's hard to tell from this picture but there is a white lookout tower on top of that mountain.  We would ride horses all the way up there and look out at the valley.  It would be an all day trip with a packed lunch and time you would get to spend just with grandpa.  

This stable is new.  It wasn't there when I was a kid.

It was fun to take my little family up to this special place and share my stories with them.  

My grandpa always called this place his heaven on earth.  

It really was!!!  The bank owns the property now and if I had 4.9 million dollars I would buy it in a heartbeat (it's over 1200 acres of land).  The place is rundown, but it seemed kind of fitting to me.  No one could take care of this place like my grandpa.  

It really was my favorite memory of the whole trip.  I framed some pictures and just gave them to my grandma for her 80th birthday.  We talked and talked about memories on the ranch.  It was awesome.  I feel bad for my younger siblings and cousins who were too young to remember these fun times or my grandpa.  I know I'm really blessed to have been a part of this place for a short time and to have memories with people who are no longer with us here on this earth.  

Adventure #6 - McCall, Idaho

I was SO excited when I heard that the Cosper family (all of Curt's bro's and parents) vacation was going to be to McCall, Idaho this year.  I used to go there all the time as a young kid and it is beautiful country.  I was excited for my kids to make memories with their cousins just like I did with mine.  

COUSINS!!!  So happy to see each other.  

The "girls car"

The "boys car"

Seriously such a gorgeous drive

Our view from our back yard.  We rented a nice big cabin/house that we all could stay in together.  It was beautiful and in a perfect location.  I went on a run almost every day and ran much further and for longer time than I normally would because the air was so fresh and the scenery so gorgeous.  

We spent A LOT of time in the lake and on the beach. 

Love that my kids have cousins their ages.  

We did some golfing too.  

Cannon has a great swing.  

We did some sunset hiking and it was amazing.  

It is a gorgeous piece of earth and a place I would love to visit again.