Wagon Days 2014

It was Wagon Days this weekend in Ketchum, and while Aaron had official duties, Emily and I were there to enjoy the parade.

And a special treat post parade for Emily, thanks to our friend Cindy, was a camel ride on Ralphie.

And to pet the baby bison - 

Swiftsure Rodeo

Last Thursday Aaron took Emily to participate in Swiftsure's Rodeo to end the summer session.  The sad part is that Cally will be taking next session off to do some traveling, and we are really going to miss seeing her every week!  We can't wait till she's back! Notice the butterfly on Emily's helmet?  That's Miss Cally's doing, she always had some sort of treat for Emily.  

 Emily was back on Trigger for the obstacle course and cow sorting activity.

 And Hugh was there to hand out the ribbons.  Emily also loves Hugh, a true cowboy and gentleman.  He had a cross country skiing accident this past winter, and then the week after he got the 100% okay from his doctor, he was thrown from a horse.  He makes it out to Swiftsure whenever he's feeling okay, so it was a big treat that he was there to pass out the ribbons.

So, even though we will miss Cally, looking forward to October when she can start the fall session and meet Miss Megan for more riding lessons.

Lagoon

Another medical trip to Salt Lake was due, but instead of a round-trip-in-a-day-and-have-no-fun kind of trip, we headed down the day before to spend the day at the Lagoon Amusement Park.  It was a hot and crowded, but not too hot and crowded, kind of day, and Emily had the greatest time.  At times, she was disappointed because she was tall enough for some rides, but not tall enough to go alone; or was just too short to go at all, but there was always some other ride to tempt her back into happiness.  There was no doubt about it, she wanted to go high and fast all. day. long.  It was hard to get her to stop long enough for dinner!

go carting with dad

My Favorite Cowgirl

Summer session at Swiftsure ends this week.  Next week her Dad will take her to the Jr. Rodeo since I will have returned to work by then.  Once again, there will be a break before the Fall Session starts, so the dogs will just have to go back to be the pretend horse at home!

Notice those purple boots.  Emily loves those boots, and there hasn't been a time where Emily wore them and someone didn't comment on how much they loved those boots as well.  She puts them on and immediately starts strutting around like no ones' business!  But sadly those boots are getting a little tight, and will soon need to be retired from Emily's closet.

Emily has agreed to donate her boots to Swiftsure so some smaller, lucky kid can use them and Emily can have weekly visitation rights.  I offered Emily a larger pair of the same boot, but after careful consideration of her choices, she has selected a pair of blinged out pink ones.  I'm sure they will be a show stopper as well!

Swimming lessons for the summer have ended as well, and we joined Miss Jennifer and all the other swim kids for a pool party as Easley Hot Springs last Sunday.  Initially, Emily wore her life jacket, but by the end of the day she was swimming in eight foot water with just a pair of fins for support, and challenging Miss Jen to races across the pool, joining in on a game of Marco Polo, and enjoying the warm water of Easley!

Beauty

The girls' pear trees will produce quite the harvest this year, the trees are full of fruit!  The apple trees are having a tough time.  It seems that there is something else that enjoys the apples, unfortunately.  And you won't find any fruit below three feet, there's a certain puppy that has figured out how to pick fruit for herself!

pear tree 

apple tree

Home Sweet Home

Monday morning Grandpa and Grandma set off on their return journey.  We skipped out on swim lessons and settled for a long nap!  By Wednesday, Dad was off on another trip to Washington, which was supposed to be a family trip...  however, neither Emily or myself felt up for a ten hour drive at this point!  We have been just laying low, we swam at the pool, met up with friends at the park, enjoyed a riding lesson on Thursday.

WIth kindergarten just around the corner, it's time to find that routine.  Bye bye naps, which sure are enjoyed and without make the days seem so long!  Early bedtime as well, and since this week was a whole lot of playing and no resting, has been happening just after 7.  I've had to move up dinnertime in fear that she'd fall asleep before eating!

doing her research! 

Second Day: North Platte to Rock Springs, WY

Agenda for the day?  Drive, stop to play, drive, stop to walk, drive, stop to play, drive...

Emily kept entertained with books, coloring, and lots of games of Old Maid.  She was treated to a hotel with a pool at the end of the day's long journey.  

The Beginning of a Long Journey Home

Tuesday was a day spent at Grandma & Grandpa's, packing and loading and getting ready for the 1,300 mile journey home.

We got an early start on Wednesday, with our first stop in Atlantic, Iowa to visit a great aunt and uncle of Emily's.

Our destination for the first day of travel was North Platte, Nebraska.  This was a place I can remember staying as a kid when my family went to Colorado on vacations... and the part I couldn't wait for was to take Emily on the go carts!  

We visited the trading post that celebrates Buffalo Bill Cody, as well as Cody Park, and finished up at the go cart track where Emily and I took two turns beating Grandpa and Grandma!

Journey to Winterset

Emily's other great grandma lives in Winterset, Iowa, home of John Wayne as well as the Bridges of Madison County.  We visited with great grandma and a great uncle and were treated to a lunch downtown.

Story City

On Sunday, we met up with many more friends of mine at my 20th class reunion at the park in Story City.  As I talked with my friends, Emily played with the many other kids before we all traveled over to the other side of the park for a few rides on the antique carousel.

Journey to Minnesota

Saturday we met up with high school friends of mine, all gathering at a lake house outside of Northridge, Minnesota.  We swam in the lake, went for rides in the boat, and ended the day with Emily going tubing.  Good thing we saved it for last, Emily loved it and could have done it all day long.  After a dinner together, we headed back to Grandpa and Grandma's.  It was a long day, but we sure had a great time at Mickey and Lance's house!