My Goof Balls

I was taking a picture of these beautiful sisters last week and had this strange photo bomber show up in the background.

 Then she was joined by another goof ball!  They're my goof balls, though and I sure like them! :)

Aunt Wanda

We had an extra special visitor last week.  My mom's sister, Wanda, came from Illinois to hang out with us and we made some great memories.

The kids so enjoyed getting to know their Aunt Wanda.  She came a couple times when the girls were babies.  I asked her a couple months ago if she'd consider coming to visit us some time (thinking maybe next year), and lo and behold she schedule her flight for June!  Woohoo!  The kids discovered that Wanda's fun and lively and just a hoot to hang out with.  And she makes the BEST mashed potatoes.  Seriously.

We went to Jurassic World together on Thursday and after watching the previews for Inside Out, decided we would also go to the movies on Friday.  Both movies were great.

We went to the river to celebrate Glenn's sister Nancy's birthday.

And we ended the week with a trip to Lewiston to hang out with my brother and his family.

My kids were SO sad to say goodbye to their Aunt Wanda.  They don't see my dad's family very often and this was the first relative on my mom's side they've ever met.  Wanda's favorite color is purple, and the girls have decided whenever they see something purple it will make them sad because they miss her so much! :(

Hope you can come back soon, Wanda!  We love you!!  And Dale's always invited, too! :-)

Fishing Trip

Glenn was out of town a couple weekends ago and the kids and I decided to take a trip to the pond and try out some fishing.  I was pleasantly surprised how patient they were, as we don't fish much, and the fish don't bite much these days.

We all got pretty excited when Ellea caught one, but it was a huge fish and it broke her line right as she got it to the shore!  Then she caught another one a few minutes later and had the same thing happen!  She is apparently quite the fisherwoman, because no one else caught a fish, or even had a nibble the whole night.

Morgan rocking the Barbie pole!  Ellea had her good luck with the Spiderman pole!  We apparently need to buy some more fishing gear!  We do have a few other poles, but they weren't set up, so we went with these.

It got surprisingly chilly after the sun went down.  Made evident by the fact that my dog remained happily wrapped up in a blanket after I stood up to take my turn at fishing!  A little doggie burrito.

And then it was time to head for home on the four-wheelers.  Aren't these two cute on our mini four-wheeler?

I was all bundled up - and grateful that Nicole wanted to drive home.  A wind block for me!

Whitebird Rodeo

We had another rodeo last weekend in Whitebird, Idaho with our big deal of a daughter, Queen Nicole.  It was a good (hot!) day.  The other two kiddos were very patient and a big help all day.

Nicole's horse, Jasper, was very patient.  Here, he's getting his hooves painted with hoof black for the parade.  Gotta have pretty hooves when you're in a parade.

 Whitebird is a tiny town not far from us in a beautiful setting.

Parades are not Jasper's favorite thing, but they got through it just fine.

The rodeo went well also.

Such a beautiful place for a rodeo.

Radio Personality

Nicole made her radio debut yesterday.  She was a little nervous to be recording a radio commercial for the upcoming Border Days celebration over the 4th of July.

She only had to do two recordings and then the DJ worked his magic to delete all the pauses and stumbles and add some background music.  I think she'll be famous any minute now.

Just check it out. :-)

A Family Wedding

These two beautiful people got hitched last weekend.

This is picture so beautifully captures that day.  So much joy and love.

I'm sure these two will continue to complement each other beautifully for the next 70 years.

We wish them all the best.

God bless, Mr. and Mrs. Phil and Jeanene Kaufman!  Thanks for including us in your special day.  You throw a great party!

Summer's Here!

It's official!  We had our last day of school last Friday. (And now I'm slacking on my blog....!)

We celebrated by taking the old black pickup to downtown get milkshakes.  Woohoo!  Summer!!

Joe and I

I took a group of students to the University of Idaho (GO Vandals!) a few weeks ago to visit the Engineering Expo and generally check out campus.  We were sitting outside eating lunch and good old Joe Vandal squeezed in next to me on the bench.  To be honest, he was kinda flirting with me.  Put his arm around me and acted all coy.  Don't tell Glenn, okay?

I pulled out my fancy new smart phone for a picture, but I'm still getting the hang of selfies.  The young'uns make them look so easy, but it's trickier than you would think to get the angle right.  Here I am chewing my sandwich.  (Really, Loretta?  Basic selfie rule #1 - stop chewing for the picture.)  I was having major trouble getting us both in the picture.

I told Joe his head was too big for my picture.  He probably didn't appreciate my honesty.  Still need to work on my selfie skills, I think.  I gave myself a double chin.  Not quite the look I was going for.  But, oh well... Go Vandals!

Prom Visitor

We had a sweet little visitor recently.

Little Natalie seemed to enjoy hanging out with her cousins.  We stopped and saw the baby chicks before we left Lewiston when we picked her up.

And baby ducks.  So cute!

Had some fun adventures.  Like a four-wheeler ride with her favorite Ellea.

But, the real reason she came to see us was so she could come to Grand March with us, just like last year.  Like many little girls she's all about the beautiful princess dresses and this year's prom did not disappoint.  Thanks for the visit, Natalie!  Come again soon!

Grand March

 After dinner at our house, the kids headed to the high school for the official fun to begin at prom.  Around these parts, they have something called the Grand March when friends and family find a good seat in the bleachers and watch as each couple is introduced and walk across the stage and come across the gym.  The lights are dimmed and the space is beautifully decorated.  It's fun to see all the beautifully dressed couples.

The theme this year was "A Night in Paris."  This beautiful Eiffel tower was made entirely of cardboard.  The seniors do all the planning and decorating (with some staff guidance).  They bought this thing for way too much money, but it sure was pretty!

After the Grand March, all the fathers are invited out onto the dance floor to dance with their little girls.  Isn't that just the sweetest thing?  

Not wanting to be left out, Morgan did a little dancing, too, before we left the high schoolers to have their fun.  This boy is quite the dancer.  Can't wait until it's his turn to take a girl to prom.  Not really.  I can totally wait.  But it will happen whether I'm ready or not!