Little Vandals

Some members of the family went to a Vandal football game in Moscow over the weekend.  Nicole had a youth group event that she was participating in, so we had to cheer the Vandals on for her.

As an extra special treat, we ran in to these cuties (and their parents!).  Will is wearing an adorable shirt that says, "I'm being raised by Vandals!"  His mom argued it should really say I'm being raised by a Vandal, but that doesn't sound as good.  She's a Vandal-by-marriage, I think.

It was fun to cheer on the Vandals.  Their record hasn't been so great the past several years, but they won last week's game, so that was a good sign.  The first half of this game looked promising, but the final score was a little discouraging.

Always enjoy the half-time show, regardless how good or bad the football team is.  I get so sentimental when I see the marching band.  I loved that part of my college experience.

Morgan suggested we bring along some face paint.  It was a good way to entertain the cuties when boredom began to set in.  This one looks pretty pleased with himself.

Uncle Glenn even got in on trying to entertain these cuties.  Little Ben got a better view of the field for a few minutes.  Can you tell Glenn's trying to watch the game in the picture on the left? :)

To Yeast or Not to Yeast, That is the Question...

Morgan asked if it was possible to make homemade donuts last weekend.  I'm too lazy to wait around for the yeast to rise, but I was willing to give cake donuts a try.

I went where I go for all new recipes.... a nice Google search.  Found one from "drop" donuts that looked good and away we went.

We ran out of glaze, so we also did some sugared donuts.  They were the best.  Especially with a little cinnamon.

The donuts were fun to make, but not as fabulous to eat as we had hoped.  Next time, we might have to be more patient and use yeast!

Volleyball Sisters

We are in the throes of volleyball season around the Poxleitner abode these days.

It's been two years since both girls were playing volleyball.  Nicole hasn't played since 8th grade.  She decided not to play volleyball her freshman year and admitted that she's always kind of regretted that decision.  So she went for it this year and got back in the game as a junior.  The coaches have been very supportive and she's doing great.

It's been very fun to have both girls on the high school team.  We definitely get a lot of "bang for our buck" that way!  They're both great players who give it their all.

And, Nicole can drive herself and her sister to all the practices and to the bus for games.  That's handy, too! :)

Good job girls!  So proud of you both.

Homecoming Miscellany

Homecoming week always includes daily dress-up competitions at school. I didn't do a very good job getting pictures.  But Morgan looked especially crazy on Neon day, so we snapped a pic.

Ellea snuggled with her kitty after the Powderpuff football game and got some of her red face paint on his face.  He looks impressed, don't you think?

The week ended with a football game on Friday, of course.  We volunteered to pull a trailer for the pep band to be in the parade.  Nicole took a year off from band last year, but is back at it this year and really enjoying herself.  It's always more fun when you have some good friends to hang out with in band.

Ellea and I rode along in the parade, which was slightly awkward because everyone's looking at you and you can't decide if you should wave or not.  You probably should and I did a little, but it was weird.  Fun times.

And, then the football game.  We won.  By a lot.  Woohoo - go Pirates!

And there you have it.  Prairie Homecoming 2016 on the books.

Powderpuff

This has been homecoming week around here.  Traditionally, during homecoming week, the high school girls have the opportunity to play a flag football game.  They call it powderpuff.   This was Nicole's first year to participate and Ellea jumped right in as a freshman.  It was fun to watch.  And despite predictions of rain, we stayed warm and dry.  Gotta love that!

The teams are always Freshmen and Seniors versus Sophomores and juniors.  Ellea's Freshman/Senior team was about twice as big as Nicoles' Sophomore/Junior team.  That's a lot of black jerseys!

 Nicole's team scored one touchdown and that was all the points that made it on the scoreboard.  No injuries this year which was great.  It's not the safest sport.  Even if it is only flag football there still seems to be some tackling going on!

So much fun to cheer for both teams on the field.  Good job girls!  Can't wait for next year's rematch!

Payette Lake

McCall sits alongside Payette Lake.  The MOSS campus is located right along the shore with its own little dock and benches.  It was my favorite place to sit.

Especially in the evening as the sun began to set.

Look at those mountains in the distance.  They were glowing pink as the sun set across from them.

So peaceful.  Except for the fifty rambunctious fifth and sixth graders running around.

Thankfully, you can't hear them when you look at the picture, which makes it seem especially nice! :)

Outdoor Science

Last week was a fun three day field trip for Morgan and his classmates.  I got to go along as a chaperone.  We went to McCall, Idaho (south from Cottonwood about 2 hours) to the McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS).  It's a great, hands-on, science-based camp with cabins located on the shores of Payette lake.

The program is run by University of Idaho graduate students who are working on their masters degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Education.  These students live on the MOSS campus for one school year and have students arriving every week for outdoor instruction.  So cool!  Our County Commissioners pay for our students to go every year, which is pretty awesome.  Our girls got to experience MOSS as well.

I especially loved their flag.  Go Vandals!

On day two, we had a three mile hike in the Ponderosa State Park with lots of stops for exploration and instruction.  We were in the field for over five hours.  The weather was fabulous.  I guess a lot of years that Prairie has gone, it's been super cold and rainy.  I am incredibly grateful that this was not one of those years!  (Morgan is in the blue and gray sweatshirt with the red pack on the left side of the above pictures)

The deer were obviously used to humans.  We stood and watched this mule deer eat her breakfast for quite some time.

And then found another one just a few minutes later.  I've seen plenty of deer in my life, but never so close and for so long.  They usually run away within moments of spotting a human.  It was fun to watch them, but made me think they wouldn't last long in hunting season!

We stopped at a marsh and the kids played in muddy water from identifying different creatures they could find.

I love when people use their sense of humor to get a message across.  The above sign indicates that dogs should keep their humans on a leash to keep them safe.  Great idea. :)

After stopping to eat our sack lunches that we made for ourselves before leaving camp, we went out in a HUGE canoe on Payette Lake.  So fun.

In the middle of the lake, the kids used various high-tech equipment to test the water.  Morgan is using a probe attached to a hand-held electronic device to test the pH of the water.  

Then they interpreted and discussed their results of the water testing back on shore and looked at whether the results would indicate the lake is a good home to trout.

The final activity before heading back to camp was learning about topographic maps.

The kids got to create a replication of the topographic map in the sand and learned about the watershed for that area.  

It was a great experience.  I'm so grateful I got to tag along.

It was a great group of kids (55 of them).  All the chaperones were ready to come home on day three, but the kids were sad it was over.  I just wanted my own bed.  My aging body doesn't do as well on bunkbeds like it once did!

Clothes and Ice Cream

Took the girls school shopping a while back.  Didn't get many pictures, but love this one from the dressing room door.  They had picked out so many things to try on at our favorite sweet little consignment shop that the saleslady didn't even bother writing an actual number on the door. :)

We ended our fun day with ice cream from McDonald's.  Ice cream cones and a root beer float.  Yep, they even serve hard ice cream!  Yummy!

So, the moral of the story..... Fun, new clothes and ice cream.  Life is good!

Anniversary Celebration, Part One

My sweet husband surprised me with tickets to the Vince Gill concert in Sandpoint to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.  Unfortunately, it was scheduled for the same day that we were coming home from a week long camping trip, but we made it.  It was great fun, but a super quick trip.  Hubby tells me he has other plans to continue celebrating.  I'm holding him to that.

The drive over the lake into Sandpoint does something to me.  All nostalgia and warm fuzzies.  I love Keuterville and it feels like home, but so does Sandpoint.  I don't know that I'd ever want to move back, but I always wish we'd go visit more often.  And then life gets in the way.  It was nice to be there, even briefly.

Every summer, Sandpoint has a series of different concerts at the football field along the lake.  They call it The Festival at Sandpoint.  Locals just call it the Festival.  Glenn and I went to a Jan and Dean concert at the Festival when we were dating, so it was fun to go back as an old married couple!

You still sit on the lawn or bring in low chairs.  It's first come, first served, but it just so happens that the mill Glenn works for was a major sponsor and had a special area reserved, so we got great seats just a few minutes before the show started.

There were two opening acts and we enjoyed them both.  The weather was delightful - not too hot, not too cold.

And as the sun went down, it became magical with the stage brightly lit.  And Vince Gill knows how to sing.  Yes, that is Vince Gill in the photo.  You'll have to take my word for it!

I listened to Vince Gill a lot back in the day, so I was pleased that I knew most of his songs.  So fun to go to a concert and be able to sing along.  With your husband.  Of twenty years.


Thanks, darling, for a fun evening and great weekend adventure.  I'm ready for the next one......  :)

Four Years of First Days

This has been our first week back at school.  Frankly, none of us were ready for it to start.  When I had tiny kids in diapers and toys all over my house, I used to think I would long for and look forward to the first day of school every year, but that's not how it is.  When you have the privilege of staying home with your kids, you get accustomed to having them around every day during the summer.  Then school starts and you feel like you're being robbed when they're away from you for 8 hours a day.  I tend to like my children.  Crazy, I know.

So, as a tribute for back to school and the tendency for time to fly, I've taken the liberty of compiling my past blog pictures of first days of school.

And man does time fly.  I think it should be a law of physics.

2011 (1st, 5th & 7th grade)

2012 (2nd, 6th & 8th)

2013 (3rd, 7th & 9th)

2014 (4th, 8th & 10th)

2015 (Almost all grown up!!)

So, there you have it.  Amazing how much kids change and grow up in just four short years.  And just think, in another four years, I'll have a junior and a freshman in college and a junior in high school. WHAT?!!!

No, I don't think so.  Maybe I'll go get my basement ready so I can lock them up with their crazy mama forever!