Let's Party Again

Another bridal shower celebrating Rylee.  This one is a whole lot closer to home.  How about the backyard?  It's warm but not too hot which makes a perfect party.

Your invited

Rylee designs great invitations.

Shopping for food.

Will any of these party trays work?

Pretty girl dressed to kill or sparkle.

Love the decorations!

She may have a future as a party planner.

Yeah!!

We have guests.

I had a nightmare that no one showed up.

Party crasher

Indy was feeling left out.

Friends

Opening a few presents

Thanks everyone

for spoiling her.

Is it Christmas?

Ruston was so excited and couldn't wait to open them all.

Anything for the kitchen or garage he was claiming.

Count down is in full swing with 2 weeks to go until the big day.  I hope they savor this time and the love & support they are receiving.

SUSA Fall Fling Swim Meet

It's the second meet of the season and actually the 1st official meet against other clubs.  The weather is still really warm the WCCC is a whole lot cooler than the SHAC. Time to warm up and get mentally prepare for the whistle to blow.

Warmups

It's amazing to watch the kids warmup.

They swim more than in the actual meet itself.

Kids Stuff

The kids are all waiting outside until their

events are announced.

Thank goodness it warm out today.

Backstroke

He is really churning up the water.

Dive & Repeat

It's Saturday morning and everyone is back in the water.

It was a good meet and the kids gave all they had.Coach Mike's practices are starting to pay off with times going down.  Ryder is hungry and tired but food is first on the list.

#2    Mixed 13 & Over 100 Yard Free    8th Place    57.10

#7    Mixed 200 Yard IM    12th Place    2:23.74

#11    Boys 13 & Over 200 Yard Free Relay    4th Place    1:50.27

#13    Mixed 200 Yard Back    8th Place    2:23.72

#15    Mixed 200 Yard Free    7th Place    2:11.70

#21    Mixed 200 Yard Fly    6th Place    2:47.74

#25    Boys 13 & Over 200 Yard Medley Relay    3rd Place    2:06.62

#27    Mixed 10 & Over 50 Yard Free    10th Place    26.44

 

Drivers Beware!!

Ryder has been counting down the days until he turns 15.  Why you might say to the anticipation?  He is old enough to get his Learner's Permit and start the process to get is driver's license at 16.  We encouraged him to study the handbook for Utah to learn what is expected of him.  He assured us that knew the rules and would ace the test. He made the appointment for the after his birthday since it fell on Sunday.

Monday morning arrived and along with it a large smile.  He had to wait until 12:00 for his appointed time. I don't think too much studying was done before then.  

We made it!! Even a little early.  A little over confident on the first round.  Flying colors on the 2nd round.  

He did it!!

Know for the hard work.

Getting the 40 hours required to get the real thing.

Behind the wheel

Mr Confident is moving forward.

I'm not sure who is more nervous Dave or myself.

Night time driving.

Another first 

The words you never want to hear "I can't see! It's to dark"

Deep breaths are required along with a whole lot of patience.

He finally calmed down and realized he could see. He finished his first 30 minutes of nighttime driving.

Drivers beware that his now on the roads and working towards earning the real think.  Please be patient if you see us coming down the road.

It's a Bridal Shower

It's party time with a bridal shower for family that lives up North.  Grandma & Rylee planned everything and we were all excited to have some fun.  The boys left for the Formula Drift Event we were ready for yummy food and family.

Saying goodbye

Indy was getting to hang out with the other dogs overnight.

Hopefully, all 3 survive the next 24 hours.

Opening presents

Love the big smile.

Great turn out

We were so excited to see everyone.

No games but plenty of great conversations.

She received many amazing gifts.

Ruston is going to think it's Christmas.

Another view 

Love this picture

Me, Grandma, Rylee, and Sharon

The weather was perfect and the shower was a whole lot of fun.  We are excited to see everyone soon for the big event.  We headed home later that afternoon Rylee need to be at work bright and early the next day. We also had 3 dogs waiting at home eagerly wanting to get out the kennel.  Off we went with plenty of daylight left.

Where Did You Get All That Cash?

Be prepared for craziness when Ryder & Ruston get together.  It's Ryder's birthday weekend and the boys are headed to Formula Drift in Tooele.  They had a check that Ryder wanted to deposit before they left town.  However, time ran out and they didn't make it to the bank. Ryder was dying to get the check in the bank.  Luckily there was a branch on the way to the event.

Then I started receiving texts & pictures of the craziness happening on the way to the event.

That's a whole lot of money!!

Yes it looks that way. However, it was 

all one dollar bills.

Crazy boys

Me praying that nobody robs them or 

the wind blows it away.

Having fun!!

Laughing & Giggling

They all had a great time and the money did make it to the bank after they had their fun.  The silly, crazy, and weird things these 2 find to do and try makes me shake my head.  Will we all survive them? Better question will they survive.

Wedding Stuff...

Every girl dreams of being a princess for a day.  When you are planning your wedding you should get the chance as frequently as possible.  The bridal photo shoot is the first time to dress up for the big day.  Rylee was no exception to this rule.  She scheduled the whole experience dress, tuxedo, makeup, hair, and the perfect photo op Cathedral Gorge State Park.  

Love that smile!!

She looks amazing.

Not sure where the smile went.

But the excitement was bubbling over.

The downside was it was almost a 2 hour ride from St George and the golden hour was 5:00.  When we put all the pieces together we discovered that Dave & I couldn't go due to the Gala being at the same time.  We sent everyone off  with promises of sharing all the photos and stories with us later.

The next 4 weeks are going to be crazy.  Let's enjoy watching Rylee & Ruston have the adventures that will last a lifetime of memories.

Balance of Nature Gala

I have heard a lot over the last couple of months about the employee events held each year.  The Moonlight Masquerade Gala sounds like a whole lot of fun.  Formal dress, masks, and whole lot of good food.  This weekend was pretty busy with Rylee have her bridal pictures takes which I had to beg off since travel time was over an hour away.  Instead I went to a writing class to brush up on my cursive writing.

Wild and crazy 

Going back to 3rd grade and Mrs. Taylor's class.

It was actually fun to try and improve or correct bad habits learned over the past 40 years.

Very formal event

We lost my mask at some time over the night.

Love the decorations PR did an amazing job.

It was fun to see everyone dressed up and

having fun.

We missed the photo booth

We weren't too formal, yet we fit in just fine.

We had a great night.  Thank you Balance of Nature for planning such an awesome event where all employees were treated extra special.

 

What Is He Planning?

Not sure how I ended up with these pictures.  I started questioning what Ruston is planning or rather what new daring adventure has caught his eye.  The next question that popped into my mind was will he survive? 

The new adventure is paragliding.

What is in the box?

Is it a parachute or sail?

I know nothing about this extreme sport.

What the heck?

Not sure what his plan is but

I do know he can't make it out the door with this on.

The wedding is a month away and I am wondering if he will survive to the big day.  There are rumors that he wants to fit this into the ceremony someway.  I do believe that they had better purchase some life insurance on him since he loves extreme sports.

Stayed tune to more adventures with Ruston.

Welcome to Short Course Season

Long course season ended in July with a sigh of relief.  The orders went out that no swimming for 2 weeks.  Stay out of the water and do other teenager stuff.  The kids tried really hard and only slipped a couple of times.  Thank goodness school started around the same time.  They were able to focus on school instead of water.

September 1st brought the Black, Blue, and White Inter Team Meet....Mix up the groups to create 3 teams.

Back on deck

Energy in the air.

Older kids as the team captains

Team cheers!

Warming Up

It was fun to be back on deck after taking the summer off for the new job.  The kids were amped up and swam their hearts out.  Then came the final events relays.  The noise was extremely loud.

Waiting for the final results of which team won... We are still waiting for those results.  My take is the scores came in really close maybe too close to call.  Energy was high what a great way to kickoff the new season.  Good luck to everyone.

Mixed (Open) 100 Breast - 1:14.56     4th Place

Mixed (Open) 200 Breast - 2:44.10    2nd Place

Mixed (Open) 200 IM - 2:25.33          1st Place

Brief Glance of the Craziness

That is our lives!!  There is so much swirling around our family this month and it's only going to increase. 

Class changes?

Ryder decided no band this year.

When he decides something it is hard to change his mind.

This one I didn't argue since he didn't want to practice or even bring his trombone home with him.

Let's see what adventures he tries now.

Waiting in line @ Walmart

I hate self checkout!!

Their lines are crazy it maybe time for pickup.

Raiders Stadium

It looks cool from this angle

Too bad the crowds were crazy the closer we got.

Bridal shower

It's getting closer this whole wedding thing.

Family fun dinner

Homemade pizzas and garlic bread.

I need to really perfect the crust.

Tarantula ALERT!!

Not sure where this guy came from?

He definitely needs to go back.

I think Rylee & Ruston brought him home from their recent camping trip.

Love this picture

Rylee is wanting to get her bridals done here.

It is a long drive to Cathedral Canyon.

Not sure where this picture came from.

It appeared on my phone one afternoon.

It's official

Rylee got her name placket at SkyWest.

Trouble!!

The 3 dogs are going to drive me crazy with the messes they make.

They must be board with all the coupons they shredded.

I will gladly sell them most days to the first person who would take them.

All sales final!!

I need to buckle up for September it's not going to slow down for anyone or anything.

 

Extra Money

Anyone that knows Ryder very will knows that he always on the lookout to make money.  Last year after turning 14 he found out that local businesses where hiring and paying very well.  BON sent out an email on a Friday afternoon looking for volunteers to help out in shipping.  Ryder immediately volunteered, one small hiccup you need to be 16.  He was devastated.  He quickly rebounded making me promise that if the age ever changed I would sign him up.

Two weeks later we get another email asking for volunteers for the weekends to help get caught up on backorders.  This request was for 13 years old & up with parental supervision.  Also, willing to pay $20 per hour with lunch included.  Guess who reminded me of my promise?  I signed us up for  Saturday morning working from 9 to 5 in Hildale.

Packaging product

Making boxes for product

Sealing the product

Taking a quick break

2nd weekend

Lunch time...Subway

Dave & Reganne came along.

It was exhausting work but fun to get to know other employees taking advantage of the opportunity.  Reganne absolutely hated it and declared she would never do that type of work again.  Dave, Ryder, and I worked hard and had a little fun along the way.  It was a great experience learning about another area.  They work so hard and accomplish so much.  Ryder smelled the money and put in the hard work to complete the tasks we were assigned.