Hoop lake and cousins

Last week I had the opportunity to watch my sisters three kids for a week.  We had a lot of fun during the week but I did not get any pictures (its hard with two 2 1/2 year olds running around) I did get a couple of pictures when we went to McDonald one day.  They kids loved that the playland had saddles to sit on and not chairs.  They had big saddles for adults and little saddles for the kids.   On Friday and early Saturday morning the rest of my family came over except for my youngest sister and her family who were deeply missed. Ethan wanted to go to the park and show his mom the tricked he had mastered during the week so away we went with plans to go to Flaming Gorge afterwards just to check it out as no one but my mother had ever been there.  Some local fireman were having a birthday party of one of there kids and my sister being the friendly person she is began talking with them.  She asked them where they would go and they both agreed NOT Flaming Gorge but to a little lake called Hoop Lake.  They gave us directions and off we went.  We are very glad we took there advice.  It is about an hour drive from my home and was the perfect place to spend a Saturday.  We packed a picnic so we ate and then spent time with the kids throwing rocks into the lake (they were trying to skip them but most of us could not.)   Richard and I will defiantly be taking the kids back to this hidden lake in the east side of the Unitas.

Speak Softly and Carry a BIG Stick- I think he has stick radar.  Where ever we go it never takes him long to find one.

Grandpa instructing Sarah and Becca how to skip stones

Cute babies and there beautiful mom

Becca took some pictures of Sarah and Kiersten for me.

Fun weeks

We have been busy getting moved in and learning about our new home and the area it is in.  Our fist week here the primary had an activity that Dallin went to.  They had fun activities for the kids that they tied into gospel lessons.  One of the activities was a three legged race.  Dallin got to do it the first time with a cute 2 year old. He was such a good sport!  He was so good to let the little boy hold on tight (as you can see in the picture) and told him which leg to use. They did amazing.  They were able to move quite quickly and Dallin did not end up dragging him like I was afraid he would.  It is always nice when you see you kids be kind and gentle to another person.

The following week the girls went to Girls Camp so Dallin and I the house to ourselves for the day during the week.  On Monday of that week Becca surprised by driving up for a visit.  She was able to stay for two nights and we enjoyed her company.  It was super  nice to have her up on Tuesday when Dallin went to day scout camp. We found out when I picked up the girls that he was in the same spot they were and Kiersten had helped set up the day camp the day before he went up.  


The girls had a great time at Girls camp and came home feeling like they were going to fit into the ward just wonderfully.  I am so grateful that they feel so comfortable in the ward.  It is one more blessing of many the Lord has given us with this move to help up know we have done the right thing.

Two weeks ago this was the view out my back door.  The sunset really was this beautiful and I love having cows in my backyard to watch.  Just so the three of you that read this blog know how much I enjoy watching the cows, one day last week while watching the cows I noticed that there was a calf laying down sleeping.  I thought it was cute how the mama cows stood around "protecting" it while it slept.  About three hours later when I looked out the window the calf was still laying in the same position but the mama cows had moved away. Richard came home from work and I told him I was worried about this poor baby who had been lying there for about 3 1/2 hours without moving.  I was sure it was dead and the other cows had left it there.  He told me not to worry but seeing how distressed he was he said he would call Kevin (the rancher who owns the cows.)  He made the phone call and I began making dinner.  He came, looked out the window and then told me the cow had just lifted his head and seemed fine.  He did not want Kevin to think that I was just making things up so he went out to the cow and meet Kevin.  The rancher was super nice (I had never met him) and came over and thanked me for watching his cows.  We visited for a while and then he hopped on his motor bike put a big shovel under his behind and rode off.  (yes, I did just say a shovel under his butt.) I laughed for a few minutes at this and then once again thanked my Heavenly Father for letting me live in such a friendly town where people are very down to earth.  (and sometimes a little strange, but that is another post all together)

Where the Buffalo Roam

Ok, not buffalo but I do have cows in my backyard.    I have learned that they moo very loudly especially at 6 am.

On June 9th we packed the family up and moved to Wyoming.  If I had been smart I would have taken pictures but we had tons of help both leaving and coming. I am grateful to all who came to help.    We will miss all the friends we have left behind in Utah but look forward to making new ones here.  I have decided to bet back into blogging because I want family and friends to have a way to know what is happening in our lives and also to keep a record for us.

Since we have gotten here things have been busy. I have spent the past week and a half getting the home set up.  It is almost complete.  Kiersten began working her first job, and went to a regional youth conference.  Dallin has had a primary activity and yesterday went to day scout camp.  Sarah and Kiersten are at girls camp this week.  I can't wait to hear what they have to say about camp.  I am pretty sure they have been freezing this week.

Today we finally got internet service.  It is so nice to be able to stay in touch with the rest of the world!

October Fest

A few weeks ago we went with our friends the Holts to Oktoberfest up at Snowbird. We rode the tram up the mountain and got up there just in time to hear the apline horns be played. They sounded amazing up on top of the mountain. We took a little walk and then rode the chairlift down the mountain. No trip to Oktoberfest would be complete without dinner. We had wonderful German food while listening to polka music and watching people dance to it. It was cute to watch parents take their little kids up to the dance floor and dance. For dessert we had the most delicious German Chocolate Cake! Thanks to the Holts for coming up with such a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Whistler

In July Richard and I had the chance to go to Whistler, Canada. It was so beautiful and we had a blast. On the second day there, we took the Peak-to-Peak chair lift. We went up Backcombe Mountain and came down on Whistler Mountain. To get between the two mountains we took a gondola that crossed the space between the two mountains. The distance between the mountains is 4.4 km with 3.4 km unsupported by any towers. It was an amazing experience. The photo up above shows the distance between the two mountains. On the way down we got to see a black bear eating dinner. Just after we saw the bear it began to rain.

The view from the gondola between the peaks.

This is the symbol for the Olympics. On our last day there, we went and saw where they held the skiing events.

This is the beach that was about 30 minutes away from Whistler.

This picture is blurry because I took it from the car while Richard was driving. This is the view we got to enjoy all the way along the sea to sky highway that goes from Vancouver to Whistler. It is such beautiful country and I hope we get a chance to go up there again.

SOCCER

A few weeks ago, Dallin began soccer. He practices 3 days a week and has at least 1 game a week. A few of the weeks he has 2 games a week. His coach is really into soccer and Dallin is learning so much so fast. He loves to run and is one of the fastest boys on the team. This week as their second game and I remembered to charge the battery to my camera this week (last week was not my best camera moment.) so I have pictures. He is making friends and looks forward to his practice almost every day. This week the coach taught them the positions and today at the game he would assign them the positions and they played where they were supposed to. His team is the silver dragons and he is number 4! I am so glad that we have found a sport he loves. He keeps telling me that he is so glad we let him play soccer this year.

I sure love this little guy!

Becca turned 16!!!

March 14th my little girl turned 16. My how the years have flown. I do not feel old enough to have a daughter that can date and drive. To celebrate, I threw her a suprise birthday party. Our good friend Connie was kind enough to help me chaperone and my parents were kind enough to let me use their house since it is bigger than mine. Here friends came, Richard brought her later and all had a good time.

The awsome typewriter so got from her friend Robert.

The Past Year

So my husband and Jana let me know that it had been a while since I blogged and it was time to update my blog. While, since I finished my masters I have a little bit of free time so I will. Please bear with me while I update y'all about what has been happening in our house. I'll start in January.

January- Kiersten turned 13.

February- Nothing exciting

March- Becca turned 16 (I'll do a sperate post about that later.) Dallin turned 6.

April- nothing

May- nothing

June- girls camp

July- Ranks family runuion, Nelson family reunion, and Whistler Canada

While, that is the down and dirty of what has been going on here the past few years. I will work to do better at updating the blog from now on.

Craft Projects

Back in May, I found this pattern for a bag. I loved it and thought that it would be great to carry all of my things for church in. I have been looking at it, got the strips sewn, and then left it for two months. The other day I was talking to a friend and she was saying how this year she made a goal to finish all the unfinished projects lying around. This inspired me to pick up the bag and finish it. Tonight I finally did it. It is not exactly how I wanted it to look, but it is much better than the ugly black bag I was using.








The bottom picture is the quilt I made for Guy and Erin's baby boy. I finished this this summer but had yet to post the photo. I decided that it was time to post the photos. This is a quilt that I have been wanting to make for a while. I LOVE the sock monkey fabric. Now if I can just get the quilt made for Dallin that I bought the fabric for when he was 6 months old.

Fall

I love Autumn. It probably has something to do with spending many of my growing up years in the New England area. Nothing compares to a New England fall. The colors are beautiful and there is just a feeling that I can't explain. I still get excited to see the trees change color. I love the cool brisk mornings that turn into comfortable days. The smells of fall are yummy too. Pumpkin pie and apple cobbler. I always crave Boston Brown bread this time of year and a bowl of clam chowder.

This morning as I was coming home from dropping the kids off at school, I was driving down the road and it felt cool. It smelled cool. I saw the kids riding their bikes to school and they had jackets on. I got excited because that means fall is here!

For a quick change of subject, I love our little town. It is still small enough that you can know the people who live near you and have them wave when you drive by. The people are the best and watch out for each other. Since I will probably never have the chance to live in New England again, I am glad I get to live in my little town!

To Do Lists

To do lists, what is it about them that just motivates me? I love them. I can look at a job that needs doing and put it off but once it makes the list I have to get it done. In college I carried around my Franklin planner. Every morning I faithfully filled out my to do list and ordered them. I love it. It gave me a purpose to my day, it gave me order and structure. A couple of years ago I decided that I did not need the list anymore, I could just remember the list and get it finished. Boy was I wrong. Not that things did not get done, just not as much as I would like to have done in a day. Yesterday I created the first list I have made in a long time. It was like welcoming home a long lost friend. I hung it on my fridge and joyously crossed off the tasks as I finished them. It made me happy to see the jobs crossed off. I guess I never grew out of wanting gold star for doing work well and crossing off the job gives me the same thrill I used to get when a paper was returned in school and it had a sticker and the wonderful 100 at the top!

Name Tags

I hate name tags. I know they serve a purpose but I hate them. I feel like a walking Teddy Ruxpin without having to say a word. Also, if I want you to know my name I will tell you and if I want to know yours I'll ask. Do we have to force everyone to know who we are.
Today while procrastinating my homework and house cleaning I saw this name tag and it made me laugh (might have something to do with this being one of my favorite lines in a movie). I think next time I have to wear one of these name tags, this is what I am going to put.

Trip to Boise

Last Sunday, after chrurch, Dallin, Sarah, Elphie, and I went up to Boise to visit my sister Chris and her family. One of the purposes of the week was to learn to can meat. We did and I am excited to eat it with my family. We also pressure canned pinto beans and they turned out wonderful! While Chris and I were busy canning, the kids had a great time playing together. Elphie and Aisa, the dogs, also had a great time together. Dallin and Ethan are beginning to become great friends which makes me so happy. I am glad that they each will have a cousin they enjoy hanging out with when we get together as a family.
Friday night was girls and guys night. Steve took Dallin and Ethan to the father son camp out and they had a great time. Dallin came home very excited that the had roasted hot dogs and made s'mores. He also enjoyed riding the 4 wheeler. Thanks Steve for taking him.
While the boys were camping the girls got a pedicure, went to dinner at Johnny Carinos, and went home to eat junk food and watch Beverly Hills Chauaua(I have no idea how to spell it). IT was soo funny!
Thanks Chris and Steve for a great week. It is always so fun to vist you all.

Chris and Steve bought new couches that are electeric reclinars and have to be plugged in to work. Ethan set his littl piano on the cords and I had to take picture because it made me laugh when I saw it.

Sarah poising for Chris and I while Chris taught me how to use the apature and shutter speed on my camera. Thanks for being so patient Sarah! I am excited that I now know how to use it and will not have to use auto or program any more!

Dallin showing Ethan something on the computer.

Dallin and Ethan plying in the sandbox. Dallin had so much fun playing in the sandbox that I have convienced Richard to build him one in the next week.

The first batch of meat. As you can see in the background we also made ice cream.

Dallin playing on the swing set

Ethan saw me with a camera and posed for me. Soo cute! Miss you guys lots and cannot wait to see you all soon

One of the days there we went swimming. When we got home, Dallin wanted to wear his jammies insead of cloths. He asked for a pickel, went to the couch to watch tv and this is how i found him about 10 minutes later. Swimming can really take it out of you.

Last day of school

The last hour and a half of school I was at Kiersten's graduation. When I returned to my classroom, my board was covered with notes from the students. It is little things like this that make my job all worthwhile. It also makes summer break a little bitter sweet. Just when you get this years class trained as to how you want them be behave in class and in the halls, the school year ends and a new group comes in.

Kiersten's 6th Grade Graduation

On June 5th Kiersten graduated from 6th grade. My little girl is offically a 7th grader now. She will no longer go to school with me every morning. I am going to miss that time with her. Kiersten gave a wonderful speech at the beginning of the graduation. You would never have known that she tends to be shy. She stood up there with great poise and spoke slowly. She was amazing. My video camera died right as she was beginning to talk or I would have posted her speech. She recieved the Hope of America award from the Kawanas and then was presented a diploma. Grandma Ranks came and brought her a beautiful flower lei.

Recieving her Hope of America award

Giving her speech

Walking into the Gym

With her favorite teacher- Terrilynn

Getting ready for the clap out. Each year the 6th graders walk through the hall while all of the classes stand by thier doors and clap for the 6th graders. It is a fun tradition.