Third Grade ...

My baby is growing up way too fast! 
Justin started 3^rd grade this year. 

This was the first year he was not excited about starting school.  Hope this is not a sign for the years to come.  Once he got to school he loved it!  He was very excited about his teacher … Mr. Yates.  Not sure who likes football and the Denver Broncos more … Justin or Mr. Yates.  His classroom is full of Orange and Blue and lots of football memorabilia.  Aside from football Justin’s favorite subject is History and so is Mr. Yates!! They will have lots to talk about.  It should be a great school year for Justin.

~ Listening to Mr. Yates ... Justin ready for his first day of 3rd Grade ~ 

Celebrating Ninety-Four …

A few weeks ago my Grammie Wamhoff moved to Lakeview Commons an Assistant Living Center in Loveland, CO.  She moved from Bird City, KS a very small town in Western Kansas.  Unfortunately Grammie needs some assistance and living on her own at her house is no longer a good situation for her.  Our family is thrilled to have her so close to us.  Today we had the honor of celebrating her 94^th Birthday with her.

~ Justin and Makenna with their Great Grammie! ~ 

~ Grammie opening her presents ~

Madalee turns 5 ...

Our great niece Madalee turned 5 years old on August 12th!  We celebrated her special day with her at her Tangled Party!!  The backyard was adorable ... complete with lanterns across the patio. 

~ Opening her presents ~ 

~ Madalee ... 5 years old and adorable! ~

Horsetooth Falls ...

Last month the kids and I hiked Horsetooth Falls a wonderful kid friendly trail about 20 minutes from our house. We went with my friend Aliy and her 2 boys, Riley and Jayce.  Riley is one of Makenna's buddies!  When we were getting dressed for our hike Makenna said, "mom do I have a shirt that says I love Riley"? ... as you can tell she was pretty excited to hike with her buddy!

~ Makenna and Riley ... ready for our hike! ~

~ Justin was the leader for most of the trail ~

Until we ran into ...

YES – my friends that is a RATTLESNAKE!!  Thanks goodness I picked the best hiking partner EVER!! Aliy is a Park Ranger so she kept us all calm and woke the snake with a stick.  Yup that dang snake was sound asleep! … OH we had just a little excitement when he curled up in a ball and hissed at us!  But he soon realized Aliy was bigger and much more dangerous with a stick and decided to slither away.  I was super proud of myself … anyone who know me well knows that I am SCARED TO DEATH of snakes.  If I would have been alone with the kids I would have turned around and ran screaming the whole way back to our car.  But the hike went on ...

~ The reward at the end of the trail ~

~ Riley and Makenna wading in the water ~

~ Justin, Makenna and I at the falls ~

~ Aliy, Riley and Jayce at the falls ~

~ One of many educational moments with Ranger Aliy along the trail ~

I was so proud of Justin and Makenna for finishing the entire hike … 2.5 miles!  Makenna was a trooper even when she wanted to give up she keep on going!   

Take me out to the ball game ...

Wow ... what happened to the summer??? I'm seriously sad that school starts in 2 week. It's been a super busy summer for us but I still have a long list of stuff I had planned on doing this summer. I should know better ... Summer never last long enough but I am determined to get my blog caught up.

As if 3 days a week of football wasn't enough for Justin ... the first 6 weeks of summer we spent 2 nights a week at the ball park watching Justin play baseball. Lucky for us his team (The All Stars) was pretty good, lots of fun to watch and Justin proved to be one of the top players on his team. This was the 1st year for "kid pitch" and his last year of playing in a learning league (each kid is rotated through all positions) ... Justin’s favorite position this year was Pitcher!

Justin was an All Star on the mound, pitching several “no hit” innings and only allowed 3 walks all season. Next year baseball will become more competitive as Justin will be able to try out for a draft position onto a team. It’s been a lot of fun watching Justin improve season by season. I’m certain baseball will be a big part of our summers for a long time.

~ Team Photo ... Justin is in the backrow 3rd from the right ~

~ Justin with his Trophy ~