17 (again?)

 

Birthday boy is 9

 

More August adventures

A group of us get together every Tuesday to try to tackle the Fairbanks summer trails challenge. There’s usually quite the crowd of moms and kids ranging from babies to teenagers. It is one of my favorite days of the week getting out and exploring the forest and trails around town.

It is also been so fun to check out the different mushrooms that are on the first floor. Cael has mentioned that my camera roll is full of mushrooms these days, I just think the fungi is so cute.

The car is stuck... While we were camping at Olnes pond we had a adventure in a broken down motorcycle and later a truck car that was stuck in a ditch of water. Different kids were driving around and the 12-year-old went reversing way too fast. Ben yelled slow down… Slow down… Slow down! But it was too late. It was great quite the endeavor trying to get the car unstuck and pulled out of the ditch. Lesson learned- don’t let a 12 year old (who looks like a 17 year old) drive your car.

The weather forecast predicted 75 and sunny all weekend, but surprised us with massive downpours Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. We really tried to be prepared and tried getting everything out of the rain before it got soaked. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't.

Silly Brielle taking my phone!!

My little garden has been fun to eat the peas and colorful carrots ... today Cannon invited a friend over and they had a snack of fresh carrots from the garden.

 When you try a new recipe and are excited about being the first one to dig in, but your little brother beat you to it and cut his piece right from the middle… You might feel a little upset— Poor Brecon.

Weekend with the FRYS

We had a good time hanging out with our buddies playing frisbee golf up at the birch hill recreation area... and surprisingly we didn’t lose any- but we did have some close calls with the thick forest and a throw that went too far. 

The mosquitos were pretty thick up in the shaded areas, but as long as you were moving they didn’t seem so bad. By the 7th hole cannon was starting to hit his limit and Cael stepped up and put him on his shoulders to carry him the rest of the way and Cael even finished throwing the last holes along the way.

Saturday evening we met up at Olnes pond to paddle around and have a cookout. It was a gorgeous evening! The kids were splashing around on the paddle board and little kayaks. My favorite was when my three big boys and CC got on the paddle board to play king of the hill. After they found their balance there was squealing and shrieking and everyone had fallen in except Cael- I don’t know how he stayed up. But that didn’t last long and soon the entire board flipped over and everyone splashed into the chilly pond.

 Our cookout included Cheetos otter pops, hot dogs and yummy grilled salmon. Quite a spread, I know, right?

Summer solstice midnight sun run (walk)

I have really fun neighbors that decided to celebrate the summer solstice by going on a family run/walk/scooter ride around the airfield which is about 6.1 miles. We had gone camping the night before and I was so tired and so actually I was in my pajamas ready for bed but  Brielle was going with her friend Gwen. When we saw them leave their house and walk down the street I looked it Connor who was also in bed reading with me and we said “we should go too”.... even though I was super tired and ready for bed I have major fear of missing out or FOMO. 

The Bangerter‘s were about 8 to 10 minutes ahead on the trail but Connor caught up to them very fast on his bike but I was walking. It was raining a little bit and cloudy but not in a bad way it was actually quite enjoyable to be out there. There is a nice trail that we stayed on all the way around posts off the beaten path for the most part and really a lovely sunset as we ended there was even a rainbow!! I’m glad that I didn’t let my exhaustion keep me from joining in on a fun evening with my kids and friends. Brielle and Gwen  were in the lead and they saw a baby fox run across in front of them. 

Sunset at 12:20 toward the end of the trail

Family Reunion WYOMING ROUND-UP

Grandpa Hoopes puts the squeeze on the boys before they get to work.

This year I helped my mom (who was really stressed out and worried) plan and put together our Bowers family reunion up in Star Valley. Our theme "COWBOY ROUND-UP" was so fun. It was relaxing, we looked at old pictures, shared memories of past reunions, and talked about what it going on in our families. Saturday afternoon Tyson was baptized and after the luncheon with the Challis family, we went back to Star Valley Ranch to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. The kids were playing around in the yard as we got our milk can dinner prepared with the carrots, potatoes, corn, and cabbage cleaned, cut up, and put inside the old milk can.

While we waited for our dinner to cook, we began getting dressed up in cowboy and pioneer clothes for our old time photo booth. Each family grabbed whatever they wanted to wear (hats, dresses, vests, boots, and chaps)... and we even had a few guns to hold as well. My boys were especially eager to hold their photo props, especially the weapons. Whom ever was getting their photos taken were asked to keep serious faces because life was hard back in those days and we needed to keep with the times. All the pictures looked really cute on the phones, but I think the final product will be even better!

COWBOY SISTERS- Brenda and Kathi enjoy some time relaxing after the talent show.

After our dinner, each family was asked to prepare a skit, poem, or song for the cowboy talent show. Ryan read a cowboy poem, my kids sang along to "Home on the Range", Derek-Allie sang "I'm a little Cowboy" (to the tune of Little Teapot) Aunt Brenda, Thad, and Jade danced to "Cotton-Eye Joe". Grandpa Bowers, Jan, and Nathan did a poem and sing-a-long to a favorite campfire song "Late last night... cow kicked it over... FIRE FIRE FIRE!" But the most embarrassing/hilarious was the "Cowboy in Paradise" read and acted out by my Dad. We laughed and then started to rope and race the kids as they ran around on their stick horses.


Brielle tries to run away before she is roped by Cowboy Grandpa

Grandpa roped, branded, shot, and marked each of the "steers" as they ran around the yard. Connor loved it!

Another fun game planned was the pioneer game of STICK PULLING. Connor and Brielle had a good match, as well as Grandpa against Nathan. Old Cowboys are tougher than they look--

The Grandkids lined up with their "horses" ready for the barrel races to begin.

Another delicious tradition of homemade root beer was a big hit with Max and Connor. They kept going back for more samples of the yummy drink. This reunion was such a great time. We only get a short time to spend together- once a year for maybe an afternoon- and this was my first reunion in 4 years with this side of the family. It was fun to be together and make new memories.



My handsome cowboys



Pioneer Women and SAGE- I love this picture!



Ryan, Grandpa Bowers, Richard, and Derek get ready to ride.