Owen Riding without Training Wheels

Funny story...
We got Owen a new bike for his 6th birthday since he'd outgrown the bike he was using. A couple weeks after that, I was backing out of the garage when I heard a crunch. Owen had put his bike right next to my car and I didn't notice. Thankfully I had only backed over one of his training wheels. Instead of buying new training wheels, Barry put on a training wheel from his old bike. The wheel was a little smaller than the other one so it made the bike tipsy, but Owen was able to still ride by leaning to one side. Then for no apparent reason the other training wheel kept loosening. After tightening it at least a dozen times, we decided to take off the training wheels. He was able to ride without them the first time he tried! Now I'm actually glad I backed over his training wheel.

Summer Rewind: Part 3 - Water Fun

We have been playing in the water in our backyard a lot this summer. Its been hot here but thankfully nothing above 90 degrees. Barry's aunt gave us their old  Slip n Slide last month and the kids have really loved it. They move between that, the water table, and the little pool.

Summer Rewind: Part 2 - 4th of July

We did do lots of a fun-filled 4th of July weekend.

July 3rd
We watched the Rigby fireworks. Since our house is just a few miles from Rigby Lake we just watched them from our backyard. You can hear them well from our house too. The noise was enough to scare Emma. Last year we'd gone to the Menan, Idaho fireworks and absolutely loved it. We debated about going this year due with Emma's reaction to the fireworks the day before. Our mind was made up for us when Emma and Owen fell asleep for that night at 8.

July 4th
We had a BBQ with my dad's family. His brother and sister as well as my cousin traveled from Washington, Colorado, Arizona respectively. They got a kick out of Emma and Owen. They were the only great grandchildren there since my sister didn't make it. Owen instantly became uncle Dean's shadow. Owen isn't a shy person but Emma on the other hand was extremely shy. She didn't want me to put her down and she'd hide her face into my shoulder when anyone spoke to her. Then when she finally let me put her down, Emma would bend over and put her head down on the ground to hide. It reminded me of an ostrich! She did eventually warm up and started showing off by dancing, jumping, and twirling.

July 5th
The 5th and 6th we attended a reunion for my mom's immediate family. It was wonderful to see all my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We couldn't attend all the festivities but we did make it for the dinner show at Mountain River Ranch in Ririe. Barry and I went without the kids and it made for a fun date night. You can read all about our time there on my cousin's blog. Just so you know, I would totally recommend the steak. It was worth the extra 5 dollars!

July 6th
To celebrate my Grandpa's 83rd birthday we had a carnival, BBQ, and homemade ice cream with cake at my uncle's home. We got there a little early so they were setting up. Emma wandered around and found the prize bucket. Being unmanned, she helped herself to as many Smarties as she could hold. I got her to be happy with just one for each hand as you can see in the picture. She also found the balloon dart stand and promptly popped a few balloons by just pulling them off. I figure she was just taking her turn before the big kids got there.

I wished I could have taken more pictures. Emma was pretty busy bee that day. I had to follow her the whole time to keep her out of mischief. This is a picture from my cousin's blog of Owen. Make sure you read her post to see the other fun things we did. Uncle David and Aunt Linda did a really good job.

Summer Rewind

Summer vacation started this year on the last week in May. Owen did so well in Kindergarten. Not to brag but he was in the Advanced Reading class most of the year. He reads so well but he's not an avid reader like his mom (yet). We started reading Ralph and the Motorcycle before he goes to bed. It was my favorite book from elementary school and I've wanted to share it now that Owen is old enough to hear chapter books. I've seen big growth in Owen's emotional maturity. He had a fantastic teacher that worked with him in a manner that Owen positively responded to. We do hope his next teacher works with him just as well.

We haven't gone anywhere far from home this summer. Barry's nursery really makes it impossible to go on a week long vacation. We did go with Barry on a late afternoon delivery to Etna, Wyoming.  I expected the scenery would be simply beautiful and I wasn't disappointed. Everything was so green. On the way home, we stopped at a restaurant called Tootsies. Barry and I had some delicious garlic shrimp pasta. Owen was so hungry that he ate his personal-size cheese pizza as well as half of Emma's noodles! I totally recommend eating there.