Summer Wrap Up

LeRoy was given tickets to the Culpepper and Merriweather Circus in Ashton. LeRoy, Bret, Erika, Nathan and Hyrum enjoyed watching the acrobats fly through the air and laughed at the silly clowns They were even impressed that the elephants and lions looked healthy (unlike the emaciated creatures we have seen in the past).

Bret and Erika also took Nathan and Hyrum to a Chukars Game in Idaho Falls.

Pretzels, a foul ball hitting a car, the cool evening wrapped in blankets and a souvenir poster all added to the fun.

Flip flop weather calls for cute toes. Daymia painted and stamped fun designs on their itty-bitty nails.

 This summer's favorite games were Rummikub, Clue, Uno, Telestrations and Wackee Six.

Nathan has loved reading the Michael Vey series. One evening he asked me to mail a letter that he had written to the author, Richard Paul Evans. We sent the letter the next morning and Nathan checked the mail daily for about a month. Finally, he received a response and now he has a goal to meet Richard.



Aaron and Kristin's Wedding

Bret's brother, Aaron, stayed with us for a couple of weeks before his wedding.

Waiting outside the temple for the bride.

Erika and Bret flew to Denver to meet up with the Hellbusch family and then they all flew to Indiana for the wedding.

Erika, Bret, Katie, Megan, Cory, Jill, Aaron, Kristin
(Jill looks like one of the kids! Ron taking the picture)

Derek's new hobby is carving pencil tips. The first one is a regular #2 pencil; the second is a carpenter's pencil. His text: "I saw a video on Facebook and decided to give it a try so I bought an xacto knife and it's so much fun!"

Another burst of creativity from Derek.  His text: "I just finished it! It's made entirely of discarded bar code stickers from work :p just over 2000 of them . . . but it's sturdy and awesome!"

Speaking of Derek, he was the best man at Chris's wedding. It was so strange to see these two all dressed up and formal and serious. There's eight years of mischief behind those grins! Chris also asked him to step in last minute to walk the bride down the isle, even though he had only met her once. He was so worried about doing something wrong and was unsure of his part; asking me what he was supposed to do. I told him that his main role was to make sure the bride didn't trip or fall while walking down the grassy isle in her heels. When he accomplished that, he turned to stand in best man position next to Chris and winked at me. So did Chris. These boys have a special place in my heart!

Bret and Erika took a helicopter ride over Rexburg. They absolutely loved it!

Helicopter view of our house (far left). We need more trees!!

LeRoy turned 48 in August (that is freakishly close to 50!). He was so excited for his New York style Strawberry Cheesecake that after blowing out the candle he took a big bite right out of the side and then let Nathan and Hyrum each have a bite.

Daymia turned a mature 22 and squealed with excitement when Levi surprised her with a pinata.

Levi, Daymia, Erika, Bret, Shane, Katie and Brooke all had a birthday campout and the next day Levi took her to Bear World.
(I would like Levi to plan my future birthdays!)


Charlie is outgrowing many of  his puppy tendencies and becoming a trusty, dependable companion.

Bret and his cat, Nolan, taking a nap.  Bret and his new puppy, Rufio.


Daymia has wanted a gecko for a long time and this summer her reptile dream came true.

We all got to meet Sylvester and see huge bulgy eyes and watch his jumping skills.