Intermittent Springs in Star Valley

We headed to Star Valley this weekend and had so much fun. Star Valley is beautiful all year round, but there is nothing more relaxing then sitting in my moms house on a cold, rainy day with the fireplace on. It is so cozy. On Saturday, even though it was way cold and cloudy, we decided to go for a hike to the intermittent spring, up Swift Creek, in Afton. We got there just in time to see the water start down the mountain, watched it turn off, and then re-start again. It was beautiful. The kids had a lot of fun.



These are a few pictures of the trail headed up to the spring



Sorry this one is a bit blurry.
On the way up the trail. (Okay so who am I kidding, most of these are blurry)

The water was so clear you could see to the bottom of this little pond and the trees that surrounded it were beautiful.
Always so cool!! The water was beautiful.
Kelsey had the best spot. She just tucked herself right in, and was ready to go. I can't imagine it was the smoothest ride.
At the base of the actual spring.


The spring started just as we were headed up the hill.


We waited there for 20min so that we could see it start back up again. (Kaiden and Brayden)
(Jaycie and Keira)

(Mom and Brandy) Mom couldn't even look down the hill or she would start tearing up. I thought we were going to have to carry her back down. She did great just took a bit longer than all of the rest of us.


You can see behind Jaycie and I where the water actually comes out at.
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See you soon!

Nick left yesterday. It was a sad day, we will really miss him. He is such a great husband, father and best friend. We headed to the airport at 1:00pm and stood around waiting for final formation which was at 3:30. It hit me like a ton of bricks when I had to watch him go around the string barrier that separated family from soldier. As he stood in formation he would occasionally wave and throw the I LOVE YOU sign up in the air. The kids and I would do the same. It was hard to think that that was the last time we would see him for a very, very long time. We watched the plane fly off and took a deep breath and headed home. It begins, one year and counting. Be safe Nick and come home soon!!

Brayden showing me that he is going to be tough while dad is away. His face isn't so convincing is it?

School Begins...

School has officially started for me. I went back on the 30th of August and the students came back on the 2nd. It is bitter sweet! I love teaching, but this year is a little more overwhelming with Nick being gone and the kids going to daycare. Luckily the kids love it. Jaycie, who I was most worried about, can't get enough. She can't stop talking about all the new kids she is meeting and new songs she is learning. She is in the 3 year old class until December and then will be bumped to the 4's. Brayden is also going to daycare three days out of the week. He is in kindergarten this year and gets to go to the school I teach at,which is really nice. He had his first day on the 7th and he had a blast. It is a good thing my kids are so social and happy. This job would be really tough on me if they hated being away from me. Sadly the days I am home they wish they were going to daycare so they could play with all their new friends.

Brayden was so nervous about the first day of school. Before we headed out the door his one main concern was that kids would not like him and make fun of him because of his glasses. My heart sunk. I made him go look at himself in the mirror so he could see how incredibly handsome he is with his glasses. He made a few "I am cool looks" and we were ready.

Nick being gone is a little harder than I thought. I miss him a ton and feel a little awkward in social situations. I didn't think things like that would bother me but even as simple as going to church I feel like something is missing from me. The first three weeks have been okay and they went very fast. I am glad that I work, and the class I got seems great. We are very excited that Nick gets to come home this weekend. We will enjoy each second we get together before

he leaves again on the 20th for the year.

You Go Girl!

Jaycie got a bike from a neighbor down the road that was too small for her grand daughter so she wanted someone else to enjoy it. The bike is pretty big with no training wheels and Jaycie really wanted to ride it. I told her she couldn't ride it until she learned how to ride her little bike first. Well, apparently that is all she needed. She was determined she was going to learn to ride her bike without training wheels and she did. After a few tosses into the grass, I moved onto the cement just hoping she wouldn't crash too hard and she took off. We practiced in the road a couple of times, she did so good. I am impressed that a 3 year old can be so determined.

Our neighbors Lacey and Skyler were over helping while I was videoing. You will just have to ignore the screaming mother in the background. I got a little excited for her.

Summer Fun!

Before Nick left we did a lot of camping and playing. Here are a few of those pics.

Our Bear Lake Trip with Lacey and Skyler. We camped at East Beach and then played on North Beach the following day. It was a lot of fun. Shawn and Mariah ended up having a family reunion that same weekend and amazingly we ended up parking right by each other so Brayden and Zach were able to play all day. Brayden was excited to have a boy to play with.

Jaycie with Abigail and Emalyn. Jaycie is only about 6mo older than Abigail. She looks like a giant next to these two.

Skyler built this amazing sand castle. The kids wait all day for Skyler to give them the go ahead to crash it.
Yeah! Skyler was finally able to part with his masterpiece.

Deployment!


Nick is being deployed with the HHC 116th Calvary Brigade out of Twin Falls. He will spend the year in Baghdad in support of Operation New Dawn with his Brother Shawn. We are all very excited he gets to have this opportunity, but he will truly be missed. Brayden seems to be doing okay with the idea for now, he keeps reassuring me (and himself) by saying "We'll be okay, won't we mom?" As for Jaycie when you ask her if she is going to be okay she very solemnly says "no, daddy I am not okay." It is very hard to explain to them how long he will be gone. A year is very hard for the kids and I to grasp. It is a good thing for friends and family.

Flag Football!

Brayden just finished his flag football season and loved every minute. He actually did a great job. He made more than one touchdown each game and did awesome at blocking. I was a little afraid he was playing too rough but Nick very kindly informed me not to correct his behavior "He's a Natural." OK, but this is flag football, not tackle! Oh, well he really was very good at it.







We are proud of you Brayden, you are a great sport.