Jacob had a great time again at the cabin with his friend Cam.  He spent two nights at the cabin and then two nights at the trapper camp.

They saw some amazing clouds....

and beautiful scenery

From what I heard and the clothes that I saw, they spent most of their time in the dirt, working on a fort.

This is Cam's mom....

J played so hard, he crashed in the car when it was over.

All three of the boys have been to work with JR recently.  He only takes one at a time but from the looks of it, they have a good time.

lunch break...not a bad view!

This was the second nap of the day he had taken.

I did not get any pictures of Jacob working, although I am sure he worked hard...he also knows how to play hard.

He too was tuckered out.

I somehow deleted the pictures of Benjamin, but he too has taken a nap every time after working with JR. I know with the elevation, sun, fresh mountain air and hard work, it wears you out.  It also does not help that it is a 45 minutes drive back home.

This past weekend we headed out to the University and the duck pond.

Jacob took my camera and bread and headed for the gophers,  I was impressed with how close he was able to get.  This just proves he CAN sit still when he wants to :-)

 Later that day we headed to the pond.  We took Bree, not really knowing how she would do.  She stays pretty close until she sees another animal, of any kind.  Jacob tried hooking her up to his raft.  Yep, that did not go well.

I think Jacob spent more time getting dirty than swimming.

Benjamin had a friend along and they were playing some sort of king of the raft.

Jacob took Bree for several sprints.  We have had to resort to a chain leash.  As you can see in the picture, she still puts it in her mouth.

There was a momma duck and her ducklings at the pond.  The boys got surprising close.  I think the duck was somewhat freaked out by all the people and trying to find a calm, quiet place to hang.

These are the times I wish I had a more powerful zoom lens....one day!

Yes, I counted 17, although I never got them accurately counted until I saw the picture...they move around quickly.

Bree had spotted them but was not able to get away from our heavy hand.  Some how though she finally did escape.  She jumped in the water and started swimming towards them.  Since it was only her second attempt that day to swim, she tired quickly and returned.  I am very thankful.  All I could think about was her getting a duck and then me being dragged through the coals on social media :-)

A quiet week thus far.  The boys have been  in their room for large parts of the day.  They are not willing to step up and take care of things around the house, so they can spend their first part of summer in their room.  On Wednesday Jacob heads to the cabin for a few days with his buddy Cam.  Then on Friday, JR and Benjamin will drive over to get Jacob and then all three of them will head north to a youth camp for the weekend.  So, it will be just Joseph and I for 2 1/2 days.

Joseph had a great time at his birthday party.  We went in search of the perfect gift.  He wanted to get her a necklace with sparkles and a heart on it.  I told him he should probably wait a few years for a gift like that.  He settled on a craft project, nail polish and hair stuff.  He was the only boy there but the girl's mom said he did awesome.

Last week was Joseph's kindergarten graduation. (He's on the far end)

His teacher did a great slide show.  She asked all of them what they want to do when they grow up.  Here was Joseph's.

They got to decorate their mortar boards for their caps.  Yes, the picture was blurry because he moved and I am just too lazy at the moment to go take another picture.  I love that he has the flag in there.

He insisted on wearing this tie!  It was way to big for him, but after about 10 tries, we got it so that the front was not so long.

This is his enthusiasm for summer!!!!  Jumping for joy and jumping off the swings.

School is out.  June is here.  Hard to believe.

We had a quiet Memorial Day Weekend. It strangely enough revolved around death.  Friday night I went to a visitation at funeral home for a sixteen year old who took his life (I had worked with his mom years ago).  Then on Saturday I attended another funeral for a friend's mother.  Then Saturday afternoon we spent some time over at another friends' house.  They are older and he had cancer and was in his last hours.  So we stopped in several times to check on them.  He died late Saturday night.  JR, the boys and I went over there on Monday afternoon to mow their half acre yard.

The cows are returning to the field behind our house....bummer.  They have put up another fence so no one is able to go walk dogs.  The one who suffers the most is Bree.

Here are pictures from Jacob's field day at school.

This is Jbird's best buddy...the one he goes to the cabin with on weekends.

Jbird has two football games tomorrow and that will finish off the season.  We are talking about going to a local pond to swim and fish Saturday afternoon.  We are all curious to see how Bree will do.  She loves the water but not sure about all the swimming.  Hopefully she is voice trained well enough not to run away when other dogs are around.  Joseph has a birthday party on Sunday.  It is for a girl in his grade.  They were in the same preschool class and really liked each other.  The affection continues through out kindergarten.  Just fun to see him smitten and seems to be mutual!  (The older two never wanted anything to do with a girl!)

Pictures from Joseph's Field Day at school.  Jacob's was rained out, which was a good thing because he did not go to school that day because of his tooth.  Jacob's is rescheduled soon.

Joseph had a great time and wonderful weather.

The owners of the field behind our house is allowing someone else to come in and put cows on the land.  So they have put up a fence and no one is allowed back there.  Bree is so bummed she can't go run and play with other dogs.  I am hoping it is just for the summer!  We really miss the field.  I did not realize how much we counted on being able to go back there.

Gonna be a quiet Memorial Day.  There are 2 funerals and a birthday party on Saturday!  Not sure what the rest of the weekend holds, except cooler temps and maybe some rain!

We have had lots of rain lately...the good kind.  The slow steady rain!

Over the weekend the owners of the field behind our house started repairing the barb wire fence.  Seems that cows are on the way.  A bummer for all of us dog owners!  You don't realize how nice you have it until it is taken away!  Our neighbors' dog is so well trained that she would only use the field to go to the bathroom.  Now the dog is in quite a quandry and refusing to go to the bathroom!

On Thursday Jacob landed in the dentist office.  He has an abscess tooth and it is getting pulled this morning.  It had been hurting him but the pain had lessened.  I am just very thankful I took him in, knowing how dangerous mouth infections can be.  One of those God prompting moments!

The boys are getting into their full summer mode.  Staying out later.  When the weather is nice, they just check in every 2-3 hours.  So nice having lots of kids around.

I really struggle with the boys because they are so bad about cleaning up/picking up after themselves.  I can remind them a dozen times and they still walk over things.  So, I have started locking our bedroom.  I love being able to open the door and know it is just the way I left it...no trash, no socks, no books, no messy bed from wrestling or the dog, etc.  The other day we had forgotten to shut the door.  Shortly before bed Joseph came down and told me he had accidentally torn my pillow.  I felt the frustration rising and I took a hold of his arms and got nose to nose with him and told him he was not allowed in our room and he knew that.  Why was he in our room?  I sent him up to bed, as he was trying not to cry, and told him I would be up in a few minutes.  Well, when I went up, this is what I found.

He had made this heart and left it on the pillow.  It says "I love you Mom and I made card and made your bed.  Love Joseph".  I am very particular about my bed when I sleep.  The boys have learned over the years how I like my blankets and he had prepared my bed all by himself.  It was one of those epic parent fails, where you react too quickly and almost miss a huge blessing.  So glad I was not in a real irritable mood and was a little excessive with my scolding.

Jacob seems to be a trend setter at his school.  He has taken to wearing opposite socks.

Often times he can coordinate the colors with what he is wearing.  They actually look pretty cool and styling.

Well, Joseph came down recently before school with these socks.

I just cracked up. I told him he either needed to put on two socks the same height or the same color.  He told me that the gray parts matched!  He saw nothing wrong with his socks.

Happy Monday!

We recently went to some friends' house.  They are raising lambs for 4H.

The kids have to learn how to walk/show them.  Joseph got a lesson on what that entails.

I am not sure who was walking who.....

They also have chickens.  Jacob was getting in a lesson in how to hold them.

This past week Benjamin and I went up to work with JR.  I saw most of his properties and learned about the houses, weekly walk throughs, etc.  At one point Benjamin and I were driving down the road and directly in front of us was a bull moose, just meandering across the road.  Of course I forgot the camera and couldn't get my phone quick enough.  It was so cool, about 20 yards, directly in the middle of our lane, crossing the road.  A moment neither of us will soon forget!

Football has started for Jacob. They have played 2 games and won both of them.  The coaches definitely know what they are doing and really working to help the boys get a good grasp on the game by teaching lots of technique, skills, etc.  Both of the coaches boys have played for years and it is obvious that those two boys will be playing ball in high school.

During the last game he scored a touchdown but running it down the field.  So, when you score a touchdown, then you get to kick off.

 It is a short season, only 5 games but just enough to pacify the football urge this kid has.  He keeps gravitating towards football.  I keep trying to steer him to another sport.  At least it is not tackle yet!

We are down to about 2 weeks left of school.  We are all very ready.  I have rearranged all of our daytime commitments so that they fall on one day.  That means lots of lounging, kids doing free play outside and then getting together with friends.

Working on final plans for our road trip.  Whenever we stay on the road, I prefer to swing the reservations the morning of.  I would hate to have reservations somewhere and then want to keep on driving...however, I sometimes get caught paying ridiculous rates because it is last minute and rooms are full.  So, being proactive this time around.

Today Benjamin and I went to work with JR.  I am tired.  I am not use to all the up and down and all around.  This is a picture of his largest association that he manages.  It is tucked away at the bottom of a hill.  There is also a ski lift just above the trees, so it is also ski in and ski out.  Really pretty place.  (They have several units for sale for $650,000! if anyone has some cash laying around and wants a spot to vacation.)  The far left, lower unit is actually an apartment that is available for guests of the owners to rent.  It is not rented out very often, so JR has the option to stay there and be on property.  Not a bad little spot.

This is the view from the apartment patio.

He showed me some of his properties and where things are.  He had thatched and raked several yards so we had many piles of branches and grass.  Then we walked the association and moved some furniture around, vacuumed and moved some gravel around.

I have cleared my schedule on Mondays to hopefully help every week.

This is a picture I took this afternoon...May 9th.  Yes that is snow!  Fortunately it is going to warm up by the end of the week.

Benjamin and Bree continue with dog obedience.  Last week they had 12 dogs in the room and they all were laying on the floor, calm and quiet.  She has figured out how to open the back gate when it does not close all the way.  Then she runs and runs in the field.  We have taught her the word 'walk', 'bike' and 'car'.  She knows all of these words mean fun and she goes crazy.

We are down to 17.5 more days of school.  I am so ready for the boys to have the opportunity to sleep in...I love my quiet mornings.  I have rearranged my schedule so that all of our daytime commitments are on one day.