Brooke Loves Jared and the 3 B's: Summer Adventures 2018

We had a fun summer filled with camping, hiking, boating, parades and spending time with family. We tried to squeeze in as much summer fun as possible with it being Jared's first summer after grad school. We managed to go camping 6 different times; most often at Keyhole Reservoir that is only 45 minutes away. Keyhole has some fun rock formations and parks to climb on. We also camped in Spearfish, SD (in the black hills). We hiked to the devil's bathtub (a natural waterfall that you can slide down on your behind) and sought shelter from a hail storm and tornado. That was kind of wild. We also spent 3 nights in September in Yellowstone camping. Fall is definitely the time to visit Yellowstone. There are less people and lots of wildlife are out and about. I was really happy we were in our camper and not a tent one morning as we woke up to a buffalo in our campground. The boys enjoyed all of the geysers and laughed and laughed at the bubbling mud pots. Our favorite geyser was the dragon's breath because of all the scary noises it makes.
4th of July was spent here and Jared succeeded in turning both our boys into pyromaniacs. Benson even did great with the fireworks this year and watched them outside this year instead of from inside the house. We were impressed with our town's 2 hour long parade and firework show in the stadium. We watched from a distance in the bed of our truck to avoid the smoke and crowds.
Brigham and cousin Gracie got to try mutton bustin at the county fair in Shelby. Brig got bucked off right out of the gate but Gracie held on so long the rodeo clown had to pull her off! They were both so brave!
We also took the kids to Glacier National Park for the first time. We saw a bear cub along the Going to the Sun road and went for a swim in Lake McDonald.
In August Nana came for a visit of Brig's birthday. We took her camping, hiked around Devil's tower, visited Mt. Rushmore and the Reptile Gardens. She tried to get us kicked out of Mt. Rushmore by leaning over the barricades and picking up all the sparkly rocks along the trail for the boys. Brig had a big Star Wars birthday party with ten of his little friends. May the force be with you (me, I was really hoping it would be with me.) We all survived the party. They had a good time hitting a pinata with light sabers and playing water balloon games.
Also in August I went on our first ever Haynes girls' trip for Mom's 60th birthday. We started it off right with time spent in the Spokane temple followed by exploring downtown by the waterfalls. We also went to an Ann of Green Gables play, a boat show at Lake Coeur D'Alene and kayaking on Lake Pend Oreille. It was great to get away and hear Mom laughing and enjoying herself. One of my favorite parts was getting in my sister's bed with my cold feet early in the morning. Just like old times. LOL.
Both boys played fall soccer and improved a lot since the spring season. Brig had lots of his friends on his team and Carter's dad was their coach. Benson mostly played for the snacks afterwards but he enjoyed running around. Brig started 1st grade and is loving his teacher and PE and math are his favorite subjects. He does get in trouble once in awhile, mostly from being bored. He meets with the gifted an talented teacher twice a week for math and reading to help challenge him a little. Benson started Pre-K at Little Tykes University. He comes home every day excited to tell me all the things he is learning and doing.

swimming at the city pool

Devils bathtub. It was too cold to swim.

Mammoth hot springs

Brig playing center

Spokane temple

We don't know what to do with ourselves with no kids around!

A trough full of ice cream to celebrate! Happy birthday!

How many monkeys can we fit on this?

We visited our old branch in White Sulphur Springs. They finally have their own building. Such a blessing! Our friend Jake returned from his mission to California and we got to hear him speak.