Fireworks on the farm
I enjoyed painting while watching my kids swim. 
I got to finish up a commission! 
I tried out a new style. 
Here are some paintings I’ve done for my MIL across the years. 
Idaho falls temple. This was the first painting I ever gave them. 
This was done a year or two ago. 
This was my MIL birthday present last year 
Here was one of my first for my MIL 
This one too
Every sunset was breathtaking. 
This is Red- their bull. He was at the gate waiting for us when we first got to the farm. 
Here’s Andy with Nash. Nash LOVES Andy. He’s kind of a pill sometimes, but he mostly listens to Andy and Darron. 
This is Princess. She really warmed up to me this year. 
Maverick got to drive the side by side this year. He is getting better. He was so excited. 
Most of the barn cats have to stay outside– this one, Sugar, has a wounded hip and has become their “office cat.” She gets to stay in their AC’d barn office and get pampered. 
Here are the rest of the barn cats. There are a total of 9, I believe: Tigger, Dori, Jewel, Cream Puff, Karma, Midnight, August, and a dumpster cat named Ellis 
I caught this cute picture of them climbing then realized that it wasn’t good for the gate for them to be on top of it. lesson learned.. oops 
Harvey’s main chore was giving the barn cats some attention. 
he didn’t mind this task one bit. 
On our last day, Andy and I bucked hay (along with Darron) and then we rode the horses around. 
Nash was being awfully stubborn and wound up falling on Andy because his head was being pulled in one direction and he proceeded to move forward and tripped. 
While we were giving Nash lots of attention, Bucee and Princess got groomed and saddled for practice. 
This is Jackson’s dog, Rosie. She loves to be loved and it’s never enough. 
One of the best things is sitting down after some hard labor on the farm. 
Maverick and Harvey enjoyed climbing these big bails of hay. 
We went to church with all the siblings and cousins. The kids behaved pretty well considering I didn’t bring their usual coloring pages. 
This spider tried to take up residence in the pool. For the most part there aren’t any bugs in the pool area because it is screened in, but two of the screens are damaged, allowing some strays to find their way in. 
We were lucky to get in a lake day. The water was really warm, but you could find some cold spots that were really refreshing. 
After boating, Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids so we could go on a date. We went to our favorite little cajun restaurant. I haven’t found one in Augusta yet. 
We also spent one morning going to see Inside Out 2 with all the cousins. They had a blast, but Jackson was not a fan of the movie, it was too intense for his sweet emotions.
On the way home, we made a pee stop at Buc-ee’s. Harvey was so excited to see his new favorite character, Bucee. 
He went to buy a keychain of Bucee to add to his Bucee collection, then used his own money to by a Ty kitty cat. I think it was a consolation for having a mom who won’t let him get a real cat. He’ll definitely miss those barn cats. 
The day after we got home, I hosted a dinner with our friends that had just moved away because they were visiting. It was wonderful to see them! (but boy was I exhausted). 
This is how my room pretty much still looks. I basically unpacked just to repack for Utah. Monday I spent the whole day getting the yard caught up and then Tuesday I spent the morning getting the downstairs cleaned for our incoming guests. Saturday I spent the whole day cleaning the upstairs… it’s basically been a week of playing catchup/getting ready for our next trip. 
I was able to get some gym time in and the kids enjoyed going for the most part. This is Bev’s choice of outfit. She got a lot of compliments and I was here for it. 
Harvey is obsessed with his new stuffy. The name changes daily, so we’ll see if he ever settles on one. 
Here are all the sunbeams showing their displeasure that the bishop was out of town this week and therefore wouldn’t have any candy to give to the primary kids.
We had a wonderful time visiting Texas. We spent most days swimming, painting, working on the farm, and having a blast with cousins. I just wish it wasn’t such a long drive, because it makes it harder to get down there. My mother-in-law kept Max an extra week to work on the farm and drove him back by herself. She is heading back to Texas today, so we’re praying for her safe return and grateful she was willing to make the trip. I honestly don’t know how she does it. I get so drowsy when I drive that long.
Yesterday we were short staffed in the primary. I’m not sure it would’ve made much of a difference in the chaos level though, we had three sunbeams losing their mind as well as a few older kids. But it all worked out.