One of these things...

An old Sesame Street song keeps running through my head as I look out the window and see these trees..."one of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong..." Thanks to 60 days of 100+ degree weather this summer, we have a dead evergreen:( I guess $600+ a month in water bills can't keep everything alive. I know what we'll be doing once the weather cools off...planting a new tree!

Peace and Quiet and Friends

All is right with the world:) The kids started back to school today. Grant is an 8th grader, Garrett is a junior...both William and Christine are starting their sophomore years in college. (William actually starts on Wed., but left for Utah on Saturday.) Christine has decided to finish up at the local community college 10 minutes from our house rather than return to "Snow"...there is more than one way to "skin a cat" my friends...our pocketbook sure is appreciating the local tuition compared with what we are paying in Utah! I surely will need to get a job soon:)I enjoyed the day by making a run to Home Depot...trying to get a small project out of the way, and then I had lunch with a great group of friends...2 hours of laughter does the heart good. It's always comforting to know that we are all "in this" together, and that there really is support all around us. Thanks for coming to town Lorraine so we could all catch up:)

Mr. Eagle

We are so proud of Grant and his follow-through. We took advantage of having Bill's parents in town for his nephew's baptism and scheduled the Court of Honor. Grant worked hard and was anxious to have scouting behind him...of course we all know that he will be a scouter/helper for the rest of his life:) He is already helping his troop with the cinematography merit badge that he already earned...he's a great kid with some wonderful abilities. Way to go Grant!

Grant...the 3rd and last Casper Eagle...

Proud and relieved Mom and Dad:):):)

Sibling support

Grant gave the "mentor" pin to William...it was a total surprise...and so sweet.

Papa and Grandma came from Las Vegas and they each did an outstanding job speaking at the Court of Honor...we love how they love and support our kids.

The Cottrell Cousins

Aunt Marnie and Uncle Steve

Seriously!

THIS is what I woke up to one day last week! It was quite a task getting that thing out of the pool! After tackling the yard...with the help of the kids, and then dealing with this critter...I was ready to move to an apartment:) Not really...just a couple of tiresome days:):)

Going Home

All good things must end...we hit the road early Saturday morning...2 long days of driving through the most "gosh forsaken" land...Grant insisted on taking the rest of the family to the Big Texan for lunch...there was actually a guy (happened to be Mormon:) trying to eat the 72oz. steak! That's the big deal...if you eat it, then it's free. If not, you pay...the guy ate all but 7oz....he barfed towards the end too. So glad I was done eating when that happened. We also stopped at the buried cars in the middle of nowhere Texas...after being gone for 15 nights...I was so happy to be back in my own bed:)

Theatre Camp BYU

Our kids are hooked on theatre! BYU offers a 2-week camp each summer and they absolutely love it! Garrett went solo this year. We didn't hear from him much..."no news is good news" was what comforted me:) He was busy and happy and learning and growing. He made some new friends and met up with some friends from last summer. These are talented, smart, solid kids. The play they performed was "Crazy for You". Garrett played "Moose", kind of the town idiot:) He did a great job and had a blast! We are grateful we can provide these opportunites for our kids...

Provo...

We were glad that Dad finally joined us on our trip. We loved Seven Peaks as well as our ski lift ride at Sundance...Utah has some pretty incredible scenery! Simply beautiful!