Utah State Fair

Shane & Lex are out of town for a few days so Isabel & I (and her friend Abi) ventured out to the Utah State Fair. The weather was perfect and the corndogs hot! I enjoyed soaking in the fun details of the fair.

As we entered the fairgrounds, we first passed the horse stables. And what would you know, but our luck landed us by a cowboy offering a few rides before the rodeo! The girls were ecstatic!

And two tickets for the Spongebob bounce house...

Here was our good-night kiss for daddy!

We spent $7 at the fish bowl game. Both girls wanted desperately to bring home a real live goldfish. "Unfortunately" neither of them won. Sad faces only lasted 30 seconds and we were on to the next fun thing to do!

There was a science center with lots of hands on activities. The drums and hula-hoops were favorites.

Favorite animal? Isabel: sheep (she's decided to be Little Bo Peep for Halloween), Abi: rabbits, Me: horses

1st Day of School

School started a little later this year; the first day after Labor Day. It was nice having a little bit longer summer break, but we were all ready for the new school year to start. Here are my super excited first and fourth graders...

I asked them what they thought about starting school and a new grade.

 Isabel: She was concerned about having to learn about dinosaurs. She was relieved to find out her teacher did not talk about them (that day anyway).

Lex: Bullies. Sad. It's something we've had to deal with since Kindergarten. Some years have been better than others and hopefully this year it's not a problem. Especially with all the anti-bullying campaigns going. The school sent out a letter to the parents already addressing how they were making changes to reduce any incidences of bullying. I'm confident Lex will have a bully-free year.

(Sigh. One of the challenges of parenting I never thought about when they were babies. It's really heartbreaking when you feel like you can't protect your child from things like this.)

Good luck, love bugs! XOXO

Ft. Bridger Rendezvous

Our nearly annual Labor Day weekend in Ft. Bridger was quite enjoyable this year. Even if we did spend half of it dodging the rain! I waited last minute to get period dress clothing for myself and the kids, but with the help of my sister-in-laws and etsy we were able to dress up this year.  My plan is to start now for next year and maybe I'll be ready without the rush!

The rendezvous is held on the Ft. Bridger historic site in Wyoming. So, there are a few buildings that still stand we were able to take a look in.

There is a games event held on one of the days that kids' are able to participate in as long as they are dressed up in rendezvous clothing. This is the first year the kids were able to play. Pretty sure they didn't have the right clothes last year and I don't think I recall the games in prior years although they were probably there. Lex, Isabel and all their cousins had a good time playing all the old fashioned games.

Shane competed in a number of events and won lots of "trader bucks" to use in trader's row (vendors). But, his top event was the pistol shoot. He took 1st place!! The big prize is the black powder rifle, but that didn't go to any of the Jorgensen's this year. Next time, boys!

Lex, Kenley, and Dallin participated in the hawk & knife throw this year. They didn't win either, but it was about having fun, right? Just look at those smiles!

Grandma Leslie made this knot dress for Isabel's birthday this year and it fits with the rendezvous theme perfectly. She loves wearing it. She's doing an Indian dance in this picture.