Boys Day

After Girls Day we of course had to have Boys Day at the ranch.  These boys could have stayed there ALL DAY! They LOVED it all! They were much more entertained than the girls.  They hiked all over the hills, made a trip to the tree house and spent a few hours in the lake kayaking.

 Dallin, Nathan, Mark (Rhett's new friend that just moved into the ward....we seriously prayed this cute little boy here! He is such a great kid and just what Rhett needed!) and Rhett

 Dallin and Nathan loved jumping out and climbing in and jumping out and climbing in.  They loved chicken fighting too.  What a bunch of knuckleheads! :)

 Rhett and Mark were the brave ones who jumped in the cold water first.  They paddled all over the lake.  They both get a kick out of standing up on the kayaks to paddle.  What a fun, fun day!

Girls Day

The week before school started we decided to do a GIRLS DAY and a BOYS DAY at the ranch with friends.  The girls got to go first because Lauren and Ava were staying at our house while their parents were out of town.  It worked out great and was SO MUCH FUN!

Laiklie and Ava loved the loft in the cabin! of course!

 They also loved to kayak on the lake.

Oakley and Lauren liked the SUNSHINE! and lounging out in the kayaks.  It was a fun day and a great way to spend the last week of summer! 

Bear Award

 On August 27, Rhett earned his Bear Scout Award.  I am so proud of him.  He earned it a whole month before his birthday! Yay!

 

 It was also the night of the rain gutter regatta.  So fun! The boys love making boats and racing them!

Scout Campout

Dallin's 11 year old scout troop needed just one more campout this summer to pass off some requirements but it happened to fall on the rainiest week of the summer.  So they decided to pitch their tents in our tractor shed.  I wish I would have got pictures before they dropped the tents, but glad I got a few of the boys.

 Nathan, Bennett, Dallin, Tyler and O'Ryan

 These boys have an incredible scout leader who is a trooper to put up with them and their big personalities! :)

Ryan even got to be a part of the campout.  So grateful to have an involved dad! Dallin wasn't feeling well this day and he was not only grateful for an involved dad.....he was also grateful to be so close to home! The campout in the tractor shed is one I am sure these boys will always remember!

Look Who Learned to Drive the Lawnmower

Rhett has been BEGGING to learn to drive the lawnmower and our lawnmower is so super fidgitty that I have told him no all summer long.  I finally decided yesterday when it was just him and I that I would let him try.  He drives the 4-wheeler great so I figured it was time.

You could not wipe the smile off his face!! Did I dare let him mow? Well......I let him mow a small circle in the pasture where he couldn't take anything out....but no way is he ready to mow the actual yard.  Maybe with a little practice he will be a helper for next summer. ;)

Waterslide with the Greats

We got invited by Ryan's Grandparents (the Greats) to come do the waterslide again this summer.  It took us 3 tries to finally get a day with good weather that we could all do it....and as it ended up we were missing a few cousins and grandma....but we were finally able to go and had a great time!

As we got to Grandpa and Grandma Romrell's house and were loading up to drive over these two little girls, Laiklie and Kiana, decided they wanted to ride with grandpa on the 4 wheeler.  This sweet grandpa pretty much gave up his seat to squish both these two cute girls infront of him. Great people and great memories! 

 The waterslide did not disappoint! We had SO MUCH FUN!!

 Rhett

 Dallin

 Oakley and Lauren

 Dallin decided to try the little tiny, super speedy tube.  Hilarious!

 Laiklie

And the big girls again!

 

Toward the end of the day they discovered "The Train"

It was super fun to watch! They would line up as many as they could possibly fit in a train and come flying down the slip and slide and crash into the pond at the bottom and get all tangled into a big mess and they just couldn't get enough of it! They did it over and over and over again! What a blast!! Thank you again Grandpa and Grandma for such a fun day!

Harvest Time

It is HARVEST TIME at the Hawkins farm.  What a crazy busy time of year! We have had a crazy harvest this year because of all the rain. We had rain straight for a week.  We had prayers answered though and were able to get our hay cut, baled and hauled before the storm came.  We watched neighbors hay mold in the field and it just made us sick.  We have had to work on cutting grain around the rain as well.

 

 We finally had a beautiful day the other day and used it to move some of last years grain from one bin to another.  During harvest time and on days like this everybody is needed and everybody has a job.

 Including these 3! I absolutely LOVE that they squished in the tractor together to keep each other company as they worked.

 If you look really close you can see all 3 little heads bobbing in the tractor!

 The farm life is OUR LIFE! LOVE IT!

 Like I said, during harvest everybody has a job....including this little guy.  You can tell he was BORED OUT OF HIS MIND having to watch the grain and auger.  It is SO GOOD for them though!

Can you see Dale up there? These guys scare me to death.  Rhett was BEGGING to please climb up there and help Dale.  NO STINKING WAY!

 I am SO VERY GRATEFUL for Dale.  What a blessing to have him to farm alongside Ryan.  We couldn't ask for a better partner in all of this.  Family is definitely a blessing. 

 Then off to the field to cut! They are working from sun up til sun down trying to get it finished.  It makes for some very long days!

And did I mention.....that this guy is my very favorite?! I sure love Ryan and how hard he works to support our family.  I have a love/hate relationship with being a farmers wife.....but if I had to choose all over again I would STILL CHOOSE THIS AND STILL CHOOSE HIM!