The Keyes!

We have some catching up to do!

I will use this picture of Kim from girls' camp for blackmail in the future

The Sunday Kim was in Welling we had stake conference and watched from home. Mason was really busy with his human anatomy book connecting skeleton bones and body parts

Kim got a lovely apron from her parents for her birthday

She got to play some cards games (esp. Rook) while she was with her family, which put a smile on her face

On Monday she got to go hiking with her dad

They saw big horned sheep

They saw the aftermath of forest fires

A pretty stream

Wonderful views

Rowe Lake was the destination

It had been a while since Kim had been on a hike with her dad

Another view of the lake

After that they met up with her mom and Kevin and Amanda's family at Cameron Lake and Waterton.

They even got out on the lake in a canoe (before Kim got in trouble for not wearing a life jacket)

View of the Prince of Wales hotel in Waterton

Kim also got poutine, which isn't fair!

They saw a black bear cross the road in front of them while driving

Meanwhile the kids and I were exploring the forest park and investigating a huge mushroom

Kim got back on Tuesday and there were some birthday presents for Henry to open

These trucks are lots of fun

What a cute book for a train lover

Train cars

Look at that conductor hat!

Henry had fun opening presents

Kim also got a fun new read for her birthday (and as an early celebration for her upcoming US citizenship)

Those trains have gotten lots of use

Reading with mom is the best

It is going to be a good day when Mason has a big puzzle done before breakfast

This day the birdhouses saw lots of action

The kids got to go to school and take their supplies and meet their teachers

Henry has started to learn how to ride a pedal bike

I finally got to ride on our friends' zipline

Henry also got some turns

We had our last beach day at Mill River and my favorite part was snuggling Henry

The kids were busy digging in the sand

They also found a little toad

Nixon lost a tooth last Sunday

Mason got to have his friend Regan over and they enjoyed apples off our tree

For Labor Day we had a family day at Silverwood

Kim and Henry look so good together

Here is a video of our fun day

Tuesday was back to school and Lyza's hair was out of control and made it look like she might need to go back to second grade

The kids got to eat giant pancakes for breakfast

And of course we took pictures to commemorate their first day of the school year

Lyza cleans up well

It is hard to believe Mason is in Kindergarten

Here are the students together

And one with Henry because he felt really left out

They look cute walking to school together

Mason had a great day and Henry was happy to help pick him up

Mason was in such a good mood the rest of the day and was really creative and made many wonderful things for his mother

Mason had his second soccer practice this week

Nixon had his first soccer practice

Yesterday was Nixon's first soccer game and he did great. He had lots of time with the ball and got a couple of assists to help his team win

It was a little eerie having a large plan fly overhead on September 11th

Nixon worked really hard and was always in the thick of things and making things happen for his team

Mason also had his first day of soccer and unfortunately his team had three subs so he got a little more sitting time than Nixon

But when he was on the field he was working hard

This was probably his most important contribution: making his team laugh during half time

He also got serious

He got some good kicks on the ball and had fun while he was out there

Kim and her friend tried a new bike route and got a new view of Coeur d'Alene Lake

Mason's team is sponsored by Stateline Speedway, a local race track/event center. We got tickets to a race last night from his soccer team and I took Mason and Nixon to the track last night.