Monday, October 27, 2008

Playing Catch Up! (July-October '08)

I am very behind (as usual) with going through the hundreds of pictures I have accumulated over the last several months. I think we are finally caught up (hallelujah!)... so here is a summary of our lives since July:

JULY
--------------------------------
4th of July Festivities
Pool party at the North's and Oakley Rodeo



Afton's 3rd Birthday (July 14th)
We can't believe it has already been 3 years since you came into our lives. You are a treasure and a huge blessing in our lives! We love you!!!












We had a "Safari" party with the whole fam at a park nearby our house.














Cutest cupcakes EVER were made by my friend, Gina. She is uber-talented, as you can see. These pictures don't even do them justice! Afton loved them all, but the zebra was her cupcake of choice. Mmmm-mmm, they were tasty!








Of Course... BOATING!
We didn't go as much as normal this year... but we had fun when we did.

AUGUST
-----------------------

Trucker's Union Event (with Trav's dad)
We thought this would be a fun event for Afton when we heard there would be pony rides. It was a beautiful day, despite the presence of creepy clowns. :)


SEPTEMBER
------------------------
First Day of Pre-School
Afton was so excited to start school this year. She worked hard to get potty trained so she could go (that and stickers were her motivatation). She loves her teacher, Miss Bonnie (pictured with her) and she is learning a lot.




Concrete, Concrete, & More Concrete
Travis worked hard (with many helpers... thanks to all of you, especially Kent) to prepare and pour concrete along the side of our house. It was quite the project- but now we will have more room for storage and we will be able to park the boat further back.
















State Fair with Kolton
We had fun at the State Fair with the Smith's. Of course... all the animals were a hit with Afton.


Tyler's Homecoming
Tyler is finally home after faithfully and diligently serving an honorable mission in Colorado Springs, CO.
We are so proud of him! 
Afton has loved getting to know her oldest cousin (she's a little obsessed, actually). We're excited to have him home.









Afton and Kolton on the trampoline at the homecoming festivities....














Timmerman Cousin Party
My cousin, Kelly, had us over for a much overdue cousin party/family reunion. We were all so close growing up, and now we hardly see each other. We have all grown up to have crazy lives, I guess! 
It was fun to reconnect with those who could come. 
(Isn't my grandma a Babe!?)






The kids had a blast in the pool. Even in late September, it was perfect weather for a swim.
(L-R: Sam, Jaycee, Lyndee, Morgan)













Waterlogged Afton.















Ready 1-2-3! Morgan and Sam demonstrate the three simple steps of flipping ONTO the tramp.










OCTOBER
-------------------------
Grandma Robinson's Cabin (near Oakley)


It's hard to believe that this chilly, drizzly day was only a week after playing in the sun at the cousin party! I love the fall and the rain, though, so I was a happy camper!

Trav's sweet grandma Evadean Robinson passed away on September 29th. It is sad to see anyone you love part from this earth, even though you know it is only a temporary parting. She has waited to be reunited with her sweetheart (Ernie) who passed away over 25 years ago. It is neat to think of their reunion. She will be missed, but I bet she is loving to finally be beside her eternal companion now.
In the 12 years since I have known Travis, I have never ventured to the famous "Grandma Robinson cabin." I've heard stories about shooting cans and riding four-wheelers... but have never experienced it first-hand.
Well...after grandma's passing, and after learning at the funeral how the cabin was built (the Robinson family built it from the remnants of two demolished homes), we wanted to go to this special place. Shaun and Brenda had already planned a weekend getaway there, so we joined them for a day, along with Trav's parents.

It wasn't really 4-wheeling weather, but we did get to shoot the cans with B-B guns. I just took pictures, but Afton had gave it a go!

Some Jasper and Afton Time
Couldn't resist posting these pics. That Jasper is very tolerant...






Frightmares
Last weekend we went to Lagoon's "Frightmares" with the cousins. We had to get one more use out of our season passes and we had a great time. The kids were all made over (thanks Grandma Marci) so they were frightmare-ish. SPOOKY!!!!.




















Riding with Whit & Little Mare
Have I mentioned that Afton has a slight obsession with horses lately? A while ago my sister, Whitney, graciously offered to take Afton on a horse ride (or did we volunteer her ourselves... can't remember, but either way she is a rock-star in Afton's book).
Well the day finally arrived and we were able to arrange our schedules to make this long-awaited event happen. On Friday afternoon we headed up to Wanship where Afton found her heaven. :) She had a BLAST. It is practically all she talks about. She will tell near-strangers " I went on Little Mare!" She now not only pretends she is a horse (she's been doing that for weeks now), but she refers to herself as Little Mare.
This child has some serious passion packed in her little 3-foot frame!
Thanks, Whit!! I'm sure you will forever be asked about going on another horse-ride. Hope you're okay with that. ;) And thanks Dad & Michele for the yummy dinner! We had lots of fun hanging out!

Phew. I'm done. For now anyway...

4 comments:

Parkin Family said...

Oh My heck! That was a marathon catch up! First of all you should go into photography. Second how the heck do you do the cute picture groupings? Third your family is so cute. Afton...should be in a GAP add she is so cute!

Jill said...

Jess, she is so beautiful! I am so glad to see your posts again. Check out my blog soon I will have pics with Paige and her pony (we rented one for her 6th Bday over this last weekend) so show Afton the pics since she loves horses so much. I think it's a little girl thing...Paige loves them too!

gina bina said...

Holy Mother of Post! I'm not gonna lie, I didn't read it word for word. BUT I will comment on the gigantic welcome home party for Tyler at the airport. You would think that this kid single handedly cured cancer or something.
All I can say is...poor Keyan (sp?). Who by the way has grown about a foot of 5. I miss that Lori North and all you guys at FC!

tjneumann said...

Seriously... "Mother of Post" is an understatement! That's what I get for procrastinating!
Beth- I did the groupings on our Mac... in IPhoto there is a calendar option and I arranged them in there and then saved each page as a separate image. I'm sure there are other ways of doing it, but Trav helped me figure out that way! Thanks for the comments!