June's Rays

Howdy :)

June's Rays found us in multiple states.  It was a month of busyness: hopping from out-of-state trips, to events, to company here at home in Texas...

...Kirk's graduation weekend and year-end celebration weekend for Logos Online School...

...students for the commencement ceremony, throwing their caps...

...heading west with our plus one(which is a fantastic friend!!) :)...

...woohoo!  Jadon can join us...

...the three cowboys :)...

...waiting on luggage...

...food and packed sardines for the last couple of hours of traveling...

...pizza, friends, fellowship...

...early morning 5-mile walk with a group of great teens...

...setting up the reception table :)...

...friends...

...set up and ready...

...Kansas family just arrived...

...various pics from the commencement ceremony...

...receiving his diploma...

...moving of the tassel...

...cousins...

...some of the classmates that have become close...

...one of the boys' fave teachers...

...cousins...

...snapshot from the reception...

...around 1000 attended the picnic...

...fun old-fashioned barn dance...

...a fun place to stop at...

...some up close pics of some of my favorites at the University of Idaho Arboretum...

...Turnbull Wildlife Refuge and Sanctuary to burn some energy in the outdoors, before catching some shut-eye before our flight...

...someone couldn't get enough of big brother and was soaking up just holding his hand anytime she could...

...someone's birthday gift and lugging it ALL the way back to Texas...and most definitely using it when she can :)...

...yep, good job, got the correct luggage this time :)...LOL...yes, there is a story behind this...yes, it is one of the best chuckles from this trip :)...

...this little one just has to be a 'big' kid...

...almost home and quite the train through the airport :)...

...she loves holding hands...

...fresh produce out of the garden, for the first supper, home from this trip

...and here is the pink camp chair, set up upon arriving home :)...

...since Jadon was only home for June, he made a point to do a couple of things with just each sister...love this about him!...both got taken fishing and then out to eat up town...

...this fish KeKe and Jadon caught came in all torn up: turtle?...

...she loved fishing with big brother...heading out...

...some of the best friends and killing time at church waiting for the parents to be ready to leave :)...

...our celebration of Pentecost...simple, but oh so meaningful...

...even though school is out, we have a summer school schedule to help keep the brain engaged and prevent learning loss over the summer...Nessa has said she likes it and here she is reading her geography to KeKe :)...

...Caspian enjoying some loving from Nessa...

...soaking up our June time with this guy...

...grabbing breakfast here, since Jadon has yet to eat here since the bakery front opened...

...Caspian has definitely settled in :)...

...we are officially licensed :)...

...a nerf war for a birthday in this group of friends :)...

...a friend came over to do some summer school with Janessa one day...Nessa loved it...

...working on some of it as a team...

...and then they joined KeKe for some imaginative play...I LOVE a good imagination!...

...their 'house' :)...

...one of her LEGO creations she has been building...

...Dottie, the cow we are waiting on her to have a calf...she is so very tame and gentle and LOVES to be petted and scratched...she is starting to bag up, so I think we are looking at the next 2-3 weeks of her dropping a calf...yay!!!...

                                                

...wow, I still cannot believe we have had a second one graduate...Kirk's Texas Graduation Reception...

...K's Cottage has done an excellent job on these graduation sheet cakes!...

...various snapshots from the reception evening...chatting...

...games...

...cuties...

...the presentation of a real sword, to represent the Word of Truth being an active 'sword' in our life...praying over the graduate and encouragement pep talks to send him out from high school...so thankful for everyone that talked and prayed...thank you!!!...also, a thanks for all who acknowledged this young man by note or snail mail...

...Happy Father's Day to one of the best out there... This card that the girls picked out for him was just pretty spot on, considering how much KeKe loves Dr. Seuss and how many books Daddy has read to her by one of her favorite authors...we LOVE you!!!...

...heading to Wyoming for an extended family reunion, on Jason's side of the family...

...landing in Rapid City, SD, and stopping by for a cup o'joe, before driving another 3 hours to the Sweetwater ranch...

...en route for the three-hour drive...

...Sweetgrass in Thunderbasin Ranch...

...it was an amazing reunion and stay, and big thanks to those who hosted the weekend and opened their ranch to this family reunion...it was a true blessing!...

...some of the views...

...some of the country barn dancing :)...

...loved the meadowlarks serenading the morning...

...some snapshots(I know I didn't take all these pics either, just fyi) from some of the mealtimes...

...chuck wagon meal...

...these two girls are now asking for rabbits, after seeing the rabbits on the ranch...

...horse rides at the chuck wagon meal...

...chuck wagon meal view...

...4 wheelin' was a blast...

...breakfast before leaving, and these kiddos were enjoying chatting away...

...remember that pink panther from earlier in the spring...well, he found a home in this geo cache in Gillette, Wyoming...

...Devil's Tower...

...Black Hills National Forest...we stayed 3 days and that was enough...SO MANY people!!!  Custer State Park was definitely our favorite part, and we would go back to that corner again...a walk from our AirBnb...

...geo cache spot...why yes, we stopped at many geo caches along this trip :)...

...a sweet birthday surprise from Kirk: the espresso cup and a nanoespresso shot in it one morning...

...my little burrito loves...

...Pactola Reservoir was a fun kayaking spot...

...Alpine slides with Daddy, while Mom and brothers walked through some shops ;)...

...Mount Rushmore...met family here and saw it together: fun!...

...that smile...

...why sure, hiking on the path was boring, so why not take to the creek, lol!...

...smile...

...yep, another geo cache seek-n-find...

...the view was gorgeous...

...the long tunnels in the rock were pretty amazing...

...more pics from the Black Hills...

...'wild' donkeys does NOT equate WILD...this herd was one of the FRIENDLIEST herds of donkeys I've ever met in my life!!!....

...the month of June saw us traveling for more than half the month...we came home to get Jadon ready to leave for the summer and welcome family visiting :)...

...Janessa babysat these two dogs one day...she did an amazing job :)...

...enjoying family visiting...and this visit goes over into July, so the rest of the pics of this visit will be coming :)...

Hoping this finds everyone doing well and fantastic this summer!  

Quotes for Thought:

"Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully."

~above rubies~

"And then she realized she was replaceable in every area of her life except her home. So she invested her time, her energy, and her heart wisely."

~jillian benfield~

"Please, no matter how we advance technologically, please don't abandon the book.  There is nothing in our material world more beautiful than the book."

~patti smith~

"It's not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; it is how you handle what happens to you." 

~zig ziglar~